Mother Earth from Revadim

A clay plaque of the Mother Earth, from the Late Bronze Age, Found in Revadim, Levant, dating around 1250 BC. Similar terracotta plaques have been found in archaeological excavations in sites like Tel Harasim, and Tel Aphek. 

The Revadim mother earth is depicted:

1. With a prancing Ibex goat facing a tree on each of her legs...

2.  Spreading her vagina...

3. Nursing people...

4. Wearing a crescent moon necklace pendant...

Why?

Let me try to decipher these symbols in this post:

The Revadim mother earth is depicted:  

1. With a prancing Ibex goat facing a tree on each of her legs...

The reason why rampant Ibex goats are depicted facing trees (of life) is because the climate in Levant is divided into hot, dry half (Apr/May-Oct/Nov) and cool, wet half (Oct/Nov-Apr/May)...

The rains, which support (the tree of) life in Levant, arrive when male Ibex goats start their mating fights over females, in Oct/Nov...

So prancing (fighting) ibex goat became an animal calendar marker for the start of the rain season...

This is why we also find two prancing ibex goats facing the tree of life on this pottery vessel, a ewer, from the Fosse temple at Lachish, Levant, dated to the 13th century BC, which also bears an inscription on the shoulder which reads from left to right "Mattan (the donor), an offering to my lady ’Elat"...

I talk about this amazing animal calendar in my post Lachish animal calendar

Here is another vessel from the Fosse temple at Lachish also dated to the 13th century BC. On this vessel we see two rampant goats facing not a tree, but a vulva...Vulva is the symbol of fertility number one...Obviously...Easy to understand why...

Vulva is used on a lot of ancient artefacts to represent the fertility of the land. And here this is explicitly spelled out: mating goats of rain, rain which makes land fertile, facing vulva, symbol of fertility...

Please note that the tree of life surrounded by prancing Ibex goats is on the Lachish vessel depicted in a shape of Menorah...Just like here, on this 3,000 BCE Sumerian Stamp Seal with Impression Tree of Life with Rampant Goats. Mesopotamia. Chicago. Oriental Institute Museum...

I talk about the link between Menorah and the Tree of life and the Hanukah that is celebrated in Tevet, Dec/Jan, the "muddy month" (peak of the rain season in Levant) which is marked by the goat mazal (which marks Dec/Jan, middle of the Ibex goat mating season)...in my post The Tree of Life/Light...

The tree of life also resembles menorah here too, on this super cool Bactrian bronze stamp, dated to 2400BC-1600BC...And again it is surrounded by prancing Ibex goats...

I talk about it in my post Bactrian Bronze Age menorah...

The tree of life surrounded by prancing Ibex goats was also depicted on this seal found in Alalakh/Tell Atchana, located 20 km from Antakya (Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It was found in one of the rooms of the Level VII (c. 1800BC) palace...

I talk about it and another similar find from the same site in my post Pottery shard from Alalakh...

Same climate, same animals, with the same behaviour, same animal calendar marker, which later gets deified...And eventually into a god...

Elamite bronze idol of a (goat-) man with large ibex horns, 3rd-2nd millennium BC...

I talked about this transition, which is found all over the world, in my post Kuseh Gardani about the traditional Iranian "Kuseh Gardani" ritual, which is performed by men dressed as Ibex goats, in times of drought or low rainfall...

"Kuseh" (rain god turned devil of drought)...

The Revadim mother earth is depicted:

2.  Spreading her vagina (giving birth to all things)...

Bedrock is in the Balkans known as "živi kamen, živa stena" (living stone, living rock) because it is believed to be still part of the living body of the Mother Earth which gives birth to all life...I talk about it in my post Living stone...

I think this belief was what lied at the core of all mother goddess all over the world. Because:

"Man — despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments — owes his existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains."

What is the best way to symbolically depict "Mother Earth"? Place mountains, plants and animals between eyes and  a pubic triangle. Decorated bone depicting slightly bewildered "Mother Earth", 6th - 5th millennium BC, Hagoshrim, Southern Levant. I talked about this in my post Eyes...

Or in the case of the Revadim mother earth, place the "goat of rain" and a "tree of life" on her thighs, just below here vagina, the source of all life...

This Revadim Goddess is believed to be the earliest depiction of Asherah, who herself is just another name for Inanna/Ishtar...

Remember what Inanna, Sumerian Mother of Grain, said in "The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi":

"...Before my lord, Dumuzi,

I poured out plants from my womb.

I placed plants before him,

I poured out plants before him.

I placed grain before him,

I poured out grain before him,

I poured out grain before my womb..."

I talked about "Mother of Grain" in many of my posts...

So I think that the Revadim goddess could be depicted giving birth to food (grain)...

This is explicitly depicted on this gold pendant, dated 1400-1200 BC. It is 4.9 cm in height and was found in Ugarit, Syria. Louvre Museum, Paris, France. See grain growing out of the Goddess's pubic area? Another very common symbol found all over Central Asia, Mesopotamia, Iran, Levant, Aegean...

I talked about this in my post Hathor grain pendants...

BTW, do you see how the trees (of life) depicted on Revadim Goddess's thighs, one on each side of her vulva, look like grain ears?

Just like the grain ears depicted on the (possibly) the earliest (symbolic) depiction of Demeter (Vulva/Mother surrounded with grain ears)...

This symbol is hidden in plain sight on one of many mysterious Early Cycladic "Frying Pans" found on Cycladic islands in Greece and dated to the second half of the 3rd mill BC...

I talk about it in my post The oldest Demeter depiction...

The Revadim mother earth is also depicted:

3. Nursing (her) people...

What is the milk of the Mother Earth? Spring water of course...

And considering that Asherah was called the "Divine Nurse" of gods and people...

This image shows few of thousands of similar pillar figurine of Asherah, found in house shrines from the Iron Age II period (8th–7th century BC) Levant...

I talk about "the milk of the Mother Earth" in these two posts, Mesa Mouliana vessel and Anavlochos mountain, where I talk about Cretan version of the same goddess, where similar figurines were found deposited inside cracks on limestone mountain peaks (remember living rock, the body of mother earth):

The Revadim mother earth is finally depicted:

4. Wearing a crescent moon necklace pendant...

I wonder if this is "The Wet Moon", the Winter/Spring (Wet Season) Moon...Just depicted inverted...Pouring water on the Mother Earth...

Wet Moon?

During the winter, the ecliptic plane intersects the western horizon at its steepest, most vertical angle at sunset. Because a waxing crescent Moon follows right behind the Sun along this steep line, it sits directly above the Sun. This makes the crescent look like a upright bowl (the "wet moon") that sinks straight down into the horizon...

I talk about the Wet Moon and why Moon Gods were so important in places where winter is the rainy part of the year, like Mesopotamia, Iran, Levant, Northern Arabia in many of my post...

Also, guess what else happens in Dec/Jan, around Winter Solstice, the peak rain season in Levant, the peak Ibex mating season in Levant, when the Wet Moon starts shining in the night sky?

Sirius, the original Star of Inanna/Ishtar/Asherah..., reaches its highest point in the night sky... 

Ever seen this symbol?

I talked about Inanna/Ishtar and why it was Sirius that was her original "star" in Sirius mother of venus, Inana and Sukaletuda, The brightest star, Inanna in Egypt, Temple of Isis on Philae Island, Apocalypse, Whore of Babylon, Dog coin...

I think this is all I have to say about this clay plaque of the Mother Earth, from the Late Bronze Age, Found in Revadim, Levant, dating around 1250 BC. And why she was depicted 

1. With a prancing Ibex goat facing a tree on each of her legs...  

2.  Spreading her vagina...  

3. Nursing people...  

4. Wearing a crescent moon necklace pendant...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

Silver seal from Gonur Tepe

Silver seal from Gonur Tepe, Turkmenistan, late 3rd-early 2nd mill BC. Depicting a winged goddess riding on a lioness...

Who could this be?

Well, of course, a Central Asian version of the "Lioness of heaven", Inanna/Ishtar/Asherah/Artemis.../Sirius in Leo...

This seal has a sister: Golden seal with winged goddess standing between the lions, found in ancient Bactria, Turkmenistan, dated 2000 BC.

Here is Inanna/Ishtar, deified Sirius, which rises with the sun (morning star) in Leo, Jul/Aug, the hottest time of the year. Which is why she is depicted standing on a lion with the sun above lion's head and is known as "The Lioness of heaven"...

Inanna/Ishtar, the one who sits on a lion throne...

I talked about Inanna/Ishtar and why it was Sirius that was her original "morning star" in many of my posts...

You can start here: You know how everyone thinks that Inanna/Ishtar (Morning Star) is Venus and how I think that it was originally Sirius, and only later became Venus?

Well, it seems that Ancient Egyptians preserved the proof of this switch in their myths about Sopdet...

I talked about this in my post "Sirius mother of Venus"...

Asherah too was often associated with lions. Here she is, depicted standing between two lions on the 10th c. BC Ta'anakh cult stand...

Between lions has the same meaning as on a lion: in Leo, Jul/Aug. Lion marks the period Jul/Aug, because this is when the main mating season of Eurasian lions starts...

Talked about lion as an animal calendar marker for Jul/Aug in many of my posts...

Interestingly, Asherah was also known as the "lady of the serpent"...

Why would that be?

Snake is a pure solar animal. It is in our world when sun is here (day, hot half of the year) and it is in the underworld when sun is there (night, cold half of the year)...

Which is why snake is one of the main solar symbols. 

Which is why we have things like this: 4000 years old decorated standing stone depicting Sun god and his favourite pet animals, snakes...

Early Bronze Age Okunev culture which flourished in the Minusinsk Basin on the middle and upper Yenisei, Siberia, Russia, 3rd and 2nd mill BC

I talked about snake as the solar symbol in many of my posts...

More specifically (and importantly), snake is a symbol of sun's heat. And it just so happens that Jul/Aug, Leo, is the hottest time of the year in the northern hemisphere.

Hence, in Mesopotamia, where climate looks like this:

We find Nergal, the deified destructive "burning" sun, was depicted as a lion man or a dude with lion sceptre...

Talked abut Nergal in many of my posts... 

And in Iran, where climate looks like this:

We find Persian kings obsessed with lion hunt. This is because they were reenacting the annual fight between the Rain season (Rain god) and the Dry season (Lion/Dragon) in which the rain god always wins...

The king here is not even depicted killing a lion. He is killing a composite animal calendar marker for dry season, Bull horns (Apr/May), Lion body (Jul/Aug), Scorpion tail (Oct/Nov)...This thing, Angra Mainyu...

I talked about this in my posts "Lion hunt", "The king killing Angra Mainyu" and "Angra Mainyu"...

Anyway, we find the same association between sun (gods) and snakes and lions, in Bronze Age Central Asia. A great example of the use of related animal calendar markers. Bactrian two side seal. Sun god with sun rays emanating from his shoulders (like Shamash/Utu), with snakes, symbols of sun's heat and winged lion, Nergal, symbol of hottest part of the year...

I talked about this in my post "Summer and winter BMAC seals"...

Here are snake and lion used in the same symbolic way in ancient Levant too...

This image is an illustration from "Yahweh and the Origins of Ancient Israel, Insights from the Archaeological Record" by Nissim Amzallag...

You can read full analysis in my post "Mystery seal"...

Of course, Sun (gods) liked playing with snakes and lions in Europe too...

God most high...  

Snake: Apr/May, beginning of the main snake mating season, beginning of summer. 

Lion: Jul/Aug, beginning of the main lion mating season, end of summer.  

And in the middle, summer solstice, sun most high.

I talked about this in my post "You will trample great lion and serpent"...

Anyway...

This is why Asherah is both the snake (sun's heat) and the lions (extreme sun's heat in Jul/Aug) lady...Inanna/Ishtar, the sister of Utu/Shamash.THIS lady (princess) standing under The Star, Sirius in front of the seven snake headed lion dragon:

In Mesopotamia, summer lasted seven (hot) months...Which is why local dragon (dragon = symbol of summer), had seven snake heads (snake = symbols of sun's heat)...Oh, and look, we also have dragon killer(s) and the princess 🙂...

I talked about this seal and another related artefact in my post "Seven headed dragon"...

This is the same Lady standing in front of the same seven headed dragon, much much later...

You can find the full symbolic analysis of the Woman of the Apocalypse, described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation in my post "Apocalypse"...

Fire breathing dragon (symbol of extreme burning sun's heat of Jul/Aug) is of course just an old (symbol for late summer) snake (symbol of sun's heat). The force that steals and locks away the waters (causes drought)...

I talked about this in my post "Scaring off the dragon"...

In my post "Letnitsa treasure" I talked about this applique from the famous Thracian Letnitsa treasure, dated to the first half of the 4th c. BC, featuring a maiden (princess) with a three snake headed dragon, a common motif from Balkan (and not just Balkan) Slavic fairy tales...

Anyway...

Here is Asherah again, this time depicted as an "Asherah pole" between two lions, standing above the main gate of Mycenae...

I talked about why I believe that this is indeed Asherah in my post "Cup of Nestor"...

While we are in Greece, here she is, the same winged goddess with a lion. This time under the name of Artemis, "a lioness between women"...

Shard of a late 7th c. BC amphora, found on the island of Paros, showing a winged Artemis holding a lion by its tail and ear, surrounding by what looks like sun symbols, swastikas and crosses...The full analysis of this image can be found in my post "Winged Artemis"...

I talk about Artemis in many of my posts...

And again, The Lady of the lions and serpents. An archaic Artemis (Gorgon) dated to around 580 BC, as depicted on a pediment from the temple of Artemis in Corfu, on display at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu...You know extreme sun's heat in Jul/Aug, which turns everything to stone...

And here she is again, this time in Thracia, depicted on a 400–300 BC jug. Found in Rogozen, Bulgaria. We don't know under what name she was known there, most likely Artemis the terrible archer...I talked about this in my post "Artemis Orthia"...

Artemis the terrible archer was just another face of Ishtar the terrible archer. I talked about this in my posts about Apollo the Terrible archer...

And the reason why deified Sirius goddesses are archers is this: In Mesopotamia, Sirius was seen as an arrow and the surrounding stars were seen as a bow...And they were stars of Jun/Jul/Aug...

I already talked about this in my post "The brightest star" about the link between Sirius and Inanna...

So Jul/Aug, the time of the year ruled by Nergal/Apollo, and his twin sister Ishtar/Artemis is the time when Sirius (bow and arrow) rises with the sun...

Remember, Apollo was feared archer too. I talked about this in my post "Apollo the great archer" and "Apollo Sminthius"

But why did Mesopotamians see Sirius as arrow? Remember my post "Invisible archer"? If arrows are shooting down from the night sky, there must be an [invisible] archer shooting them from up there...  

This article was about Orion and Orionids meteorite shower. Orionids shoot down on earth during Sep/Oct/Nov. But there is another meteroite shower that rains light arows down on earth in Jul/Aug. Perseid Meteor shower...

And guess when this meteor shower is most intense? When the most light arrows are being shot down on earth? Right before dawn. You can even see them at dawn, together with Sirius and the sun...Destructive sun of Leo, Nergal, Apollo...

I talked about deified Perseids in many of my posts...

That's it for today. If you are interested in reading more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, which are at the root of all our mythologies, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

But considering that this are the TLDR times, I don't have much hope too many people will read any of it...At least I had fun researching it and writing it...