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...

Assyrian bull and pleiades seal

Neo-Assyrian seal, 900 - 775 BC. The official description: "Charging bull, rosette before it, 7 globes in sky". From Morgan Library...

The rosette is I think the sun and the 7 globes are I think Pleiades which rise with the sun in Taurus (Apr/May)...Taurus, ancient animal calendar marker for the beginning of the calving season of wild Eurasian cattle...

I talked about this in many of my posts...

Old Sumerian summer (hot dry half of the year), can be depicted using animal calendar markers like this: 

Starts in Apr/May, Bull head/horns, Taurus

Peaks in Jul/Aug, Lion body, Leo

Ends in Oct/Nov, Scorpion tail/Eagle wings and talons, Scorpio/Eagle

I talked about this in my post "Angra Mainyu"...

The bull is charging towards the sun, towards Jul/Aug, the hottest and driest time of the year in Mesopotamia. 

Also towards the beginning of the mating season of the wild Eurasian cattle...I talked about charging bull symbolism in many of my posts...

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

whom Zeus transformed first into doves

and then into stars...

Why first into doves and then into stars? Animal calendar markers of course...Doves nest when Pleiades rise with the sun...In Apr/May, Taurus...I talked about this in my post "Pleiades"...

I talked about the link between Bull and Pleiades in my post "Seven maidens", about this ancient petroglyph from Gobustan, Azerbaijan... 

And in my post "Pendant", about this pendant with an image of a bull and and what looks like seven bees or seven women. It was found in Ryazan area of Russia, and is attributed to Radimichi (related to Vyatichi), an early medieval Slavic tribe. Pendant, one of many found in Radimich kurgans, is dated to 11th - 12th century AD...  

According to ancient writers, bees only collect honey during the 7 months between the helical rising (Apr/May, Taurus) and setting (Oct/Nov) of Pleiades. Funnily, 7 is also the number of stars (bees or maiden sisters) of the constellation of Pleiades...

You can find all my articles that mention pleiades here...

You can find all my articles that mention bees here...

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...

Scorpion under the bed

A drawing of an archaic seal impression from Ur depicting a copulating couple and a scorpion, from "Ur Excavations (Volume 3) Archaic seal impressions".

 

Today I came across this article entitled "Medicine in Ancient Assur..." by Troels Pank Arbøll. And in it, starting from the pate 74, I stumbled across very interesting note about the link between scorpions and snakes and human fertility:

Snakes and scorpions were and still are very common in Mesopotamia. Both animal are normally seen in nature, in fields, gardens, forests, marshes, desert, surrounding the human settlements...

But, the ancient texts and seals also tell us that scorpions could be found under the bed or in store rooms. 

A number of seals with bed scenes display a scorpion underneath the bed. 

I couldn't find any better image of these seals or any info about this seal, so would be grateful if someone could send me a picture of one of them so I can include it here. And, scorpions were referred to as the "wolfs of the storeroom, lions of the larder"...

Snakes were also said to venture into human habitations, usually through drainage pipes and sewers and are said to be sometimes giving birth in people's houses...

According to Troels, scorpions were the symbol of motherhood and were related to fertility and the image of the married woman...And, apparently, one of the symptoms of the scorpion invenomation is priapism (enlarged forced erection)...

Troels then says, "one cannot help but associate the scorpion stings with potency, as well as the various metaphoric relationships inherent in scorpions, such as motherhood and the marriage bed...Scorpion underneath the bed, probably refferrs to the couple's married aspect."

And, "Snakes were used to to describe an infant child coiled up within the mother and coming out slithering like a snake...Snakes may have been related to fertility or youth on the basis of their "renewal" when shedding their skin"...

Interesting...But there is one other, I think, very interesting thing about scorpions and snakes and their link to (human) fertility. This is the climatic year in Mesopotamia. You can see that the cool, wet season starts in Oct/Nov and ends in Apr/May...

Oct/Nov is also when the climate in Mesopotamia gets cool and wet enough for scorpions to start looking either for a hole to hibernate in, or for a dry warm place to live in...Like people's houses...Say under people's beds...

What about snakes? They go to hibernation too, thankfully not inside people's houses...They emerge out of hibernation in the spring, change their skins, and the most common Eurasian snakes, vipers, start mating in Apr/May...

This is why scorpion is an animal calendar marker for Oct/Nov, end of the hot/dry season and the beginning of the cool/wet season. 

This is why snake is an animal calendar marker for Apr/May, end of the cool/wet season and the beginning of the hot/dry season.

Oct/Nov, the time of the year marked by scorpion, was the time of the year when fields were ploughed and grain was sown in Mesopotamia, after the first rains fall (rain was also seen as the heavenly semen, seed of the rain god) that fertilises mother Earth...

Apr/May, the time of the year marked by snake, was the time of the year when the Tigris and Euphrates flood spilled out, and when fertile mother earth gave birth to grain, when grain was harvested in Mesopotamia...

So 

Oct/Nov, scorpion, semen, corn seed, sowing, rain (heavenly seed), fertilisation...

Apr/May, snake, baby, corn ears, sheaves, harvesting, flood (earthly flood is the child of the heavenly seed, spilling of waters), delivery...

Again it seems that in Mesopotamia human and earth fertility was symbolically linked...This time through animal calendar markers: scorpion and snake...

You can find more about the use of scorpion as an animal calendar marker in these posts...

You can find more about the use of snake as an animal calendar marker in these posts...

BTW, I just remembered this drawing of an archaic seal impression from Ur, also from "Ur Excavations (Volume 3) Archaic seal impressions". Self explanatory after what you just read? I think so...

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...