Zisa (goddess)

Cisa ( CYSA, Ciza, Zisa ) is an alleged goddess, said to have been formerly revered in Augsburg.

Tradition

The goddess is mentioned in several medieval sources (12th - 14th century). The uniform in the various books text is referred to as an excerpt from a Gallic history ( excerptum ex Gallica historia ). Also Goldast Melchior took over the text almost verbatim. In the pseudo-historical text that describes an alleged victory over the Romans, and the worship of the goddess Suebian Cisa is mentioned. According to her Augsburg to have been formerly called Cizarim. 'm The Goddess, the sources said, had a wooden temple in barbaric way and its own feast day of this Cize, which was celebrated with games and amusements, namely on day 59 after August 1, ie on 28 September.

Reception

Besides Goldast other authors have processed the text, so the clergyman Küchlin in his praise tradition of Augsburg ( 1440 ) in honor of the Augsburg Mayor Peter Egen:

The mountain on which the temple had stood, was named after Küchlin Zisenberk.

The librarian Christian August Vulpius (1762-1827) resulted in his 1826 published mythological manual Ciza as Sorbian goddess of fertility and " Cisara as a kind of Ceres at the Vindeliciern " which had an altar in Augsburg. At their festivals grain was poured into vessels.

Religion research

Jacob Grimm printed in his seminal work of German mythology from the medieval texts. Although he noted that the medieval text is interspersed with " incurable contradictions ," he gave the report on the Cisa faith:

Grimm tried a relationship with those mentioned by Tacitus Isis produce and came to the conclusion that Cisa had surely been the most feminine of Ziu. The peculiar name Cisara for Augsburg he interpreted as * Cisae ara, " CISAS altar ". In addendum he calls other place names that might be named after the goddess, including the Rhaetian Zizers.

Later researchers agree that the pseudo-historical text, with its anachronistic inconsistencies simply do not have a trusted source value and the goddess Cisa thus " be deleted from the faith ideas of the ancient Germans " was.

In neopaganen circles Zisa is partly regarded as historical goddess.