Great Goddess is the concept of an almighty goddess or mother goddess, or a

matriarchal religion A matriarchal religion is a religion that focuses on a goddess or goddesses. The term is most often used to refer to theories of prehistoric matriarchal religions that were proposed by scholars such as Johann Jakob Bachofen, Jane Ellen Harrison, ...

. Apart from various specific figures called this from various cultures, the

Great Goddess hypothesis The Great Goddess hypothesis theorizes that, in Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and/or Neolithic Europe and Western Asia and North Africa, a singular, monotheistic female deity was worshipped. Development of the theory The theory had been first proposed ...

, is a postulated fertility goddess supposed to have been worshipped in the Neolithic era across most of Eurasia at least. Scholarly belief in this hypothesis has reduced in recent decades, though theological belief in a Great Goddess is common in the

Goddess movement The Goddess movement includes spiritual beliefs or practices (chiefly Neopagan) which emerged predominantly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in the 1970s. The movement grew as a reaction to perceptions of predominant ...

. Specific examples include: *Great Goddess, referring to the Greek and Roman goddess

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian language, Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian language, Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother godde ...

; also associated with Rhea (mother of the gods) and Gaia (mother of the Titans) *Great Goddess, anglicized form of the Roman ''

Magna Dea Magna Dea is Latin for " Great Goddess" and can refer to any major goddess worshipped during the Roman Republic or Roman Empire. Magna Dea could be applied to a goddess at the head of a pantheon, such as Juno or Minerva, or a goddess worshipped ...

'' *Great Goddess, anglicized form of the Sanskrit Mahadevi, the Shakti sum of all goddesses *

Magu (deity) Magu () is a legendary Taoist ''xian'' () associated with the elixir of life, and a symbolic protector of women in Chinese mythology. Stories in Chinese literature describe Magu as a beautiful young woman with long birdlike fingernails, while e ...

, a deity in Chinese and Korean myth *

Great Goddess of Teotihuacan The Great Goddess of Teotihuacan (or Teotihuacan Spider Woman) is a proposed goddess of the pre-Columbian Teotihuacan civilization ( ca. 100 BCE - 700 CE), in what is now Mexico. Discovery and interpretation In years leading up to 1942, a series ...

, an ancient Mesoamerican deity *Great Goddess, also known as the Triple Goddess, an important feminine deity of the Neopagan religion of Wicca

See also