Hannahanna

Hannahanna is an enigmatic goddess. She is the Great Mother Goddess worshipped by the Hittites of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), circa 1800–1180 B.C.E. (Source: Brooklyn Museum). The word for grandmother in Turkey derives from her name. She may be a grandmother of Artemis of Ephesus and Demeter. All three share a bee connection.

Hannahanna is known for saving the world by sending one of her bees to awaken a depressed Telepino, sulky god of agriculture. Another myth tells of how Hannahanna herself disappeared in a fit of anger, causing all the crops to die and parents to abandon their children until, her anger absorbed by the dark side of the Earth (the underworld), she returned. This, combined with the myth of waking the god of agriculture, presents a close parallel to the myths of Demeter and Persephone. Additionally, the priestesses of Persephone and Demeter were known as Melissai or “bees.” Persephone’s nickname among the ancient Greeks was Melitodes or “the honeyed one.” (Source). Piglets were sacrificed to both Demeter and Hannahanna. (Source)

Hannahanna original painting, prints, and merch available in shop or via RedBubble or Fine Art America. I've read that bees were created from the tears of a god, so I tried to incorporate that here.

The priestesses of Artemis of Ephesus, an Anatolian goddess adopted by the Greeks, were also called Melissai. A fragment from a lost play by Aeschylus called Artemis’ chief priestesses “Bee-Keepers.”

"Artemis’ cult at Ephesus was very different from the way she was worshipped elsewhere. The Anatolian city did nod towards the youthful huntress, using her deer on their coins. But in keeping with their view of her as a Great Mother, they also used the bee, linking her to Demeter and Magna Mater."(Source) Bee reliefs also appear on the sides to Artemis's dress in her cult statues. It has even been suggested that Artemis's many "breasts" could be bee eggs. (Source)

Is Artemis of Ephesus a descendant of Hannahanna? It seems logical. Some scholars agree. (Source) Is Demeter also related? Are all of these goddesses just different local interpretations of the Goddess?

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

No ancient imagery of Hannahanna has been identified, that I could find, but if you google her, you may be shown images of the Thriae, a trio of bee goddess prophetesses from Greece. In ancient Anatolia, Hannahanna was associated with the Gulses, a trio of goddesses of fate and destiny.

Thriae plaques, photo from Wikipedia. Another is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

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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...

Angrboda

In December of 2020, I took part in a Goddess painting challenge. One Goddess per day to Instagram. I am grateful to that challenge, for sending me down this rabbit hole of research into the divine feminine. On Instagram on December 8, 2020, I wrote: "Hel was today's prompt. In the Eddas , she is the daughter of Angrboda and Loki . She is alternately described as half blue, half black, or half skeletal. I went with blue. " Here, she is a baby, in a family portrait. Mother Angrboda with her darling children in the Ironwood forest of Jotunheim . Baby G oddess Hel, Jormungandr the baby serpent, and cute little Fenris wolf puppy. How would they have grown up if Odin hadn't separated them from their mother and flung them out to the farthest and most desolate corners of the nine worlds? Would they all still crave...

Ophanim

The Ophanim are listed by ancient Jewish scholar Maimonides as the highest of God's angels. In the Bible, the Ophanim are described as sets of nested wheels, covered in eyes, that move next to the Cherubim angels, beneath the throne of God. They never sleep, but along with the Seraphim and Cherubim, guard the throne. The Ophanim See All. Original painting, prints, and merch available via shop link above, or RedBubble or Fine Art America . Ezekiel, in the Bible, describes the Ophanim as sparkling like topaz, high and awesome, full of eyes all around. Sources: Wikipedia The Bible

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 ...

Aphrodite

In December of 2020, I took part in a Goddess painting challenge. One Goddess per day to Instagram. I am grateful to that challenge, for sending me down this rabbit hole of research into the divine feminine. On Instagram on December 9, 2020, I wrote: Goddess 9, Aphrodite, AKA Venus. Aprodite, original painting by Echoing Multiverse. Available via Saatchi Art . I was also learning about hashtags. Here are the ones I added: #goddess #dailypainting #trump #cheeto #melania #ireallydontcare #ifshewasntmydaughter #mace #ivanka #aoc #firstfamily #dumptrump #donthecon #birthofvenus #venus #aphrodite #acrylicpainting #parody #birthofvenusparody #romanmythology #greekmythology #eww #didhereallysaythat #powersuit #igotyou #botticelli #artchallenge #farmerstan #faketan ...

Nuwa

Nuwa is the great mother goddess of Chinese mythology, credited with creating humanity. She molded the first people out of clay by hand. Then she got tired, dipped a rope in the mud, and swung it around her head to make more. Thus were made the nobles and the peasantry. She has the body of a serpent. Nuwa, original painting by Echoing Multiverse. Available via Saatchi Art .

Echoing Multiverse

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