By Lainier Graham
ALA - Ibo Mother Goddess in Nigeria.
AMATERASU - Japanese Great Goddess, supreme deity of the sun, the family, and wisdom.
APHRODITE/VENUS - Greek/Roman goddess of love. To philosophers she has two primary aspects: transcendental love (Urania) and common lust (Porne).
ARTEMIS/DIANA - Greek/Roman virgin goddess of the moon, the animals, and the woods. Twin of the sun god and beloved guardian spirit of childbirth in animals and humans. Quite possibly of Minoan origin.
ASHTORETH (ASHERAH) - Canaanite goddess of fertility, often described in the Old Testament. She holds a lotus in one hand and a pair of serpents in the other; often she is nude. Related to Astarte and Istar.
ASTARTE - ("Queen of Heaven") Great goddess of Phoenicians and Assyrians. Related to Ishtar and Ashtoreth.
ATHENA/MINERVA - Greek/Roman goddess of wisdom and war, quite possibly of Minoan origin. Virgin daughter of Zeus. Protector of Athens; the Partheneon is her shrine.
BAST - Egyptian goddess of childbirth, health, healing, and war. She has the head either of a cat (lunar) or lion (solar).
BRIGID (BRIGANTA, BRIDE) ("Bright One") - Early Christian saint who previously was a powerful Celtic goddess of healing in Ireland, Scotland, England, and France. "Baptized" by Saint Patrick.
BRITOMARTIS ("Sweet Maiden") - Minoan moon goddess, who seems to embody the female essence of nature. Possibly the name of the Great Goddess of life, death, and rebirth in Minoan Crete. Her power animal was the snake.
COATLICUE - Aztec Great Goddess of life, death, and rebirth. Androngynous mother of Quetzalcoatl. She wears a skirt of serpents and a necklace of skulls; her head is a double serpent or a skull. She is the earth and the pyramid.
CYBELE - Near Eastern Great Goddess from Phrygia who came to Rome. Sacred Marriage partner of Attis, her offspring. Usually shown with lions, but her first embodiment was a stone. She is the earth and the mother of all.
DEMETER/CERES - Greek/Roman goddess, personifying the fertility of the fields. Her daughter (Demeter's virginal aspect) is Persephone/Proserpine, who personifies the crop that is reborn from the earth each spring. Demeter and Persephone together embody the forces of eternal rebirth.
DURGA - Hindu Great Goddess of life and death, love and justice. Said to be the primal manifestation of universal energy and stronger than any of the gods who emanate from her (in the male-oriented versions of the myth, she emanates from them). Usually portrayed as a warrior who defeats evil with female helpers such as Kali, who is often considered her demonic offspring. She also grants ultimate liberation from suffering by guiding the faithful to enlightenment.
EUROPA - Minoan moon goddess, who was abducted to Europe by Zeus personified as a bull. The word Europe comes from her name.
FLORA - Roman goddess of flowers and the flowering of all nature. The word flower comes from her name.
FRIG (FRIGG, FRIGGA) ("Beloved") - Great goddess of Scandinavians and North Teutons, who is thought of as wisdom, healing, virgin, mother, and the energy of rebirth. Probably Freya (Freyja) was her name when she was thought of as the goddess of sex, war, and death. Her totems are falcons and hawks. Wife of Odin (Woden). The word Friday comes from her name.
GAIA (GAEA, GE) - Greek Great Goddess, who is the earth. Androgynous creator of time (Chronos), space (Uranus), and all of humanity's ancestors.
GANGA - Hindu goddess of rivers and healing. Half of her is the Milky Way; half of her is the sacred river the Ganges. She also provides health, wealth, and happiness.
Graham, L. (1997). Goddesses in art. New York, NY: Abbeville Press.
ALA - Ibo Mother Goddess in Nigeria.
AMATERASU - Japanese Great Goddess, supreme deity of the sun, the family, and wisdom.
APHRODITE/VENUS - Greek/Roman goddess of love. To philosophers she has two primary aspects: transcendental love (Urania) and common lust (Porne).
ARTEMIS/DIANA - Greek/Roman virgin goddess of the moon, the animals, and the woods. Twin of the sun god and beloved guardian spirit of childbirth in animals and humans. Quite possibly of Minoan origin.
ASHTORETH (ASHERAH) - Canaanite goddess of fertility, often described in the Old Testament. She holds a lotus in one hand and a pair of serpents in the other; often she is nude. Related to Astarte and Istar.
ASTARTE - ("Queen of Heaven") Great goddess of Phoenicians and Assyrians. Related to Ishtar and Ashtoreth.
ATHENA/MINERVA - Greek/Roman goddess of wisdom and war, quite possibly of Minoan origin. Virgin daughter of Zeus. Protector of Athens; the Partheneon is her shrine.
BAST - Egyptian goddess of childbirth, health, healing, and war. She has the head either of a cat (lunar) or lion (solar).
BRIGID (BRIGANTA, BRIDE) ("Bright One") - Early Christian saint who previously was a powerful Celtic goddess of healing in Ireland, Scotland, England, and France. "Baptized" by Saint Patrick.
BRITOMARTIS ("Sweet Maiden") - Minoan moon goddess, who seems to embody the female essence of nature. Possibly the name of the Great Goddess of life, death, and rebirth in Minoan Crete. Her power animal was the snake.
COATLICUE - Aztec Great Goddess of life, death, and rebirth. Androngynous mother of Quetzalcoatl. She wears a skirt of serpents and a necklace of skulls; her head is a double serpent or a skull. She is the earth and the pyramid.
CYBELE - Near Eastern Great Goddess from Phrygia who came to Rome. Sacred Marriage partner of Attis, her offspring. Usually shown with lions, but her first embodiment was a stone. She is the earth and the mother of all.
DEMETER/CERES - Greek/Roman goddess, personifying the fertility of the fields. Her daughter (Demeter's virginal aspect) is Persephone/Proserpine, who personifies the crop that is reborn from the earth each spring. Demeter and Persephone together embody the forces of eternal rebirth.
DURGA - Hindu Great Goddess of life and death, love and justice. Said to be the primal manifestation of universal energy and stronger than any of the gods who emanate from her (in the male-oriented versions of the myth, she emanates from them). Usually portrayed as a warrior who defeats evil with female helpers such as Kali, who is often considered her demonic offspring. She also grants ultimate liberation from suffering by guiding the faithful to enlightenment.
EUROPA - Minoan moon goddess, who was abducted to Europe by Zeus personified as a bull. The word Europe comes from her name.
FLORA - Roman goddess of flowers and the flowering of all nature. The word flower comes from her name.
FRIG (FRIGG, FRIGGA) ("Beloved") - Great goddess of Scandinavians and North Teutons, who is thought of as wisdom, healing, virgin, mother, and the energy of rebirth. Probably Freya (Freyja) was her name when she was thought of as the goddess of sex, war, and death. Her totems are falcons and hawks. Wife of Odin (Woden). The word Friday comes from her name.
GAIA (GAEA, GE) - Greek Great Goddess, who is the earth. Androgynous creator of time (Chronos), space (Uranus), and all of humanity's ancestors.
GANGA - Hindu goddess of rivers and healing. Half of her is the Milky Way; half of her is the sacred river the Ganges. She also provides health, wealth, and happiness.
Graham, L. (1997). Goddesses in art. New York, NY: Abbeville Press.
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