[Greek] Dodona is situated in northwestern Greece, in the region of Epirus. This ancient sanctuary and oracle of Zeus dates back as far as the third millennium BCE when the "earth mother" was worshipped here. Early in the second millennium BCE the worship of the "holy beech tree" sprang up (in other versions an oak tree) today the oak tree is preferred as the oak is sacred to Zeus. During the 13th and 14th centuries BCE the worship of the Pelasgian god Zeus was beginning to be established in Dodona, and the original earth goddess was renamed "Diona" and subsequently became the wife of Zeus (Dias). They both lived among the branches of the holy tree, where the seer-priests interpreted what the god spoke from the rustling of the leaves. In the early period there were no buildings as such and according to Homer's epic poem the Iliad, (circa 750 BCE) the priests "slept on the ground, with unwashed feet". But Herodotus wrote (circa 435 BCE) that priestesses had replaced the male priests. " T...
Read more ...