Prende orPremte[note 1] is thedawn goddess, goddess oflove,beauty,fertility,health and protector of women, in theAlbanian pagan mythology.[4] She is also calledAfër-dita,[5] anAlbanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn",[6][note 2] in association with the cult of the planetVenus, the morning and evening star.[10][note 3] She is referred to asZoja Prenne orZoja e Bukuris ("Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty").[12][1][13] Her sacred day isFriday, named in Albanian after her:e premte,premtja (Gheg Albanian:e prende, prendja[14]).[15] She reflects features belonging to theoriginal Indo-European dawn goddess.[16] 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.[17]
Thought to have been worshiped by theIllyrians in antiquity,[18] Prende is identified with the cult ofVenus and she was worshipped in northernAlbania, especially by the Albanian women, until recent times. She features attributes also belonging toAphrodite,Iris, andHelen, as well asPersephone as shown by the etymology of her name.[16] Describing a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Albaniane Bukura e Dheut ("the Beauty of the Earth") is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of Persephone.[19]
In Christian times she was calledShënePremte[1] orShën Prende[20] ("Saint Veneranda"), identified by theCatholic Church asSaint Anne, mother ofVirgin 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]
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).
Prende is also calledAfërdita[21] (Afêrdita inGheg Albanian[9]) in association with the cult of the planetVenus, 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",[22] is the native Albanian name of the planet Venus.[7][8]Afro-dita is its Albanianimperative form meaning "come forth the day/dawn".[23]
The Albanian translation of "evening" is also rendered as πρέμεpremë in theAlbanian-Greek dictionary ofMarko Boçari.[24]
In northern Albania, Prende is referred to asZoja Prenne orZoja e Bukuris "Goddess/Lady Prenne" or "Goddess/Lady of Beauty".[12][1][13]
The Albanian namePremtë orP(ë)rende is thought to correspond regularly to theAncient Greek counterpartΠερσεφάττα (Persephatta), a variant ofΠερσεφόνη (Persephone).[2][3][16] The theonyms have been traced back to theIndo-European*pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through").[2][16]
The Albanian phraseafro dita 'come forth the day/dawn' traces back toProto-Albanian*apro dītā 'come forth brightness of the day/dawn', from Indo-European*h₂epero déh₂itis.[25] The theonymAprodita is attested inMessapic inscriptions inApulia, which is considered to be a Messapic theonym of an Indo-European goddess.[26]
In the Albanian pagan mythology Prende is the dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility and health.[28][9][29][2][16] She is considered theAlbanian equivalent of theRomanVenus,NorseFreyja andGreekAphrodite.[28][29] In mythological terms Prende has attributes that also belong to Aphrodite,Iris andHelen, and is considered to be etymologically related toPersephone.[16] Describing a goddess of the underworld and at the same time a personification of springtime, the Albaniane Bukura e Dheut ("the Beauty of the Earth") is evidently an epithet of the Albanian equivalent of Persephone.[19]
According to some Albanian traditions, Prende is the daughter ofZojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.[17] 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, calledPulat 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 callBrezi orShoka eZojës "the Lady's Belt".[9][1]
The common Albanian namenepërkë for the venomous snakeadder, viper appears in theArbëresh variety ofCalabria asnepromtja, probably based onPrende /Premte.[30]
Prende was worshipped in northernAlbania, 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 their sex.[1] The goddess Prende is associated in Albanian folk beliefs with the cult of the planetVenus (Afërdita in Albanian).[9][21]
WhenAlbania becameChristianized in antiquity, Prende was identified by the Catholic Church asSaint Anne, mother of Virgin Mary, and was called "Saint Veneranda" (Tosk Albanian:ShënePremte[1] orGheg Albanian:Shën Prende[20]), later also associated withGreekParaskevi,RomanianSfânta Paraschiva,South SlavicPetka.[31] Another Albanian Christian saint thought by some to have a non-Christian origin isGjin.
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 exceptVirgin Mary andSaint 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 theAlbanian language after her:dita e premte,premtja (Gheg Albanian:dita e prende, prendja[14]).[29][1]
Prende,Pren(n)e and their masculine counterpartsPrend,Preng,Prenk,Pren, etc., areAlbaniangiven names, traditionally found amongAlbanian Catholics.[32]
"Prende Publishing", from the publishing house Histria Books, was named for the Albanian goddess Prende.[33]
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