Nane ( hy, Նանէ, translit=Nanē) was an Armenian

mother goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or t ...

, as well as the goddess of war and wisdom. Nane was depicted as a young beautiful woman in the clothing of a warrior, with spear and shield in hand, like the Greek

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

, with whom she identified in the Hellenic period. She has also been referred to as ''Hanea, Hanea, Babylonian Nana, Sumerian Nanai.''

Cult

Her cult was closely associated with the cult of the goddess

Anahit Anahit ( hy, Անահիտ, fa, آناهید) was the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology. In early periods she was the goddess of war. By the 5th century BCE she was the main deity in Armenia along with Ar ...

. The

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

of the goddess Nane was in the town of Thil across from the Lycus River. Her temple was destroyed during the Christianization of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

"Then they crossed the Lycus River and demolished the temple of Nane, Aramazd's daughter, in the town of Thil."

"Gregory then asked the
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
for permission to overthrow and destroy the pagan shrines and temples. Trdat readily issued an edict entrusting Gregory with this task, and himself set out from the city to destroy shrines along the highways."

According to some authors, Nane was adopted from the

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic ...

goddess Nanaya, from the

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empir ...

n goddess Cybele, or was from

Elam Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...

ite origin.

Traditions and symbols

As the conversion to Christianity was so forceful, most artifacts, books, and stories were destroyed. As a result, many things are unknown to contemporary scholars. It is however known that in Ancient Armenia, it was traditional for Kings to meet with the oldest woman in their dynasty because she was often seen as the epitome of Nane. In Armenia and other countries around the world, the name Nane continues to be used not only as a personal name, but also as a nickname for the grandmother of the household. ''Nanna, Nani, Nannan, etc.''

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite journal, first=Armen, last=Petrosyan, year= 2007, title=State Pantheon of Greater Armenia: Earliest Sources, journal=Aramazd: Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies, volume= 2, pages=174–201, issn=1829-1376 Wisdom goddesses Armenian goddesses War goddesses Mother goddesses Persecution of Pagans

Cult

Traditions and symbols

See also

References

Bibliography