A goddess is a female deity.

[1][2] While they have been, are and may be associated with as
wide a range of phenomena as male deities, including war, destruction and death as well
as creation, life-giving, healing and compassion, they have more commonly been
associated with the Earth, fertility, motherhood and love.
In some religions, a sacred female figure holds a central place in prayer and worship.
Shaktism, the worship of the female force that animates the world, is one of the three
major sects of Hinduism. In Tibetan Buddhism, the highest advancement any person can
achieve is to become like the great female Buddhas (e.g. Arya Tara) who are depicted as
being supreme protectors, fearless and filled with compassion for all beings.
The primacy of a monotheistic or near-monotheistic "Great Goddess" is advocated by
some modern matriarchists as a female version of, preceding, or analogue to, the
Abrahamic God associated with the historical rise of monotheism in the Mediterranean
Axis Age.
Most Modern Pagan traditions honour one or more goddesses. Wicca has a duotheistic
belief system, consisting of a single goddess and a single god, who in hieros gamos
represent a united whole. Polytheists, including Polytheistic reconstructionists, honour
multiple goddesses and gods, and usually see them as discrete, separate beings. These
deities may be part of a pantheon, or different regions may have tutelary deities. The
reconstructionists, like their ancient forbears, honour the deities particular to their
country of origin.
The noun goddess is a secondary formation, combining the Germanic god with the
Latinate -ess suffix. It is first attested in Middle English, from about 1350.[3] The English
word follows linguistic precedence set by a number of languages, including the
Egyptian language, Classical Greek and several Semitic languages which simply add a
feminine ending to the word for "god".

Contents
[hide]

1 Earth or mother Goddesses

2 Historical polytheism
o 2.1 Ancient Near East

2.1.1 Ancient Africa (Egypt)

2.1.2 Mesopotamia

2.1.3 Canaan

2.1.4 Anatolia

2.1.5 Pre-Islamic Arabia

o 2.2 Indo-European traditions

2.2.1 Indo-Iranian

2.2.2 Greco-Roman

2.2.3 Celtic

2.2.4 Germanic

o 2.3 Pre-Columbian America

2.3.1 Aztec

2.3.2 Other

3 Folk religion and animism

o 3.1 African religions
o 3.2 Chinese folk religion
o 3.3 Shintoism

4 Hinduism

5 Abrahamic religions
o 5.1 Judaism
o 5.2 Christianity

6 Feminism and neopaganism

o 6.1 Goddess movement
o 6.2 Sacred feminine
o 6.3 Wicca

7 Metaphorical use

8 See also

9 Notes

10 References

Earth or mother Goddesses[edit]

Main articles: Earth Goddess and Mother Goddess

The head of an Egyptian goddess. The gender is suggested by the lack of a beard, and
the simple hairstyle points to the divine status of the subject.
Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth, a 1988 interview with Bill Moyers,[4] links the
image of the Earth or Mother Goddess to symbols of fertility and reproduction.[5] For
example, Campbell states that, "There have been systems of religion where the mother
is the prime parent, the source... We talk of Mother Earth. And in Egypt you have the
Mother Heavens, the Goddess Nut, who is represented as the whole heavenly sphere".[6]
Campbell continues by stating that the correlation between fertility and the Goddess
found its roots in agriculture:
Bill Moyers: But what happened along the way to this reverence that in
primitive societies was directed to the Goddess figure, the Great Goddess, the
mother earth- what happened to that?
Joseph Campbell: Well that was associated primarily with agriculture and the
agricultural societies. It has to do with the earth. The human woman gives birth
just as the earth gives birth to the plants...so woman magic and earth magic are
the same. They are related. And the personification of the energy that gives birth
to forms and nourishes forms is properly female. It is in the agricultural world of
ancient Mesopotamia, the Egyptian Nile, and in the earlier planting-culture
systems that the Goddess is the dominant mythic form.[7]
Campbell also argues that the image of the Virgin Mary was derived from the image of
Isis and her child Horus: "The antique model for the Madonna, is Isis with Horus at her
breast".[8]

Historical polytheism[edit]
Further information: Polytheism

Ancient Near East[edit]

Ancient Africa (Egypt)[edit]
Main article: Netjeret

A statue of the Egyptian war goddess Neith wearing the Deshret crown of northern
(lower) Egypt, which bears the cobra of Wadjet.

Goddesses of the Ennead of Heliopolis: Tefnut, Nut, Nephthys, Isis

Goddesses of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis: Naunet, Amaunet, Kauket, Hauhet;

originally a cult of Hathor

Satis and Anuket of the triad of Elephantine

Mesopotamia[edit]
Main articles: Assyro-Babylonian religion and Sumerian religion
Ishtar (Inanna) was the main goddess of Babylonia and Assyria. Other Mesopotamian
goddesses include Ninhursag, Ninlil, Antu, Gaga
Canaan[edit]
Main article: Balat
Further information: The Hebrew Goddess
Goddesses of the Canaanite religion: Ba`alat Gebal, Astarte, Anat.
Anatolia[edit]

Cybele: Her Hittite name was Kubaba, but her name changed to Cybele in
Phrygian and Roman culture. Her effect can be also seen on Artemis as the Lady
of Ephesus.

Hebat: Mother Goddess of the Hittite pantheon and wife of the leader sky god,
Teshub. She was the origin of the Hurrian cult.

Arinniti: Hittite Goddess of the sun. She became patron of the Hittite Empire
and monarchy.

Leto: A mother Goddess figure in Lykia. She was also the main goddess of the
capital city of Lykia League (Letoon)

Pre-Islamic Arabia[edit]
In pre-Islamic Mecca the goddesses Uzza, al-Mant and al-Lt were known as "the
daughters of god". Uzz was worshipped by the Nabataeans, who equated her with the
Graeco-Roman goddesses Aphrodite, Urania, Venus and Caelestis. Each of the three
goddesses had a separate shrine near Mecca. Uzz, was called upon for protection by
the pre-Islamic Quraysh. "In 624 at the battle called "Uhud", the war cry of the
Qurayshites was, "O people of Uzz, people of Hubal!" (Tawil 1993).
In fact, in ancient times, the goddess and god were known as Allat and Allah, or what
would better be termed as deities representing "husband and wife".[9]
According to Ibn Ishaq's controversial account of the Satanic Verses (q.v.), these verses
had previously endorsed them as intercessors for Muslims, but were abrogated. Most
Muslim scholars have regarded the story as historically implausible, while opinion is
divided among western scholars such as Leone Caetani and John Burton, who argue
against, and William Muir and William Montgomery Watt, who argue for its
plausibility.

Indo-European traditions[edit]
See also: Proto-Indo-European religion
Pre-Christian and pre-Islamic goddesses in cultures that spoke Indo-European
languages.
Indo-Iranian[edit]
Further information: Proto-Indo-Iranian religion and Rigvedic deities
Ushas is the main goddess of the Rigveda. Prithivi, the Earth, also appears as a goddess.
Rivers are also deified as goddesses. Agneya or Aagneya is the Hindu Goddess of Fire.
Varuna is the Hindu Goddess of Water. Bhoomi, Janani, Buvana, and Prithvi are names
of the Hindu Goddess of Earth.
Greco-Roman[edit]

Statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture

Main articles: Religion in ancient Greece and Religion in ancient Rome

Eleusinian Mysteries: Persephone, Demeter, Baubo

Artemis: Goddess of the wilderness, wild animals, virginity, childbirth and the
hunt.

Aphrodite: Goddess of Love and Beauty.

Athena: Goddess of crafts, strategy, wisdom and war. Athena is also a virgin
goddess.

Dione: An early chthonic goddess of prophesy.

Eris: Goddess of chaos.

Gaia: Primordial Goddess of the Earth. Most gods descend from her.

Hera: Goddess of family and marriage. She is the wife of Zeus and the queen of
the Olympians. Mother of Ares.

Hecate: Goddess of sorcery, crossroads and magic. Often considered an chthonic

or lunar goddess. She is either portrayed as a single goddess or a triple goddess
(maiden, mother, crone).

Iris: Goddess of rainbows.

Nike: Goddess of Victory. She is predominantly pictured with Zeus or Athena

and sometimes Ares.

Selene: Goddess of the Moon.

Celtic[edit]
Main article: Celtic pantheon
Goddesses and Otherworldly Women in Celtic polytheism include:

Celtic antiquity: Brigantia

Gallo-Roman goddesses: Epona, Dea Matrona

Irish mythology: ine, Boann, Brigid, The Cailleach, Danu, riu, Fand and The
Morrgan (Nemain, Macha, and Badb) among others.

The Celts honored goddesses of nature and natural forces, as well as those connected
with skills and professions such as healing, warfare and poetry. The Celtic goddesses
have diverse qualities such as abundance, creation and beauty, as well as harshness,
slaughter and vengeance. They have been depicted as beautiful or hideous, old hags or
young women, and at times may transform their appearance from one state to another,
or into their associated creatures such as crows, cows, wolves or eels, to name but a few.
In Irish mythology in particular, tutelary goddesses are often associated with
sovereignty and various features of the land, notably mountains, rivers, forests and holy
wells.[10]
Germanic[edit]

The goddess Freyja is nuzzled by the boar Hildisvni while gesturing to Hyndla (1895)
by Lorenz Frlich.
Further information: List_of_Germanic_deities_and_heroes Goddesses
Surviving accounts of Germanic mythology and later Norse mythology contain
numerous tales and mentions of female goddesses, female giantesses, and divine female
figures. The Germanic peoples had altars erected to the "Mothers and Matrons" and held

celebrations specific to them (such as the Anglo-Saxon "Mothers-night"), and various

other female deities are attested among the Germanic peoples, such as Nerthus attested
in an early account of the Germanic peoples, ostre attested among the pagan AngloSaxons and Sinthgunt attested among the pagan continental Germanic peoples.
Examples of goddesses attested in Norse mythology include Frigg (wife of Odin, and
the Anglo-Saxon version of whom is namesake of the modern English weekday Friday),
Skai (one time wife of Njrr), Njerda (Scandinavian name of Nerthus), that also was
married to Njrr during Bronze Age, Freyja (wife of r), Sif (wife of Thor), Gerr
(wife of Freyr), and personifications such as Jr (earth), Sl (the sun), and Ntt (night).
Female deities also play heavily into the Norse concept of death, where half of those
slain in battle enter Freyja's field Flkvangr, Hel receives the dead in her realm of the
same name, and Rn receives those who die at sea. Other female deities such as the
valkyries, the norns, and the dsir are associated with a Germanic concept of fate (Old
Norse rlg, Old English Wyrd), and celebrations were held in their honor, such as the
Dsablt and Disting.

Pre-Columbian America[edit]
Aztec[edit]
Main article: Aztec religion

Xochiquetzal (left) and Chalchiuhtlicue (right) as depicted in the Tovar Codex.

Chalchiuhtlicue: goddess of water (rivers, seas, storms, etc.)

Coyolxauhqui: warrior goddess associated with the moon

Duality Earth Goddesses: Cihuacoatl (childbirth and maternal death), Coatlicue

(earth as the womb and grave), Tlazolteotl (filth and purification)

Itzpapalotl: monstrous ruler of Tamoanchan (a paradise realm)

Mictecacihuatl: queen of Mictlan (the underworld)

Xochiquetzal: goddess of fertility, beauty, and female sexual allure

Other[edit]
The Inca pantheon included: Pachamama, the supreme Mother Earth, Mama Killa, a
moon goddess, and Mama Ocllo, a fertility goddess.

The main goddesses in the Maya pantheon were Ixchel, a mother goddess, and the Maya
moon goddess. The Goddess I presided over eroticism, human procreation, and
marriage. Ixtab was the goddess of suicide.

Folk religion and animism[edit]

Further information: Folk religion and Marian devotion

African religions[edit]
Further information: Traditional African religions and African diasporic religions
Further information: Mami Wata, Ala (mythology), Asase Ya, Oshun, Oya and Yemaja

A Nepali girl being worshipped as a living Goddess, called a kumari

In African and African diasporic religions, goddesses are often syncretized with Marian
devotion, as in Ezili Dantor (Black Madonna of Czstochowa) and Erzulie Freda (Mater
Dolorosa). There is also Buk, an Ethiopian goddess still worshipped in the southern
regions. She represents the fertile aspect of women. So when a woman is having her
period not only does it signify her submission to nature but also her union with the
goddess.[citation needed] Another Ethiopian goddess is Atetethe goddess of spring and
fertility. Farmers traditionally leave some of their products at the end of each harvesting
season as an offering while their women sing traditional songs. A rare example of
henotheism focused on a single Goddess is found among the Southern Nuba of Sudan.
The Nuba conceive of the creator Goddess as the "Great Mother" who gave birth to
earth and to mankind.[11]

Chinese folk religion[edit]

Main article: Chinese folk religion
Further information: Queen Mother of the West

Mazu is the goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors, widely
worshipped in the south-eastern coastal areas of China and neighbouring areas in
Southeast Asia.

The Goddess Weaver Valentina, daughter of the Celestial Mother, wove the stars
and their light, known as "the Silver River" (what Westerners call "The Milky
Way Galaxy"), for heaven and earth. She was identified with the star Westerners
know as Vega.[12]

Shintoism[edit]
Goddess Amaterasu is the chief among the Shinto Gods, while there are important
female deities Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, Inari and Konohanasakuya-hime.

Hinduism[edit]

The Hindu warrior goddess Durga killing the buffalo-demon Mahishasura.

Main article: God and gender in Hinduism
Further information: Devi and Shakti
Hinduism is a complex of various belief systems that sees many gods and goddesses as
being representative of and/or emanative from a single source, Brahman, understood
either as a formless, infinite, impersonal monad in the Advaita tradition or as a dual god
in the form of Lakshmi-Vishnu, Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Shakti in Dvaita traditions.
Shaktas, worshippers of the Goddess, equate this god with Devi, the mother goddess.
Such aspects of one god as male god (Shaktiman) and female energy (Shakti), working
as a pair are often envisioned as male gods and their wives or consorts and provide
many analogues between passive male ground and dynamic female energy.
For example, Brahma pairs with Sarasvati. Shiva likewise pairs with Parvati who later is
represented through a number of Avatars (incarnations): Sati and the warrior figures,
Durga and Kali. All goddesses in Hinduism are sometimes grouped together as the great
goddess, Devi.

A further step was taken by the idea of the Shaktis. Their ideology based mainly on
tantras sees Shakti as the principle of energy through which all divinity functions, thus
showing the masculine to be dependent on the feminine. Indeed, in the great shakta
scripture known as the Devi Mahatmya, all the goddesses are shown to be aspects of
one presiding female force, one in truth and many in expression, giving the world and
the cosmos the galvanic energy for motion. It is expressed through both philosophical
tracts and metaphor that the potentiality of masculine being is given actuation by the
feminine divine. Local deities of different village regions in India were often identified
with "mainstream" Hindu deities, a process that has been called "Sanskritization".
Others attribute it to the influence of monism or Advaita which discounts polytheist or
monotheist categorization.
While the monist forces have led to a fusion between some of the goddesses (108 names
are common for many goddesses), centrifugal forces have also resulted in new
goddesses and rituals gaining ascendance among the laity in different parts of Hindu
world. Thus, the immensely popular goddess Durga was a pre-Vedic goddess who was
later fused with Parvati, a process that can be traced through texts such as Kalika Purana
(10th century), Durgabhaktitarangini (Vidyapati 15th century), Chandimangal (16th
century) etc.