Abundance: Goddess Diana of Ephesus Magnet

Digital art. Filters applied for more drama. A cult statue from Ephesus in Turkey, called the "Great Artemis" (2nd cent. AD), representing abundance. At Ephesus a goddess whom the Greeks associated with Artemis was passionately venerated in an archaic icon. The original was carved of wood, with many breast-like protuberances apparently emphasizing fertility over the virginity traditionally associated with the Greek Artemis. Like Near Eastern and Egyptian deities (and unlike Greek ones), her body and legs are enclosed within a tapering pillar-like term, from which her feet protrude. Vatican Museum. Vatican City. Image taken on location by Minerva Bloom.