The father’s identity was uncertain, but Zeus himself was suspected by his wife Hera.Īphrodite bore an ugly but useful son. The fertility god PriapusĪ Greek myth explains the background to phallus worship: Aphrodite, the goddess of love, gave birth to a child, the glorious deity Priapus. Myths such as this symbolize birth, death and rebirth of vegetation. Soil fertility and the rebirth of nature were personified through dance and sacred drama, as in the myth of Persephone, where her mother Demeter looks for her daughter who has been abducted to Hades. We know little about how the original rituals took place in the Nordic regions, but texts and images from Mediterranean countries show how parts of this cult were performed. I fear Odin’s wrath, we worship the ancient gods!” The woman was preparing for the alveblot, during which the phallus played a meaningful role. Sigvat describes a woman’s voice shouting: “Do not come closer, you godless wretch. In the skaldic poem Austfararviser (“East Journey Verses”) King Olav Haraldsson’s court poet Sigvat Tordarson tells the story of how he once was refused entry to a home where the alveblot celebration was well underway. At this time of year nature lay dormant, and this was therefore a feast for the dead, but it also looked ahead with hope toward a fertile year for people and livestock. The elves embodied both fertility and death powers.Įlf cult ceremonies were usually local and happened within each household, but they were also celebrated officially at certain times of the year, such as at the winter solstice on December 21st. They belonged to the Norse pantheon, but were closer to people’s earthly life than the gods. The pagan sacrificial ritual and harvest festival held at the winter solstice in the old Norse month of Ýlir was also the time for the alveblot, or sacrifices to the elves.Įlves played a central role in pagan cult ceremonies. Ancient fertility rituals have survived in modified form into the modern era. Animal and human sacrifices made to a symbolic phallus were thought to ensure a successful new crop among people, animals and nature. They are symbolic representations of the penis, representing male potency and fertility. Fertility cults were common throughout Europe in pre-Christian times, and Norway also still has signs of them.Ĭlose to one hundred stone phalluses have been found in Norway.
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