Prende

in Northern Albania. In Albanian folk beliefs the rainbow is regarded as "the belt of Zoja Prenne". Prende or Premte 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", in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. She is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris ("Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty"). Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja ( ). She reflects features belonging to the original Indo-European dawn goddess. 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. 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. 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.…

in Northern Albania. In Albanian folk beliefs the rainbow is regarded as "the belt of Zoja Prenne". ]] Prende or Premte 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", in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. She is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris ("Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty"). Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja ( ). She reflects features belonging to the original Indo-European dawn goddess. 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. 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. 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. In Christian times she was called ShënePremte or Shën Prende ("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. ===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 Afërdita (Afêrdita in Gheg Albanian ) 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) and (h)ylli i mbrëmjes, Afërdita (i.e. Venus, the evening star). Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn", is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus. Afro-dita is its Albanian imperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn". The Albanian translation of "evening" is also rendered as πρέμε premë in the Albanian-Greek dictionary of Marko Boçari. In northern Albania, Prende is referred to as Zoja Prenne or Zoja e Bukuris "Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty". ===Etymology=== The Albanian name or is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart (Persephatta), a variant of (Persephone). The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European *pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through"). 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. The theonym Aprodita is attested in Messapic inscriptions in Apulia, which is considered to be a Messapic theonym of an Indo-European goddess. ==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. "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 ==Notes==

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