potnia thêrōn
"potnia thêrōn" (''mistress of the beasts, mistress of [wild] animals'') is multiple things:
firstly and more famously it is one of the many epithets of the goddess Artemis, associated with the wilderness and the animals in it. secondly it is more widely applied, sometimes anachronistically (in the same way paleolithic female sculptures are called ''Venus''), to a persistent female divinity archetype found across western asia and southeastern europe in which a goddess (often a Mother, Nature or Fertility goddess but not necessarily [or we lack information]) is shown as controlling, presiding over, or being surrounded by wild beasts (typically felines), possibly linked to ancient beliefs in a Mother-type goddess associated with domestication rites.
some of the most well-known depictions of a goddess as ''potnia thêrōn'' include the ''seated woman with felines'' of Çatalhöyük, some depictions of Kybélê/Kubileya/Cybele and Ishtar that have them flanked by lions, winged Artemis seizing animals by the throat, or the gaulish Epona as mistress of horses.
this one is in no small part inspired by the oh-so-famous minoan snake goddesses.
