Goddesses of Anatolia

I sit with books spread out around me, open to the pages dedicated to the great goddesses of Anatolia – modern Türkiye. In 2022, the name was updated from Turkey to Türkiye. Türkiye is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Long before the arrival of Alexander the Great and Romans, the peoples of Türkiye honoured powerful earth goddesses.

Walking around the ruins of once great cities like Çatalhöyük, I could truly appreciate how steeped in a rich history Türkiye is. Türkiye is old! Türkiye saw the rise and fall of many civilizations, including the Hittites (c.1600-1178 BCE), Lycians (c.1330 BCE-43 CE), Lydians (c.1200 BCE-133 CE), Phrygians (c.1200 BCE-286 CE), Carians (sometime in the Bronze Age until around 326 BCE, Seljuks (1071-1328 CE), and Ottomans (c.1324-1923 CE).

There is evidence of mother goddess cults in Anatolia dating back about 9,000 years, but iconographic patterns support the idea that the worship of female deities was widely practised across Anatolia much earlier. Some 4,000 years ago, societies gave women marital rights, freedom to engage in business and opportunity to take up diplomatic office, as evidenced by the archaeological record.

Civilizations came and went in Anatolia, bringing their own gods and goddesses. There were shared with their neighbours through wars, trade and migration. But the Great Mother may have existed before any others, and she has outlasted most of them. The Mother Goddess has been Anatolia’s most powerful deity all the way through.

The Great Mother went by many names with the oldest statues depicting her as a curvy mature woman enthroned with lions or birds, The Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük, dated to 7,000 years ago (to learn more read my blog: Who is the First Goddess?).

We have no way of knowing what the Neolithic peoples called their Great Mother. But we do know what she was known as in later Bronze age civilisations…

Kybele

Kybele (Cybele), a Great Mother goddess of Anatolia, whose name may mean Mother of the Mountain. Kybele emerged as the preeminent deity of Anatolia. Her name may have been derived from the earlier Hittite goddess Kubaba or Kumbaba, but Kybele’s traits and powers were much broader.

I saw Kubaba in the Museum of Anatolian Civilzations in Ankara. Found in Carhemish and dated to  between 850-750 BCE, she holds a pomegranate to show her divinity.

In the Phrygian civilisation she was known as Matar Kubileya or Kubeleya, meaning Mother of the Mountain and more specifically Lady of Ida, the highest mountain in western Anatolia. Kybele embodied all the powers of wild nature, ruling over both animals and humans.

This Kybele is also from the Museum of Anatolian Civilzations in Ankara whhere she is Kybele or Agdistis portrayed in a naïskos, a miniature temple, flanked by two musicians. When I say miniature I mean she is life-sized, standing in a doorway of a temple-shaped display within the museum. She had an Archaic smile I remember from my university days studying Greek statues, the mouth formed with a pucker at the edges. The distinctive smile may have been used to suggest health and well-being.

The Phrygian Mata Kubileya always stands up so thought to be her. She is an adult woman wearing a long dress, an elaborate headdress (polos) and holds a pomegranate to show her divinity, dated around 550 BCE. Beside her legs are two small figures, on the left playing a pipe and the left might be playing a drum.

The iconography of Kybele remained unchanged, usually portraying her seated on a throne wearing a turreted crown, with lions on either side or pulling her in a chariot. All of this iconography symbolized authority, both divine and human, and had remained the same for thousands of years.

Like all the great goddesses, Kybele was a guardian of the dead, and goddess of fertility and wild nature. One of her many names was Artemis, the name she came to be known as by the Greeks in Greece but also in Anatolia. In Greek and Roman times Kybele became the Mother of the Gods and Sophocles called her All-nurturing One, the All-Mother.

I love how much quiet strength and authority she has. She does not need to demonstrate her power in a flashy, ostentatious way. She sits on her lion with no need to prove herself.

Kybele Helps Mortals

Asia Shepsut in ‘Journey of the Priestess: The Priestess Traditions of the Ancient World: A Journey of Spiritual Awakening and Empowerment’ describes two instances where Kybele communicates directly with people to warn them, noting that these people did not even need to be her devotees or Phrygians. Plutarch describes the Greek leader of Athens, Themistocles travelling to the west coast of Anatolia, unaware that his life was in danger from the Persian satrap.

Themistocles stopped for the night in a small village on his way to Sardis and while he slept, Kybele appeared to him in a dream warning him to change his route. In return, she asked for his daughter to be her priestess. Following her advice, Themistocles was saved. In gratitude, he built a temple in magnesia in honour of Kybele Dindymene, with his daughter as her priestess.

If you have read Homer, you might remember the name Iphigenaia. The story does that when her father Agamemnon story does that when her father Agamemnon was sailing to lay siege on Troy the fleet was unable to set sale because there was no wind.

The priests decided that a sacrifice was needed convincing Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter. Euripides wrote an alternate version of the story in his play ‘Iphigenaia in Tauris’. Iphigenaia was saved at the last minute by Artemis/Kybele who substituted a doe in her place. Iphigenaia was spirited away to become a priestess in the temple at Tauric Chersonese.

This Kybele statue is from the Hellenistic period, from the second century BCE, from the Troy Museum. As a queen goddess, Kybele is depicted seated on her throne with holding a patera (libation-bowl) and tympanon (hand-drum) with a lion sleeping in her lap to represent her reigning power and majesty.

Artemis

Ephesus is the land of the Amazons! Originally settled by an Amazonian Queen, Ayasuluk, the original settlement is believed to have been named after Aphasa. Over the centuries her name was slowly changed until it became Ephesus. From around 1000 BCE, Ephesus was a thriving port city where Kybele was worshipped until earthquakes flattened the Amazon city. But there are fifth century historian documentation of the Amazons being the original inhibitors of this land.

In the seventh century BCE, Ephesus fell under the rule of the Lydian Kings and became a thriving city where men and women enjoyed equal opportunities. At its height 200,000 lived in Ephesus. Ephesus was abandoned by the sixth century after earthquakes, the port silted up and became marshland. This bred mosquitoes and it became unsafe. The people moved back to mount Ayasuluk.

Ephesus became a Lydian town, established by the Mermnad Dynasty, beginning with Gyges. Lydia was run with a strong centralised administration inspired by Mesopotamia. The Lydians set up the shine to Kybebe (as they called her) in Lydia, Sardis and Ephesus.

After Lydian and Persian rule came Greek and then Roman administration. At Ephesus and Sardis, Kybele was given the Greek name Artemis. But her iconography remained Phrygian with polos and veil, holding a falcon and a jug in the same way she probably looked in 700 BCE. Artemis was dedicated to the goddess of the hunt, chastity, childbirth, wild animals and the wilderness.

Ephesus has been excavated for 120 years and still they have only unearthed 10% of the city! Pottery fragments have been found dating from 9,000 years old on this site but we know nothing about them.

We met Artemis in a few different places, from different civilisations. Artemis of Ephesus is the most well-known and the most profound to stand in her presence. I used to think statues were inanimate objects with as much interest as staring at a chair!

Having met many ancient goddess statues, I now see how wrong I was! Some have an incredibly strong presence, an aura. They are a representation imbued with the living goddess. Standing in front of Sekhmet in Karnak or Bagala Mukhi in India or Artemis of Ephesus I could truly feel myself in the presence of a high vibration being, an ascended master who radiated energy that pulsed from her statue, rippling far out into the surrounding city.

There are two versions from the first century and a second century, housed in the Ephesus Museum. These Roman statues would have been copies of much older statues. The iconography of these statues of Artemis of Ephesus is like reading a book. Line by line from head to toe the statues are crammed with symbolism and imagery.

This version of Artemis who was specific to Ephesus differs from the Greek Artemis who is a young huntress, daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo. The Artemis of Ephesus is a regal Mother Goddess – a creative and fertile Nature Goddess. Her energy is grounded, protective, Earthy, fruitful and life-giving. She flows with nourishment and abundance.

One of Artemis’ characteristics is that she protects fertility. This may be symbolized by the spherical objects that cover the lower part of her chest. Our Turkish tour guide said common assumption that they probably represent the testicles of a bull, although they may also be eggs. Artemis’ robe is always decorated with lions, leopards, goats, griffins, and bulls, which represent Artemis’ title of Lady of the Animals.

Artemis of Ephesus in Türkiye in the first century CE, was believed to be the universal life giver and sustainer, depicted with many breasts so that she could feed and nourish the world and bestow blessings. In 2024 I visited Ephesus Museum to see the ancient Artemis statues. There is a first century and a second century statue of Artemis of Ephesus. These Roman statues would have been copies of much older statues.

The Greek Artemis is a young huntress, daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo. But the Artemis of Ephesus is very different. This Artemis is a regal Mother Goddess – a creative and fertile Nature Goddess. Her energy is grounded, protective, Earthy, fruitful and life-giving. She flows with nourishment and abundance.

One of Artemis’ characteristics is that she protects fertility. This may be symbolized by the spherical objects that cover the lower part of her chest. Our Turkish tour guide said the common assumption that they probably represent the testicles of a bull, although they may also be eggs. Artemis’ robe is always decorated with lions, leopards, goats, griffins, and bulls, which represent Artemis’ title of Lady of the Animals.

Iconography of Artemis

These statues are Roman copies of ancient originals. All the eggs on her chest look crazy and all the iconography but in person she feels very strong and powerful, especially the one with the tall headdress. She was radiating authority with a similar energy to Sekhmet. Artemis must have been another strong feminine powerhouse who took no bull shit. I was very happy to meet her.

In the first century CE version her body is shaped like a pillar, symbolising her strength, her permanence and durability. This shape is an ancient form also related to Cybele and other Eastern Goddesses. Her dress is decorated with rows of wild animals – lions, leopards, goats, griffins, and bulls. Many of their heads are chipped away so they are hard to identify. More chimera, bees and flowers decorate the sides of her dress.

Honeycomb is seen in architecture in her city of Ephesus – City of the Bee. Period. The Bee and the goddess have been intertwined through time, and in multiple cultures – Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Roman, Sumerian all featured bee symbolism.

Artemis’ priestesses were even called Melissa, meaning bee. Bees and honey are simply magical, and bee symbolism in sacred texts, art and artefacts dates back to the Neolithic period. The bee represents the magic of creation, transformation, divine perfection, and healing. Artemis as Queen Bee is the source of all these.

The first century has a tall headdress with a pillared building at the top, with a majestic chimera (hybrid lions with the breasts of human women and wings) or Sphinx taking centre stage. Artemis wears a mural crown of the city walls, honouring her role as Patroness of the city, Guardian of All who Enter. She is incredibly protective.

Asia Shepsut in believes the tiers of architecture of her crown signify the higher worlds governed by the goddess and where a priest was able to journey in spirit.

The mural crown, a Mesopotamian and Syrian motif, became popular in the Hellenistic age. On either side of her head are more chimera or winged Victories but too broken to really guess what they are.

At her neck, she wears garlands of fruit and flowers. Her collar bone is decorated with two strands of decorated necklaces, one with medallions hanging off it. Below is a larger necklace of tiny balls, five deep, in a curve, with a repetition of the medallions hanging off it, only larger. Below the necklace are the astrological symbols of the planets, the scorpion in the centre of her chest.

Next are eight bunches of grapes on a vine with leaves. Lions rest on either side of her upper arms but the rest of her arms are missing, but most likely her arms were outstretched in a gesture of welcome and blessing.

The first century statue had a chest covered in breasts or eggs (or bull’s testicles depending on who you speak to). These rows and rows of breasts might portray Artemis as a nourishing Mother Goddess. For thousands of years, the Divine Feminine was imagined as the “Nurturer of the World”, often pictured with her hands cupping her breasts.

Another theory is that these breasts may originally have been derived from the shape of drop-like amber pendants, found in an early layer of Her temple. Or they may be a “play on words” or a mix of symbolism. The breasts may also represent bee eggs or pomegranates (likely, as amber pendants in the shape of pomegranates have been discovered – these were draped on the Goddess as offerings).

The second century statue has only a small headdress with three rings and a decoration on her forehead. On either side of her head, she has hybrid goats with the breasts of human women and wings. Her collar bone is decorated with women standing together above a necklace of tiny balls, five deep, in a curve. Below the necklace she wears a zodiac, a symbol invented in fourth-century Babylonia, the scorpion in the centre of her chest.

The second century statue also has a torso covered in eggs (or bull’s testicles depending on who you speak to). Her arms reach out to us, as if to draw us into her embrace. Her legs are covered in animals – lions, leopards, goats, griffins, horses, bulls and flowers like later Tudor roses that are at the base and down her side. I love how they’ve been careful to detail her toes! Next to her were animals. I front little honeycombed hive-shaped cones.

Seeing Priestesses

Construction on the Temple to Kybele of Ephesus began in 550 BCE the great-grandson of Gyges, the Lydian King Croesus, who ruled from 560-547 BCE. Famous for his gold, panned from the Pactolus River, Croesus splurged on Greek architects and sculptors. This temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Construction was interrupted in 546 BCE the Persian occupation. The temple was so colossal it took 120 years to complete. There were actually five different temples built over each other. Excavations have revealed three smaller Artemis temples that preceded the Croesus temple. The earliest was built around a shrine to Kybele with an altar erected in the style of Crete in 700 BCE, a holy stone marking her presence.

In 356 BCE, a crazed man named Herostratus burned down the Temple of Artemis. The Ephesians rebuilt the temple even bigger. It was estimated to be four times larger than the Parthenon and became known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The remains we have are the fourth version of Ephesus are from the Hellenistic and Roman period. Asia Shepsut says of Temple of Artemis at Ephesus “with hindsight I think my direct connection with the goddess began when I visited Ephesus 10 years ago. Invisibly Kybele/Artemis took me in hand in a most magical way. For all who visit Ephesus and her temple site she is Opener of the Ways at the spot.”

I sat on the platform edge of a ruined wall overlooking where the Holy of Holies would have once housed the statue of Artemis. I closed my eyes and I dropped my awareness and began breathing slowly to lower my heart rate and increase my sensitivity to my surroundings. I expanded my energy outwards, intentionally enlarging my aura until I filled the room in front of me. Then I felt into that space and invited in any sensations, thoughts, or images.

Immediately, I could see temple priestesses laughing with abandon. They danced with bells around their ankles and were doing a synchronised dance with veils. They reminded me of belly dancing, but their dance was not sexual, not suggestive, or sensual. It was raucous and wild, the women dancing for their own benefit and not for other’s titillation. They swung the veils forwards and behind them in unison, stamping their feet and ululating with joy.

I hope this helps to get a feel for the thousands of goddesses who are available for us to work with. This is the long lost her-story of goddess worship that was once integral to a feminine spiritual path.

Which place and period in her-story resonates for you? Which goddess draws your curiosity?

Examples of goddesses of Anatolia: Kybele, Artemis, Kubaba, Hepat, Arinna