7 maidens

Recently I watched a tv program called "The Silk Roads - Wonders of Azerbaijan" by Bettany Hughes. In it she talked about this ancient petroglyph from Gobustan, which, if I remember correctly, she called "7 maidens"...

Unfortunately I can only find this copy of this program online in, I guess, Azerbaijani, so I can't confirm this myself. If anyone has access to the English version, I would really appreciate if you cold confirm this for me. Thanks. Or alternatively, I would rally appreciate if @bettanyhughes could confirm that this is indeed what she called the petroglyph in question. And if she could clarify if this was a nickname given to the petroglyph by the local archaeologists, or was it her own poetic invention 🙂

The reason why I ask is that on the highlighted image from the program, I could only see 6 figures, not 7. Is there a 7th figure that wasn't highlighted, or that is not visible from the angle from which the petroglyph was filmed?

Why I would like to determine if there are indeed "7 maidens" depicted on this petroglyph, is because in the program, Bettany proceeded to talk about how "the meaning of the petroglyph is unknown".

Now if there are indeed 7 female figures depicted on this petroglyph (I guess we think they are females because of the public triangles ???, but they could just be as easily men wearing some kind of weird loincloths), then maybe I could offer a possible explanation...

Is this a bovine, depicted behind the human figures? It certainly looks like one. If so, then the meaning of the "7 maidens" petroglyph could be the "7 sisters", the Pleiades, which rise with the sun in Apr/May...

Apr/May, when wild Eurasian cattle start to calve...

Which is why this time of the year is is still marked with a bovine, Taurus...

I talked about this animal calendar marker in many of my posts, for instance "Cow and calf ivory", "Foundation peg of the goddess Nanshe", "Elamite water bull", "Human bull hybrid", "White calf", "Calydonian boar"...

According to this paper, "Agricultural Practices at Mentesh Tepe (Kura Valley, Azerbaijan) during the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age: An Overview from Sickle Elements and Botanical Remains", the main Neolithic, Bronze Age crop grown in Azerbaijan was barley, which was sown in the Oct/Nov, and harvested in May/Jun...Using sickles with composite stone blades...

Basically small sharp stone flakes, inserted into crescent shaped wooden frame...Something like this.

These sickles evolved from wild ass, deer jaw bones. 

We know that some primitive jaw bone sickles actually had long handles.

The sickles then evolved into wild ass, deer jawbones with artificial flint teeth

Then into artificial wooden jawbones with artificial flint teeth

And finally into serrated (toothed) jawbone shaped piece of metal...

I talked about the evolution of sickles in my post "Sickle"...

So it is quite possible that the things held by the figures are long handle sickles...Or maybe what is depicted on this rock engraving from Azerbaijan is something like this: Cain (farmer) killing Abel (shepherd) with a "ass jawbone", [my comment: the earliest form of a sickle]. 

New York, Pierpont Morgan Library: Ms 43, Huntingfield Psalter, XII Century, fol. 8. Pic from "Cain's Jaw-Bone that Did the First Murder"

Taking all this into account, is this image a calendar marker for harvest your barley when wild cattle starts to calve and Pleiades rise with the sun? I talked about Pleiades, barley harvest and animal calendar markers in my post "Pleiades". In it, explained why, according to the Greek mythology, the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas, were transformed by Zeus first into doves, and only then into stars...

It's all to do with the link between doves and grain harvest (goddess)...Like Demeter, who was depicted on this terracotta statuette enthroned with a turtle-dove on her lap. The cult image of the harvest goddess was likely venerated in a sanctuary. From Sicily, 5th century BC. Milan Archaeological Museum. Pic by Gareth Harney

I explained this link in my posts "Demeter and dove" and "Cup of Nestor"...

This link between grain goddess and doves also existed in Mesopotamia, where Inanna was also linked with doves. 1800-1600 BC pottery cup, Syria. The rounded body tapering to a flat base, with 26 bird heads. Similar objects were interpreted as votive objects dedicated to Ishtar/Inanna. 

I talked about this in my post "Inanna and dove"... 

The reason why doves are linked with grain goddesses and with pleiades is because doves, both European and Asian, nest during the grain harvest which starts in Apr/May, when pleiades rise with the sun, in Taurus...

But maybe there are no 7 but indeed only 6 figures depicted on this petroglyph, and they are not female but male figures with (admittedly weird) loin cloths, and these are not sickles they are holding but battle axes...

In which case this is just a depiction of a bovine hunt 🙂

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...

The damned

 A strange medieval stone panel in the National Museum of Ireland. 

It is thought to date to around the 15/16th century. It depicts the Devil (in the form of a dragon) driving the Damned (in the form of goats) into Hell.

It is funny that when it comes to animal calendar markers, goat is the symbol of winter (Nov-Apr)...And a fire breathing dragon/snake is the symbol of summer (May-Oct)...

Have you ever thought why in the Book of Revelation, Satan appears as a Great Red Dragon? And why hell is burning hot? Did you know that in Levant, Mot, the god of death, the enemy of "The God", Baal, The Devil, was equated with sun? I talked about this in my posts "The oldest Arabic poem", "Anat"...

The burning late summer sun, which causes droughts and creates hell on earth...

This guy, the "monster" which is hot dry Mesopotamian summer. 

Depicted using animal calendar markers: starts in Apr/May, Bull head, Taurus, peaks in Jul/Aug, Lion body, Leo and ends in Oct/Nov, Scorpion tail/Eagle wings and talons, Scorpio/Eagle. I talked about this in my post "Angra Mainyu"...

Deified animal calendar marker at its best. Nergal, the god of death, personification of the destructive sun, as a man-lion.

Leo marks the beginning of the Eurasian lion mating season. 

It also marks the hottest and driest part of the year in Mesopotamia...I talked about this in my post "Winged superhuman hero"...

You know the dragon...

The dude depicted on this very interesting metal plaque from the so called "Let­nit­sa Treas­ure", a 4th c. BC Thracian hoard discovered near Let­nit­sa, Bulgaria...Depicted as part of one of the most common themes from Balkan fairytales: a princess being kidnapped by a dragon...I talked about this in my post "Letnitsa treasure"...

On the other hand goat is symbol of rain, (water of) life...Because in Mesopotamia, Iran, Levant, Eastern Mediterranean, rains arrive when Ibex goats start mating, in Oct/Nov...

I talked about ibex goat as "Goat of Rain", an animal calendar marker linked to rain, and cool wet half of the year, old Mesopotamian winter, in many posts, such as, "Problems with Abzu", "Relief from Dur Sharrukin", "Goatfish", "Flamingos from Susa", "Goat carrier", "Iranian goat of rain", "Strider", "A vessel from Tepe Hissar"... 

BTW, Baal, The God...was the rain god...

So what we have depicted on this Irish relief is "Triumph of (summer, sun) evil over good (winter, rain)"???

Interesting, right?

BTW, this has nothing to do with Mathew 25. I talked about Mathew 25 in my post "Goats and sheep"...

Last Judgement, Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna. Italy, 5th-6th century

In it I explained that this Christian scene is inverted, a mirror image of the celestial scene. The blue cold angel is St Mitar (Martin), Samhain, the beginning of the winter. The red angel is St George, Beltane, the beginning of the summer. Between them is Imbolc, the beginning of Spring...

But now, that I know a lot more about animal calendar markers, and the link between Old Mesopotamian religions and Christianity (check my post Alexamenos graffito), I think that I was wrong, and that this Christian icon actually depicts this:

The blue cold angel is St Mitar, Oct/Nov the beginning of the winter, cool wet half of the year, marked by a goat. The red angel is St George, Apr/May, the beginning of the summer. Between them is Sun, Shamash, "who came back" (sun reborn at winter solstice) pointing at ram (Mar/Apr)...

I talked about goat and ram animal calendar markers in my post "Goatfish with ram head"...

Sacrificial lamb actually, as ram (Aries) has to be killed (has to end), so summer, the domain of Shamash, can begin in Taurus...I talked about this in my post "Aries must die" about the sacrificial lamb...

Or, if we remember this stuff from my post "You will trample great lion and serpent":

God most high...Happy summer solstice guys...

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 the fact that Christ is sitting on a throne, then maybe, the Mathew 25 actually depicts this:

And the Christian scene is not inverted, mirror image of the celestial scene. But the actual  symbolic depiction of the Sun God on his throne...

I just wonder if this is sun on the summer solstice, or is this sun in Leo, The Dragon...Nergal...

Unfortunately, the more I learn about all this, the more I am convinced that the last is true...

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...

Pleiades

According to the Greek mythology, the Pleiades are the seven daughters of Atlas

whom Zeus transformed first into doves

and then into stars...

Why did Zeus first transform Pleiades into doves and then into stars? Why did he not transform them straight into stars? 

Cause he is Zeus. He doesn't have to explain himself to anybody 🙂 

Which reminds me of this great sketch by the Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan

But actually, there is a very good reason why Zeus turned Pleiades first into doves and then into stars: Cause Animal calendar markers predate constellations...

Let me explain what I mean:

First we have to go and talk to Hesiod about Grain...And Pleiades...

According to Hesiod, who wrote in mid 8th century BCE in Bœotia, grain harvest started: "When the Pleiades, daughters of Atlas, are rising". Which in the mid 8th century BCE in Bœotia, was around the first week of May...In Taurus...I talked about this in my post "Hesiod on grain"...

Hesiod also said this about Pleiades:

The Pleiades would "flee mighty Orion and plunge into the misty deep" just before dawn during Oct/Nov, a good time of the year to lay up your ship after the fine summer weather and "remember to work the land". Meaning to plough and sow grain...

You can read about this in the article "The trice ploughed field, Cultivation Techniques in Ancient and Modern Greece"...

So Heliacal "Rising" and "Falling" of pleiades divided Greek year into two halves: grain growing agriculture season (Oct/Nov-Apr/May) and sailing season (Apr/May-Oct/Nov)...Kind of important...

BTW, If you want to read about Greek sailing season check my article "Three sacrifices", about sacrifices, which marked the beginning and the end of the Trojan war...

Anyway, so, you plough and sow grain when Pleiades fall with the sun and you harvest grain when Pleiades rise with the sun...

What does any of this have to do with doves...

Ah...I am glad you asked...🙂

Dove was the holy bird of Demeter, Greek goddess of grain harvest and threshing flors...I talked about this in my article "Demeter with dove"...

Dove was also the holy bird of Inanna, Ishtar, Asherah...also Mesopotamian/Levantine goddess of grain harvest and threshing floors...I talked about this in my post "Inanna and dove" about this pottery cup from Syria, dated to 1800-1600 BC. The rounded body tapering to a flat base, with 26 bird heads. Christies auction... 

Doves??? Similar objects were interpreted as votive objects dedicated to Ishtar/Inanna, whose sacred bird was dove...

And as I explained in these article, the reason why dove is associated with grain goddesses is because in this Europe and Western Asia, grain harvest starts when two most common types of doves 

collared dove

turtle dove

start mating, in Apr/May...And they mate throughout the harvest season...

This is also when Pleiades rise with sun...To announce the beginning of the harvest...Quite interesting, don't you think? 

Oh, BTW, have you seen my article "Pendant"? It talks about 11th - 12th c. AD, pendants found in kurgans of Radimichi, an early medieval Slavic tribe, who lived in Ryazan area of Russia, and about the link between Pleiades and Taurus...

Why are Pleiades linked with Taurus? Well, if we look at both Pleiades and Taurus as constellations, it's kind of obvious...

But remember, all our animal constellations were originally animal calendar markers...They marked mating or birthing season of the depicted animal...

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...

Anyway, Taurus is one such animal calendar marker. It originally marked the calving season of the Wild Eurasian cattle. Which began in Apr/May. I talked about this in my post "Cow and calf ivory"...

Remember that this is also when grain harvest started in in the region where these animal calendar markers originally developed (Mesopotamia, Levant)...Hence the symbolic link between grain and bulls. I talked about this in my post "Bull carrying granary", about this amazing seal from "Die Entwicklung der Glyptik während der Akkad-Zeit" by Boehmer, R. M. published in 1965, depicting a bull carrying a building with plants growing (protruding) out of the building walls...

And so, if we look at both Pleiades and Taurus as animal calendar markers, we can see that they are also linked: 

Doves start nesting in Apr/May

Aurochs start calving in Apr/May

Oh and 

Grain harvest starts in Apr/May

That's it...Quite fascinating I think...Hope you enjoyed this article. Have a nice evening...