04.07.07
Easter or Eostre?
My friends are well aware of my interest (obsession) with mythology and in finding, and pointing out, all the remnants of ancient beliefs that have carried over to our time. It should be no surprise that Easter (or Eostre, pronounced the same) goes way back to a Saxon goddess named Eostre. She was the goddess of fertility and the spring and was represented by (you guessed it) a hare (rabbit…the Easter Bunny, see the connection). Her festival was celebrated as a rite of spring with a feast and much merry making. And being a goddess of fertility you might imagine what that merry making may have consisted of (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more).
In fact, you can follow the tradition all the way back to the dawn of civilization – to the Sumerian goddess Inanna, who was adopted by the conquering Babylonians & Assyrians and called Ishtar, who was then adopted by the conquered Israelites as Ashtoreth. She was also a large part of the Mediteranian civilizations under the names Hathor, Aphrodite, Demeter & Astarte.
Just another piece of useless information that can be filed away under “nothing new under the sun”. In any event, enjoy your spring festival, whatever you may call it.
