Tom Foran Clark

Emery thought he could keep a secret. As if he had not already showed he could.

"I'm so very grateful to you!" Frida gushed benevolently. "I think it's time I let you in on something. Do you promise to keep your eyes and lips sealed?" (Emery later learned the word "mystery" itself came from the Greek verb meaning to keep one's eyes and lips sealed.)

"I do," Emery said.

"There are two kinds of secrets," Frida told Emery. "In the ancient mysteries, the two are called 'Arrheton' -- the ineffable -- and 'Aporreheton' -- subject to the law of silence. 'Aporreheton' are dark things we are told we must, or we feel we must, keep secret -- like dark 'family secrets' we are told to keep silent about. The silence comes from our fear of what could happen if we talked (to tell of those things could be catastrophic). 'Arrheton,' on the other hand, is silence kept not through fear but through the immense love we feel when we are met with the divine essence within. By tearing down the veils, we are filled with the light of truth. Keeping a secret is a test of strength of character -- and a test of loyalty. Do you love me?"

"I do."

"Would you be willing to work through the shadows that conceal what really matters to experience the ultimate reality, the authentic divine essence?"

"I certainly would," Emery said.

"No wood -- no fire," Frida whispered in Emery's ear. "No fire -- no fun. The fire -- that's where it happens."

Emery and Frida drove northwest -- toward the Rodopos Peninsula, which leaps up from the mainland like the phallus of Priapus! At the north end tip of the Rodopos Peninsula is the village of Diktina.

They got to the village of Rodopos, they got on the narrowing road north -- it narrowed before the boundary of the village to become a single paved road. Then, a little way on, after it began to climb, it became rough -- unpaved. Some of the roadside stone walls were said to have been built from stones that survived the ancient paved Roman road (begun circa 123 A.D.) that ran clear from Diktina to the hill of Kastelli, in Chania.

In the north of the Rodopos Peninsulat, at Diktinna, was the ancient site of the sanctuary of an ancient Minoan goddess worshipped only in this area, Vritomartis. The worship of this goddess had been a cause for conflict between the powerful cities of Kydonia in Chania and Polirinia in Kastelli. Later, in the ninth century the monastery of Agios Georgios was built here but it was abandoned because of continuous pirate attacks.

Vritomartis (also called Diktynna) was sometimes depicted as a mermaid. Vritomartis -- the "Sweet Maiden" or "Sweet Virgin" -- the Minoan "goddess of mountains" -- was worshipped in Aegina (Aigina) as "Aphaea" (or "Aphaia"); during the Archaic period on the Greek Mainland as "Potnia"; and, during the Classical age in Western Crete, as "Diktynna."

In Crete, the Minoan civilisation had only worshipped goddesses, judging by the number of arts dedicated to them. Though, the Linear B, in the palace of Knossos showed the names of some gods, such as Zeus, Poseidon and Ares, the dating of these writing showed that they were written after the Mycenaeans have invaded and occupied Crete, around 1450 BC. Until we one day deciphered the Linear A texts, which was clearly invented by the Cretans, we will never know if the Minoans had only worshipped goddesses or not, or if any of the male deities exist in the Minoan society.

The Minoans worshipped not a number of goddesses, but one, powerful goddess, just like the Israelites worshipped the One God. The worship of the Mother Goddess had existed as far back as the Neolithic period. The mother goddess may have had many different roles. The mother goddess can be distinguished from the Earth Mother (earth goddess), but sometimes the two are confused and their roles tends to blur, as it is the case with Gaea. Gaea was both an Earth Mother and a mother goddess. The Earth Mother can be seen as the primal force and the source of all life. She does not necessarily have a maternal or nurturing nature, but usually the mother goddess is depicted a protectress of the young. The mother goddess is also seen with the divine consort of mortal or even divine ruler, whom she must periodically mate with, as in the case of Cybele and her consort Attis. The mother goddess may even have more than one attribute, as it was the case, with Demeter, the goddess of corn. Demeter was also the mother goddess and goddess of fertility.

In Pylos, there are Linear B tablets, which mentioned the name, MA-TE-RE TE-I-JA, or Mater theia, which actually means "Mother Goddess". Who this goddess was, we can only guess. Since the Linear B tablets provided very little understanding about any deities during the Bronze Age, we have to rely mostly in artwork that has survived. There is one goddess, whose name appeared in the tablets in Pylos, which doesn't have the name Potnia – Mater theia (MA-TE-RE TE-I-JA). MA-TE-RE TE-I-JA or Mater theia literally means "divine mother" -- "Mother Goddess." There are two Potnias, which I would like to go into more details: Aitna Potnia and Potnia theron.

PO-TI-NI-JA or Potnia seemed more a title than a name. Potnia means either "Mistress" or "Lady". Potnia was a mother goddess or goddess of nature. There are many epithets to the name of Potnia, which indicated that either there is one goddess with many epithets or there are a number of different goddesses. Since there are no reliable sources during the Bronze Age, much of what we know about the various Potnias are mere speculations. In the Linear B inscriptions found in Knossos and Pylos, we have found that the name Potnia appeared several times, but with different attributes or epithets.

A-TA-NA PO-TI-NI-JA or Atana Potnia was the name listed in the Linear B tablets found in Knossos, Crete. Her name doesn't appear anywhere in the tablets in Pylos. Atana Potnia was probably The Mother Goddess. Atana Potnia was known as the Idaean Mother of Crete. She was the goddess of fertility of both plants and animals, and was perhaps a mountain mother, since her sanctuaries were sometimes found on the mountaintop. Atana Potnia may be related to other Potnia with different epithets.

Potnia theron or "Mistress of Animals" is the figure found more commonly in Minoan and Mycnenaean arts than any other Potnias. She was also known as "Lady of Wild Things", "Mistress of Wild Beasts", and several other similar titles. It should be noted that this name, Potnia theron, have never been found in the Linear B tablets. The name is actually a modern invention to denote Bronze Age Aegean goddesses that frequently appeared with animals in icons. So it would be a mistake for anyone to say that any goddess have this name.

Potnia theron was a goddess of nature, particularly over the wild and domesticated animals. She control nature and animals, either by her presence or by subdue by force. Sometimes she forcibly holds them in both hands, by their ears, throats or by their hind legs. The Mistress of Animals is often seen naked flanked on both sides by animals. At other times, she was seen standing on the back of an animal. This showed the goddess have power over nature and the power to subdue wild animals.

Emery remembered the figurines McLaren had dold to walt Lowen. The one had resembled a famous snake goddess found by the archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, in 1903, in a temple within the palace of Knossos. The figurines were not found whole, but they were carefully resembled and reconstructed. The figurines have been named the "Snake Goddess". The Snake Goddesses were created during the Middle Minoan period, perhaps in 1700 BC. There had already been many speculations over the figurine of who this person was. Some had suggested that she was simply a snake charmer or snake handler, while others said she was a priestess. Most people believed her to be a goddess -- referring to her as the "Snake Goddess." There was no proof that the statuette depicted a goddess.

The figurine showed a woman in unusual dress with overlapping flounces. Her breasts were bared. On her head, she wore a hat, with a sitting cat on top. She was also holding up two small snakes, one in each hand -- suggesting that here was the Bronze Age goddess Potnia theron, the Mistress of animals. (Potnia theron often held a wild animal in each hand --lion, stag, and/or bird). Snakes were associated with healing (even as sperms were associated with "healing"). Adding the cat with the snakes, the figurine may have been depicting a goddess of sexuality or fertility. Her sexual attributes were emphasized with the exposure of her full, rounded breasts. This may have indicated she was a "mother goddess."

The other, slightly taller figurine, had worn a different type of dress but, like the other one, her breasts were exposed. The second figurine wore a very tall hat. Whereas the first figurine showed the goddess holding up two small snakes in her hand, the second figure had a very long snake, with its head in her right hand. The snake entwined up her right arm, over her shoulder, down one side of her back, then across her buttocks; then up the other side of her back, over her left shoulder, and entwined her around her left arm, with its tail in her left hand. The head of the second snake was found on top of her hat. Following its long body down the hat, in front of the woman's left ear, curving around the outside of her left breast, before continuing down until below her waist, across her belly, and back up the right side of woman's body. The snake's tail ended up looping around the woman's right ear.

Now here was Diktynna -- probably identical to or derived from the Bronze Age goddess Potnia Theron, the Mistress of Animals. It seemed likely that Dictynna was called in PI-PI-TU-NA, a name found in the Linear B tablets, found in Knossos. If this true then Dictynna is an ancient Minoan goddess. PI-PI-TU-NA, however, doesn't appear in the tablets located in Pylos. On Minoan seals and rings the goddess of mountains and hunting is depicted with demonic features, wearing a typical local cloth, often accompanied by animals and divine symbols -- double axes and snakes. She was depicted as Diktynna on Cretan coins from the cities of Kydonia, Polyrrhenia, and perhaps Phalasarna.

Vritomartis had many of the attributes of Artemis. Vritomartis became the goddess of hunting and of the earth, nature and wild animals. Britomartis was a patron goddess of hunters, sailors and fishermen (though Vritomartis wanted to remain a virgin). She may have originally being a Cretan moon goddess, as well. (As the Greek huntress Artemis, the goddess was normally seen with other women or nymphs, but the Mistress of Animals was more often seen with a male figure, usually mortal ruler or warrior (as in the case with Near Eastern goddess). This was because the Mistress of Animals was usually seen as patron of young warriors. (The Greek Artemis was sometimes seen with sometimes worshipped by warriors, such as in Sparta, where she was patron of the initiation of boys into young warriors.)

Vritomartis, the daughter of Karme ("Carme"), was the Goddess and Inventress of nets (used for catching fish, fowl, and a variety of small game, foods all served as relishes beside the staple meals of bread and barley -- foods blessed by Vritomartis' mother, a goddess of the cutting of the ripened grain.). The cults of Karme and her daughter Vritomartis/Diktynne were related to each other in the same way as the later Demeter and her daughter Persephone.) Vritomartis dwelt with her mother on Crete. She represented a "mountain mother" connected with Mount Dikte -- where Zeus was said to have been born. Vritomartis was often depicted as a nurse of Zeus. There were many sacred caves. The two most famous were those reputed to be the birthplace of Zeus -- one on Mount Ida and the other on Mount Dicte. Worship at the rival caves, sacred to rival cults, grew into ancient Minoan rivalries between cities. Beneath Mount Dicte was the city of Lyttos, an an ally of Gortyna, hostile to Knossos.

They arrived at the Diktaeon Cave after a hair-raising jeep ride. All around on the cracked, flat plain, circled by mountains, were twenty-foot high windmills with whirling white sails. They'd come to the village of Psychron, where signs had pointed the direction to the cave where Zeus had been born -- "Diktaeon Cave 2 km." The sign may as well have pointed straight up. They'd driven past oilve tree groves, numerous tavernas, and souvenir shops, and had begun a steep upward ascent. A thousand feet above Psychron had been a shelf, which had offered a marvellous view out over the plateau and to the rugged mountain. They'd gone up a little further and parked. An old man sitting at a table under an olive tree had rented flashlights to them and, after also selling thentheir entry tickets, had led them up a narrow path to the gaping entrance of the cave -- a plunging hole at their feet.

They'd grabbed hold of a handrail and had cautiously descended. Their feet had found the wet and slippery steps beneath them, carved into the rock. It had been cool and hushed inside the cave. As their eyes adjusted to the dark, they had begun to see stalactites hanging from the roof above. Shortly, arriving at the floor of the cave, they'd seen fabulous, shining stalagmites and stalactites all around -- also weaping rock, tiny trickling streams, and pools of water.

Emery recalled that Zeus' father, Cronus, ate his children upon their birth. His mother Rhea had ushered him safely to Crete where, in this very cave, Zeus was born (even as the Curetes, or Corybantes, stood guard, clashing their spears against their shields, dancing and chanting so that Zeus' cries would not be heard by Cronus). Inside this cave the infant was breast-fed by Adrastia, Ide, Aex, Alcinoe, Amalthea, Cynosura, Eupheme, Glauce, Hagno, Helice, Ithome, Neda, Oenoe, Phrixa, Theisoa, and Vritomartis.

They departed the Diktaeon Cave in awe and silence, really feeling they'd been truly at -- in -- a holy place. When lusty King Minos had first encountered Vritomartis, an urge to have sex with her had swept over him. He had not been able to reign himself in. Minos had pursued Vritomartis the length and breadth of the island. When at last King Minos finally figured he had Vritomartis trapped, he'd let out a vistory yell. In that moment, Vritomartis -- cornered, trapped, at the edge of the world, atop a cliff overlooking the sea -- saw her escape route. In desparation, she leaped from the cliff into the sea.

Passing fishermen, catching Vritomartis in their nets, carried her off to mainland Greece where, because of her dedication and desire to protect her chastity, Artemis awarded her with immortality. She was thereafter known as Dictynna, which means the "Lady of the Nets", because she was saved by the fisherman's nets. (According to Diodorus Sicilus, she had already received this name, because Vritomartis had invented the nets for hunting, called "dictya." It was this invention that she was named Dictynna. Other people believed that she was named after Mount Dicte, a mountain where she frequently hunted games with Artemis. Dictynna was also possibly the Minoan Mountain Mother, where her sanctuaries were situated on mountaintop.)

"Vritomartis, slayer of stags, the goodly archer; for love of whom was Minos of old distraught and roamed the hills of Crete. And the Nymphe would hide herself now under the shaggy oaks and anon in the low meadows. And for nine months he roamed over crag and cliff and made not an end of pursuing, until, all but caught, she leapt into the sea from the top of a cliff and fell into the nets of fishermen which saved her. Whence in after days the Kydonians call the Nymphe Diktyna (Lady of the Nets) and the hill whence the Nymphe leaped they call the hill of Nets (Diktaion), and there they set up altars and do sacrifice. And the garland on that day is pine or mastich, but the hands touch not myrtle. For when she was in flight, a myrtle branch became entangled in the maiden’s robes; wherefore she was greatly angered against the myrtle. Oupis [Artemis], O queen, fairfaced Bringer of Light, thee too the Kretans name after that Nymphe … These were the first who wore gallant bow and arrow-holding quivers on their shoulders; their right shoulders bore the quiver strap, and always the right breast showed bare.” -- Callimachus, "Hymn III to Artemis 188."

Kassiepeia, daughter of Arabios, and Phoinix, son of Agenor, had a daughter Karme [sister of Europa]. Zeus made love to her and fathered Vritomartis, who avoided the company of mankind, yearning to remain a virgin forever. First she arrived in Argos from Phoinikia, entering into the company of the daughters of Erasinos, Byze, Melite, Maira, Ankhirhoe. Then she went from Argos to Kephallenia. The Kephallenians gave her the name of Laphria and made sacrifices to her as a god. Then she went to Crete.

The spot where Vritomartis had leaped into the sea, escaping the clutches of King Minos, had been consecrated as a sacred place. Vritomartis would not only be known later by the names Vritomartis and Diktynna, but also as Aphaia -- or Aphaea -- which meant "the One Who Disappeared."