Goddess Nane – Legends of Ancient Armenia

In Armenian mythology, goddess Nane or Nanea was the daughter of the supreme deity Aramazd. It is assumed that Nane in Akkadian culture is represented as goddess Nanaya.

The cult of Nane seems to be intertwined with the cult of mother goddess Anahit. Nane was also revered as the Great Mother (in the Armenian language, the name “Nane” acquired the meaning of “mother” or “grandmother”).

The Armenian goddess Nane turned into “nanna” (“aunt”) in Greek, “nonna” in medieval Latin, and “nanny” in Russian. The meaning of the name is best preserved in English – grandmother, like in Armenian.

We too (especially the Diaspora) call our grandmothers “nane”… Now, we know what the variations of the name Nane mean – the names Nona, Nonna, Nune, Nino…

Most likely, the functions of the goddess of war were inherent in Nane. It is no coincidence that the Nane Temple was located in Yekeghyats (Gavar) next to the temple of Anahit. In the Hellenistic era, it was identified with the Greek Athena.