Nane (goddess)

Nane^[1] (Armenian: Նանե; Bulgarian: Нане; Russian: Нанэ) or the "Great Mother Goddess" was a pagan Armenian goddess of war, motherhood, and wisdom.

Nane’s relations to other Armenian pagan gods and goddesses

Nane was the daughter of the supreme god Aramazd. Her cult was closely associated with the cult of the goddess Anahit.

Appearance of the goddess Nane

The goddess Nane looked like a young beautiful woman in the clothing of a warrior, with spear and shield in hand.

The Temple of the goddess Nane

The temple of the goddess Nane was in the town of Thil (T'il). Her temple was destroyed during the Christianization of Armenia:

“Then they crossed the Gayl (Lycus) River and demolished the temple of Nane, Aramazd's daughter, in the town of T'il”.^[2]

“Gregory then asked the king for permission to overthrow and destroy the pagan shrines and temples. Drtad readily issued an edict entrusting Gregory with this task, and himself set out from the city to destroy shrines along the highways."^[3]

The People of the goddess Nane

In Armenia and other countries, the name Nane continues to be used as a personal name. Also. Nane’s followers were some of the ex- Paulician Armenians who were mostly Islamize and later known as Pomaks in Europe. ^[4][5]

Substitution and Parallel Names of Goddess Name

Some authors replace the name of the goddess Nane with Nana^[6]or provide parallel names as Nanea^[7], Nana, and Nanaia^[8]. However, the Armenian goddess name Nane should not be confused with the names of the Asian Minor goddess Nana (Nane), Sumerian goddess Ninni, Assyrian goddess Nana or Nina, or Nana in the Greek mythology^[9].

Adoptation of the Goddess Name “Nane”

According some authors the goddess Nane name is adopted name from the Akkadian goddess name Nanaya^[10]or Persian – Nanea^[11]but these are only assumptions that need evidence.

Notes

1. ^ The accent is on the last syllable as it is usually in every Armenian polysyllabic word or name.
2. ^ A. Carrière. The Eight Sanctuaries of Pagan Armenia according to Agat'angeghos and Movses Xorenats'I [Les huit sanctuaires de l'Arménie payenne]. Paris, 1899, English Translation by Robert Bedrosian, 2009. http://rbedrosian.com/Car1.htm
3. ^ AGATHANGELOS. History of St. Gregory and the Conversion of Armenia. http://www.vehi.net/istoriya/armenia/agathangelos/en/AGATHANGELOS.html
4. ^ Edouard Selian. The Immortal Spirit of the Goddess Nané http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/197673
5. ^ Edouard Selian.The Pomaks: an Islamized People of Europe http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/134152
6. ^ Jacques de Morgan. "The History of the Armenian People". 1918, p. 70.
7. ^ Vahan M. Kurkjian. A History of Armenia. Armenian Mythology. Published by the Armenian General Benevolent Union of America 1958/YR. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/34*.html
8. ^ Mariam Gvelesiani. Pagan Cults of Pre-Christian Georgia (Ainina-Danina, Zaden) http://www.nceeer.org/Programs/Carnegie/Reports/Pagan_Cults_of_Pre-Christian_Georgia.doc Pagan_Cults_of_Pre-Christian_Georgia.doc
9. ^ Հայոց անձնանունների բառարան (Hayots andznanunneri bararan / Dictionary of the Armenian First Names), Yerevan, Vol. 1-5, 1942-1962. ( Vol. 4, p.21)
10. ^ С. Б. Арутюнян. Армянская мифология S. B. Arutiunyan. The Armenian Mythology (in Russian).
11. ^ John M. Douglas. The Armenians. New York, 1992, p. 91.

See Also

• Anahit
• Aramazd