The head and hand of a Hellenistic statute believed to depict the Armenian goddess Anahit has arrived in Armenia for the first time following a decision by the British Museum to loan them to Armenia for a six-month exhibition.

Known as the Satala Aphrodite, the fragments of the 2nd or 1st century BC statue, were discovered in 1871 in Satala (classical Armenia Minor, present-day Sadak, Gümüşhane Province, Turkey). 

It is usually assigned to the Greek goddess Aphrodite, but has been associated with her Armenian equivalent Anahit, the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom, and water.

Alessandro Castellani, an Italian art dealer, sold the head to the British Museum in 1873 and donated the hand to the museum in 1875.

The exhibition, titled “Mother Goddess: from Anahit to Mary,” will open on September 21, 2024, Armenia’s Independence Day, at the History Museum of Armenia and will run until March 21, 2025.