The Queen of Heaven
A New Interpretation of the Goddess in Ancient Near Eastern Art
Author: Gavin White
Pages: 190
179 black & white drawings
Publisher: Solaria Publications
Publication date: 27th October 2013
10 digit ISBN: 0955903718
13 digit ISBN: 978-0-9559037-1-7
Dimensions: 190mm x 246mm x 10mm
RRP: $22.00, £15.00, €17.00
‘The Queen of Heaven’ is a step-by-step guide to symbolism of the so-called ‘fertility religions’ of the antique worlds. Behind the charming imagery of cattle and calves, flying birds, flowers and stars, there is a profound philosophy of human nature and its intimate relationship to the goddess and the wider cosmos.
Thousands of years before the invention of writing, the artists of the Near East – the potters, painters, and seal-cutters – invented a complex system of visual signs and symbols. The system they created was the foundation of the traditional visual arts for millennia hence. However, in time, the keys to that system were eventually lost – if they could be recovered, they would revolutionise our understanding of prehistory.
With over 150 line drawings, ‘the Queen of Heaven’, finally cracks the code of this symbol system. It is the indispensable guide to the nature and meaning of many of the major symbols found in ancient art and myth.
CONTENTS
PART ONE: The Child, Metaphors of the Child, Animal Metaphors, the Seed of Mankind, the Symbol System
PART TWO: the Goddess of Life, the Winged Goddess, the Storm Goddess, the Celestial Goddess, the Fertile Skies, the Waters of the Sun, the Flower of Heaven
PART THREE: the Battle of the Gods, the Sun and the Child, Death enters the World
Preview passages are now available on Amazon. Reader reviews are online at Amazon and Goodreads.
solariapublications 
Do Betelgeuse and Procyon have Babylonian star names? Are they associated with any of the myths and symbolism of ancient Sumeria? Thank you!
Hi Elizabeth, I’m afraid that there are no known names for either star. Betelgeuse is part of the True Shepherd of Anu which largely corresponds to the figure of Orion. Procyon is much less certain. Personally I think Procyon is most likely to be part of the Little Twins.
Babylonian texts about the stars and constellations are mostly limited to celestial omens, the attribution of gods etc. There are no recorded traditions of star-myths as there are in Greece.
Gavin
Hello Gavin,
I stumbled on this site and it’s fantastic. I was wondering if you could make your books available in electronic format? For example, Kindle. It helps those of us who have vision problems and need enlarged texts, and also it’s much more convenient than carrying paperbacks around. I would be willing to pay extra.
At present my books are not available in electronic format. I did look into it a while ago, but the company I use to print and
distribute my books told me that I would have to republish them with new ISBNs.
But I will look into it further – I may be able to use another company to do an electronic version.
I can sympathise with you as my eyesight has gone too!