Ancient Goddesses in New York

 

When in NY, do as the ancient Greeks do. You may not feel called to worship a goddess but you can at least learn about her specific gifts, understand her sacred meaning, and honor her cultural heritage.

 

 

 

A 38-foot statue of Goddess Athena is known to have been the center of Greek life and religion. She was made of gold leaf. Her home was the Parthenon and the people of Greece would honor her and pray to her there. The architecture and the marble friezes (now known as the Elgin Marbles) were built for her.  They were meant to give her a beautiful environment to live in. It was believed by the ancients that she had eyes that could see this beauty and could know what was being offered to her.

 

Over time, the gold was stolen from her form. The Parthenon was believed to be damaged through fires, explosions, looting, and time. Then came the controversial removal of the marble, but Lord Elgin. The removal of sacred statuary was like stealing from the Goddess, and now, the Greek government thinks it is like stealing from them and the cultural heritage of Greece.

 

Controversy aside: Somehow Athena has lasted throughout time. She was destroyed in her home temple of the Parthenon and her temple was looted and attacked. Yet she has remained a powerful force in her homeland of Greece—even if they no longer practice the ancient spiritual ways. And she remains a universal goddess, her image, statues, story, and presence are still found around the world. She survived millennia and made her way to America to be part of the New World. You can find her in New York City, and cities around the nation, and this world.

 

She was also a model and inspiration for the Statue of Liberty and countless monuments, statues, and representations throughout New York.

 

If we follow in the footsteps of the ancients, we can celebrate Athena-Minerva, and all goddesses, because they remain with us today. Even if they are more low-key, or not even called goddesses, this city is rich with the sacred feminine in many forms. Whether she is called an allegory, or a myth, she is based on a goddess that was once worshipped.

 

Athena may be a goddess of war, which makes her a good goddess for monuments to soldiers and battle. But she is also a goddess of wisdom. And what does this world need more of? Wisdom.

 

Not only that, the city is surrounded by goddesses of liberty, justice, harmony, and victory. Not to mention all the ancient goddesses in museums—like the compassionate bodhisattvas, the nurturing mothers, and the protective deities.  Don't they all have messages that can help us in daily life, and help with the difficulties we face in this nation?

 

I have been working on this exhibit for two years, studying the art, history, religions, cultures, mythology, and presence of goddesses in New York. I have been searching for the intersection of the sacred and the worlds of public history. In doing so I have had a chance to honor the spiritual origins and cultural heritage of ancient goddesses and look deeply into the meaning these divine females still have today.

 

Because I have been pursuing these studies as part of my graduate school training in public history, much of my reporting has been scholarly documentation. But with this exhibit, my final project to complete my degree, I want to end by editorializing a bit.

 

My message is this: We need our ancient mothers, our divine female sisters and guides, and the compassionate and wild energies of goddesses from every tradition to help get our world in order.  You don't have to travel the world in search of a goddess miracle, just travel up the hill (or to a museum) to a modern Parthenon. You can start right here in New York. You also don't have to worship the goddesses as the ancients did. Just consider them. If they have survived for so long in so many forms, and if they are embedded into the fabric of New York City and New York State, they have some merit and meaning.

 

Perhaps they have been taken for granted for a long time. Maybe they are so imbued in art and public spaces that we don't notice. Put on your goddess glasses next time you walk around. Bet you will see a divine female or a sacred female that emulates the traits of an ancient goddess.

 

I wish you a wonderful goddess treasure hunt! May the blessings of the goddesses be upon you.

 

Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

 

Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway