Velchanos, properly Welchanos (, ), Gelchanos (, ), or Elchanos (, ), is an ancient Minoan god associated with

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

and worshipped in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. He was one of the main deities in the Minoan pantheon, alongside a Mother Goddess figure who appears to have been his mother and consort, with the two participating in an

hieros gamos ''Hieros gamos'', (from and 'marriage') or hierogamy (, 'holy marriage') is a sacred marriage that takes place between gods, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities. The notion of ''hieros ...

. The cult of Velchanos was likely influenced by the

Mesopotamian deity Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', a ...

Dumuzid Dumuzid or Dumuzi or Tammuz (; ; ), known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd () and to the Canaanites as Adon (; Proto-Hebrew: 𐤀𐤃𐤍), is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian and :Levantine mythology, Levantine de ...

. Following the rise of

Mycenaean Greece Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainla ...

and contact with the Minoans, Velchanos' cult influenced that of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

, who was at times referred to by Greeks under the name Zeus Velchanos. Other possible influences include the Roman deity Vulcan.

Origins

According to

Arthur Evans Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. The first excavations at the Minoan palace of Knossos on the List of islands of Greece, Gree ...

, a tree cult played one of the most important aspects of the

Minoan religion Minoan religion was the religion of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization of Crete. In the absence of readable texts from most of the period, modern scholars have reconstructed it almost totally on the basis of archaeological evidence such as Minoa ...

in ancient

. In this cult, two deities were worshipped; one male and one female. In this tree cult, while the

Mother Goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...

was viewed as a personification of tree-vegetation, the male god formed a "concrete image of the

itself in the shape of a divine child or a youth", with the two forming a mother and child relationship. Given the role of the ''

'' between the two, it has been theorized that Velchanos was partially based on the

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary o ...

Worship

Mycenaean period

The Minoans viewed Velchanos as less powerful than the goddess. At some point, the

Mycenaean civilization Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainla ...

came in contact with the Minoans and identified their own god

with the Cretan god. This

religious syncretism Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition. This can occur for many reasons, where religious traditions exist in proximity to each ...

led to Zeus obtaining some of Velchanos' traits, with his mythology also being affected; henceforth, Zeus was stated to have been born in Crete and was often represented as a beardless youth. He was also venerated as Zeus Velchanos.

Hellenistic period

In the 4th century BC, during the beginning of the

Hellenistic era In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the Roma ...

Hagia Triada Hagia Triada (also Haghia Triada, Hagia Triadha, Ayia Triada, Agia Triada), () is a Minoan archaeological site in Crete. The site includes the remains of an extensive settlement noted for its monumental NeoPalatial and PostPalatial period build ...

fell under the control of the ''

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'' of

Phaistos Phaistos (, ; Ancient Greek: , , Linear B: ''Pa-i-to''; Linear A: ''Pa-i-to''), also Transliteration, transliterated as Phaestos, Festos and Latin Phaestus, is a Bronze Age archaeological site at modern Faistos, a municipality in south centr ...

and was reinstated as a place of worship. In this period, an ''

aedicula In religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a Niche (architecture), niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns an ...

'' was installed over a

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

in honor of Zeus Velchanos. In the same location, a bull

protome A protome ( Greek: προτομή) is a type of adornment that takes the form of the head and upper torso of either a human or an animal. History Protomes were often used to decorate ancient Greek architecture, sculpture, and pottery. Protomes ...

was also found, built around the 2nd century BC, which is attributed to the shrine of Velchanos. Velchanos appears to have been worshipped in

Gortyna Gortyna (; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of Byzantium it was or ...

as well, as coins depicting him have been found. Velchanus' main festival, the Velchania, was likely celebrated in the Cretan ''poleis'' of Gortyna,

Lyttos Lyktos (Greek: or ) was a city in ancient Crete. During the Classical and Roman periods, it was one of the major settlements on the island. Its ruins are located near the modern-day village of Lyttos in the municipality of Minoa Pediada, He ...

, and

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

Iconography

Coins from

depicted Zeus Velchanos with a cock in his lap. These coins also depicted him with an

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

tree. He was also depicted with a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

. At other times, Velchanos was depicted as an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

Influence

Given the similarities in naming, it has been suggested that Velchanos was an influence on Vulcan from

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

. A neighborhood dedicated to his worship is sometimes credited with the modern name of

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

on Crete.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Chthonic beings Greek mythology Minoan religion Minoan art Nature gods Zeus Vulcan (mythology)