Isis (Egypt)
Not only was she a principal deity in the rites connected with the dead, but she was also a magical healer, and as a mother figure and arbiter of fertility rites, she was a role model for women. Isis was the daughter of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut and was married to Osiris, King of Egypt, whom she restored as a mummy after his brother Seth threw him in the Nile and then chopped him into pieces.
Not only was she a principal deity in the rites connected with the dead, but she was also a magical healer, and as a mother figure and arbiter of fertility rites, she was a role model for women. Isis was the daughter of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut and was married to Osiris, King of Egypt, whom she restored as a mummy after his brother Seth threw him in the Nile and then chopped him into pieces.
Artemis (Greece)
Daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo, the sun god. Most commonly thought of as the goddess of the hunt, she is often depicted with a quiver full of arrows, and accompanied by a deer or a bear. However, Artemis could also refer to a number of other deities, depending on the time period or the region — and many of them had a more nurturing role.
Daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo, the sun god. Most commonly thought of as the goddess of the hunt, she is often depicted with a quiver full of arrows, and accompanied by a deer or a bear. However, Artemis could also refer to a number of other deities, depending on the time period or the region — and many of them had a more nurturing role.
Frigga (Scandinavia)
Wife of Odin, associated with the hearth, the mead hall and childbirth. But while that seems a boring portfolio, it’s an important one given the violence and instability of Scandinavia in the dark ages. Frigga is also remembered in the context of her spinning wheel, twining the threads of fate that tie all humanity.
Durga (India)
Durga (“the inaccessible”) is considered the mother of the universe. It’s only right that such a powerful deity have at least eight arms, ride a lion, and be able to defeat demons that other gods cannot. It’s also fitting that the beautiful protective-warrior goddess have a festival in her honor each year.
Nu Gua (China)
Nu Gua established the norms for marriage and developed the rules of conduct between the sexes. But she did much more than that. Pillars of heaven need refurbishing? fixed them. Corners of the earth broken? Nu Gua brought her tool kit of a tortoise and melted-down stones.
Wife of Odin, associated with the hearth, the mead hall and childbirth. But while that seems a boring portfolio, it’s an important one given the violence and instability of Scandinavia in the dark ages. Frigga is also remembered in the context of her spinning wheel, twining the threads of fate that tie all humanity.
Durga (India)
Durga (“the inaccessible”) is considered the mother of the universe. It’s only right that such a powerful deity have at least eight arms, ride a lion, and be able to defeat demons that other gods cannot. It’s also fitting that the beautiful protective-warrior goddess have a festival in her honor each year.
Nu Gua (China)
Nu Gua established the norms for marriage and developed the rules of conduct between the sexes. But she did much more than that. Pillars of heaven need refurbishing? fixed them. Corners of the earth broken? Nu Gua brought her tool kit of a tortoise and melted-down stones.
Gaia (Greece)
Hesiod writes in his Theogony that she showed up after, but is not the child of, Chaos. “Broad-bosomed Earth (Gaia), sure-standing place for all / The Gods who live on snowy Olympus’ peak” creates the sky, the mountains, and the sea. That sky (Uranus), “an equal to herself,” is not just her offspring; he also becomes her husband.
Danu (Ireland)
Mother of the earth, the gods, fertility, wisdom, wind and of all the Celtic people. When the Tuatha De Danaan, or people of the goddess Danu, reached Ireland’s shores to wage war against the Fir Bolg — a race of evil giants — Danu provided them sustenance, life and law.
insun (Sumeria)
insun means Lady Wild Cow, “the flawless cow,” “the wild cow of the enclosure” and “the mother of good offspring that loves the offspring.” It’s said that she was the divine power behind the qualities that herdsmen hoped for in their own cows. She was also represented in human form and could actually give birth to humans.
Hesiod writes in his Theogony that she showed up after, but is not the child of, Chaos. “Broad-bosomed Earth (Gaia), sure-standing place for all / The Gods who live on snowy Olympus’ peak” creates the sky, the mountains, and the sea. That sky (Uranus), “an equal to herself,” is not just her offspring; he also becomes her husband.
Danu (Ireland)
Mother of the earth, the gods, fertility, wisdom, wind and of all the Celtic people. When the Tuatha De Danaan, or people of the goddess Danu, reached Ireland’s shores to wage war against the Fir Bolg — a race of evil giants — Danu provided them sustenance, life and law.
insun (Sumeria)
insun means Lady Wild Cow, “the flawless cow,” “the wild cow of the enclosure” and “the mother of good offspring that loves the offspring.” It’s said that she was the divine power behind the qualities that herdsmen hoped for in their own cows. She was also represented in human form and could actually give birth to humans.
