Power of the Goddess

Here's another private commission from an author. It is a scene from her unpublished story, THE RAM'S SHADOW. Set in a mythical ancient Near-Eastern society changing from

matriarchy to patriarchy, it features a priestess from an order of women priest/warriors (of course, she has red hair) who must undertake a thankless mission to restore Goddess worship in the city of Men. The picture illustrates the defiant young priestess facing the

ancient head priestess, sitting under the statue of the Goddess.A friendly snake sits near the head priestess (viewed from the back) and incense rises from a bowl burner on the floor. The decor is taken from ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, and Persian sources and the Goddess is borrowed from the Cretan Snake Goddess statue in the Boston Museum. The model for the

younger priestess character is another author associate. This picture, as I remember, was a tough job and I was never fully satisfied with it. Both authors, writer and model, have passed beyond my horizon.

"Power of the Goddess" is acrylic on illustration board, 12" x 16", August 1983. Click for larger view.