IT is a widely held belief that with the advent of monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the ancient pagan deities of the Roman and Greek era were banished forever. But unknown to many, this is far from the truth. Little do we suspect, that we live our daily lives in the shadows of these pagan deities. Starting with Sunday, all the seven days of the week after one Roman god or the other.
Sunday has a special place in Christianity as it was on this day, according to the Christian faith, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. However, the fact that the name Sunday has very little to do with Christ, adds a new twist to the tale. Sunday, as you may have guessed it by now, has everything to do with the pagan belief that the Sun was the source of all life. Like the ancient Greeks, the Romans gave it a central place in their worship and named the first day of their week dies solis, or the Day of the Sun.
When Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicea in AD325, in a bid to unite the warring Christian sects and standardize beliefs, a decision was taken in favour of the believers of Trinity, against the Unitarians, and all but four of the Gospels were scrapped. The Church returned the favour by choosing as the Christian Sabbath, the day of the Roman Sun god, of whom the Emperor was considered a manifestation. Incidentally, the Sun god’s birthday, December 25, was also adopted as that of Jesus. In the sixth century, when barbarian tribes from Scandinavia and Germany overran England, displacing centuries of Roman influence, they called the day sunnandaeg, from which Sunday is derived.
The second day, monandaeg (Monday), was dedicated to the moon. The Scandinavians believed that a beautiful boy called Mani (the moon) drove the moon chariot, followed by a wolf which, when time was no more, would devour him and his sister Sol (the sun). Many European languages use a derivative of the Latin word luna (moon) for Monday, for example, the French lundi and the Italian lunedi.
The third day belonged to Mars, god of war, who lingers in Europe in mardi, martedi and martes (Tuesday). The English word however, comes from Norse mythology, in which Tiw was the god of war and the lawgiver of the gods. Mars’ Day was renamed tiwesdaeg after him. Son of the chief god of the Norse pantheon, Tiw had only one hand. When the gods, in the guise of sport, set about chaining up the wolf Fenris (offspring of Loki the mischief- maker) until the Day of Judgment, Tiw put his right hand in the wolf’s mouth as a pledge. When Fenris realized he had been tricked, he bit it off.
The fourth day honours Mercury, god of commerce and prosperity. In French and Italian, the day is called mercredi and mercoledi after Mars, but when Odin (also called Woden), chief and father of the Norse gods, ousted Mercury in England, the day became Wodnesdaeg, now Wednesday. Odin was the god of warriors and kings, not the common man. He was also a god of war, poetry, wisdom, and death and dwelt in Valhalla, the Viking heaven. When warriors were slain in battle, divine women known as the Valkyries conveyed them to Valhalla, and Odin and his wife divided the warriors between them. The Valkyries served the warriors meat from a magical boar. After eating, the warriors would fight each other to the death but were brought back to life before the next feast. All of this was practised for when Odin would lead the final battle against evil.
From his throne, Odin could see the entire world. He had a spear, which never missed its mark; a bow, which unleashed ten arrows with every pull; a magic ring that recreated nine of itself every night; and an eight-legged horse, which could travel to the underworld and through the air. Odin also had two wolves and two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory) who were sent out every day to gather knowledge for him. In order to obtain wisdom, Odin hanged himself on the world tree called Yggdrasil and gave up one eye to drink from the Well of Mimir, which bestowed great knowledge. Odin knew he was destined to die at the final battle, when Fenris would swallow him, but he still chose to fight.
The fifth day was named dies jovis for Jupiter or Jove, Roman god of thunder and lightning. Still called jueves and giovedi in Spanish and Italian, the name metamorphosed into Thorsdaeg or Thursday after Thor, the Norse thunder god, called Jove in Britain. Amongst many tribes, Thor replaced his father Odin as the favourite god and protector of the world. His battle chariot was drawn by two goats, whose hooves created the thunder whilst his hammer brought the lightning. He lived in the Land of Strength, fathered Magni (might) and Modi (strength). He was invoked to ensure fertility and was widely worshipped. Hammer shaped amulets were worn by people even after Scandinavia was Christianized.
In Europe, the name of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, is preserved in the sixth day (vendredi and venerdi, from the Latin dies veneris). But in England, Venus yielded to Frigga, wife of Odin, goddess of the earth and sky, patroness of the hearth, motherhood and marriage. Mother of all and protector of children, Frigga spun the sacred thread of life and knew everyone’s destiny, but never revealed it. She assisted women in labour and was associated with the naming of children. Her abode was called The Ocean Halls from where she also wove the clouds. Her day, frigedaeg, was corrupted over the centuries to Friday.
Frigga was often confused with, or perhaps developed from, Freya, goddess of love, magic, fertility, beauty, battle and death. Blond, blue-eyed and beautiful, Freya travelled in a chariot drawn by cats and was the leader of the Valkyries, receiving half of all warriors slain in battle. She wore a cloak of bird feathers which allowed her to change into a falcon and fly between the worlds.
Saturday is the only day of the week that has retained its original Roman flavour, perhaps because there was no Norse god equivalent to Satum, Roman god of time and the harvest. At the Saturnalia, the harvest festival, crimes were often left unpunished, masters waited on their servants, presents were exchanged and revelry was taken to excess. Celebrated on the 19th of December, many Saturnalian festivities gradually seeped into the celebration of Christmas.
Gods and goddesses of the sun and moon, of war and thunder, of harvest, love and beauty. These alien deities of the dark ages are now unrecognized. Nevertheless, bold as brass, they continue to lurk in our lives; unashamedly pagan, unnoticed, unremembered, and yet unforgotten.
IT is a widely held belief that with the advent of monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the ancient pagan deities of the Roman and Greek era were banished forever. But unknown to many, this is far from the truth. Little do we suspect, that we live our daily lives in the shadows of these pagan deities. Starting with Sunday, all the seven days of the week after one Roman god or the other.
