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Neaate
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Neaates are religious amulets of the Cycladic culture, developed in the islands of the Aegean Sea in 3300 - 2000 BC. Unlike Cycladic idols, they are believed not to be associated with death rites or natural powers, but rather as spiritual guides. They were carried on during the journeys outside the homeland, and unlike psychopomp divinities, they escort souls belonging to living, and not death creatures. They were thought to have psychodialogic powers. Neaates escort, dialogue and comfort the carrier during their lifetime. Unlike most of cycladic ritual objects, Neaates are not anthopomorphic, but strigidaemorphic, and it is for this reason acknowledged as the ancestor of Athena's owl attribute . Athena's own etymology has been found in the inverted syllabic anagram of Nea-ate, as a result of ritual repetition. It is unknown whether the name has prehellenic origins, although the greek prefix nea- ('new') is often interpreted. |
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