Who was Potnia Theron or the lady of the beasts?
Potnia Theron: Ancient Greek for “Mistress of the Animals” or “Lady of the Beasts”
Krater volute painting by Kleitias, 570-560 bc
National Archeologic Museum of Florence
A Potnia Theron was an Artemis type deity. This “Mistress of the Animals”, is often assumed to have existed in prehistorical religion. Some scholars assert a relationship between Artemis and goddesses depicted in Minoan art. The name has become a generic term for any female divinity associated with animals.
Anahita
“The Lioness Lady” and “Queen of Beasts”
Middle Eastern Goddess Anahita, the Lioness Lady
and Queen of Beasts [British Museum, 500 BCE]
Anahita is an ancient Persian water goddess, fertility goddess, and patroness of women, as well as a goddess of war.
Her name means "the immaculate one". She is portrayed as a virgin, dressed in a golden cloak, and wearing a diamond tiara (sometimes also carrying a water pitcher). The dove and the peacock are her sacred animals.
Anahita was very popular and is one of the forms of the 'Great Goddess' which appears in many ancient eastern religions. She is associated with rivers and lakes, as the waters of birth.
Minoan winged Artemis
The design represents one facade of Artemis where she is winged. In this she is depicted as the Mistress of the Beasts with the moon in the background. The design is inspired by the Mycenaean art (1600 BC).
Artemis, Lady of the Beasts
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities . Her Roman equivalent is Diana.
Artemis was the Olympian goddess of hunting, wild animals, children and birth. She was commonly associated with lakes and springs.
Artemis was a dawn-goddess, the bringer of light, and crop-destroying frost.
Like her brother Apollon, was regarded as a goddess of healing.
There are a great number of mythological deities related to nature and the animals all over the world.
Here is a link to the list of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nature_deities
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