Lycian Coast, Turkey goddesses
The Lycian region was inhabited from very early on. Caves indicate human worship from about 20,000 BCE and Neolithic mother goddess figurines, Geometric and Bronze Age votive figures and pottery have been uncovered in abundance and are now in museums in Fethiye, Izmir and Istanbul. The museum in Fethiye is small, only two rooms, but it has an interesting collection of items from Telmessos and Tlos as well as Kaunos. The collection includes artifacts from Neolithic pottery and figurines through the Byzantine period, with remnants of old Basilica carved doors with vegetal and Christian symbols. There were a few items in the gallery that caught my special attention. The first was a 3rd C BCE 55cm stone statue of the Lycian goddess Artemis Eleuteria. Like her sister to the north, the Ephesian Artemis, her skirt is filled with symbols, but unlike her she doesn’t have multiple breasts or rows of symbolic creatures. Artemis Eleuteria’s skirt is somewhat simpler, with figures of a scorpion and wreath at the bottom, apparently under the earth, a pair of what look like does on a level that could represent the earth with an angel in the center surrounded by frogs, above the angel are flowers and a figure of a god/goddess with the sun rays radiating from its head. The goddess has multiple necklaces and earrings and her hair is placed in a way to represent the city she is protecting. There are also engravings on the sides that are not visible through the glass showcase. The positioning of the figures appears to me to represent her protection of the three worlds, the underworld with the scorpion, the earth with frogs and does, and the sky with the sky god between her shield-like breasts. The angel in the middle is like her heart connecting the three worlds. The plaque next to her states that: “she was the mother goddess of Myra and was worshipped in the coastal settlements of Lycia. The exact nature of her worship is unknown, but she does appear on coins and steles found in Limyra and Myra.” It should be noted that Myra is also the birthplace of the gift giving St. Nicholas.
Another female figure that I found fascinating was the bowhead of St. Catherine. She was used as protectress on 19th C commercial vessels. The Greeks used Christian symbols and saints, while the Ottomans used animal figures.
A different, series of artifacts that were striking were a set of reliefs with two warriors on horseback facing a standing female figure. There is a rock relief on the Taskuzluk Plateau that is mentioned in the Tlos book, that describes the same image. In that book, they say that these are probably Hellenic Roman era reliefs depicting the twin sons of Zeus, Castor and Pollux, with either their sister Helena or the mother goddess Artemisia in the middle. (Tlos 176)
Eleusian goddesses of Cybele, Fethiye Museum, Turkey
Hellenic Figurines, Fethiye Museum, Turkey
Hellenic Figurines, Fethiye Museum, Turkey
Hellenic Roman reliefs with Castor and Pollus and either their sister, Helena, or the mother goddess Artemisia, Fethiye Museum, Turkey
Ephesian Artemis, Izmir
Artemis Eleutaris, Fethiye Museum
Roman Artemis 4th C CE, Kaunos
Roman Isis, Fethiye Museum
19th C. St. Catherine bowhead from sunken Greek vessel, Fethiye Museum
Medieval St. Anne and the Virgin Mary – Stockholm & Vilnius
Early 15th C Norwegian Walrustusk Anna Selbdritt, Swedish History Museum
1425-1450 St. Anne with Mary, St. Anne Shrine, Gotland, Swedish History Museum
1425-1450 Anna Selbdritt, Swedish History Museum
Mid-19th C Anna Selbdritt, Swedish History Museum
(To be Continued)
Meet Mago Contributor, Krista Rodin Ph.D.