Site of Greek Sanctuary of Goddess Artemis Confirmed

How many clues can you pick out of the following story that indicates this is, indeed, a genuine sanctuary of Artemis, besides the obvious one of finding a carved dedication on the site?  My answers are at the bottom.

From Greek website Tournos News

Inscription found in Paleochoria links goddess Artemis to Amarynthos sanctuary

August 19, 2019

A partially preserved inscription linking Artemis with the ancient town of Amarynthos was unearthed in Paleochoria, Evia, 2 km east of the modern-day town with the same name, the Ministry of Culture said on Monday, according to ANA.

Statue-based inscription to the goddess Artemis, her brother Apollo and their mother Leto. Photo Source: Greek Minister of Culture and Antiquities

The fragmentary inscription, "... of Artemis in Amarynthos", was reused in a Roman-era fountain, confirming that the foundations of the building in Paleochoria were related to the sanctuary of the goddess Artemis, first mentioned in Linear B tablets found in the Mycenaean palace of Thebes as "a-ma-ru-to".

The discovery was made during this season's excavations of the sanctuary by the Swiss Archaeological School in Greece (director Karl Reber) and the Antiquities Ephorate of Evia (Amalia Karapaschalidou, honorary ephor).

Excavations to locate the sanctuary began in 2006. This year's dig focused on the Paleochora area where a modern house was razed in 2018 after a University of Thessaloniki geological survey located remains of ancient buildings next to it.

In an announcement, the Ministry of Culture noted the find was "particularly significant, as the remains of the prehistoric settlement excavated in the '70s and '80s in the same area by the Greek Archaeological Service was one of the most important sanctuaries of ancient Euboea (Evia)."

It added that in recent years excavations have revealed two stoas dating to Hellenistic times, which serve to delineate the sanctuary east and north.

"With the discovery of the south wing of the eastern stoa," the Ministry said, "the sanctuary's limits on three sides are now known."

The site lies near a natural harbor. It was inhabited in the prehistoric and Classical periods, until Roman times (3000 B.C.-1st century AD), while during the Byzantine period two churches were built on top of the hill.

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I believe these are hints that this is a legitimate site of a goddess sanctuary:  

(1) The name of the place.  Amarynthos, in ancient times referred to as "A-ma-ru-tu."  However you want to slice the linguistic origins of the name, "Ma," "Mar," and "Mary" (ancient name assigned to females and Christian equivalent of the Mother Goddess concept), the common root in many different languages of the names of goddesses and mother goddesses is difficult to ignore.  You can locate lists online  of the names of goddesses and mother goddesses from around the world that either start with Ma/Mo/Mu or Meh, etc. or contain  Ma/Mar and variations thereof in the names of many other female dieties from all cultures and continents.  

(2) Archaeologically attested that two Byzantine period churches (presumably of Christian origin but I don't have information as to whether both existed more or less at the same time, or one was built upon the ruins of the other (often the case) and Catholic denomination not noted (Roman Catholic? Greek Orthodox?  Something else?)  

This was a deliberate policy enacted by the early Church fathers (eastern, western, and other sub-groups that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church of Rome) to adopt as their own Christian places of worship former sites of "pagan" temples and worship, often goddess sanctuaries and other sacred places such as sacred groves, sacred high places and sacred pools or other bodies of water by literally building over the the ruins of a former existing temple or sacred sanctuary or sacred grounds or as close thereto as possible.  However, it wasn't always necessary to build a church over the ruins of a "pagan" site of worship or sacred grounds; sometimes the Church Fathers just seized an existing building that was (presumably) a vacated former temple and re-dedicated it to their Three-in-One God, and sometimes in honor of the "Mother of God."  

There is no information in the article about the names of the two churches, but my guess is that they were dedicated to the Virgin Mary, whom the local people would have associated with the goddess Artemis.

St. Ursula Badge Found

St. Ursula, ooooh la la la la la.  More about her, later :)

From BBC News
6 December 2012 Last updated at 13:51 ET

Rare St Ursula badge donated to Museum of Lancashire

 

A rare medieval badge that was found in a field near Preston has been donated to a Lancashire museum.

Paul King found the badge when he was trying out a new metal detector

The silver badge, showing one of the companions of St Ursula, was found by Paul King when he was trying out a new metal detector last summer.

Valued at about £500, the artefact will go on display at the Museum of Lancashire in Preston.

The badge, which was worn by people on pilgrimages, has previously been on display at the British Museum.

They were popular between the late 12th and early 16th Centuries and pilgrims would buy one with a different image of a saint at each shrine they visited.

However, most of these badges were made of lead-alloy, not precious metal.

The shrine of St Ursula is associated with Cologne in Germany, where there is a chapel decorated with the supposed bones of her companions.

Museum manager Charlotte Steels said it was "wonderful to have such a rare object donated to the museum".

Sidebar at BBC:

ST URSULA

• Ursula was a British princess, sent abroad to be married to a Pagan prince
• She went on a three year pilgrimage before ending up in Cologne, Germany
• She is said to have taken 11,000 virgins with her
• Her companions were murdered by Huns
• Ursula was killed by an arrow
• She was martyred and became a saint

Eleven thousand virgins, heh?  Wonder how many of them were still virgins when they got back home -- if they got back home.  What a pile of bullshit, people!  LOL!

More like, Ursula and her band of merry virgins were prostitutes who followed soldiers, pilgrims, crusaders, and anyone else who might want to avail themselves of sex for a price.  But that's just my cynical take on the subject.  Let's see what Barbara Walker has to say about St. Ursula:

Ursula, Saint

Christianized form of Saxon Goddess Ursel, or Horsel, the "Ercel" of Thomas Rhymer's Erceldoune, and the Venus of the Horselberg-Venusberg.  Ursel means "She-Bear," the title of Artemis Calliste, the same as the Helvetian Goddess Artio, in the guise of Ursa Major, the Great Bear (Big Dipper), whose constellation circles the pole star without disappearing into the sea.  The ancients said Artemis the She-Bear ruled all the stars until Zeus usurped her place. (1)

The mythical St. Ursula was accompanied by eleven thousand virgins, a common pagan image of the Moon-goddess accompanied by her children, the stars.  One of the Goddess's foremost shrines was Cologne, where "Ursel" was converted into a Christian heroine to account for the reference paid to her by the local people.

The tale on which Ursula's canonization was based was first invented about the 9th century A.D.;; then, "During the 12th century this pious romance was preposterously elaborated through the mistakes of imaginative visionaries, a public burial-ground uncovered at Cologne was taken to be the grave of the martyrs, false relics came into circulation and forged epitaphs of non-existent persons were produced." (2)

The churchmen claimed that St. Ursula was a Breton princess betrothed to Conon, prince of England, in the 5th century A.D.  Prior to her marriage, she took her eleven thousand virgins on a pilgrimage.  While passing through Cologne, they were attacked and slaughtered by the Hunds, at the institigation of two Roman generals who feared the Christian ladies' exemplary piety would convert all the northern barbarians to Christ." (3) 

This fable was intended to Christianize the lunar bear-goddess worshipped at Cologne, the same who was Artio, the Helvetian "Mother of Animals," with another cult center at Berne ("She-Bear"), where her portrait still appears on the Bernese coat of arms. (4)  Ursel and Artio were alternate names of the triple Artemis who took the "bear-king" Arthur to paradise.  The Greeks said Artemis Calliste, "Fairest One," was associated with both the moon and the constellation of the Great Bear.  In Britain, Ursa Major was often called "Mistress Ursula," at first a title of the Goddess, lator transferred to the saint. (5)

Artemis the She-Bear was so widely recognized as the Mother of Animals that the island once sacred to her, Callista, is still called Therea, "She-Beast." (6)  Arcadians traced their descent from her son Arcas, the Little-Bear (Ursa Minor), a bear-god like the Celtic Arthur.  Hellenic mytholographers pretended that Arcas's mother was a mere nymph, Calliste, who was punished for losing her virginity by receiving the form of a bear, along with her child, but Artemis took pity on them and placed them in the stars as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.  The version of the myth was invented "to account for the traditional connection between Artemis and the Great Bear." (7)  The Christian version was invented for different reasons, but with the same ultimae aim: to mortalize the Goddess.

Some memory of Ursula the Moon-goddess deems to haunt the foundation of the Ursuline order of nuns, by St. Angela Merici in 1506.  Catholic authorities now claim the Ursulines were the oldest order of teaching nuns.  But most convents were centers of learning for women until the church forbade women's education in the 13th century. (8)  The Ursulines were perhaps the only order of teaching nuns who remained obedient to the papacy, and so were permitted to continue. 

Yet the Ursulines began under a cloud of suspicion.  Angela Merici was a native of Brescia, which Pope Calixtus III described as a hotbed of witches. (9)  Angela's first group of sisters numbered exactly 28, the lunar number.  They made their first devotion in a church dedicated to another mythical saint who was only another transformation of the Goddess, St. Afra or Aphra (Aphrodite). (10)  Angela was not allowed to establish her holy society of teachers until forty years had passed since her original vision, which she received not in a church but in an open field under the moon. [Wonder who was with her at the time, woo woo...]  She and her women had no religious habit, no vows, no communal life.  They went to their pupils' homes to teach, like iternerant governesses. [Yeah, right.  Governesses.  Sorry, can't help it.  This is just too fricking funny!]

The church was not interested in Angela until she underwent "popular" canonization in her home territory.  Two centuries later, the church decided to take advantage of the popularity of her cult by declaring her Blessed.  Finally in 1807 she was canonized by Pope Pius VII. (11)  But she is still almost as vague and dim as the Ursuline lunar She-Bear that the people of Brescia once worshipped.  A 20th-century Catholic scholar mentioned here with one of those curious slips of the pen so common among patriarchal writers; he said the Ursuline order was founded by "Bishop Angela of Brescias." (12)

My eyes are shot tonight, can't read the notes -- too tiny!  Will add here tomorrow night (does anyone actually read them anyway?)

Notes (added December 15, 2012) -- all notes are from The Woman's Enbcyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara G. Walker, 1983, Harper San Francisco, ISBN 0-06-250926-8.

1.  Graves, G.M. 1, 86.
2.  Attwater, 333-34.
3.  Goerber, L.R., 66.
4.  Larousse, 226. 
5.  Jobes, 266.
6.  Herodotus, 251.
7.  Graves, G.M. 1, 84, 86.
8.  Bullough, 160.
9.  M. Harrison, 240.
10.  Attwater, 46.
11.  Encyc. Brit. "Angela Merici."
12.  Brewster, 459.

1800 Year Old Artemis Excavated in Turkey

From Hurriyet News Online
Sculpture found in ancient city
July/12/2012

ÇANAKKALE - Anatolia News Agency A sculpture depicting the goddess Artemis and estimated to be about 1800 years old has been discovered at an excavation site at the ancient city of Parion, near the village of Kemer in the Biga district of the northwestern province of Çannakale.

The excavation is being conducted by Professor Cevat Başaran, an instructor in the archaeology department at Erzurum’s Atatürk University, and is being carried out in six zones of the ancient city.
The marble sculpture was dug out in pieces at Odeion, one of the six excavation sites. Başaran, the head of the excavation, has announced that the sculpture depicts a clothed woman, is 1.70 cm tall and approximately 1,800 years old, and is a high quality sculpture of its kind. The excavators also found marble sculptures depicting animals including sheep and dogs.

“The bow and arrow in her hand indicates that the sculpture belongs to Artemis [Diana], the goddess of hunting, the wilderness and wild animals,” Başaran said.

Is There a "Twin" Temple at Didyma?

Interesting, but brief, article.  We'll have to wait and see what develops.  Cf. this interpretation of the meaning of the word "didyma" from didyma.com which is run by OTTI, Inc. - perhaps something to do with a governmental office of trade and tourism?

From Voices, Altinkum's English Printed Newspaper
Apollon's twin perhaps?
Posted on Saturday, August 21 @ 12:35:06 CDT

A view of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, from ancientanatolia.com.

GERMAN archaeologists are looking at a new find which could suggest a second temple close to the Temple of Apollo.

They have extended their excavations away from Apollon and have discovered a wall which they consider to be part of another temple – maybe that the Temple is for Artemis – the twin of Apollon.

Representative of Ministry of Culture and Tourism Ferhan Büyükyörük said: “An illegal dig was done in the area previously, which revealed the remains of a wall.

“The excavations team is searching this year to see if there is more to the wall and if it belongs to a structure. Its size and location suggests a building to the south of this wall. Didyma means twin; Apollon was the twin brother of Goddess Artemis.

“This wall might belong to an Artemis Temple. We will see what the excavations unearth.”

The works will continue until September.

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More on the Temple of Apollo at Didyma. 

The Real Truth Behind Those Flying "Reindeer"

Attention all those who believe in Santa Claus a/k/a Saint Nicholas. The origin of flying "reindeer" goes back much farther than the red-coated, white-whiskered, gift-giving Wonder invented by an illustrator in the 19th century. I wonder if he was a student of the ancient classics? Hmmm... Check this out: Artemis, depicted at Potnia Theron (a/k/a Lady of the Beasts). Image, thanks to Mr. Don who posted it at Goddesschess, and doesn't her skirt look like a checkered gameboard now:

ARTEMIS POTNIA THERON
Museum Collection: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze, Florence, Italy Catalogue Number: Florence 4209
Beazley Archive Number: 300000
Ware: Attic Black Figure
Shape: Volute krater
Painter: Signed by Kleitias
Date: ca 570 - 560 BC
Period: High Archaic

SUMMARY
Detail of Artemis, here depicted as the Potnia Theron (Lady of the Beasts), from the Francois Vase. The goddess is winged, and grasps a panther (or lioness) and stag by the neck.

Yes, it's true! The origin of those flying reindeer is none other than the Great Goddess Artemis flying through the air holding a sacred lionness in one hand and a sacred horned stag (a/k/a "reindeer") in the other! Dashing through the sky, She wings her way on high, waving a horned deer, she's looking for some beer...

Okay, so Irving Berlin I'm not. But the key elements of Santa Claus flying through the air in a sleigh pulled by "eight tiny reindeer" (19th century version of the legend) are featured, except Santa Claus is actually a Great Goddess: (1) Goddess/figure postulated to be a Goddess (2) flying through the sky (she can be a bird goddess, on a winged horse or in a chariot pulled by flying horses, or winged herself (3) closely associated with horned animals (such as stag, ram or unicorn), or other animals (those flying horses, for instance) and/or animals of power/rulership (lion/lioness, eagle and other birds of prey).

The other part of the legend is that she can bring blessings - or curses. In modern terminology and much more benign - gifts, or lumps of coal - just like old St. Nick.

Cf:
Rhiannon (Rhiannon flies like a bird through the sky and wouldn't you love to love her..., lyrics made popular by Fleetwood Mac in their hit song "Rhiannon"), who is closely associated (and may, indeed be an aspect of) the great Celtic Horse Goddess, Epona.

How about this very early candidate for being the original "Mother Goose?" Whenever I read about geese I am reminded, first of all, about how sacred the goose was in ancient Egypt and, secondly, how goose was the dish of choice served at Christmas in any household that could possibly scrape together the money to afford one in Dickens' England (for instance, fictional "Clerk" Bob Cratchett's family feasted on goose in Dickens' tale of loss and redemption in Scrooge a/k/a "A Christmas Carol.") The association of Goddess and goose is an ancient one, but in ancient Egypt, the sacred goose was a God known as Geb. Personally, I think something was lost in translation somewhere along the way, or perhaps the original Geb was a hermaphrodite and modern translators just don't "get it."

But that's going in a different direction, actually, since I think that this very old line drawing actually shows a skirted female riding atop a somewhat abstract style horse figure travelling through some trees...

White Mares and Crop Circles

Epona is a Celtic horse goddess - a White Mare. A nice play of words could be made on Night Mare, and probably was, hmmm... Great Britain is known for the outlines of large white horses carved into underlying chalk deposits. Most of the horses aren't very old - at least, they cannot be classified as "ancient." There is one "white horse" that has drawn more than the usual attention by way of strang crop circle formations (for years). It's located near the Village of Alton Barnes in Wiltshire, England, on Milk Hill. This chalk horse outline is not ancient. It seems it was first created around the year 1812. Above is a photo of a current crop circle that appeared in a field lying below the Alton Barnes (or Milk Hill) white horse. The image is from Crop Circle Connector.com and was reported just a few days ago, on June 21, 2009. The first day of Summer. The photo was taken by Lucy Pringle. In this depiction, Epona reminds of an older goddess, The Mistress of Beasts, a/k/a Astarte a/k/a Artemis. In those older renditions of the Goddess, she is sometimes depicted as a tree (Tree of Life) flanked on either side by rampant deer-like creatures or other wild life, sometimes depicted as a Goddess or woman with a crown flanked by rampant wild beasts. This image of Epona is from Wikipedia and dates to the 4th century CE from Greek Macedonia, and depicts the Goddess Epona flanked by two pairs of horses. The four knights on the chessboard???

Temple of Artemis (a/k/a Diana) To Be Rebuilt in Ephesus

If it's true, this is a major story and a major financial commitment. The English translation is a bit "iffy" in places, but generally very understandable. From the Turkish Daily News Temple of Artemis to revived once more in Selçuk Thursday, October 30, 2008 The Temple of Artemis was built in the seventh century BC. But according to myth a madman set it on fire 400 years later. But as Christianity began to spread throughout Anatolia, a Christian ecclesiast outlawed the cult of Artemis in the fifth century. The temple was destroyed during the early period of Christianity in Anatolia. Artemis, one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, will be rebuilt in Selçuk in present day Turkey The Temple of Artemis, or Artemision in Greek, recalled in both Greek and Byzantine anthologies for its magnificence, was once one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After decades of vandalism, religious conflict and decay it is finally to be rebuilt. Erected at the expense of the Lydian king, Karun, at Ephesus (modern-day Turkey) in the seventh century B.C., the Temple of Artemis was dedicated to the goddess Artemis, or Artemis of Ephesus, the daughter of Zeus and twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic goddess of forests, hills, virginity and fertility. Artemis of Ephesus is often thought to be a cult of Cybele, the fertility goddess worshipped in Anatolia. Historians say that Cybele came to be known as Artemis over time. According to Christian literature, the Virgin Mary succeeded Artemis in receiving the devotions of the people of Ephesus. Bank of the time Numerous myths have existed surrounding the Temple of Artemis, the construction of which lasted a hundred years, and its plan belonged to prominent architects of the time. One of the myths tells of how the temple was burned down. According to the myth, an insane man named Herostratos set the temple on fire in 356 B.C. When people asked why Artemis could not protect the temple against a madman, certain wise men replied to them that Artemis had gone to help in the birth of Alexander the Great. The Temple of Artemis was not only a religious structure; it was also the largest and richest bank of the time. According to Turkish writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (the fisherman of Halicarnassus), it was not a madman that set fire to the temple, but the guardians of the temple, who got away with all the money kept inside. After the great fire, the temple was rebuilt. Alexander the Great offered financial support for the reconstruction but the people of Ephesus rejected his offer, saying one god could not give votive offerings to another god or goddess. The Temple of Artemis became less popular as Christianity became more widespread throughout Anatolia. The Temple of Artemis was pillaged, as Artemis was seen not only as the predecessor to, but also as a rival of the Virgin Mary. In the fifth century, Johannes Chrysostomos, the Patriarch of Constantinople, outlawed the cult of Artemis. The roof, the altar and the columns of the temple were removed and disposed of. Narratives suggest many of the columns were taken to Constantinople and used in the construction of numerous buildings. The first archaeological excavation of the site where the relics of the temple were located took place in 1869. It was during this excavation that the exact location of the temple was discovered on the western side of Ayasoluk Hill. Between 1965 and 1994, the area set the stage for a series of excavations led by Dr. Anton Bammer of the archaeology institute at the University of Vienna, Austria. During this period, experts searched for the techniques on how to rebuild Artemis. New temple not an imitation Dr. Atılay İleri, the founder of the Selçuk Artemis Culture, Arts and Education Foundation, met with Bammer 10 years ago to realize the reconstruction of the once magnificent Temple of Artemis. With support from Austrian scientists, İleri had Swiss architects prepare a plan for the reconstruction of the temple. İleri, who has dreamed of reconstructing the temple for 10 years, said: “When completed, the temple will not be a copy or an imitation of the original Artemis but the Artemis itself. And its sisters of the past will set their eyes on it with pride and emulation.” The original Temple of Artemis had 120 columns. Thirty-six of them were placed on cubic circles. If completed, the new temple of Artemis will be the third Temple of Artemis constructed in history. Its size will be the same as the original. A total of 25,000 cubic meters of solid marble, the original construction material of Artemis, will be used in the construction of the third temple. Sixty of the 120 columns of the new temple will have base plates. To find the best sculptures to adorn the restored temple, a lottery will be held to form a selection committee chosen from representatives of 196 U.N. member countries. Each selected representative will then select two sculptors from the nation they represent. The selected sculptors will then take part in workshops run by the Artemis Culture, Arts and Education Foundation. The sculptors will first begin work on the cubic bases for the columns, with sculptures to be inspired by either of two sayings attributed to Heracleitos of Ephesus: “War is the father of everything” and “Everything flows and nothing abides.” An international jury will then choose two sculptures from all the pieces produced by artists to be featured in the temple. One of the winning sculptures will be displayed on one of the cubic circles and the other will be displayed in the temple's yard. İleri said the project would rock the world of art. “When the temple is completed, the workshops will start serving as a school of sculpture. Selçuk will be the center of world sculpture,” he said. Expected cost $150 million The Artemis Culture, Arts, and Education Foundation was opened in Selçuk in September 2007. The foundation's mission is to reconstruct the Artemis Temple. The project is expected to cost $150 million. The foundation will complete the project with no financial assistance from the state. İleri said the Culture and Tourism Ministry welcomes the project. The foundation applied to the ministry for the allocation of land via the Selçuk Municipality. The new temple will be constructed on an area called Kurutepe, 1,500 meters away from the temple's original location. Construction will begin when official permission is provided for land allocation.

Exhibit to bring temple of Artemis to İstanbul

From Today's Zaman May 22, 2008 Archaeological finds from Artemision, the Temple of Artemis in the ancient Aegean site of Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, will be exhibited for the first time in İstanbul. The exhibition, "Artemision: A Temple of a Goddess," will be inaugurated today at the İstanbul Archaeology Museum with a ceremony that visiting Austrian President Heinz Fischer will attend. The exhibition will showcase 453 items on loan from the Ephesus Museum in Selçuk and 72 works from the İstanbul Archaeology Museum's own inventory, reported the Anatolia news agency. The artifacts to be displayed include bronze, glazed, precious metal, ivory and amber findings from the archaic period and about 100 electron coins created in the oldest known coin minting in history. Some of these artifacts were preserved in the treasury room of the İstanbul Archaeology Museum and have not been on display since 1970. Likewise, a majority of the artifacts brought from the Ephesus Museum will be put on public display for the first time, Anatolia said. The Temple of Artemis, or Artemision in Greek, was designed and built by Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes in 550 B.C. The construction of this all-marble temple was financed by Lydian King Kroisos. The temple was unearthed by British archaeologist John Turtle Wood in 1870 after a long search that lasted for seven years. Upon application by the British Museum, David Gorge Hoghart started conducting archaeological excavations in 1905 on the temple and its surrounding area. These excavations unearthed not only parts of the temple, but also thousands of amber, bronze, ivory and glazed objects and coins dating back to sixth and seventh centuries B.C. Since 1965, the excavations at the site have been carried out by an Austrian team of archeologists, who discovered new findings that helped shed more light on the architecture of the temple. By expanding the excavations, the team found important evidence that relates to the early period of the temple dating back to the second millennium B.C. ********************************************************************************* More information on the Temple of Artemis (a/k/a Diana) at Ephesus, including photographs. This information makes it clear that this incarnation of Artemis was actually related to the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, who wore a tower on her head as a crown (representing city walls).

The Hind of Hinds - Continued

From Woman’s Encyclopedia, pages 51-54: Arabia

Before Islam arrived in the 7th century A.D., Arabia was matriarchal for over a thousand years of recorded history. The Annals of Ashurbanipal said Arabia was governed by queens for as long as anyone could remember.(1)

The land’s original Allah was Al-Lat, part of the female trinity along with Kore or Q’re, the Virgin, and Al-Uzza, the Powerful One, the triad known as Manat, the Threefold Moon.(2) [Side Note: Annals of Ashurbanipal – Assyrian royal chronicles on cuneiform tablets, dating form the 7th century B.C., found in the king’s famous library at Nineveh by 19th-century archaelogists.]

At Mecca the Goddess was Shaybah or Sheba, the Old Woman, worshipped as a black aniconic stone like the Godess of the Scythian Amazons.(3) The sacred Black Stone now enshrined in the Kaaba at Mecca was her feminine symbol, marked by the sign of the yoni, and covered like the ancient Mother by a veil.(4) No one seems to know exactly what it is supposed to represent today. [Yeah, but all those Arab dudes still kiss it as part of their worship ritual!]

The Black Stone rests in the Haram, "Sanctuary", cognate of "harem," which used to mean a Temple of Women: in Babylon, a shrine of the Goddess Har, mother of harlots.(5) Hereditary guardians of the Haram were the Koreshites, "children of Kore," Mohammed’s own tribe.(6) The holy office was originally held by women, before it was taken over by male priests calling themselves Beni Shayban, "Sons of the Old Woman."(7)

Mohammed’s legends clearly gave him a matriarchal family background. [He would not have been seen as legitimate, otherwise, by the people of the time unless he HAD the necessary matriarchal lineage!]  His parents’ marriage was matrilocal. His mother remained with her own family and received her husband as an occasional visitor. Mohammed lived with his mother until her death, because she was his true parent according to the ancient system; "children belonged to the woman’s family … paternity in the biological sense was relatively unimportant."(8) She may well have been one of the "aged priestesses" who served the temple in Mecca.(9) The traditions of such priestesses may well date back to Assyro-Babylonian um-mati or "mothers," the only people permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. Archaic Arabian shrines were usually served by seven high priestesses, recalling the lawgiving Seven Sages, who were women.(10) The first collection of the books of law called Koran – the Word of Kore, or Q’re – was attributed to them. [Side Note: Seven Sages – Legendary figures in both Greek and Arabian lore, identified with a variety of seers and philosophers, the earliest ones usually female, confused with the Seven Sisters, or Pleiades.]

Pre-Islamic Arabia was dominated by the female-centered clans. Marriages were matrilocal, inheritance matrilineal. Polyandry – several husbands to one wife – was common. Men lived in their wives’ homes. Divorce was initiated by the wife. If she turned her tent to face east for three nights in a row, the husband was dismissed and forbidden to enter the tent again.(11)

Doctrines attributed to Mohammed simply reversed the ancient system in favor of men. A Moslem husband could dismiss his wife by saying "I divorce thee" three times. As in Europe, the change from matriarchate to patriarchate came about only gradually and with much strife.

Many Koreshites remained faithful to the Goddess and to their queen, Hind al-Hunud: the Hind of Hinds, similar to the title of Artemis. She was also called Lady of Victory. But her victories came to an end with one of the last queens, whose husband betrayed her and surrendered her city of Makkah to the enemy.

Legend claims the stepdaughter of the divine Hind married Mohammed himself.(12) However, the history of early-medieval Arabia is nearly all legend. Like Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, and other founders of patriarchal religions, Mohammed lacks real verification. There is no reliable information about his life or teachings. Most stories about him are as apocryphal as the story that his coffin hangs forever in mid-air "between heaven and earth," like the bodies of ancient sacred kings.(13)

Footnotes omitted. 

See also The Hind of Hinds, February 28, 2008, Goddesschess blog. 

The Hind of Hinds - Continued

I want to relate a couple of very interesting "hallucinations" I had last night that are related to the material above and – well, you’ll see where this goes -- I’ve mentioned in earlier posts about how I tend to have hallucinatory "dreams" – not sure what to call the state, exactly, it tends to happens in that area where I’m half awake, or not quite asleep. Last night, or I should say, early this morning, it was between 2 and 3 a.m. when I am prone to wake up these days – anyway, I did my usual, wake up, roll over, look at the clock, roll back to settle into the pillows and I saw what, for the life of me, appeared to be the outline of a bear sitting in my wing chair by the south window. Now darlings, I knew it couldn’t possibly be a bear sitting in my chair, not at 2 in the morning, but it was quite distinctly the outline of a bear, even after I shook my head and blinked my eyes a couple of times and tried to "wake up." It was still there. I laid back down and watched it for awhile; it’s head was moving! It didn’t occur to me until I was having my morning coffee that it was moving in a barely perceptible nodding motion. I was totally stumped as to why this hallucination would not go away even though I thought I was almost fully awake; I fell back asleep – perhaps it was 10 minutes later while continuing to look at the "bear in the chair." It’s a bit hard to explain – this half-baked/half-awake thought process, but since the bear did NOT attack me, I KNEW it was an hallucination, not the real thing (forget about the logic of how a bear would happen to get into a locked house without any noise, happen to wander upstairs into my bedroom, and happen to sit in my chair quietly waiting for me to "wake" up), and so I wasn’t afraid to try and fall back asleep, only annoyed that whatever it was wouldn’t go away. As often happens in these post-menopausal times (women of a certain age in the audience will know exactly what I mean), I then proceeded to wake up about every 45 to 55 minutes for the next couple of hours – sometimes this happens until the alarm goes off at 6 a.m., but last night/early this morning it only happened two more times, and so I was able to get in a last couple of hours of "quality" sleep before the alarm went off. Anyway, when I next awoke, I turned my head and crinked my neck up just to get a look and sure enough, the bear was still sitting in the chair by the window on the south wall. Damn! And still ever so slightly nodding it’s head. I could see it distinctly because my south window overlooks a street light perhaps 50 feet away, and it casts enough light through the curtains to cast eerie shadows inside my bedroom (cue spooky music….) Hmmmmm. Then I rolled over toward the west wall and caught a glimpse of something that set my heart to pounding – a giant serpent! I nearly leaped out of bed -- Of course it wasn’t a giant serpent, it was my "pharmacy" style floor lamp that I have sitting next to the computer hutch, but to my half-awake eyes it took on the form of a gigantic hooded cobra. Hmmmm, a bear and a snake? Very weird. Someone must be trying to tell me something, I thought, as I settled back into my pillows and went back to sleep. OKAY! A bit of back story. The serpent I understand because for the past couple of weeks delion and I have been nattering back and forth about things Egyptian, etc. and I’ve been refreshing my memory by checking out information on Uadjet, the serpent tutorial Goddess of "Upper" (Southern) Egypt, very ancient, who also represents the Sun God (Ra/Re) and, in one of her aspects, is also His Sacred Eye. So the lamp-turning-into-cobra makes sense, in a "dream" way. But the bear? Now, mind you darlings, this all happened before I ever cracked open Walker’s Woman’s Encyclopedia today and copied out the information on "Arabia" published above. As it so happens, when I first opened the book, I came upon an entry of Atalanta: Amazonian huntress, the best athlete in Calydon. As an infant, Atalanta was suckled by Artemis herself, in totemic form as a She-Bear. When she grew up, she took part in the famous hunt of the Calydonian Boar and drew first blood, pausing only to kill two centaurs who tried to rape her on the hunting field. Ah ha! Bells went off in my head. Artemis was the bear! But not only a bear, Walker links her to the "Hind of Hinds" (Hind al-Hunud): "Many Koreshites remained faithful to the Goddess and to their queen, Hind al-Hunud: the Hind of Hinds, similar to the title of Artemis" – but I didn’t know that until I read and then posted the entry on Arabia from The Woman’s Encyclopedia today! So – my admittedly amateur interpretation of my "waking dreams" is that the Goddess (in bear and serpent forms) approve/approved my intent/plan to post more about the ancient battle queens here – even before I knew I was going to do it. Well, they are goddesses, they can "see" the future! A couple notes. Based on what I read in Walker, Fatima, the putative daughter of Mohammed, is a "sister" of the ancient Egyptian cow-goddess Hathor. One of Fatima’s titles is "Red Cow," and Fatima shares many other titles and attributes with Egyptian Hathor. Hathor was also considered a moon goddess, because her horns formed a "crescent" moon. Hmmm, where have we seen that symbol before? Oh yeah, on the flags of many countries where Islam is the majority religion. Hmmm….

Artemis and the Stag

From The Buffalo News
'Artemis and the Stag' sculpture on display in NYC
by Colin Dabkowski - News Arts Writer

Updated: 01/07/08 4:26 PM

"Artemis and the Stag," the famous 2,000-year-old bronze sculpture sold in a controversial auction last year by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is now on view in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Albright-Knox director Louis Grachos confirmed that the sculpture is on loan to the museum from an unnamed private collector, though it is not part of its permanent collection.

"I'm absolutely pleased that the sculpture is on public view, and of course at the Metropolitan it'll be seen by tens of thousands of people on a monthly basis," Grachos said. "We're delighted that 'Artemis and the Stag' is on public view."

The sculpture, a late Hellenistic/early Roman bronze hailed as one of the most important statues ever sold at auction, went on view last week in the museum's new gallery for antiquities. It now stands among an impressive collection of Greek and Roman sculptures that ranks as one of the finest in the world.

The whereabouts of the sculpture had been unknown since it was sold last March at Sotheby's auction house in New York City to an anonymous European collector for $28.6 million. It set a record both for the most expensive sculpture and antiquity ever sold at auction, though both of those records have since been eclipsed. It also served as the biggest single sale in a series of auctions that bolstered the Albright-Knox's endowment for the acquisition of new art by $67.2 million.