Sacred images of the Tree, Animals, Goddesses and Gemini at the ancient nomads of Eurasia

Abstract

The article analyzes the images of the Tree with creatures standing in front of it and the thousand-year tradition of preserving the main images by the ancient nomads in the 1-st millennium BC. Products of this semantic series were found: on rock paintings; on a mirror from the barrow in Kelermes (7 century BC); on a gold belt plate with a complex composition «Riders under a Tree» from the Siberian Collection of Peter I (5-4 centuries BC); on a number of images from a headdress from the barrow Issyk in Kazakhstan (5-4 centuries BC) and others. On a felt carpet from the barrow Pazyryk-5, the Great Goddess is depicted sitting on a throne, probably with the Tree of "Life and death" in her hands, and a rider-warrior with a bow in a quiver standing in front of her on horseback.

The most complete images of the Goddess and animals standing in front of the Tree are presented on the diadem from the barrow Khokhlach in the city of Novocherkassk, which is one of the masterpieces of ancient jewelry kept in the Hermitage. This unique diadem was made of gold, with inserts of semi-precious stones in the 1-2 centuries AD and belonged to the Sarmatian queen-priestess.