The Mother Goddess and her representation and meaning in different religions

The Mother Goddess in Egyptian mythology

Mut

In Egyptian mythology, the Mother Goddess was depicted in the figure of Mut.

Her name, in Egyptian, translates into “mother” and she was one of the chief goddesses of Thebes, wife of Ammon and mother of Khonsu. Primordial goddess, associated with the waters from which everything is born (from which one of her titles derives:

“She who gives birth, but who was not born of anyone”.

She was venerated as the great divine mother, represented with the body or only the head or wings of a vulture and holding an ankh and a feather of the goddess Maat.

Mut is believed to have resulted from the merger of two previous goddesses, Wadjet and Nekhbet, who when represented together represented the unification of the kingdoms of Egypt.

Mut inherited from the “Two Ladies” the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt (red and white, respectively) and the shape of the white vulture of Nekhbet, protector of Upper Egypt.

Mut statue of the 19th dynasty, c. 1279–1213 BC, Luxor Museum

Hathor

Later, another deity associated with motherhood, Hathor, was pointed out, represented as a woman with a solar disk over her head, sided by the cow’s horns or even a cow with the solar disk between its horns.

Head of the goddess Hathor, 1417-1379 BC.(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).

The Mother Goddess in Christianity

This concept of the Mother Goddess can also be recognized in Christianity, in the figure of the Virgin Mary.

Spiritual Mother

This concept of the Mother Goddess can also be recognized in Christianity, in the figure of the Virgin Mary. There are many faithful of the Christian religion (in the global sense) who project on the figure of Mary, a kind of “Spiritual Mother”. Reflected in her various attributions (Our Lady of Conception, of Miracles, of the Afflicted, of Glory, of Hope, …).

Mary assumes the role of divine Mother of Humanity, embraced as a Mother by the Apostles themselves (Jn 19: 26-27).

Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia, first half of the 16th century and attributed to the painter Gregório Lopes, Capela do Espírito Santo dos Mareantes, Sesimbra, Portugal

Source: https://www.sesimbra.pt/pages/1757

Theotokos

Some images of the Virgin Mary are thought to have been inspired by depictions of ancient goddesses, for example, the Egyptian goddess Isis, who often appeared depicted with her son Horus on her lap, in a position similar to that which we are used to see Mary with Jesus.

Statue of Isis holding Horus, c. 7th century BC

However, this figure which the early Christians nicknamed Theotokos (“Mother of God”), assuming the responsibility of being mother of all Christians, does not want to equate herself to a Mother Goddess.

Icon of the Virgin Mary of the Monastery of Saint Catherine of Mount Sinai

She is neither a creative force nor a symbol of the feminine element; she has no responsibility for fertility or procreation.

She is, yes, the protective force that intercedes with the Creator (Holy Father); she is the one who supports, who inspires, who celebrates and who elevates.

It is with the creation of monotheistic religions that we see a more evidently the role of women in society assume a secondary position. Thus Mary is the Mother of God, but in the figure of the Son. The Holy Trinity supersedes her importance, making her an intermediary, an intercessor before the Father, the Creator of all things.

In short, throughout the world, the primordial deity has always been the Mother.

An initially feminine figure, generated from infinite nothingness, and which generated the Universe.

One cannot simplify her role only as a representation of fertility and procreation, because the Mother Goddess is the “Creator”, more than the “Generator”. She gave birth to Humanity and Nature, crafted the world of arts and civilization and protects and shapes her creation in the daily struggle for survival.

She represents the beginning and the end; she creates, preserves and destroys. And in the end, she receives what was destroyed to create once again.