Potnia Theron

Boeotian stele, 7th c. BC, representing a "Potnia Theron", (Sketch) Athens, National Museum. Pic by Julianna Lees. 

Actually, I think that this is Archaic Artemis...Here is why:

First, "Potnia Theron" is depicted with what look like Fallow deer horns. Artemis was linked with deer and particularly with Fallow deer. I talked about the link between Artemis and specifically Fallow deer since Bronze Age in my post "Fallow deer"...

Second, "Potnia Theron" is also depicted standing between two lions. Which symbolically means "in Leo", Jul/Aug...I talked about the link between Artemis and lions in my posts "Artemis Orthia", "Winged Artemis"...

What is interesting is that both Eurasia lion and Fallow deer are animal calendar markers for Jul/Aug. This is because both Eurasia lion and Fallow deer mating seasons start in Jul/Aug...

Jul/Aug, the time of Apollo (the terrible archer) and his TWIN (!) sister (also the terrible archer)...As depicted on this Athenian Red Figure Style Crater made in 450 BC and currently located in Musee du Louvre, Paris...

I talked about Apollo, Artemis and lions (Leo, Jul/Aug) in my post "Silver seal from Gonur Tepe" and in my post "Fallow deer"...

Or maybe...Just maybe...This is Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis with the twins holding on to her waste...

But how would this fit into what I said so far?

According to Delian tradition Apollo was born on the seventh day of the month Thargelion (Jan/Feb), or, according to Delphian tradition, on the seventh day of the month Bysios (May/Jun)... 

But interestingly, for some (weird) reason, Leto gave birth to Apollo either "leaning against" or "clutching" a palm tree...

Why a palm tree? 

Cause date palm tree is another, this time plant, calendar marker for Jul/Aug first appearing in Mesopotamia. Date harvest season starts in Jul/Aug, in Leo, when Lion (autumn) kills (ends) Bull (summer). I gave full symbolic analysis of this seal in my post "Lion killing bull under palm tree"...

I talked about date palm as a plant calendar marker for Jul/Aug in many of my posts...

Very very curious...Did Greeks forget the birth month of Apollo and Artemis? 

Delphic calendar started with the month of Apellaios (Jul/Aug), the month dedicated to Apollo. Why?

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...

Fallow deer

Just came across this interesting paper which states that Fallow deer (both European and Persian) was part of the "Neolithic Package" together with cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs...

This means that Neolithic farmers brought these deer with them when they migrated, like to Mediterranean islands Chios and Rhodes. Interestingly, the deer taken to Neolithic Chios and Rhodes derived not from nearby Anatolia, but from the Balkans...

The paper then goes to say that it was specifically fallow deer, and not just any deer, that was originally associated with the cult of Artemis...

This is explicitly depicted on many artefacts, like this Boeotian red-figure calyx, dated to 450–425 BC, depicting Artemis riding in a chariot pulled by fallow deer does, currently in Louvre...

From the paper: "There is debate about the geographical genesis of the Artemis myth but the possibility she originated in the Balkans is given credence by the density of both fallow deer remains and Artemis-related paraphernalia depicting fallow deer"...

Further on, the paper, citing "Approaches to Artemis in Bronze Age Greece" goes to say that:

"In Late Minoan Crete (c.1550–1100 BCE), Linear B texts mention not only fallow deer but also provide the earliest reference to Artemis (10, 53)"

Hinting that the link between fallow deer and Artemis already existed in Bronze Age Crete...

Possibly this link also existed in Bronze Age Anatolia. 

This Beautiful Hittite, fallow deer shaped vessel, dated to ca. 14th–13th century BC, is currently in the Met Museum.

Along the rim of the vessel is an engraved relief depicting some kind of (religious) scene. 

There is an ongoing discussion about whether the sitting deity depicted on the stag rhyton is a god or a goddess, unfortunately the hieroglyphs above the deity's head does not help the discussion.

The current consensus leans favourably for it being a female. And I agree it is. Here is why:

Is this a dead fallow deer behind the seated deity separated from the seated deity by two spears? A dead fallow deer lying under a stylised date palm tree with a quiver hanging on the wall above it? 

This is why this could be interesting. 

First we need to determine which fallow deer it is, European or Persian. Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) is today only found in Iran and Israel, but it inhabited parts of Anatolia, particularly the southern regions bordering Syria and the Levant, during the Bronze Age. They were widespread in Southwest Asia at that time and co-existed in Anatolia with the European fallow deer (Dama dama), though their distribution was limited by human activity...

Now the mating season of Persian fallow deer is Jul/Aug - Sep/Oct and the mating season of European fallow deer is Sep/Oct...

This would make fallow deer animal calendar marker for autumn, Jul/Aug - Oct/Nov, in Anatolia. I already talked about this in my post "Deer and bee", in which I analysed this Silver tetradrachm of Ephesos, dated to 390–380 BC.   

This coin also depicts a fallow deer lying under a date palm tree...Date palm tree is a plant calendar marker for Jul/Aug first appearing in Mesopotamia. Date harvest season starts in Jul/Aug, in Leo, when Lion (autumn) kills (ends) Bull (summer) and lasts until Oct/Nov. I gave full symbolic analysis of this seal in my post "Lion killing bull under palm tree"...

I talked about date palm as a plant calendar marker in many of my posts...

So fallow deer lying (dead) under a date palm tree is an animal calendar marker for Jul/Aug, Leo...

BTW, Leo (Jul/Aug), originally had nothing to do with stars either. It is the ancient animal calendar marker marking the beginning of the main mating season of the Eurasian lions. 

Talked about lion as an animal calendar marker in many of my posts...

Now fallow deer was directly linked to Artemis from the Minoan times. And Artemis is also linked with bow and arrow and lions...

I talked about this in many of my posts. 

Like my post "Winged Artemis", about this 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...Artemis in Leo, Jul/Aug...

Or my post "Artemis Orthia", about this drawing of an archaic carving of a chariot on ivory plaque from the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia in Sparta. The chariot is pulled by winged (solar) horses and is driven by a female (goddess?) charioteer. A lion is depicted lying behind the horses...Again, Artemis in Leo, Jul/Aug...

Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, the destructive sun (dragon) of Jul/Aug, Leo, whose holy month was Jul/Aug and who was also linked to lions...Apollo...The dragon...This dude:

Marble Throne of Apollo, Roman, late 1st c. AD. Currently in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Whoever made this, knew who Apollo really was and wanted to show Apollo in his true shape (serpent, dragon), sitting on his throne. 

I talked about Apollo, the god of the sun in Leo, Jul/Aug, the Greek equivalent of Mesopotamian Nergal, in this series of posts: "Palil", "Lord of the flies", "Lions of Delos", "Apollo and dolphins", "Marble throne of Apollo", "Apollo and Python", "White raven", "Threshing floor of Apollo", "Apollo the great archer", "Apollo Sminthius"

Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo, who was also the terrifying archer of whom it is said: 

"I will remember and not be unmindful of Apollo who shoots afar. As he goes through the house of Zeus, the gods tremble before him and all spring up from their seats when he draws near, as he bends his bright bow..."

Artemis, the feared archer herself, and the girl whom Hera accuses of being "a lioness between women"...Strange...But familiar? At least it should be...Ever heard of the Lioness of heaven? Ishtar? This girl...

I talked about her in my posts "Gisgis relief", "Sirius the mother of Venus", "Apocalypse", "The brightest star", "Inana and Šukaletuda"...

Artemis, who liked showing off by holding two lions, like on this Ancient Greek jug from Louvre, dated to 560-550 BC...

BTW, between two lions means "In Leo"...Oh and do you see how she is flanked by two spear men (two spears)?

The reason why Artemis is standing in Leo, Jul/Aug, is because Artemis is just another name for the ancient Archer Warrior Goddess, Ishtar...Deified Sirius in Leo, Jul/Aug...

For those who will say "Ishtar was the morning star", yes she was, in Leo (Jul/Aug), when Sirius rose in the morning with the sun...Which is why Ishtar stands on a lion (with sun above the lion) and why Ishtar is known as "The Lioness of heaven"...

For those who will still say Ishtar is Venus and not Sirius. This post, "Sirius the mother of Venus", and linked articles might be of interest: 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 mythology. 

Meet Sopdet...

Sopdet, the personification of Sirius, was the consort of Sah, the personification of Orion. And their child was Sopdu, the personification of Venus, "Lord of the East" (Venus as morning star)....

Ta Ta Taaaaaaa!!!!

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...

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...

Now knowing all this might help us determine who is actually sitting goddess depicted on our Hittite rhyton...I think it is most likely some Hittite version of Ishtar/Astarte/Asherah/Artemis...

One other thing. I presume the bird sitting on the hand of the seated deity is a Peregrine falcon. 

Peregrine falcons migrate over Turkey, following mapped bird migration route used by all the birds migrating over Turkey, northwards in Apr/May/June and southwards in Sep/Oct/Nov.

Interesting, right? The deity standing on the stag is also holding a peregrine falcon...

This means that all the animal calendar markers depicted on this image point at Aug/Sep/Oct...So who is sitting pretty in Sep sipping (what?)...

The grape harvest season in Anatolia, Turkey, generally falls in Aug/Sep/Oct...

BTW, do you see the mushroom shaped thingy in front of the seated deity? The main mushroom season in Anatolia and across Turkey is autumn, specifically Sep/Oct/Nov...How interesting...

Now this is climate chart for Çorum province, the old Hittite heartland. The autumn rains arrive in Sep/Oct/Nov...

Interesting, right? Considering that there is a guy pouring water libation in front of the god standing on a stag and holding a peregrine falcon...

To read 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...

Deer and bee

 Silver tetradrachm of Ephesos, 390–380 BC.   

Obverse: A bee

Reverse: A stag kneeling in right profile, looking back towards a date palm tree.

Interestingly, everything depicted on this coin is a calendar marker for autumn, Jul/Aug - Oct/Nov...

Let me explain:

Obverse: The bee

In Eastern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia and Iran, the wild honey harvest season starts with scouting for wild beehives in Aug and then honey collection in Sep/Oct...

Reverse: The stag

Based on the size and shape of the antlers, this is a Persian fallow deer with full antlers during mating season, which in Eastern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia and Iran takes place between Aug and Oct...I talked about fallow deer in these articles...

Reverse: The date palm

Date harvest in Eastern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia and Iran lasts from Aug to Oct...I talked about date harvest in these articles...

Interesting right? 

That's it. 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...

Vettersfelde Treasure

The Vettersfelde Treasure is a treasure trove of gold objects, which was found by chance in what was then Vettersfelde in the Province of Brandenburg (modern Witaszkowo, near Gubin, Poland) in 1882. The treasure is now in the Antikensammlung Berlin...

The main objects in the trove are: a fish shaped plaque, four discs plaque, and a cover of a dagger sheath. All these objects are dated to the early 6th century BC, are decorated in the steppe "animal style", and are believed to be "of Scythian origin"...

How they ended up in the North Poland is still debated. Original theory was that during a Scythian expedition into central Europe, a Scythian prince died and was buried near Brandenburg with the trove forming part of his grave-offerings. But this is today disputed...

As interesting as the origin of the hoard is, I find what is depicted on the objects more interesting...From the point of view of animal calendar markers and their presence in Scythian (???) culture...

I already talked about the presence of animal calendar markers in the steppe "animal style" decorated objects in two previous articles.

In my article about "Combs from Tuva"

And in my article about "Tasmola talisman"

In them I showed that that animals used were not depicted together randomly. Rather, the animals that are depicted together, are the animal calendar markers, used to mark the same part of the year...

In the paper "Der Goldfund von Vettersfelde" (in German) we can find high definition drawings of the objects from the Vettersfelde Treasure which allow us to see precisely what animals are depicted on them...

In the rest of this article I will analyze the scenes depicted on these objects and will try to explain why they were decorated the way they were...

The cover the of the dagger sheath. 

On top we can see a lion chasing the sun. Lion is primarily symbol of autumn (Aug,Sep,Oct) because this is when the main Eurasian lion's mating season takes place. This is what Leo marks 🙂. Start of lion mating season.

But lion is also used to represent the whole hot dry part of the year. Leo marks the hottest and driest part of the year in continental northern Eurasia...I talked about this in this article "Mycenaean ostrich egg with seasons" where I talked about this beautiful Mycenaean engraved ostrich shell

Below the lion chasing sun, in the top strip, we see a wild boar (mating season, beginning of winter, Nov/Dec/Jan) being chased by a Eurasian leopard (mating season, end of winter, Jan/Feb). So the top strip symbolises winter...

I talked about boar as a symbol for the beginning of winter, and winter itself, in my posts "Tasmola talisman","Calydonian boar", "Double headed eagle", "Overpowering"...

I talked about leopard as a symbol for the end of winter, and winter itself, in my posts "Leopard and tiger", "Furious Maenad", "Spots and stripes", "Two headed dragon", "Griffin killing lizard", "Vessel from Tepe Hissar"...

Below that, in the bottom strip, we see a Persian fallow deer (mating season, autumn, Aug/Sep) being chased by an Eurasian lion (mating season, autumn, Aug/Sep/Oct). So the bottom strip symbolises autumn...

I talked about deer as a symbol for autumn in my posts "Mycenaean ostrich egg with seasons", "Queen Puabi's cylinder seal", "Entemena Vase", "Upside down"... 

I talked about lion as the symbol for the beginning of autumn (Jul/Aug) the hottest time of the year, and for autumn itself in my posts "Mycenaean ostrich egg with seasons", "Musth", "Lions vs buffalos", "Summer and winter seal", "Winged superhuman hero"...

Interestingly, the mating seasons of wild boar and Eurasian leopards overlap at the end of winter, the coldest part of the year. While the mating seasons of the Persian fallow deer and Eurasian lions overlaps at the beginning of autumn, the hottest part of the year...

So it is possible that these two scenes actually depict the two "old" seasons: summer (Apr/May-Oct/Nov) and winter (Oct/Nov-Apr-May) with coldest part (Leopard) and Hottest part (Lion)

Why are fishes there? Well, it is possible that some migratory fish, which lived in the rivers flowing through the territory where the artist that made this object lived, migrated up the river "after autumn and winter", which is why the fishes are depicted following the other animals??? That this is indeed the case becomes clear when we see the next object.

Fish shaped plaque. 

In the top strip on the fish's body, we find the same two pairs of animals we find on the dagger sheath cover. From the head: lion chasing deer (autumn), leopard chasing boar (winter). 

In the bottom strip on the fish's body, we find fish, fish, fish...Lots of fish swimming together. And dolphins...And a fish man...Strange things for steppe nomads to be into, right? But not for people living around the Black and Azov seas and along the great rivers that empty into them.

Like Greek colonists from many Greek cities dotting the Scythian coast...And they were into fish and fishing. And dolphins. And probably the fish guys (any idea who he could be?). 

This is why I believe that these gold objects were made in one of these cities, by a Greek...

But what do these fishes represent? Well, in my post "Mesolithic sturgeon fishermen" I talked about the fact that giant beluga sturgeons migrate into Danube to spawn in late Feb - early Mar, in Pisces...

I talked about the fact that Pisces marks the main upstream migration time for salmon  in continental Europan rivers in my post "Fishes". It turns out Black and Azov sea sturgeons also have the same mating pattern. 

So the pile of fishes in the bottom strip on the fish plaque, could represent this upstream fish  migration which takes place after lion chasing deer (autumn, Aug/Sep/Oct) and leopard chasing boar (winter, Nov/Dec/Jan) are over...In Feb/Mar...

The tail is made up of two ram heads and a bird in flight. Ram is usually used as a symbol for spring (Feb/Mar/Apr). You can read more about the symbols of the seasons in my post "Symbols of the seasons"

The lambing season of the wild Eurasian sheep takes place in (Mar/Apr). I talked about this in my post "Ram and bull". The end of the lambing season is the beginning of the milking season. This important event is marked by Aries (Mar/Apr), which has to die in order for Taurus (Apr/May) to begin...Which is why we sacrifice lambs at this time of the year...I talked about this in my post "Aries must die"...

So why are these ram heads here? Well, they represent spring (Feb/Mar/Apr) which follows winter, represented by leopard killing boar (Nov/Dec/Jan), which follows autumn, represented by lion killing deer (Aug/Sep/Oct)...More specifically, they represent Aries (Mar/Apr) which follows Pisces (Feb/Mar)...

What about the bird? What kind of bird is it? It looks like a raptor. Is it possible that this is some kind of migratory raptor that arrives back to the steppe in spring? Or nests in spring? 

Interestingly, there is an eagle that nests in Mar/Apr and which fishes during the warm part of the year. And even eats dolphins (dead, stranded ones to be fair). White tailed eagle which lives along the Black and Azov sea coast...

And Pontic Greeks depicted it on their coins both 

eating fish 

and eating dolphins 

I talked about this in my post "Eagle eating dolphin"...

Cool, right?

The discs. 

Top left, boar facing leopard (we have seen this already here, end of winter), and lion facing bull (we haven't seen this here so far, but it represents the end of summer)...

Summer (May/Jun/Jul) starts in Taurus (Apr/May). Taurus, which marks the beginning of the calving season of the Eurasian wild cattle. I talked about this in my post "Ram and bull". This makes bull the most common symbol for the beginning of summer and the summer itself. I talked about this in my posts "Symbols of the seasons", "Green pastures", "Rain and flood", "Dairy farming seal", "But chewing", "Holy cow", "White calf"...

Here we could be looking again at the depiction of winter vs summer: coldest part of the year (Jan/Feb, wild boar and leopard mating season) and hottest part of the year (Jul/Aug, wild cattle and lion mating season)...

Top right, wolf facing ibex goat, and two rams facing each other...

Ibex goats mate during winter (Nov/Dec/Jan) and just like wild boar are common symbol for winter. Actually the most common symbol for winter. I talked about Ibex symbolism in my posts "Combs from Tuva", "Goat riding thunder god", "Krampus" "Goat petroglyphs from Iran", "Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir"...

Wolves mate in Jan/Feb/Mar, at the end of winter. Which makes them a very good symbol for the end of winter and winter itself. I talked about this in my post  "Tasmola talisman" 

So that part depicts winter.

What about two rams? This can either be the mating season of the wild sheep (Nov-Jan) or lambing season of the wild sheep (Mar/Apr)...I am not sure...Most likely spring...

Bottom left. Dog chasing hare. The hare mating period starts end of January, beginning of February. I talked about this in my post "Winter spirit". Hare is one of the most common symbols of spring...

The mating season of hares ends at the end of July, beginning of August...Right when the mating season of the old primitive dog breeds starts, in dog days...I talked about this in my post "Dog days"...

Which is also when the mating season of both Persian fallow deer and Eurasian lions starts...I talked about this in my post "Entemena vase"...

So both dog/hare and lion/deer point to the same time of the year, beginning of Aug...

Bottom right...Four leopards facing each other...I have no idea what this could be. Maybe whoever made this object just liked leopards very much 🙂 Or maybe they loved sturgeon fish very much, which start migrating upstream (when it is the best time to catch it), in Feb/Mar, right after leopards finish their mating season in Jan/Feb...

That is not really that important...

Important thing is that these objects were not decorated with a random depictions of animals. Whoever made these objects used the same old animal calendar markers in the same way all the ancient cultures used them to create their "religions"...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...