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Ma was a local goddess at Comana in
Exempli Gratia: Sagalassos, Marc Waelkens and Interdisciplinary ..., Volym 69
'
Ma
"Her cult was also diffused in Macedonia, where it was introduced after the campaign of Alexander the Great and was disseminated relatively easily, perhaps because the goddess had many similarities with the Mother of the Gods, Artemis and various local deities." Ma-Enyo, a fusion between the Anatolian goddess Ma and the Greek Goddess, Enyo, was considered the great west Asian nature-goddess, with Comana's temple and its fame in ancient times as the place where the rites of this, a variety of the nature goddess, were celebrated with much solemnity.
p. 138
*
p. 30
{{Authority control Ancient Cappadocia Ancient Anatolia Phrygian goddesses Cybele War goddesses Mother goddesses
Ma was a local goddess at Comana in Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
. Her name Ma means "Mother", and she also had the epithets "Invincible" and "Bringer of Victory".Jeroen Poblome: Exempli Gratia: Sagalassos, Marc Waelkens and Interdisciplinary ..., Volym 69
'
History
Ma has been interpreted as a mother goddess, but at the same time as a warrior goddess, as her name and epithets indicate both. She was associated with the transition of adulthood of both genders, and sacred prostitution was practiced during her biennial festivals. Ma was also seen as a moon goddess, being associated with the Anatolia moon god Mēn, with a temple estate dedicated to Mēn Pharnakou andSelene
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter of ...
at Ameria, near Cabira, in the Kingdom of Pontus
Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian origin), which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemen ...
, being an attempt to counter-balance the influence of the Moon goddess Ma of Comana.
Ma has been identified with a number of other deities, indicating her function. She has been compared to 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 ...
and Bellona. The ancient Greeks compared Ma to the goddess Enyo
Enyo (; grc, Ἐνυώ, Enȳṓ) is a goddess of war in Greek mythology. She frequently is associated with the war god Ares.
Description
She is called the "sister of War" by Quintus Smyrnaeus, in a role closely resembling that of Eris, the ...
and Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...
Nicephorus. Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
likened her with Semele
Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths.
Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele came from ...
and Athena. Ma was introduced and worshiped in Macedonia together with other foreign deities."Her cult was also diffused in Macedonia, where it was introduced after the campaign of Alexander the Great and was disseminated relatively easily, perhaps because the goddess had many similarities with the Mother of the Gods, Artemis and various local deities." Ma-Enyo, a fusion between the Anatolian goddess Ma and the Greek Goddess, Enyo, was considered the great west Asian nature-goddess, with Comana's temple and its fame in ancient times as the place where the rites of this, a variety of the nature goddess, were celebrated with much solemnity.
Cult
Ma is described as a local Anatolian goddess, with her cult centered around her temple at Komana in Cappadocia. Her temple in Comana is described at length by Strabo (XI, 521; XII, 535, 537).See also
* Mah *Men (deity)
''Mēn'' (Greek: "month; Moon", presumably influenced by Avestan '' måŋha'') was a lunar god worshipped in the western interior parts of Anatolia. He is attested in various localized variants, such as ''Mēn Askaenos'' in Antioch in Pisidia, o ...
Notes
References
*Yulia Ustinova, ''The Supreme Gods of the Bosporan Kingdom: Celestial Aphrodite and the Most High God'' (1999)p. 138
*
Robin Lane Fox
Robin James Lane Fox, (born 5 October 1946) is an English classicist, ancient historian, and gardening writer known for his works on Alexander the Great. Lane Fox is an Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford and Reader in Ancient History, Un ...
, ''Pagans and Christians'' (1988), p. 536.
*George Perrot, 'History of Art in Phrygia, Lydia, Caria and Lycia'' (2007)p. 30
{{Authority control Ancient Cappadocia Ancient Anatolia Phrygian goddesses Cybele War goddesses Mother goddesses