Mother goddess Mother goddess is a term used to refer to a goddess who represents and/or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. Many different goddesses have represented motherhood in one way or another, and some have been associated with the birth of humanity as a whole, along with the universe and everything in it. Others have represented the fertility of the earth. Paleolithic figures[edit] The Venus of Dolní Věstonice, one of the earliest known depictions of the human body, dates to approximately 29,000–25,000 BC (Gravettian culture of the Upper Paleolithic era) Neolithic figures[edit] "Bird Lady" a Neolithic Egyptian ceramic, Naganda IIa Predynastic 3500-3400 BCE, Brooklyn Museum Old Europe[edit] Examples[edit] Egyptian[edit] Indigenous people of the Americas[edit] Aztec[edit] Anatolia[edit]
Cybele Cybele (/ˈsɪbɨliː/; Phrygian: Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya "Kubeleyan Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Turkish Kibele; Lydian Kuvava; Greek: Κυβέλη Kybele, Κυβήβη Kybebe, Κύβελις Kybelis) was an originally Anatolian mother goddess; she has a possible precursor in the earliest neolithic at Çatalhöyük (in the Konya region) where the statue of a pregnant goddess seated on a lion throne was found in a granary. She is Phrygia's only known goddess, and was probably its state deity. Her Phrygian cult was adopted and adapted by Greek colonists of Asia Minor and spread from there to mainland Greece and its more distant western colonies from around the 6th century BCE. In Rome, Cybele was known as Magna Mater ("Great Mother"). Cult origins and development[edit] Anatolia[edit] The eroded rock-statue of Cybele at Mount Sipylus, in an early 20th-century French postcard No contemporary text or myth survives to attest the original character and nature of Cybele's Phrygian cult. Greece[edit] Temples[edit]
Artemis In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis (Ancient Greek: Ἄρτεμις) was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and protector of young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows.[6] The deer and the cypress were sacred to her. In later Hellenistic times, she even assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth. Etymology Didrachm from Ephesus, Ionia, representing the goddess Artemis Silver tetradrachm of the Indo-Greek king Artemidoros (whose name means "gift of Artemis"), c. 85 BCE, featuring Artemis with a drawn bow and a quiver on her back on the reverse of the coin Artemis in mythology Leto bore Apollon and Artemis, delighting in arrows, Both of lovely shape like none of the heavenly gods, As she joined in love to the Aegis-bearing ruler. Birth Childhood Intimacy Actaeon
Anatolia Coordinates: Definition[edit] The traditional definition of Anatolia within modern Turkey[2][3] The Anatolian peninsula, also called Asia Minor, is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, and the Sea of Marmara to the northwest, which separates Anatolia from Thrace in Europe. However, following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, Anatolia was defined by the Turkish government as being effectively co-terminous with Asian Turkey. Turkey's First Geography Congress in 1941 created two regions to the east of the Gulf of Iskenderun-Black Sea line named the Eastern Anatolia Region and the Southeastern Anatolia Region,[4] the former largely corresponding to the western part of the Armenian Highland, the latter to the northern part of the Mesopotamian plain. Etymology[edit] In English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. 1369. History[edit] Prehistory and antiquity[edit] Ancient regions of Anatolia (500 BC)
Persephone Persephone as a vegetation goddess and her mother Demeter were the central figures of the Eleusinian mysteries that predated the Olympian pantheon and promised the initiated a more enjoyable prospect after death. Persephone is further said to have become by Zeus the mother of Dionysus, Iacchus, or Zagreus, usually in orphic tradition. The origins of her cult are uncertain, but it was based on very old agrarian cults of agricultural communities. Name[edit] Etymology[edit] Persephone or "the deceased woman" holding a pomegranate. Persephatta (Περσεφάττα) is considered to mean "female thresher of corn," going by "perso-" relating to Sanskrit "parsa", "sheaf of corn" and the second constituent of the name originating in Proto-Indo European *-gʷʰn-t-ih, from the root *gʷʰen "to strike".[8] An alternative etymology is from φέρειν φόνον, pherein phonon, "to bring (or cause) death".[9] John Chadwick speculatively relates the name of Persephone with the name of Perse, daughter of Oceanus.[12] Italy.
Ninhursag In Sumerian mythology, Ninhursag (𒊩𒌆𒉺𒂅 Ninḫursag) or Ninkharsag[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] was a mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She is principally a fertility goddess. Temple hymn sources identify her as the 'true and great lady of heaven' (possibly in relation to her standing on the mountain) and kings of Sumer were 'nourished by Ninhursag's milk'. Her hair is sometimes depicted in an omega shape, and she at times wears a horned head-dress and tiered skirt, often with bow cases at her shoulders, and not infrequently carries a mace or baton surmounted by an omega motif or a derivation, sometimes accompanied by a lion cub on a leash. She is the tutelary deity to several Sumerian leaders. Names[edit] According to legend her name was changed from Ninmah to Ninhursag by her son Ninurta in order to commemorate his creation of the mountains. As the wife and consort of Enki she was also referred to as Damgulanna or Damkina (faithful wife).
Astarte Astarte riding in a chariot with four branches protruding from roof, on the reverse of a Julia Maesa coin from Sidon Astarte /æˈstɑrti/ (Ancient Greek: Ἀστάρτη, "Astártē") is the Greek name of the Mesopotamian (i.e. Assyrian, Akkadian, Babylonian) Semitic goddess Ishtar known throughout the Near East and Eastern Mediterranean from the early Bronze Age to Classical times. It is one of a number of names associated with the chief goddess or female divinity of those peoples.[1] She is found as Ugaritic 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 (ʻṯtrt, "ʻAṯtart" or "ʻAthtart"); in Phoenician as 𐤕𐤓𐤕𐤔𐤀 (ʻštrt, "Ashtart"); in Hebrew עשתרת (Ashtoret, singular, or Ashtarot, plural); and appears originally in Akkadian as 𒀭𒊍𒁯𒌓 D, the grammatically masculine name of the goddess Ishtar; the form Astartu is used to describe her age.[2] The name appears also in Etruscan as 𐌖𐌍𐌉 𐌀𐌔𐌕𐌛𐌄 Uni-Astre (Pyrgi Tablets), Ishtar or Ashtart. Overview[edit] Astarte was connected with fertility, sexuality, and war. See also[edit]
Ops In ancient Roman religion, Ops or Opis, (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth-goddess of Sabine origin. Mythology[edit] In Latin writings of the time, the singular}). According to Roman tradition, the cult of Opis was instituted by Titus Tatius, one of the Sabine kings of Rome. References[edit] Primary sources[edit] Livy Ab urbe condita libri XXIX.10.4-11.8, 14.5-14Lactantius, Divinae institutions I.13.2-4, 14.2-5 Secondary sources[edit] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).
Ishtar Ishtar (English pronunciation /ˈɪʃtɑːr/; Transliteration: DIŠTAR; Akkadian: 𒀭𒈹 ; Sumerian 𒀭𒌋𒁯) is the East Semitic Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex.[1] She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna, and is the cognate for the Northwest Semitic Aramean goddess Astarte. Characteristics[edit] Ishtar was the goddess of love, war, fertility, and sexuality. Ishtar was the daughter of Ninurta.[2] She was particularly worshipped in northern Mesopotamia, at the Assyrian cities of Nineveh, Ashur and Arbela (Erbil).[2] Besides the lions on her gate, her symbol is an eight-pointed star.[3] One type of depiction of Ishtar/Inanna Ishtar had many lovers; however, as Guirand notes, Descent into the underworld[edit] One of the most famous myths[5] about Ishtar describes her descent to the underworld. If thou openest not the gate to let me enter, I will break the door, I will wrench the lock, I will smash the door-posts, I will force the doors. In other media[edit]
Nammu For the village in Burma, see Nammu, Burma. In Sumerian mythology, Nammu (also Namma, spelled ideographically 𒀭𒇉 dNAMMA = dENGUR) was a primeval goddess, corresponding to Tiamat in Babylonian mythology. Nammu is not well attested in Sumerian mythology. She may have been of greater importance prehistorically, before Enki took over most of her functions. Reay Tannahill in Sex in History (1980) singled out Nammu as the "only female prime mover" in the cosmogonic myths of antiquity. [2] References[edit] External links[edit] Inanna Inanna (/ɪˈnænə/ or /ɪˈnɑːnə/; Cuneiform: 𒀭𒈹 DMUŠ3; Sumerian: Inanna; Akkadian: Ištar; Unicode: U+12239) is the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility, and warfare, and goddess of the E-Anna temple at the city of Uruk, her main centre. Part of the front of Inanna's temple from Uruk Origins[edit] Etymology[edit] Inanna's name derives from Lady of Heaven (Sumerian: nin-an-ak). Worship[edit] One version of the star symbol of Inanna/Ishtar Iconography[edit] Inanna's symbol is an eight-pointed star or a rosette.[10] She was associated with lions – even then a symbol of power – and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Inanna as the star, Venus[edit] Inanna was associated with the celestial planet Venus. Inanna's Descent to the Underworld explains how Inanna is able to, unlike any other deity, descend into the netherworld and return to the heavens. Character[edit] Inanna is the goddess of love – but not marriage. Myths[edit] Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta[edit]
Juno (mythology) Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans is apparent in her attire. She often appeared sitting pictured with a peacock[3] armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Hera, whose goatskin was called the 'aegis'. The name Juno was also once thought to be connected to Iove (Jove), originally as Diuno and Diove from *Diovona.[4] At the beginning of the 20th century, a derivation was proposed from iuven- (as in Latin iuvenis, "youth"), through a syncopated form iūn- (as in iūnix, "heifer", and iūnior, "younger"). Juno's theology is one of the most complex and disputed issues in Roman religion. While her connection with the idea of vital force, fulness of vital energy, eternal youthfulness is now generally acknowledged, the multiplicity and complexity of her personality have given rise to various and sometimes irreconcilable interpretations among modern scholars. A temple to Iuno Sospita was vowed by consul C.
Gaia (mythology) The Greek word γαῖα (transliterated as gaia) is a collateral form of γῆ[4] (gē, Doric γᾶ ga and probably δᾶ da)[5] meaning Earth,[6] a word of uncertain origin.[7] R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin.[8] In Mycenean Greek Ma-ka (trans. as Ma-ga, "Mother Gaia") also contains the root ga-.[9][10] According to Hesiod, Gaia conceived further offspring with Uranus, first the giant one-eyed Cyclopes: Brontes ("Thunder"), Steropes ("Lightning") and Arges ("Bright");[16] then the Hecatonchires: Cottus, Briareos and Gyges, each with a hundred arms and fifty heads.[17] As each of the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires were born, Uranus hid them in a secret place within Gaia, causing her great pain. Because Cronus had learned from Gaia and Uranus, that he was destined to be overthrown by his own child, Cronus swallowed each of the children born to him by his Titan sister Rhea. With Gaia's advice[21] Zeus defeated the Titans. In classical art Gaia was represented in one of two ways.