Artemis of Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis, in modern day Turkey, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. However, Artemis of the temple, Artemis of Ephesus, is not the virgin huntress we usually associate with the name. At Ephesus, Artemis represents an older great mother goddess, more reminiscent of Cybele. She is associated with bulls and lions, like Inanna. Some sources identify her as a fertility goddess with many breasts, others say that the elliptical objects on her chest are bull testicles or eggs. There are also bees on her skirt, illustrating a possible connection with Hannahanna, another Anatolian great mother goddess.

Some images show Artemis of Ephesus with dark skin. Painting her, her facial features definitely felt African to me. My depiction is based on a 1st century BCE statue owned by the Ephesus Archaeological Museum. The temple was torn down by a Christian mob in 401 CE under orders from the archbishop and never rebuilt. Interestingly, Artemis's city of Ephesus is where Mary was named Mother of God, and her church was built near the ruins of Artemis's temple. Did Catholicism adopt the pagan great mother goddess, syncretizing her with Mary? Signs point to yes.

Artemis of Ephesus original painting. Prints and merch available in shop or through at Fine Art America.

1st century BCE statue of Artemis of Ephesus from the Ephesus Archaeological Museum, image source

Miniature model of the Temple of Artemis, in Ephesus. source

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Asherah

An inscription from Khirbet El-Qôm (near Jerusalem) dated to the 700s BCE and translated by archaeologist Judith Hadley reads, "Uriyahu the Rich wrote it. Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh for from his enemies by his Asherah he has saved him by Oniyahu by his Asherah and by his A[she]rah.” ( Source ) Asherah was the Great Goddess of the Ancient Near East. From this inscription and other evidence, it is surmised that Yahweh, the God of the Jews, once had a wife - Asherah. Asherah was also sometimes known as Astarte and was associated with lions and the planet Venus, like her relative, Ishtar/Inanna. Asherah's symbol was the tree of life, and her worship involved sacred groves and asherah poles. Asherah original painting available through Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints, and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America. All of the Asherahs in my painting are based on figurines housed in the Isra...

Jowangsin

Jowangsin is a Korean Goddess of fire and the hearth. An offering to Jowangsin in the form of a bowl of fresh water would be placed on an altar above the hearth. Jowangsin had rules for the kitchen. Do not curse while in the hearth. Do not sit on the hearth. Do not place your feet on the hearth. Maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen. You may worship other deities in the kitchen. ( source ) Throw your muddy shoes inside or put them on the hearth, and you will experience her vengeance. She was believed to keep track of household activities and communicate with the heavens. Jowangsin helping with the cooking in a traditional Korean kitchen, circa 1950. Original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or via Fine Art America or Saatchi Art . Left: Women in a kitchen in Korea in 1950. Right: An example of a traditional kitchen in hanok (traditional Korean-style homes) during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). [National Archives of Korea, N...

Sophia and the Apocryphon of John

In 1945, thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by an Egyptian farmer near the town of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. These early Christian texts date from the 3rd century CE, and include writings attributed to John the Baptist. The writings of John became known as the Secret Book of John, or the Apocryphon of John. A translation by Frederik Wisse can be read online . In the Apocryphon, there is a female counterpart to the Father - the holy Mother, Barbelo. "She is the forethought of the All - her light shines like his light - the perfect power... The first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation... she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father." I became aware of the Apocryphon of John after reading a graphic novel by Marisa Acocella, The Big She-Bang, The Herstory of the Universe According to God the Mother (highly recommended, by ...

Cihuateteo

Cihuateteo means "Women Goddesses". These Goddesses are native to Mesoamerica, appearing in the pantheon as mortal women who died in childbirth and then were deified. The Chihuateteo travel throughout the day, dwelling first with the stars in the western sky in the heavenly region called Cihuatlampa or "place of women". Then, from noon to sunset they accompany the sun, following it through the night as it lights the underworld. Every 52 days the Chihuateteo would descend to earth to reign for a day associated with the west. On these days, children were cautioned to stay inside and men to be careful. Only those skilled in dealing with divine possession should be outside on the days the Chihuateteo descended. In modern writings the Cihuateteo are often characterized as monsters, however this was not originally the case. Rather, they were powerful, benevolent ancestors who were honored and revered. In prayers they were...

Helena Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine of Tibetan Wisdom

Helena Blavatsky was born in what was then Russia in 1831. She traveled the world, researching ancient religions, searching for ancient wisdom of the great protoreligion. In 1875, she founded the Theosophical Society. The motto of the society is "There is no religion higher than truth." She wrote multiple books and was hugely influential in bringing ideas about eastern religion to the west. She detested the Catholic missionary system and its attempts to wipe out indigenous religions, and actively worked against it in India and Ceylon. Both Thomas Edison and Gandhi studied theosophy, along with many other intellectuals of the era. Helena Blavatsky original painting and fine art prints available through Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . In 1888, Blavatsky published the first edition of Secret Doctrine , containing her translation of the Book of Dzyan , an ancient book...

Bucranium = Uterus

A bucranium is a bull's head and horns. Bucrania have been found in shrines at Catalhoyuk, one the oldest cities ever to be excavated. Dorothy Cameron interpreted the bucrania at Catalhoyuk as a "symbol of life and regeneration--essentially a female symbol, representing the divine power of the female reproductive system." Bucranium = Uterus original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America . Layout of bucrania based on a drawing of a reconstruction of Shrine E VI at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in a 2007 article by Joan Relke (below). Source Marija Gimbutas writes, "the key to understanding Neolithic renditions of the bull's head and horns (bucranium in archaeological literature) comes through their resemblance to the female uterus and fallopian tubes." Besides the bucrania from Shine E VI, other images at Catalhoyuk show female torsos with bucranium in the position of the uterus an...

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