Return of the Ancient Goddess

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When Armenians visit the British Museum in London, they often seek out two key exhibits. The first is the Babylonian map—a clay tablet dating back to the 6th century BC. This ancient artifact depicts the known world of that era, including the Kingdom of Van, inscribed as Urartu. The second exhibit is the preserved head and hand of a bronze statue of the Goddess Anahit, also known as the Head of Satala or Satala Aphrodite.

A Turkish farmer discovered the head of Anahit’s statue in 1872 in the village of Sadagh, near Erzincan. Scholars report that the farmer sold his find. After changing hands several times, which included an Armenian dealer by the name of  Savas Kougioumtsoglou, the bronze head of Anahit came into the possession of Italian goldsmith and collector Alessandro Castellani, who then sold it to the British Museum in 1873. The story of the sale is a long and complex web of negotiations and diplomacy. 

Charles Thomas Newton, keeper of the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, who was an influential figure in the world of art acquisitions at the time, negotiated on behalf of the museum to purchase Anahit. Newton launched an intense campaign, including appeals to British Prime Minister Gladstone, to underscore the collection’s cultural and artistic significance, especially highlighting the bronze head’s rarity. Pressed by Newton’s lobbying, which included an article in The Times (April 10, 1873), Gladstone ultimately approved the funds, ensuring that Castellani’s collection, along with the famed Anahit head, would belong to the British Museum.

The museum later received the statue’s left hand as a gift, which was also found at the same location. Rumors, documented in letters from the 1860s and 1870s preserved in the archives of the British Museum’s Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, suggested that Anahit’s body had also been discovered but was secretly relocated. However, it has never been found.

The artifacts date back to 200–100 BC.

Curiously, in the British Museum, Anahit is not recognized as having Armenian provenance. Instead, she is labeled as the Satala Aphrodite from the Hellenistic period and displayed in the Greco-Roman gallery. Ghevont Alishan, a member of the Mekhitarist Congregation in Venice, in his work Ayrarat, Nature of the Armenian World (1890) insisted that the bronze statue represents the Goddess Anahit and no other deity, as her primary temple was located near the site of its discovery.[1]

Until recently, only a replica of the statue was displayed in Armenia. On September 16, these fragments were ceremonially brought from the United Kingdom on loan to Armenia’s History Museum, where they will be part of a themed exhibition titled “Mother Goddess: From Anahit to Mary” showcasing various representations of motherhood. Visitors can see the original bronze head and hand until March 2025. As a “rare surviving example of ancient Armenian cultural heritage,” Anahit’s return to Armenia was met with great fanfare.

John Gallagher, the UK Ambassador to Armenia, emphasized, “This is a valuable way to highlight the richness of Armenian culture and the role the British Museum plays in sharing this story with the world. Bringing the statue to Armenia gives Armenians an opportunity to better appreciate their cultural heritage.”

Historians draw parallels between the pagan Armenian worship of the Anahit and the Christian veneration of the Virgin Mary.

For pre-Christian Armenians, Anahit was the goddess of fertility, abundance and childbirth. Ethnographer Karen Melik-Pashayan, in his seminal work The Cult of the Goddess Anahit (1963) writes that according to Armenian pagan beliefs, Anahit was the force “who gives life and fertility to our land of Armenia.” Hence she became a symbol of productivity, motherhood and fertility.

Even after the establishment of Christianity, the worship of Anahit persisted. Her powers were attributed to the Virgin Mary, and churches dedicated to Mary were built on the ruins of Anahit’s temples.

The etymology of the name Anahit is debated. Armenian linguist and philologist Hrachya Acharyan suggests it has ancient Persian origins, derived from the word “Anahita”, meaning “immaculate” or “pure.”[2]

The earliest known information about Anahit dates back to the 6th century BC in the Zoroastrian holy book Avesta, which originated from the pre-Islamic religion of the Iranian people. The Greek historian and geographer Strabo has also provided valuable insights into Armenian history, including details about Anahit. Acharyan writes:

“The Medes and Armenians worship all the Persian gods, but the worship of Anahit among the Armenians surpassed all others. Various places have temples dedicated to her, especially in Ekeghiats. Slaves and maidservants are assigned to these places. What is surprising, is that even the most prominent people in society dedicate their virgin daughters to the goddess, who according to the ritual then engage in prostitution for a long time as part of the ritual, before marrying. No one considers it disgraceful to cohabit with them afterward.”[3]

Anahit was believed to have the power to bless girls with successful husbands. “On the northern side of Van Fortress, there are two arched openings in a huge rock where girls wishing to marry come to pray, asking the Virgin Mary (Anahit) to grant them a good husband.”[4]

According to the Armenian pagan calendar, the 19th day of each month is dedicated to the goddess Anahit.

In pre-Christian Armenia, the worship of Anahit is also associated with female-shaped salt-jars, symbols of childbirth and fertility.[5]

Anahit’s image appeared not only on ancient coins but also on the 5,000 dram banknote of newly independent Armenia, which circulated from 1995 to 2005.

Additionally, Anahit was also featured on Armenia’s first gold commemorative coin issued in 1997, valued at 25,000 drams.

While this marks the first time the fragments of Anahit’s statue are in Armenia, previous efforts have been made to bring them home both by the diaspora and Armenia. 

In 2012, then Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan launched a campaign to transfer Anahit to Armenia permanently. 

Led by Ashotyan, hundreds of young people demonstrated in front of the British Embassy in Yerevan, presenting the ambassador with 20,000 signatures supporting their cause.

After meeting with UK Ambassador Kathy Leach, Ashotyan told reporters, “The ambassador proposed and is initiating an inter-museum exchange, suggesting that the remains of Anahit be transferred to Armenia for up to one year.”

It took another 12 years for Anahit to return home.

The head of Goddess Anahit has been included in the British Library’s 2001 exhibition “Treasures from the Ark: 1700 Years of Armenian Christian Art.” In 2012, it was part of an exhibition “Treasures of the British Museum” in Abu Dhabi (March 26 – July 17); in 2015, it was exhibited in Florence, in the Palazzo Strozzi as part of the exhibition “Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculptures (March 13 – June 21); in 2023 as part of the exhibition “Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece” at the British Museum (May 4 – August 13).

Footnotes:

[1] Ghevond Alishan, Ayrarat, Nature of the Armenian World, Venice, 1890.
[2] Hrachya Acharyan, Dictionary of Armenian Personal Names, Yerevan, 1942, vol. 1, p. 145.
[3] Hrachya Acharyan, Dictionary of Armenian Personal Names, Yerevan, 1942, vol. 1, p. 146.
[4] Ethnographic Journal, book 25, Tbilisi, 1914, p. 25.
[5] V. Bdyoyan, Armenian salt cellars: Female-Shaped salt cellars Symbolizing the Goddess Anahit, Yerevan, 1986.

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