Isis Temple of Isis in Philae, Egypt Isis (Ancient Greek: Ἶσις, original Egyptian pronunciation more likely "Aset" or "Iset") is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic. She was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans and the downtrodden, but she also listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers.[1] Isis is often depicted as the mother of Horus, the hawk-headed god of war and protection (although in some traditions Horus's mother was Hathor). Isis is also known as protector of the dead and goddess of children. This myth became very important during the Greco-Roman period. Etymology[edit] The name Isis is the Greek version of her name, with a final -s added to the original Egyptian form because of the grammatical requirements of the Greek language (-s often being a marker of the nominative case in ancient Greek).
Hera Portrayed as majestic and solemn, often enthroned, and crowned with the polos (a high cylindrical crown worn by several of the Great Goddesses), Hera may bear a pomegranate in her hand, emblem of fertile blood and death and a substitute for the narcotic capsule of the opium poppy.[2] A scholar of Greek mythology Walter Burkert writes in Greek Religion, "Nevertheless, there are memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos."[3] Etymology[edit] The cult of Hera[edit] Hera may have been the first to whom the Greeks dedicated an enclosed roofed temple sanctuary, at Samos about 800 BC. We know that the temple created by the Rhoecus sculptors and architects was destroyed between 570- 60 BC. In Euboea the festival of the Great Daedala, sacred to Hera, was celebrated on a sixty-year cycle. Hera's early importance[edit] According to Walter Burkert, both Hera and Demeter have many characteristic attributes of pre-Greek Great Goddesses.[15] Epithets[edit]
Minerva Etruscan Menrva[edit] Stemming from an Italic moon goddess *Meneswā ('She who measures'), the Etruscans adopted the inherited Old Latin name, *Menerwā, thereby calling her Menrva. It is assumed that her Roman name, Minerva, is based on this Etruscan mythology, Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, war, art, schools and commerce. She was the Etruscan counterpart to Greek Athena. Like Athena, Minerva was born from the head of her father, Jupiter (Greek Zeus). Worship in Rome[edit] Raised-relief image of Minerva on a Roman gilt silver bowl, 1st century BC As Minerva Medica, she was the goddess of medicine and doctors. In Fasti III, Ovid called her the "goddess of a thousand works". The Romans celebrated her festival from March 19 to March 23 during the day which is called, in the neuter plural, Quinquatria, the fifth after the Ides of March, the nineteenth, an artisans' holiday . Universities and educational establishments[edit] Societies and governmental use[edit] See also[edit] References Sources
Heavenly Mother (Mormonism) The Heavenly Mother doctrine is mainly taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church),[1] the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ,[2][3] and branches of Mormon fundamentalism, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.[citation needed] The doctrine is not generally recognized by other faiths within the broader Latter Day Saint movement, such as the Community of Christ, where trinitarianism is predominant. In the LDS Church, the Heavenly Mother is sung about in church hymns and briefly discussed in church teaching manuals and sermons.[4] In the heavens are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare. Truth is reason: truth eternal tells me I've a mother there.When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you in your royal courts on high? Some early Mormons considered Snow to be a "prophetess".[10] Later, church president Joseph F. Early leader George Q. Early 20th-century church leader B.
Rhea (mythology) Rhea (or Cybele), after a marble, 1888. Then she hid Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete. According to varying versions of the story: Rhea only appears in Greek art from the fourth century BC, when her iconography draws on that of Cybele; the two therefore, often are indistinguishable;[10] both can be shown on a throne flanked by lions, riding a lion, or on a chariot drawn by two lions. Most often Rhea's symbol is a pair of lions, the ones that pulled her celestial chariot and were seen often, rampant, one on either side of the gateways through the walls to many cities in the ancient world. In Homer, Rhea is the mother of the gods, although not a universal mother like Cybele, the Phrygian Great Mother, with whom she was later identified.
Hathor Hathor (/ˈhæθɔr/ or /ˈhæθər/;[2] Egyptian: ḥwt-ḥr and from Greek: Άθωρ, "mansion of Horus")[1] is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of joy, feminine love, and motherhood.[3] She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Hathor was worshiped by Royalty and common people alike in whose tombs she is depicted as "Mistress of the West" welcoming the dead into the next life.[4] In other roles she was a goddess of music, dance, foreign lands and fertility who helped women in childbirth,[4] as well as the patron goddess of miners.[5] The cult of Hathor predates the historic period, and the roots of devotion to her are therefore difficult to trace, though it may be a development of predynastic cults which venerated fertility, and nature in general, represented by cows.[6] Hathor is commonly depicted as a cow goddess with horns in which is set a sun disk with Uraeus. Early depictions[edit] Temples[edit] Hesat[edit] Notes[edit]
Triple Goddess (Neopaganism) The Triple Goddess is the subject of much of the writing of Robert Graves, and has been adopted by many neopagans as one of their primary deities. The term triple goddess is infrequently used outside of Neopaganism to instead refer to historical goddess triads and single goddesses of three forms or aspects. In common Neopagan usage the three female figures are frequently described as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, each of which symbolizes both a separate stage in the female life cycle and a phase of the moon, and often rules one of the realms of earth, underworld, and the heavens. These may or may not be perceived as aspects of a greater single divinity. Many neopagan belief systems follow Graves in his use of the figure of the Triple Goddess, and it continues to be an influence on feminism, literature, Jungian psychology and literary criticism. Ronald Hutton writes: John Michael Greer writes: The triple goddess sign is identified with Greek moon goddesses:
Gayatri Illustration by Raja Ravi Verma. In illustrations, the goddess often sits on a lotus flower and appears with five heads and five pairs of hands, representing the incarnations of the goddess as Parvati, Saraswati etc. She is Saraswatī. Gayatri (Sanskrit: गायत्री, gāyatrī) is the feminine form of gāyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn, having a Vedic meter of 3 padas or lines of 8 syllables. Portrayal[edit] Gayatri is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth. Having five heads(Mukta, Vidruma, Hema, Neela, Dhavala) with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu & Lord Brahma.Accompanied by a white swan, holding a book to portray knowledge in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of Education. Gayatri is in fact the name applied to one of the most well known Vedic hymn consisting of twenty-four syllables. Gayatri later came to be personified as a goddess.
Durga Goddess Durga (Hindustani pronunciation: [ˈd̪uːrɡaː]; Sanskrit: दुर्गा), meaning "the inaccessible"[1] or "the invincible"; durga) is the most popular incarnation of Devi and one of the main forms of the Goddess Shakti in the Hindu pantheon. Durga is the original manifested form of Mother Adi-Parashakti. She is Adi- Parashakti herself. The Devi Gita also known as Parvati Gita declares her to be the greatest Goddess. Thus, She is considered the supreme Goddess and primary deity in Shaktism, occupying a place similar to Lord Krishna in Vaishnavism. According to Skanda Purana, Goddess Parvati accounted the name 'Durga' after she killed the demon Durgamaasura. Origins and development[edit] In the Devi Bhagavata Purana 9th book chapter one, Prakriti khanda Lord Narayana describes Durga as one of the 5 forms of Adi Shakti. Ramprasad Chanda writes the following about the development of Durga from primitive goddess to her current form .[2] Worship[edit] Maa Durga Western references[edit] Assam Bihar
Chandra In Hinduism, Chandra (Sanskrit चन्द्र lit, Telugu చంద్ర Tamil சந்திரன். "shining")[1] is a lunar deity and a Graha. Chandra is also identified with the Vedic Lunar deity Soma (lit. "juice").[2] The Soma name refers particularly to the juice of sap in the plants and thus makes the Moon the lord of plants and vegetation.[1] Chandra is described as young, beautiful, fair; two-armed and having in his hands a club and a lotus.[3] He rides his chariot across the sky every night, pulled by ten white horses or an antelope. In astrology[edit] Chandra with Rohini Chandra (pronounced "CHUHN-drah") is a Sanskrit name meaning "illustrious." According to Hindu mythology Chandra has not been very fortunate in life. Chandra is known for having a series of disastrous love affairs. Dark spot on the moon[edit] One popular story to account for the dark spot on the moon is that Ganesha, once filled with food, fell from his mouse and broke his stomach. Other uses[edit] Chandra Vansh of Kshatriyas[edit]
Devi Devi is, quintessentially, the core form of every Hindu Goddess. As the female manifestation of the supreme lord, she is also called Prakriti, as she balances out the male aspect of the divine addressed Purusha.[2] Devi is the supreme Being in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, while in the Smartha tradition, she is one of the five primary forms of God.[3][4] In other Hindu traditions of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Devi embodies the active energy and power of male deities (Purushas), such as Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Shaivism. Vishnu's shakti counterpart is called Lakshmi, with Parvati being the female shakti of Shiva. Origins[edit] Indus Valley[edit] Vedic period[edit] Manifestations[edit] Devi or the divine feminine is an equal counterpart to the divine masculine, and hence manifests herself as the Trinity herself - the Creator (Durga or the Divine Mother), Preserver (Lakshmi, Parvati and Saraswati) and Destroyer (Mahishasura-Mardini, Kali and Smashanakali). Mahadevi[edit] Durga[edit]