Prende or Premte[note 1] is the goddess of dawn, love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology.[4] She is also called Afër-dita,[5] an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn",[6][note 2] in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star.[10][note 3] Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja (Gheg Albanian: e prende, prendja[12]).[13] In Albanian mythology Prende appears as the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.[14]
Thought to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity,[15] Prende is identified with the cult of Venus and she was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women, until recent times. Originally a pre-Christian deity, she was called "Saint Veneranda" (ShënePremte[1] or Shën Prende[16]), identified by the Catholic Church as Saint Anne, mother of Virgin Mary. She was so popular in Albania that over one in eight of the Catholic churches existing in the late 16th and the early 17th centuries were named after her. Many other historical Catholic and Orthodox churches were dedicated to her in the 18th and 19th centuries.[1]
Prende is also called Afërdita[17] (Afêrdita in Gheg Albanian[9]) in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star, which in Albanian is referred to as (h)ylli i dritës, Afërdita "the Star of Light, Afërdita" (i.e. Venus, the morning star)[9] and (h)ylli i mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star).[11]Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn",[18] is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus.[7][8]Afro-dita is its Albanian imperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn".[19]
In northern Albania, Prende is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris "Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty".[21][1][22]
Etymology
The Albanian name Premtë or P(ë)rende is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart Περσεφάττα (Persephatta), a variant of Περσεφόνη (Persephone).[2][3] The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European*pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through").[2]
The Albanian phrase afro dita 'come forth the day/dawn' traces back to Proto-Albanian*apro dītā 'come forth brightness of the day/dawn', from Indo-European *h₂epero déh₂itis.[23] The theonym Aprodita is attested in Messapic inscriptions in Apulia.
According to some Albanian traditions, Prende is the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.[14] Associated with the dawn goddess, the epithet "daughter of the sky-god" is commonly found in Indo-European traditions (cf. H₂éwsōs#Epithets).
According to folk beliefs, swallows, called Pulat e Zojës "the Lady's Birds", pull Prende across the sky in her chariot. Swallows are connected to the chariot by the rainbow (Ylberi), which the people also call Brezi or Shoka e Zojës "the Lady's Belt".[9][1]
The common Albanian name nepërkë for the venomous snake adder, viper appears in the Arbëresh variety of Calabria as nepromtja, probably based on Prende / Premte.[26]
Worship
Prende was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women until recent times. Prende's festival was celebrated on July 26 every year, and her devotees would don beautiful clothing and would set out a mortar and pestle as a representation of sexual union.[1]Rainbow is regarded in popular beliefs as Prende's belt, and oral legend has it that anyone who jumps over the rainbow changes his sex.[1] The goddess Prende is associated in Albanian folk beliefs with the cult of the planet Venus (Afërdita in Albanian).[9][17]
When Albania became Christianized in antiquity, Prende was identified by the Catholic Church as Saint Anne, mother of Virgin Mary, and was called "Saint Veneranda" (Tosk Albanian: ShënePremte[1] or Gheg Albanian: Shën Prende[16]), later also associated with GreekParaskevi, RomanianSfânta Paraschiva, South SlavicPetka.[27] Another Albanian Christian saint thought by some to have a non-Christian origin is Gjin.
Prende was so popular in Albania that of the some 275 Catholic churches recorded to have existed in Albania in the late 16th and the early 17th centuries, 33 were named after her, more than to any other saint except Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas. Many other historical Catholic and Orthodox churches were dedicated to her in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the Kurbin valley pilgrimages to the church of Saint Veneranda were common among both Christians and Muslims. There people went also in the hope of a cure for mental illness.[1]
As is usual in many cultures, in Albania the day sacred to the goddess of love is Friday, named in the Albanian language after her: dita e premte, premtja (Gheg Albanian: dita e prende, prendja[12]).[25][1]
^Dialectal variants include: Gheg AlbanianP(ë)rende (def.P(ë)renda), Pren(n)e (def.Pren(n)a); Tosk Albanian: Premte (def.Premtja), Preme (def.Prema). The Albanian name is thought to be a cognate with the Ancient GreekΠερσεφάτταPersephatta, a variant of Persephone, both from the Indo-European*pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through").[2][3]
^Afërdita[7][8] or Gheg Albanian: Afêrdita[9] is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus; Afro-dita is its Albanian imperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn".[3]
^Albanian: (h)ylli i dritës, Afërdita "the Star of Light, Afërdita" (i.e. Venus, the morning star)[9] and (h)ylli i mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star).[11]
Treimer, Karl (1971). "Zur Rückerschliessung der illyrischen Götterwelt und ihre Bedeutung für die südslawische Philologie". In Henrik Barić (ed.). Arhiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju. Vol. I. R. Trofenik. pp. 27–33.
