Ancient West Asian society utilizes a striking image that causes no end of confusion — the lady and the lion. Although not always identified, the lady generally appears to have been a goddess. Pairing a female figure with the most ferocious predator known in that society ripples with significance; there can be no question that the cultures involved were patriarchal, a fact of life in that part of the world at that time. If it was a man’s world, why depict the glorious lion with the feminine? Because we fear what we cannot control?

The infamous cult stand from Taanach

Ostensibly the rationale for this correlation may be traced back to Ishtar, the goddess sine pari of ancient Mesopotamia. The exact reason for her leonine associations is unknown yet she is among the fiercest females connected to warfare and strife in the ancient world. Her lion companions ranged over the realms of the Levant where other goddesses also assimilated her imagery. Curiously, one goddess who has no specifically leonine attributes is Asherah, the consort of the god most high, El. In Egypt the fierce goddess associated with war was Sekmet, often portrayed with a curiously male lion head.

Min, Qedeshet, and Resheph — a ménage à trios?

In an earlier post I suggested that the biblical prophet Amos may have known that lionesses generally make the kill. Could it not be that although most women were locked out of public power structures in the ancient world they still may have retained the utmost respect and reverence of the populace? Long before male monarchs claimed titles such as “Lionheart” even gods would tremble before an enraged goddess. Morphed through time and continued patriarchal culture, the connection once again recurs in Frank Stockton’s The Lady or the Tiger where the metaphor has lost its teeth and the lady is no longer the source of destruction, but of male desire. Has the male prerogative once again usurped feminine independence? If only Ishtar or Sekmet could have been behind door number three!

Behind door number 3


The "Holy One"

larger view

A nude goddess with a prominent pubic triangle or wearing a pubic covering stands on a crouching lion. Her Hathor-style coiffure is topped by horns extending to the side. She wears a necklace and bracelets. Her arms are bent into a V shape, and she holds in each hand a long plant (lotus?). Plaque from a tomb in Akko (Acre), Israel. Cast in bronze in a mold and retains pierced suspension piece. Might have been part of the face piece or bridle of a horse. Dated ca. 1550-1200 BCE. Lost (stolen).  Drawing © S. Beaulieu, after Cornelius 2004: Plate 5.21

by Johanna Stuckey

Qedesh[et], lady of heaven, mistress of all the gods, eye of
Ra, without her equal
(Egyptian inscription, quoted by Cornelius 2004: 83)

A nude goddess, often standing on a lion and holding snakes, plants, or both, is a very familiar figure to archaeologists working on Late Bronze Age sites (ca.1500-ca.1200 BCE) throughout the Levant.[1] Plaques, pendants, and figurines of this goddess abound,[2] but it is by no means clear who she was (Cornelius 2004: Plates 5.19-5.62; Keel and Uelinger 1998: 66-68; Patai 1990: 58-60). A few scholars have identified her with Anat, more think she was Astarte, and some argue for Asherah.[3]

Anat. Those who opt for Anat normally start from the assumption that the beautiful, young female warrior was also a sex / fertility goddess, and they usually base this view on a probable misinterpretation of at least one of the mythic texts from Ugarit, an ancient city on the coast of Syria (Wyatt 2002: 156-160; Patai 1990: 61; Coogan 1978: 108).[4] In addition, they take the figure's nudity to signal sexuality and fertility (Stuckey 2005: 37; Cornelius 2004: 100).

Astarte. The proponents of Astarte's candidacy call one form of the images "Astarte plaques" (Keel and Uelinger 1998: 100-108; Patai 1990: 59). They explain this identification in large part by Astarte's popularity in the first millennium BCE as the Phoenician lover of the god Adonis and so as deity of love and sexuality, of the evening star (Aphrodite/Venus), and of war.[5]

Asherah. The case for the images representing Asherah derives partly from the assertion that, in the Ugaritic texts, Asherah was called "Lion Lady" (Wiggins 1991).[6] Primarily, however, some scholars think that some of the Ugaritic texts referred to Asherah as the "Holy One," Qadesh(ah)[7] (Binger 1997: 54; Pettey 1990: 29; Cross 1973:33). And they use as additional evidence a group of Egyptianized images usually called Qudshu plaques.

The close resemblance of the Egyptian goddess to the obviously very popular Levantine goddess (Anat / Astarte / Asherah) is extremely striking. What is more, several of these Egyptianized plaques bear inscriptions giving the goddess a name: Qudshu or Qodshu, also Qedeshet and Qetesh, the "Holy or Sacred One." Clearly, the Egyptians of the Late Bronze Age (ca.1550-ca.1200 BCE) worshipped this goddess both at home and abroad. As we shall see, she probably originated in the Syro-Canaanite part of the Egyptian empire[8] and seemingly was adopted into Egyptian religion during the Ramesside Age (1300-1200 BCE).

For many centuries before any of the Levant was incorporated into the their empire, the Egyptians had contact with West Asia, usually for trade. For instance, in historic times, Egypt maintained close relations with Byblos, now in Lebanon, mainly for the valuable cedar wood that city could provide. They identified the "Lady of Byblos" (Astarte?) with Egyptian goddess Hathor, and the pharaohs regularly sent offering gifts to her temple. In the third millennium BCE, Egyptian art began to depict conquered Asiatics as rough, bearded, and often half-naked. Later texts also mentioned them, often in derogatory terms; for example, "the vile Asiatic."

Between 2000 and 1700 BCE, Egyptian kings often campaigned in the southern Levant and took captives whom they brought back to Egypt as slaves. Other Asiatics migrated into the Nile Delta area in search of food when times were hard. Many of them stayed and, of course, they brought their religions with them.

In the early seventeenth century BCE, the unthinkable happened to Egypt: Asiatics invaded and usurped the throne. Although they paid lip service to Egyptian divinities, it is clear that their real allegiance was to Anat, Baal, and other Levantine deities. These Hyksos, "rulers of foreign lands" (Redford 1992: 100), had control of a large part of Egypt for about one hundred years, reaching the height of their power around 1580 BCE; they were not expelled until around 1550 BCE.

Then the native pharaohs began to create the Egyptian Empire, which included at least the southern part of the Levant as, among other things, insurance against a recurrence of Asiatic invasions. The Empire lasted until about 1120 BCE. Captive Asiatics poured into Egypt, as did Canaanite traders, some of whom founded a temple for Baal and his consort Astarte at Memphis. Soon, warrior pharaohs were worshipping Canaanite deities, especially those associated with warfare, the goddesses Astarte and Anat and the warrior Reshep(h). This was especially true during the Ramesside period (1300-1200 BCE).

A number of Egyptian relief plaques from this period depict a fully frontally nude goddess[9] usually standing on a lion and sometimes posed between the Canaanite warrior god Reshep(h), an Underworld deity, and the Egyptian fertility god, ithyphallic Min[10] (Cornelius 2004: Plates 5.1-5.18; Binger 1997: 56-58; Pritchard 1969: 163-164 #470-474). The Egyptians called her Qedeshet or Qudshu.

Egyptian Qudshu. Qedeshet plaque. Nude goddess stands on a striding lion with ithyphallic Egyptian god Min on her right (see note 10) and Canaanite warrior god Reshep(h) on her left. With her arms in the V position, in her right hand she holds plants out to the fertility god and, in her left, she directs a snake at the Underworld deity. Her Hathor-style coiffure is topped with bovine horns and disk. She wears a Hathor-style neckpiece and a hip belt. The inscription on the front reads: "Qedesh, lady of heaven, mistress of all the gods, eye of Ra, without her equal." On the back occur other titles: "lady of the two lands [Egypt], "child of Ra," "beloved of Ra" (Cornelius 2004: 83). Painted relief carving on white limestone. Dated ca. 1300-1200 BCE. Louvre.  Drawing © S. Beaulieu, after Cornelius 2004: Plate 5.4

That Qedeshet/Qudshu was "a proper divine name in Egyptian" is indicated by the sign for deity, the cobra (Cornelius 2004: 84). Among her titles were "lady of heaven," "mistress of all the gods," "beloved of [the Egyptian creator god] Ptah," "great of magic, mistress of the stars," and "eye of Ra, without her equal" (Cornelius 2004:83-84).[11] According to these epithets, Qedeshet was a very great deity indeed, though seemingly she was not included in the cultic practices of royalty and the elite (Cornelius 2004: 86). "Lady or queen of heaven" was an attribute shared by the greatest of Eastern Mediterranean goddesses: Inanna and Ishtar of Mesopotamia; Asherah, Anat, and Astarte of Syro-Canaan; Isis of Egypt; and Aphrodite and Venus of the Greco-Roman world.[12] A number of these great goddesses were also called "mistress of all the gods." Was Qedeshet a title of one of the three Canaanite goddesses Anat, Astarte, or Asherah, or was she another separate deity? Again we can turn to the Egyptian plaques for help.

Qudshu relief plaque. With pubic triangle painted black, the nude goddess stands on a lion, and both are painted yellow. The lion has a shoulder rosette. The goddess holds in her right hand a red lotus flower, and in her left a snake, originally black. Her hair is in the Hathor style, and she wears a necklace and bracelets. Black cross-bands and girdle usually indicate the carrying of weapons. Images of Mesopotamian war goddess Ishtar often show her with cross-bands. The partly broken crown is difficult to interpret. The title reads: Qedeshet, Astarte, Anat." Painted limestone. Dated to the time of Rameses III (1198-1166 BCE). Once owned by Winchester College in England, but apparently auctioned off.  Drawing © S. Beaulieu, after Cornelius 2004: Plate 5.16

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents.

Bronze figurine of Anat wearing an atef crownwith arm raised (originally holding an axe or club), dated to 1200-1400BC, found in Syria

Anat (/ˈænˌæt/ or /ˈɑːˌnɑːt/) or Anath (/ˈænəθ/; Hebrew and Phoenician ענת, ‘Anāt; Ugaritic ‘nt; Greek Αναθ, Anath; Egyptian Antit, Anit, Anti, or Anant) is a major northwest Semitic goddess.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 ‘Anat in Ugarit
• 2 Anat in Egypt
• 3 Anat in Mesopotamia
• 4 ‘Anat in Israel
• 5 Anat and Athene
• 6 Possible late transfigurations
• 7 As a modern Hebrew first name
• 8 See also
• 9 Notes
• 10 References

‘Anat in Ugarit[edit]

In the Ugaritic Ba‘al/Hadad cycle ‘Anat is a violent war-goddess, a virgin (btlt ‘nt) who is the sister and, according to a much disputed theory, the lover of the great god Ba‘al Hadad. Ba‘al is usually called the son of Dagan and sometimes the son of El, who addresses ‘Anat as "daughter". Either relationship is probably figurative.

‘Anat's titles used again and again are "virgin ‘Anat" and "sister-in-law of the peoples" (or "progenitress of the peoples" or "sister-in-law, widow of the Li’mites").

In a fragmentary passage from Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra), Syria^[1] ‘Anat appears as a fierce, wild and furious warrior in a battle, wading knee-deep in blood, striking off heads, cutting off hands, binding the heads to her torso and the hands in her sash, driving out the old men and townsfolk with her arrows, her heart filled with joy. "Her character in this passage anticipates her subsequent warlike role against the enemies of Baal".^[2]

Cuneiform script, (Louvre Museum) "Then Anat went to El, at the source of the rivers, in the middle of the bed of the two oceans. She bows at the feet of El, she bows and prosternates and pays him respects. She speaks and says: "the very mighty Ba'al is dead. The prince, lord of the earth, has died"" (...) "They fight like heroes. Môt wins, Ba'al wins. They bit each other like snakes. Môt wins, Ba'al wins. They jump like horses. Môt is scared. Ba'al sits on his throne".

’Anat boasts that she has put an end to Yam the darling of El, to the seven-headed serpent, to Arsh the darling of the gods, to Atik 'Quarrelsome' the calf of El, to Ishat 'Fire' the bitch of the gods, and to Zabib 'flame?' the daughter of El. Later, when Ba‘al is believed to be dead, she seeks after Ba‘al "like a cow^[3] for its calf" and finds his body (or supposed body) and buries it with great sacrifices and weeping. ‘Anat then finds Mot, Ba‘al Hadad's supposed slayer and she seizes Mot, splits him with a sword, winnows him with a sieve, burns him with fire, grinds him with millstones and scatters the remnants to the birds.

Text CTA 10 tells how ‘Anat seeks after Ba‘al who is out hunting, finds him, and is told she will bear a steer to him. Following the birth she brings the new calf to Ba‘al on Mount Zephon. But nowhere in these texts is ‘Anat explicitly Ba‘al Hadad's consort. To judge from later traditions ‘Athtart (who also appears in these texts) is more likely to be Ba‘al Hadad's consort. But of course northwest Semitic culture permitted more than one wife and liaisons outside marriage are normal for deities in all pantheons.

In the North Canaanite story of Aqhat,^[4] the protagonist Aqhat son of the judge Danel (Dn'il) is given a wonderful bow and arrows which was created for ‘Anat by the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Khasis but which was given to Danel for his infant son as a gift. When Aqhat grew to be a young man, the goddess ‘Anat tried to buy the bow from Aqhat, offering even immortality, but Aqhat refused all offers, calling her a liar because old age and death are the lot of all men. He then added to this insult by asking 'what would a woman do with a bow?'

Like Inanna in the Epic of Gilgamesh, ‘Anat complained to El and threatened El himself if he did not allow her to take vengeance on Aqhat. El conceded. ‘Anat launched her attendant Yatpan in hawk form against Aqhat to knock the breath out of him and to steal the bow back. Her plan succeeds, but Aqhat is killed instead of merely beaten and robbed. In her rage against Yatpan, (text is missing here) Yatpan runs away and the bow and arrows fall into the sea. All is lost. ‘Anat mourned for Aqhat and for the curse that this act would bring upon the land and for the loss of the bow. The focus of the story then turns to Paghat, the wise younger sister of Aqhat. She sets off to avenge her brother's death and to restore the land which has been devastated by drought as a direct result of the murder. The story is unfortunately incomplete. It breaks at an extremely dramatic moment when Paghat discovers that the mercenary whom she has hired to help her avenge the death is, in fact, Yatpan, her brother's murderer. The parallels between the story of ‘Anat and her revenge on Mot for the killing of her brother are obvious. In the end, the seasonal myth is played out on the human level.

Gibson (1978) thinks Rahmay ('The Merciful'), co-wife of El with Athirat, is also the goddess ‘Anat, but he fails to take into account the primary source documents. Most Ugaritic scholars point out that the dual names of deities in Ugaritic poetry are an essential part of the verse form, and that two names for the same deity are traditionally mentioned in parallel lines. In the same way, Athirat is called Elath (meaning "The Goddess") in paired couplets. The poetic structure can also be seen in early Hebrew verse forms.

Anat in Egypt[edit]

A triple deity (sometimes referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune or triadic, or as a trinity) is a deity associated with the number three. Such deities are common throughout world mythology; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. Carl Jung considered the arrangement of deities into triplets anarchetype in the history of religion.^[1]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Triple goddesses
• 2 Indo-European theory
• 3 Classical antiquity
  • 3.1 Greek magical papyri
  • 3.2 19th century classical scholarship
• 4 Classical triple goddesses in literature
• 5 Finno-Ugric triads
• 6 Arabian folklore
• 7 Triple Goddess Stone
• 8 Three-headed deities
• 9 List of triple deities
  • 9.1 Historical polytheism
  • 9.2 Eastern religions
  • 9.3 Christianity
  • 9.4 Islam
  • 9.5 New religious movements
  • 9.6 In Fiction
• 10 List of other triads
• 11 See also
• 12 References

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. Others have represented the fertility of the earth.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Paleolithic figures
• 2 Neolithic figures
• 3 Old Europe
• 4 Examples
  • 4.1 Egyptian
  • 4.2 Indigenous people of the Americas
  • 4.3 Aztec
  • 4.4 Sumerian and Mesopotamian
  • 4.5 Anatolia
  • 4.6 Cucuteni-Trypillian culture
  • 4.7 Greek
  • 4.8 Roman
  • 4.9 Celtic
  • 4.10 Germanic
  • 4.11 Slavic
  • 4.12 Turkic Siberians
• 5 Hinduism
  • 5.1 Shaktism
• 6 Christianity
  • 6.1 Depictions in churches
  • 6.2 Blessed Virgin Mary
  • 6.3 Mormonism
• 7 Neopaganism
• 8 Earth Mother
  • 8.1 In various cultures
• 9 In fiction
• 10 See also
• 11 Notes
• 12 Further reading
• 13 External links

Paleolithic figures[edit]

See also: Venus figurines

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)

Several small, voluptuous figures have been found during archaeological excavations of the Upper Paleolithic, the Venus of Willendorf, perhaps, being the most famous.^[1] This sculpture is estimated to have been carved 24,000–22,000 BCE. Some archaeologists believe they were intended to represent goddesses, while others believe that they could have served some other purpose. These figurines predate, by many thousands of years, the available records of the goddesses listed below as examples of mother goddesses, so although they seem to conform to the same generic type, it is not clear whether they, indeed, were representations of a goddess or whether, if they are, there was any continuity of religion that connects them withMiddle Eastern and Classical deities.

The Paleolithic period extends from 2.5 million years ago to the introduction of agriculture around 10,000 BCE. Archaeological evidence indicates that humans migrated to the Western Hemisphere before the end of the Paleolithic; so cultures around the world share its characteristics. It is the prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools, and covers the greatest portion of humanity's time on Earth.