Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

30 ArsuArsuAstraltutelary god. Pre-Islamic northern Arabian.Locally worshiped at Palmyra where he personifiesthe evening star, in company with his brotherAZIZOS who is the morning star. He equates withRuda elsewhere in northern Arabia. Associatedin Palmyra with horses or camels.ARTEMISORIGIN Greek, but known extensively throughwestern Asia. Principally goddess of animalsand hunting, but in Greek-speaking Asia, amother goddess.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa 800 BC andearlier until Christianization (circa AD 400) andprobably later.SYNONYMS Potnia Theron (mistress of theanimals).CENTER(S) OF CULT Antioch-near-Pisidia; Delos;Magnesia-on-the-Maeander; Pamphylia; Perge;Ephesus [Turkey].ART REFERENCES cultic statues, etc, most notablythe multi-breasted figures at Ephesus.LITERARY SOURCES cuneiform texts (earlier Asianmodels); Iliad (Homer), Theogony (Hesiod).Artemis is a deity of very ancient origins whosurvived and attracted great popularity in bothAsia Minor and Greece into Christian times,when arguably much of her ethos was transferredto the Virgin Mary. Both figures enjoyedmajor sanctuaries at Ephesus. As an Asiatic goddessArtemis was often drawn winged andstanding between wild animals. In this contextshe generally appears equipped with boots, atorch and a pointed cap. She is also a stronglyandrogynous figure, a feature depicted dramaticallyin the statue of Artemis of Ephesus. Hertemple at Ephesus dates from the fourth centuryBC and is ranked among the seven wondersof the world. The cult statues were carried inprocession on May 25 among a congregation ofup to 30,000.To the Greeks she was the daughter of ZEUSand LETO. She was honored in the sanctuaryon Delos with its celebrated Horn Altar fromcirca 700 BC. In Greek mythology the androgynousaspect was firmly discounted. In her earliestpre-Homeric form the Mistress of Animals“suckles the young of every wild creature thatroams the fields.” As a huntress she uses a bowand arrows.By Homeric times the ferocity of this prehistoricelement has waned in favor of a more timidimage of a young girl dominated robustly by herstepmother HERA. A contrary character study inthe Odyssey pictures her more positively as a virgingoddess chasing and killing boars and hindsover the hills and fields, fleet of foot and in companywith a band of nymphs. She presides overnature and over the initiation rituals of younggirls. She is also a goddess of blood sacrifice. Acruel element emerged in a different sense as shethreatened any maiden who turned to the role ofwife. Paradoxically, and more in keeping with theold Semitic personality, she is also the goddess ofbirth.ArthapratisamvitGoddess of logical analysis. Buddhist (Vajrayana).One of a group of four. Color: green. Attributes:jewel and noose.Artio of MuriFertility goddess and guardian spirit of bears.Romano-Celtic (Continental European). Knownonly from inscriptions and sculptures in theBerne region of Switzerland, she is linked withbears. A bronze depicts her offering fruit to abear. She seems also to be a goddess of prosperityand harvest. She became syncretized with the