Keep underworld goddess out of the basement, pagans tell British Museum

‘It is an icon, an emblem of humanity’s connection since antiquity and across borders on empires and countries’

‘We think the British Museum will soon realise the living importance of this stunning item from its collections’

THE British Museum’s plan to remove a statue depicting an ancient goddess has prompted thousands of pagan and witchcraft followers to campaign for its permanent display.

The marble statue of Hekate, which dates from around AD 161 to 200, is on display in the museum as part of its exhibition: Feminine Power: the Divine to the Demonic, which analyses how various traditions viewed femininity over the past 5,000 years.

Hekate is the goddess of witchcraft and magic and, during the Roman era, many of her qualities were linked to the realm of the underworld.

The statue is usually kept in the museum’s basement, and has only been put on display as part of the current exhibition. It is scheduled to be removed and placed back in storage later this month.

However, the restored 3ft-high statue from the Lazio region of Italy, which depicts three goddesses forged together, has roused the pagan, witchcraft and polytheist community.

It claims there are an increasing number of devotees of the goddess, regarded as the Lady of the Three Worlds, and they are calling for her statue to be on permanent display and have launched a petition to keep the “very important icon above ground”.

Their petition, which has acquired almost 4,000 of its intended 5,000 signatories, is being led by Christina Moraiti, a polytheist who calls herself as “a devotee of the Goddess Hekate”.

Ms Moraiti, who lives in Athens, is also a “torchbearer” at the Covenant of Hekate, a community of worshippers of the goddess. Her petition reads: “The statue will be placed in the basement’s storage again, where it has been for decades with no access to it.

“Outside the walls of the museum, there is a wave of new worshippers of Hekate who have a keen interest in seeing this cult statue from the Roman world remain available to visit.

“For us, it is a very important icon, an emblem of humanity’s connection since antiquity and across borders on empires and countries. A treasure.

“We request that the British Museum kindly find a place accessible to the public for the Statue of the Goddess Hekate. There are signatories below from many countries as well as a wide spread of people across the UK.

“We think the British Museum will soon realise the living importance of this [stunning] item from its collections. We would like the Lady of the Three Worlds to remain above ground, or a space below ground to be made available for her light-bearing presence.”

She concluded: “Cultural heritage belongs to us all. Devotee of Hekate or not, please help us keep this unique statue on display for the world to admire the Goddess of the Crossroads.”

A British Museum spokesman said: “[We] lend over 5,000 objects every year as part of the museum’s widereaching national and international loans. Objects from the collection are available to visitors to view in our temporary exhibitions, the permanent galleries and can also be seen in our study rooms by appointment.”