DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.809#0279
252 GODDESS OF SEA, MINOAN, CLASSICAL, CHRISTIAN
Her To Isis Pelagia, otherwise Isis Pharia, was attributed the invention of the
Sailing6 sa^' anc* it ls interesting to note that on a contorniate medal (Fig. 148)1
Raft with a really antiquarian illustration is supplied of this tradition, the Goddess
Rudder', standing on a primitive log-raft, with raised prow—such as those still in use
at Madras—to hold the upper corners of the sail before the wind. At
times she holds the rudder, and on all occasions was the protectress of
storm-tossed mariners. Thus, by an almost inevitable tradition, this divinity,
whose Classical and Egyptian guise must in Crete certainly have covered
a much earlier Minoan personality, was adopted by Orthodox Christianity to
fulfil an equivalent function—a beautiful form of religious evolution.
May we even venture to discern—still visible through the inter-
vening medium—a real reflection of the marine aspect of the Minoan
Virgin Mother in that attributed to the Madonna by the early hymn, as
' Star of the Sea ' ? 2
Ave, maris stella,
Dei Mater alma
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix coeli porta.
simply the ' holy Pelagia' (oo-ia LTeAayta). In
popular speech, however, she is constantly
ayia, and often receives this title on her icons.
1 Kenner, Die Milnzsammlung des Stiftes
St. Florian, PI. VII, 2c and pp. 201, 202.
Isis Pharia (or Pelagia) wears a lotus flower
on her head. The obverse of the medal
shows the head of Serapis. The primitive
character of the vessel in this representation
seems to have escaped observation : the God-
dess usually stands on an ordinary galley. The
medal may date from the time of Julian.
2 The Hymn to the Virgin in this form dates
from the tenth century. See Hymnarium,
Bliithen lateinischer Kirchenpoesie, Halle, H.
Petersen, 2nd ed., 1868. (This reference was
kindly supplied me by Dr. Robert Bridges.)
It may be noted that the Minoan Goddess is
not infrequently depicted between two stars.
Fig. 148 bis. Ivory Relief of a Warship from Sanctuary of
Orthia, Sparta (B. S. A., xiii, Pl. 4).
Her To Isis Pelagia, otherwise Isis Pharia, was attributed the invention of the
Sailing6 sa^' anc* it ls interesting to note that on a contorniate medal (Fig. 148)1
Raft with a really antiquarian illustration is supplied of this tradition, the Goddess
Rudder', standing on a primitive log-raft, with raised prow—such as those still in use
at Madras—to hold the upper corners of the sail before the wind. At
times she holds the rudder, and on all occasions was the protectress of
storm-tossed mariners. Thus, by an almost inevitable tradition, this divinity,
whose Classical and Egyptian guise must in Crete certainly have covered
a much earlier Minoan personality, was adopted by Orthodox Christianity to
fulfil an equivalent function—a beautiful form of religious evolution.
May we even venture to discern—still visible through the inter-
vening medium—a real reflection of the marine aspect of the Minoan
Virgin Mother in that attributed to the Madonna by the early hymn, as
' Star of the Sea ' ? 2
Ave, maris stella,
Dei Mater alma
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix coeli porta.
simply the ' holy Pelagia' (oo-ia LTeAayta). In
popular speech, however, she is constantly
ayia, and often receives this title on her icons.
1 Kenner, Die Milnzsammlung des Stiftes
St. Florian, PI. VII, 2c and pp. 201, 202.
Isis Pharia (or Pelagia) wears a lotus flower
on her head. The obverse of the medal
shows the head of Serapis. The primitive
character of the vessel in this representation
seems to have escaped observation : the God-
dess usually stands on an ordinary galley. The
medal may date from the time of Julian.
2 The Hymn to the Virgin in this form dates
from the tenth century. See Hymnarium,
Bliithen lateinischer Kirchenpoesie, Halle, H.
Petersen, 2nd ed., 1868. (This reference was
kindly supplied me by Dr. Robert Bridges.)
It may be noted that the Minoan Goddess is
not infrequently depicted between two stars.
Fig. 148 bis. Ivory Relief of a Warship from Sanctuary of
Orthia, Sparta (B. S. A., xiii, Pl. 4).