Magna Mater in Macedonia - the Vinca Culture I will start with a little Dreamtime presentation of mine, just to show how human fancy can make sense out of all the tiny little pieces of inklings that I will accompany my odyssey with, to reveal at least how saucy it can get when one indulges into the existence of the primeval world, the natural state of harmony, balance of forces, Nature and Cosmos united. The word Cosmos 1, to me sounds like Kos Most (Macedonian - Bow Bridge), just as the Milky Way appears on the night sky, clearly visible from a dark place high up in the mountains of Macedon. Those stars that burned images into the sub-consciousness of the people who carved them into symbols on rocks, which the Gods arouse from the Earth during the Flood. It was the age of the Bliss, the balance of all energies, the Heaven on Earth. These people I am creating here in my imagination are those that walked the land of Macedon sometime between the sixth and the third millennia BC. Follow me to their Motherland: (Dreamtime‌) Once upon a time 2, there was a child who wanted to become a hero, just as those before who had reached the stars. There was light coming through the window in the house. The child went to pray to the Great Goddess Ma (Mo), the Mother of all life on Earth. It was a peaceful sunset outside to the west, and the birds were singing sweet songs. The child put the little totem3 on the shrine and went outside 4, down the cobblestone pathway to the rock, where the script was. It was
1
From Online Etymology Dictionary: Cosmos - c.1200 (but not popular until 1848, as a translation of Humboldt's Kosmos), from Gk. kosmos "orderly arrangement" (cf. Homeric kosmeo, used of the act of marshaling troops), with an important secondary sense of "ornament, decoration, dress." Pythagoras is said to have been the first to apply this word to "the universe," perhaps originally meaning "the starry firmament," but later it was extended to the whole physical world, including the earth. For specific reference to "the world of people," the classical phrase was he oikoumene (ge) "the inhabited (earth)." Septuagint uses both kosmos and oikoumene. Kosmos also was used in Christian religious writing with a sense of "worldly life, this world (as opposed to the afterlife)," but the more frequent word for this was aion, lit. "lifetime, age."
2
By C 14 analysis carried out in Macedonia and in the neighboring countries, and also by comparative analyses, the chronological framework of the Neolithic era has been set from 6500 till 4800 BC and of the Eneolithic from 4800 till 2500 BC. Concerning the Neolithic period on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia the basic widely accepted cultural groups are the Anzabegovo - Vrsnik, i.e.(st)., Zelenikovo culture and Velusina - Porodin culture. On the grounds of an overall chronological analysis three stages have been identified in the Neolithic, classified as Early, Middle and Late Neolithic Ages. They correlate with the cultural compounds in the Balkans at large, above all with the Balkan-Anatolian compound, rather than with the Starcevo, i.e., Vinca-Tordos compound, Zelenikovo; and the compounds Karanovo; Proto-Sesklo, Sesklo and Dimini. (Irena Kolistrkoska Nasteva)
3
The abundance of terracotta figurines depicting the woman from prehistory, more precisely from the Neolithic and Eneolithic eras, which were discovered in the Republic of Macedonia, have imposed the idea of jointly presenting archaeological artifacts that are inter-related merely by one concept – the woman. The purpose is to elucidate a segment of the rich spiritual life of the prehistoric populace settling the territory of present day Macedonia from the sixth till the third millennia BC. (Irena Kolistrkoska Nasteva) 4
As we know, the Neolithic settlements were relatively small, consisting of twenty to thirty houses and located on mounds in plains. In their vicinity there were regularly clear drinking water, fertile soil for cultivating grain, natural resources of salty earth for the cattle, and other necessities. Houses were built of vertical support beams with wattle-
the day when the Sun revealed the message. The rain had just stopped and the last rays of the Sun God were laying its touch on the water pools gathered in the holes of the rock, and all of a sudden, an image appeared which came from the light, it was The Great Goddess talking to the child: "The Great Mother lives. Her body is the earth below us, giving birth to everything living and nourishing it. She is life, and her secrets are the secrets of life."
The child went to the house and took the figurine from the shrine 5, and all of a sudden it seemed as if time had stopped, and everything looked serene and solemn as if there was a new being born again into the Cosmos. The child opened the eyes and saw that there were people in the house. They were all happy to see the child come from the rock. They all smiled and cuddled the child who took the little totem of Ma (Mo), and threw it on the ground, wishing for peace, fertility and longevity in health. So mote it was… (Awakening…) Now, life as it seems not that it just flourished, but it also thrived into a culture, spiritually inclined to a more natural state of existence, that of the matriarchate. What we call matriarchate today is simply a viewpoint that has developed in relation to the patriarchate, which by itself means the rule of the fathers. Therefore it is more reasonable to assume that the matriarchate meant balance of sexes, where individuality was revered and encouraged, and where the Great Mother Goddess’ was the supreme cult, which was widespread across the Balkans, most of which can be found in Macedonia. The people of this culture lived freely and peacefully, there must have been a moral codex similar to that of Ma’at with the Egyptians, the Sun God must have been adored here too, men were equal to women, and a different perception of time was and-daub between them. They were coated with mud mixed with cattle manure as binding material. Walls built in this way were covered with thatched roof of light structure, presumably of a pitched type. The interior space was often parted with parapet walls. The width of the houses was normally five to six meters, their length measuring up to ten meters. The Eneolithic settlements were smaller, with a less number of houses, situated on higher spots with strategic positions. The houses were more-or-less the same as the Neolithic dwellings. (Irena Kolistrkoska Nasteva) 5
The figurines have been executed with a high sense of creativity. Every figurine is unique, although they often resemble each other, according to the stylistic- typological analyses carried out. Such is the case with the Great Mother Goddess, whose image has been discovered in the regions of Skopje, Tetovo, Kumanovo and Ovce Pole, as well as in Pelagonija. This should certainly be taken into consideration, since it indicates mutual contacts of the population from these areas, showing also that they worshiped the same gods and shared the same beliefs. (Irena Kolistrkoska Nasteva)
shaping the lives of these Neolithic people - the cyclic time of rebirth and resurrection, the natural cycle of life. If we put all of this together, along with the megalithic observatories such as Kokino and Tzotze’s Rock, allowing Adam to open the story, we get a cosmological spirituality based on a natural (matriarchal) social governing, in accordance to both Nature and Cosmos. This concept might be just a perception from our position in our own time. The people from 6000 BC or even earlier, might as well have been more intuitive, following the feminine concept, might have had healing abilities, intuitive precognition or even telepathy. I am merely suggesting some of the qualities a woman would certainly have, and thus not impose, but naturally use it in a society of her own. Moreover, their spiritual sites seem to have been natural rocks and caves where they observed the stars and communicated with the supernatural, which cannot have been based on superstition, since there must have been a certain cosmological belief system, which inspired megalithic observatories to be assembled. There is a touch of unspeakable sophistication in the brute simplicity of these people. As if they were very quiet, almost mute, and kept their treasures in their hearts, letting it out only through their art, music, tales and legends. Passed it on from generation to the next, in peace and harmony, until one day the hoards arrived. They came with the symbols that our Neolithic people shaped on the rocks of Macedon, and used the same to introduce yet another time, the linear concept of time such as the Israelites have introduced as a gift to this world, at least according to Thomas Cohill. This culture that we are peeping through is known as the Magna Mater culture that emerged on several places in the world, and later spread across various civilizations. There are some interesting viewpoints on the matter that I would like to further look into, such as that of Anders Sandberg’s: “The Cult of Magna Mater, the Great Mother, is probably the oldest religion of all. The earliest stone-age sculptures depict the mother- goddess in the form she later became worshipped as Cybele in Phrygia 6, as a seated woman flanked by two leopards. The worship evolved through 6
In antiquity, Phrygia (Greek: Φρυγία) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern day Turkey. The Phrygians (Phruges or Phryges) initially lived in the Southern Balkans; according to Herodotus under the name of Bryges(/Briges), changing it to "Phruges" after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont. During the floruit of the city-state of Troy a part of the Bryges emigrated to Anatolia as Trojan allies or under the protection of Troy. The Trojan language did not survive (at least not in a written form); consequently, its exact relationship to the Phrygian language and the affinity of Phrygian society to that of Troy remain open questions. Similarly the date of migration and the relationship of the Phrygians to the Hittite empire are unknown. A conventional date of c. 1200 BC often is used, at the very end of the empire. It is certain that Phrygia was constituted on Hittite land, and yet not at the very center of Hittite power in the big bends of the Halys River, where Ankara now is. Subsequently the state of Phrygia arose in the 8th century BC with capital at Gordium. During this period the Phrygians extended eastward and encroached upon the kingdom of Urartu, the descendants of the Hurrians, and a former rival of the Hittites. Meanwhile the Phrygian kingdom was overwhelmed by Iranian Cimmerian invaders c. 690 BC, then briefly conquered by its neighbor Lydia, before it passed successively into the Persian Empire of Cyrus, the empire of
the millennia, but the goddess remained a symbol of the powerful female forces in the universe. Many different interpretations appeared, and various cults have interacted and mixed ideas. Not much is known about her worship in ancient times, but in her incarnation as Cybele in ancient Phrygia she started the cult which would later evolve into the cult of Magna Mater in Rome. As a small child she was put out into the wilderness to die, but instead of killing her, the panthers and lions nurtured her, and she grew up into an intelligent, beautiful and headstrong woman. It is not impossible that she was a child mage who was later deified. She invented pipes and drums, and also magickal medicines which she used to heal sick children and creatures on the Phrygian countryside. She became friend of not only the animals and people, but also the satyrs and other supernatural beings. She fell in love with prince Attis, but their love-story was tragic. The intense love of the divine Cybele was too much for the mortal prince, and he went mad, castrated himself and died. Cybele, driven mad by grief, roamed around to sound of pipes and drums seeking her lost love.” An interesting connection comes to focus when we consider the fact that the Great Mother Goddess was evidently venerated much earlier than the Cybele cult in Phrygia, since it can be dated as far as 6500 BC, plus the fact that the Phrygians came to Anatolia from the Southern Balkans, possibly even related to Troy - it does give an impression of a continuous flow, doesn’t it? This is what Sandberg further reveals about the advance of the Phrygian Cybele into the Roman Magna Mater cult: “Around 200 BC the holy black rock of the goddess was moved from the Phrygian city of Pessinos, which had been the previous centre of her worship. Rome became the new centre, and her cult grew. The Romans identified Cybele with the Greek Rhea, and called her Magna Mater, the Great Mother. The priests of the cult were men who had castrated themselves in front of her image, but most of the followers were women. The cult was a tumultuous, noisy and ecstatic affair which attracted many people. Only women (and castrated men) were allowed to attend the main celebrations of the goddess, which quickly got the reputation of being less religious ritual, and more - wild orgies. Much gossip went around about the indecencies and depravities of the cult, but due to the protection of influential people it avoided persecution.” This clearly shows to what extent the matriarchal cult, which originated in Macedonia in the Neolithic period, must have deteriorated from its core principles or codex of worship from a veneration of Mother Earth, the creator of all Life, into a lustful sexual rite in Roman times. However, certain elements of the latter can be traced back to its roots if we consider it as a continuum. Such is the following:
Alexander and his successors, was taken by the Attalids of Pergamon, and eventually became part of the Roman Empire. The Phrygian language survived until about the 6th century AD, when it finally gave way to Greek. (Wikipedia)
“Mountains and caves were sacred to Magna Mater, and her temples were often built near them. By sleeping in a temple many women hoped to get help from the goddess, who was said to help mothers and children. Midwifes were tied to the cult, and many priests were healers. The priestesses were more involved with her ecstatic side, celebrating her secret mysteries behind locked doors. Practically nothing is known about them, except that they were exclusively women only.” An interesting coincidence here too! There seem to be at least two cavernous rocks in Macedonia that have proven to be observatories, with a precise cosmological application, in the proximity of the Neolithic settlements where the Great Mother Goddess was venerated. Now, there is a binding logic to assume that the Neolithic settlements were connected to the megalithic observatory in Kokino, as well as that of Tzotze’s Rock, which served as temples to these people. Now, reflecting on the archeological evidence, as well as certain historical accounts on the matter, can we assume that the origins of the Magna Mater cult were in Macedonia? The Neolithic settlements in Macedonia are filled with figurines of the Great Mother Goddess. There are cavernous rocks in the region that must have served as temples to this culture, where spirituality shaped a certain reality in the minds of those people to that extent as to create an artifact like Adam of Macedonia, or to perform magical music 7 on an instrument as that of the 6000 years old ocarina 8.
7
Dragan Dautovski Quartet performed on April 19, 2007, at the Universal Hall in Skopje, and Dautovski, well known Macedonian instrumentalist, played live on a 6000-year-old music instrument called ocarina, which was revealed at the archeological site near village Chaska in Veles. Dautovski said prior to the concert that he did not feel nervous or excited too much, adding that he was very calm because the sound of past will be heard through music, which is in the spirit of the flute and our ancestors. The ocarina is a ball flute dating from the Neolithic and is a well preserved and exclusively attractive music instrument, which Dautovski will play for several minutes. According to Dautovski, ocarina makes three tones and he has come to 16 tones with a methodological approach. This is a unique instrument of such kind found in Europe. The concert of Dragan Dautovski Quartet was the first step in presentation of the instrument ocarina. Further world promotion of the instrument will be under the name “Flute of Macedonia”. 8
The flute was discovered in 1989 at the archaeological site “Mramorot”, near the village Chashka, Veles, a Neolithic settlement dating between 5000-4000 BC. The Spherical flute is made out of red cleaned clay that in the firing process obtained dark brown color. Its diameter is 4,7cm and it has three small perforations- a spout and two openings for regulation of the tones. The Spherical flute was exhibited together with several other clay instruments (ocarinas) that are dated more recently.
Mystery aside, but when you hear the sound of this prehistoric instrument, you are immediately taken to a kind of Shakespearean silvan paradise, where the shapes twist and allow you to enter another realm, that of magic. Could it be that these were simply primitive people, or more likely very sophisticated spiritual beings?
When I said that these people seemed very quiet, almost mute, I was not thinking only of the magical sounds they enjoyed listening, but the very few words they recorded down, most of it on rocks or huge stone blocks that have preserved their messages from those times. It seems as if these stargazers were carving constellations on the rocks and thus created signs to match their fancy that compelled them to record it for whatever purpose they must have had.
A carved stone from Mlado Nagoricani
(5000-4500 B.C.)
An ancient inscription from Ilina Gora or Tsrna Loma in Osinchani, near Skopje (7000 - 6000 B.C.)
This brings us closer to the Vinca culture 9, yet another mystery of the Balkans that demands unraveling. All of these locations appear to be part of a larger cultural context that stretched throughout the Balkans, as far north as the Danube region, maybe even further. The Vinča culture was an early culture of Europe (between the 6th and the 3rd millennium BC), stretching around the course of Danube in Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Macedonia, although traces of it can be found all around the Balkans, parts of Central Europe and Asia Minor. 9
The Vinča signs, also known as the Vinča alphabet, Vinča-Turdaş script, or Old European script, are a set of symbols found on prehistoric artifacts from southeastern Europe. Some believe they constitute a writing system of the Vinča culture, which inhabited the region around 6000-4000 BC. Others doubt that the markings represent writing at all, citing the brevity of the purported inscriptions and the dearth of repeated symbols in the purported script; it is all but universally accepted among scholars that the Sumerian cuneiform script of c. 3000 BC is the earliest form of writing. It is more likely that the symbols formed a kind of "proto-writing"; that is, that they conveyed a message but did not encode language. (Wikipedia)
Now, just another one of my cranking-offs, but, could this be a single cultural body that has created a matriarchal society with a sophisticated spiritual viewpoint, which allowed art to flourish, maybe not in a commercial way, but rather mystical, with a yet profound perspective on life as part of a larger whole, like that of the planet Earth? Could these people have known something more insightful than what we do today? The signs that do not seem to encode a language for some, were magical symbols, they conveyed much more than languages can ever do. They conveyed an understanding, a deep insight into the mystery of human existence, which was mostly an inner experience and was expressed only when its completion was achieved. This seems to unravel another aspect of human spirituality, the kind that preceded the aggressive patriarchal concept of attaining divinity. It seems that the next stage of human evolution, which we call recorded history, was not such advancement after all, considering how much damage it had contributed to, over the ages. It is not that writing did not exist prior to the SumeroBabylonian, or for that matter Phoenician and Greek scripts, it was rather not used for recording history, but for performing magic, in order to attain the most optimal spiritual equilibrium that used to be so innate to the indigenous population of Europe, prior to the intrusion of the hoards, who obviously imposed the latter application of it. The aborigines of Europe were most probably the cultures that spread in the Balkans in the Neolithic period, who based their existence on concepts that were dramatically diverse from those that disrupted them, a phenomenon we call Indo-European migrations, which were most probably caused by climate changes, which could be associated to the Flood, as part of our collective memory, wherefrom certain cultures developed in peace, due to favorable conditions, while others were searching for better circumstances, and became hoards, which had developed a different mentality along the way, that of war and aggression. When these collided, the matriarchal society changed into patriarchal since men took up arms and started to fight the intruders to defend their territory. At least, that is what it appears like. In order to show the possible spiritual dimension of the Great Mother Goddess cult in Macedonia, that was the dominant belief system in the period from the 6th to the 3rd millennia, I will here present the core of the Magna Mater cult as revered in ancient Rome. An interesting coincidence rises from the fact that the Magna Mater cult, which had temples mainly in Phrygia, Greece and Italy, had the main temple in Rome, where the Vatican currently lies. It is possible that some parts of it remain below St. Peter’s Cathedral, maybe even the sacred stone. Another major temple was in Delphi, which was later re-consecrated to Apollo and became much more famous for his oracle. Unlike the Delphi oracle, the temple in Dodona 10, which can be associated to the Pelasgians, was dedicated to the Great Mother Goddess, and has sustained this position ever since its beginnings. It has never altered its function, and though it never eclipsed the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, Dodona gained a reputation far beyond the Hellenic world.
10
Dodona in Epirus in northwestern Greece, was a prehistoric oracle devoted to the Mother Goddess identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia, but here called Dione and later, in historical times also to the god Zeus. The shrine of Dodona was the oldest Hellenic oracle, according to the fifth-century historian Herodotus and in fact dates to preHellenic times, perhaps as early as the second millennium BCE. The Iliad also refers to "Pelasgic Zeus", living in and ruling over Dodona which must be the oracular one in Epirus. (Wikipedia)
Could the Church of Vatican have been founded on the site of yet another more ancient cult dedicated to the veneration of the Great Mother Goddess in Rome? Could this indicate a connection between the early Christian cult to that of the Magna Mater? Regardless the suggestiveness of the location, there are other elements that we need to take into consideration before we draw any conclusions. According to Sanders, the Great Mother encompassed all things living and growing, all parts of the life cycle from birth to death. In its original form the Life-magick of the cult was mainly directed towards healing and fertility. Later some parts of the cult began turning more and more mystical, seeking to use Life to reach deeper goals, often used in complement with ecstasy and secret rites. Both the priestesses and priests studied Life primarily, but the priests were the only ones studying Time using their dances and the priestesses Spirit and Entropy using their orgies and blood magick. This coincides with the megalithic observatories in Macedonia which are located in the vicinity of the Neolithic settlements where the Great Mother Goddess was evidently venerated. Allow me to present Anders Sandberg’s 11 summary on the belief system of the Magna Mater cult in general: Prayer to the Great Mother: All spheres. Sacred stone or Idol: Life, Correspondence. Many stones were meteorites (like the stone in Mecca). Other sacred stones were menhirs or monoliths, which were reputed to gather the power of the Earth Mother and give it to women who touched them. In some cases caves or wells were used. Blood: Spirit. By pouring the blood as a sacrifice, the spirits would gather to feed on it. This was often combined with the taurobolium. Ecstasy: Entropy. The total dissolution of everything. It was most frequently achieved through complete orgies, where decency, reason and everything else was cast aside for the primal chaos. Sex or male genitals: Prime. The origin of everything. The genitals of the sacrificial bulls were often used, and sometimes the genitals of the gelli. Some priestesses conserved them, leathered the skin 11
Anders Sandberg (born July 11, 1972) is a science debater, futurist, transhumanist, and author. He holds a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University and is currently postdoctoral research assistant for the Oxford group of the EU ENHANCE Project at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute (Faculty of Philosophy, Oxford University).
and made them portable foci, but fresh genitals were always regarded as the most powerful. Dance: Time. All of this coincides with the archeological evidence from the Great Mother Goddess cult in Macedonia, as well as the Vinca culture, including the megalithic observatories, such as Kokino which was used for studying Time, and Tzotze’s stone used for wine rituals, or ritualistic orgies to the veneration of the primal chaos, along with the dances as presented on the walls of the cavernous compartments. The oral tradition, which was an integral part of this cult, along with the rituals have developed into several rotes, according to Anders Sandberg: Herbal Remedy (Life 1 Mind 1) Many of the priests and priestesses were great healers. Their secret was to first study the patient, and then almost instinctively know the right herbs or methods to heal the disease. They often wandered the countryside or parks, studying the plants (and animals) of the Mother, seeing which would work best for which disease. The Mother's Blessing (Life 2/3/4) The sacred stones were filled with the life-giving power of the Great Mother, and a priestess could tap it by caressing them and praying to Her. Some of the more frivolous priestesses invoked her to renew their strength after a night of lovemaking, or to support their partners. A more common use was to pray to the mother for fertility, and in some cases She granted it even to virgins after they had embraced the stone with unusual fervour. Such children were always regarded as having a great destiny, and were often recruited to the cult. Omphalos (Correspondence 2 Forces 2) Sometimes the temples of the Mother had to communicate in matters of grave importance. Many of the holy stones were regarded as the centre of creation by the local believers, and in a way they were all tied together (it was not uncommon for such stones to be engraved in a net-like pattern). By praying aloud and beating their fists against the stone in rhythm with the prayer, they could make their prayers faintly heard in all other temples of the Mother. This was especially prominent in the sacred caves or wells, in which could sometimes be heard whispering prayers from other places. Call Forth the Servants of the Mother (Life 2 Mind 2) Cybele had always a strong affinity for the great cats, and her priestesses retain it to some extent. By praying to the Mother they can make all great cats look upon them as their friends, and also obey them (a no mean feat for cats). However, the link is two-way; a priestess would never consciously harm any of the animals or put them in unnecessary danger as long as the friendship
granted by the prayer is active. Reputedly the priestesses could call forth the fauns and satyrs by playing the pipes in the same fashion. Resurrection of Attis (Life 4, Prime 2, Spirit 2) This was the version of the Song of Orpheus the priestesses used to bring about a resurrection similar to the resurrection of Attis. It was not anything for the squeamish. They placed the body before the sacred stone and began to chant prayers to the Mother for three days (often professional weepers were hired to cry and lament in the background). During the time the body was anointed with oils and blood. As a final act, male subjects were castrated and female subjects awakened by ritual intercourse with a male the priestesses had possessed with the power of Pan. The castration could never be healed or the subject would die again. On the good side, by going through this rite the subject will always have a close tie to Attis, and partially become the living embodiment of the fertility god. I remember when my grandma (from my mother’s side) died, a group of three women that I had never seen before, who were obviously distant relatives to my grandma, came to the house, positioned themselves close to the coffin where my grandma was placed for visitors to pay respect, and all of a sudden they started mourning, or better say weeping in feats of lamentation that could make even the most insensitive heart break into a deep healing cry. They were weeping through a song, a distinct mourning type of singing, where they retold in brief my grandma’s life, mentioning all her family members, all her good deeds, everything that was worth remembering. At that time, everyone considered this as an act of brute simplicity, something that was avoided during the socialistic era of generating a civic society, aside from what was believed to be the superstition that shaped the previous eras. Today, this brute act represents the most sacred relic that oral tradition has preserved until modern times from what was once the veneration of the Great Mother Goddess, as it seems to me. There is another coincidence to add to this pantomimic revelation. Apparently, as the works of the apostles reveal, after Mary the Mother of God died, her coffin was taken by the followers of Christ and carried with greatest honours to the place of burial, accompanied with funeral songs. Could these songs be the same that I heard on my grandma’s funeral? Were maybe the early Christians related to the Great Mother Goddess cult? Was the resurrection of Christ in a way an edited version of the resurrection of Attis rite? There are lot of questions that need deeper analysis, however, for the time being, we will focus on what archeology points at, and say that many references to the Cybele cult in Phrygia, or the Magna Mater cult in Rome, have their analogies in the Great Mother Goddess culture that evidently emerged in Neolithic Macedonia, thus providing a historical context in which a continuum can be noticed. Anyway, the question that remains is who were those people that worshiped the Great Mother Goddess in prehistoric Macedon? Who were the children of the Great Mother? Which were the earliest historical accounts on the indigenous population of Macedonia, prior to the intrusions?
Let us take a step further in unraveling the mystery of these people whose Motherland 12, has always been Macedonia.
12
Macedonia, as it seems derives from a Hellenized form of the original name of the people who inhabited the land of the Great Mother Goddess. Some etymological connection can be seen in the term Majka, Makea (Mother) and the collective plural of “dom� in modern Macedonian Domje (Homes). Thus Makedomje (Motherland) could be, and this is merely a speculation, the indigenous name for the Hellenistic form Makednoi, similar to Khufu (in Greek known as Cheops). There are other etymologies for the name Macedonia, one being that it contains the root form Majka, Makea (Mother) and the morpheme Dona (Lady), thus creating Makedonia - the Lady Mother, or simply the Great Mother.