Prende

File:Nje Peisazh i bukur kur mbi qytetin e Krumes dalin dy Ylbera.jpg

Rainbow in Northern Albania. In Albanian folk beliefs the rainbow is regarded as "the belt of Zoja Prenne".Template:Sfn

Prende or PremteTemplate:Refn is the dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology. She is also called Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn",Template:Refn in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star.Template:Refn She is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris ("Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty").Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja (Template:LangxTemplate:Sfn). She reflects features belonging to the original Indo-European dawn goddess.Template:Sfn A remarkable reflection associated with the Indo-European dawn goddess is the Albanian tradition according to which Prende is the daughter of the sky god – Zojz.Template:Sfn

Thought to have been worshiped by the Illyrians in antiquity, Prende is identified with the cult of Venus and she was worshipped in northern Albania, especially by the Albanian women, until recent times. She features attributes also belonging to Aphrodite, Iris, and Helen, as well as Persephone as shown by the etymology of her name.Template:Sfn Describing a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Albanian e Bukura e Dheut ("the Beauty of the Earth") is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of Persephone.Template:Sfn

In Christian times she was called ShënePremteTemplate:Sfn or Shën PrendeTemplate:Sfn ("Saint Veneranda"), 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.Template:Sfn

Name

Variants

Dialectal variants include: Gheg Albanian P(ë)rende (def. P(ë)renda), Pren(n)e (def. Pren(n)a); Tosk Albanian: Premte (def. Premtja), Preme (def. Prema).

Prende is also called AfërditaTemplate:Sfn (Afêrdita in Gheg AlbanianTemplate:Sfn) 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)Template:Sfn and (h)ylli i mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star).Template:Sfn Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn", is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Afro-dita is its Albanian imperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn".Template:Sfn

The Albanian translation of "evening" is also rendered as πρέμε premë in the Albanian-Greek dictionary of Marko Boçari.Template:Sfn

In northern Albania, Prende is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris "Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty".Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Etymology

The Albanian name or is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart (Persephatta), a variant of (Persephone).Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European *pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through").Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn The theonym Aprodita is attested in Messapic inscriptions in Apulia, which is considered to be a Messapic theonym of an Indo-European goddess.Template:Sfn

Role

In the Albanian pagan mythology Prende is the dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility and health.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn She is considered the Albanian equivalent of the Roman Venus, Norse Freyja and Greek Aphrodite.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In mythological terms Prende has attributes that also belong to Aphrodite, Iris and Helen, and is considered to be etymologically related to Persephone.Template:Sfn Describing a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Albanian e Bukura e Dheut ("the Beauty of the Earth") is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of Persephone.Template:Sfn

According to some Albanian traditions, Prende is the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.Template:Sfn 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".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn Rainbow is regarded in popular beliefs as Prende's belt, and oral legend has it that anyone who jumps over the rainbow changes their sex.Template:Sfn The goddess Prende is associated in Albanian folk beliefs with the cult of the planet Venus (Afërdita in Albanian).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

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" (Template:LangxTemplate:Sfn or Template:LangxTemplate:Sfn), later also associated with Greek Paraskevi, Romanian Sfânta Paraschiva, South Slavic Petka.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

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 (Template:LangxTemplate:Sfn).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

In popular culture

Prende, Pren(n)e and their masculine counterparts Prend, Preng, Prenk, Pren, etc., are Albanian given names, traditionally found among Albanian Catholics.Template:Sfn

"Prende Publishing", from the publishing house Histria Books, was named for the Albanian goddess Prende.

See also

• Albanian mythology
• Illyrian religion
• En
• Perëndi
• Venus
• Freyja