Hretha by Persephone

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Hretha
	Of all the gods and goddesses of the Heathen Anglo-Saxons, the one that is seemingly the most obscure is Hretha. The only mention of her is by Bede in his De Temporum Ratione, in which he says that March was called Hrethmonath by the Heathen Anglo-Saxons, on account of the custom of sacrificing to her during that month. It has been pointed out that because the name Hretha means fame or honour, it could signal that Hretha was a warrior goddess, possibly similar to the Norse Valkyries or Anglo-Saxon Waelcyrges. Its interesting to note that the corresponding Roman name for Hrethmonath is March, which is named in honour of the Roman war god Mars, both months seemingly named after war/warrior deities, coincidence or not. Hrethmonath is what could be considered the last of the winter months, and the image of Hretha as a powerful warrior goddess would be better suited to this season rather than summer, which is associated with earth, harvest and fertility gods and goddesses. So if we view Hretha as this goddess of war and victory, what is the war she is fighting, and why were the Heathens sacrificing to her. Well the answer could be that they viewed Hretha as a goddess whom battles and defeats winter, and paves the way clear for the arrival of Eostre and summer. Winter for the Heathens in these ancient days would have been far harsher than for us today. So it makes sense that the passing, or defeat, of winter would have been celebrated so enthusiastically. And to the Anglo-Saxon Heathens, this defeat of winter could possibly have been achieved through the bravery of their goddess Hretha, and in praise of her bravery they dedicated a month to her, calling it Hrethmonath, or the month of Hretha..