Ananke and Welcome!

The Sisterhood of Themiskyra was founded as a place where Dianic Paganism intersects with legends of the Amazons, a nation of warrior women in Asia Minor. Though the Amazons are mentioned repeatedly in ancient sources, there is no absolute evidence that such a people existed. Of course, there is no proof that the Amazons are pure myth, either.


For the moment, let's accept the Amazons as having been real. This matriarchy is said to have spread along the southern shores of the Black Sea. The capital city of Themiskyra was founded and developed on the banks of the Thermedon river during the reign of Queen Lysippe around 2200 BCE. Last mention of the warrior nation dates from 1213 BCE, offering a lifespan of one thousand years.


Embracing the many positive values and attributes of the Amazons, the Sisterhood of Themiskyra proposes a path inspired by our sisters of the ages. It is open to all women seeking a spiritual connection. We are ever growing and ever changing--and ever accepting of new sisters and new ideas.

The Sisterhood of Themiskyra has no formal scripture per se, but the poem "The Dawn of Themiskyra" penned by Cassandra Evangelis in 1976 is widely adopted by groups within the Sisterhood as our path's beating heart. You might notice that the charge was largely adapted from a poem by Saint Francis of Assisi.

Western Civilization has been fascinated by the Amazons, a tribe of women warriors often thought to be crude and legendary. But there has been a faction that has contended the historical existence of the Amazons to one degree or another. It was in this spirit of potential discovery that the Sisterhood of Themiskyra was founded in 1977. The group is named for Themiskyra, the great capital city of the Amazons on the banks of the Thermodon river. Members of the Sisterhood today meet with the spirit of the Amazons and their attributes in Spiritual Themiskyra.


Greetings from Themiskyra!

Greetings from Themiskyra!
Rendition of an Amazon

A Quick Look At The Sisterhood

What could a renegade bunch of mountain women have to teach women of today?

The Values of the Ancestresses are independence, self-reliance, character, strength, skill, agility, sisterhood, devotion, and tenacity.

The Amazon women symbolize the need for women to reunite with Womanspirit, pride in Womanspirit, and embracing the female divine.

As a code for living, the Sisterhood holds to honoring the divine, honoring the sisters, honoring the self, and that all life is sacred.

Rites follow a lunar calendar of thirteen full moons and thirteen dark moons. Each moon is assigned to a particular pre-Hellenic goddess to serve as patroness of rituals. After the thirteenth dark moon, the cycle begins again. Individual groups within the Sisterhood can be called covens, circles, groves, or whatever suits the membership.

Every woman in the Sisterhood is a Melissa, or priestess. We've gotten the term Melissa from the ancient Greek for honey bee. The great temple complex of Artemis at Ephesus closely resembled a beehive, and as the Amazons were said to travel here for worship and reverence, "honey bee" seemed an appropriate homage.

Sisterhood clergy consists of women who have gone beyond their roles as Melissa, in whatever capacity. These sisters have earned the title Evangelis.

Themiskyrans trace their lineage back to the primordial mother goddess called Ananke. To be brief, Ananke is everything. She is the thought and inspiration in everything. She gave birth to the more tangible mother goddess of the Sisterhood, Hera.

This is not Hera as she is usually depicted, the scorned and jealous wife of Zeus. In the Sisterhood Hera exists just as She did on ancient Argos, a great mother to Her people. Hera also exists in triplicate—Pais, Teleia, and Chera—with each aspect corresponding to an age of womanhood.

According to Sisterhood lore, Hera gave birth to Artemis, the Virgin Huntress and goddess of the wild things. Otrere, the ancestral goddess of the Amazons, came from the virgin body of her mother Artemis, and it was Otrere who gave birth to Lysippe, the first Amazon queen. An Evangelis of the Sisterhood, then, is a descendant of the Amazon queens--at least in spirit.

We always have room for more sisters in the hive. Feel free to browse the posts offered here and get to know us better!

Become A Sister--Get Your Copy Of The Handbook!

Become A Sister--Get Your Copy Of The Handbook!
Joining the Sisterhood is as easy as purchasing the Handbook! Written and published by Emilie Conroy (Sappho Evangelis), the Handbook contains everything you need to know to be an active Sister--with lots of opportunities for your personal interpretations and experiences. Click on the cover to be taken to, appropriately enough, Amazon!

Hera Unveiled

Hera Unveiled

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Themiskyran Heritage

This is how the Sisterhood of Themiskyra traces its heritage.

Ananke was the first, and She begat Hera.
Hera begat Artemis.
Artemis begat Otrere, Mother of the Amazons.
Otrere begat Lysippse, the first Amazon queen.

We consider the history of the Amazon nation as having seven ages.

Age of Origins
Age of Harmony
Age of Victory
Second Age of Victory
Age of Diplomacy
Golden Age
Age of Decline
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Ode to Athena

Wise goddess, gentle Athena
Forever my companion
Though born of Columbia I am bred of you
My sister, my mother, my guardian
This world has not forgotten you
We need your council more than ever
Patroness of all humanity
In your cause, beloved guide
I go forward in pride and love
For wisdom, for justice, for the greater good
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Call of Hekate

Daughters of the Great Creatrix
Hearken to Me
I am a creature of the night
An angel of the shadows
I have taken my sip of Eternity
From Her appointed chalice
You need have no fear
In numbers we shall find strength
Reach out to Me and I shall take your hands
Look to the west and raise your sword
Call Me away from my Saturn abode
From within the Womb of Time
My children, you are no less than I
You are the energy of the universe
Death, Fate, and Chaos shall favor you
In my name have naught to fear
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Virgin Huntress

Melissae! Melissae!
Stand proud!
Beloved Artemis embrace me
To be a whole woman unto myself
Hail the chaste moon
The wild hare
Total complete satisfied and full
Virgin Huntress
Bless me in purity and light
Guide me well
By your unerring bow
I walk the path of me
Crescent aim crystal complete
Beloved Artemis embrace me
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Song of Selene

Selene dances with arms aloft
Through the swaying boughs and blossoms
Sweet scents upon the air
Wild strawberries, new spring grass
Ticklish rosemary, subtle laurel bay
Cypress dressed in her gown of moss
Wherever there rests a large stone
Near to the tangle of roots
There too is Her sanctuary
Delightful, winsome maiden
Divine lady of the brilliant Mother Moon
Gaze into the celestial poor of light
Reflect what is clear and true

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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Lady of Olympus

Peacock plumed queen
Always watching, guiding, inspiring
Mother to all women
Mistress of the lightning
Wisdom over impulse
Crown jewels of knowledge
Power in mind and beauty told
She does not love equally
Yet we all are in her care
Never be less than confident
Keep her affection near
Embrace me, great Hera
I am your daughter
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Ode to Queen Hera

Upon Olympus where the mountain touches the sky
Hera keeps court on her Peacock Throne
Queen of all the Olympians
She rises all powerful and alone
Sister, Mother, and Friend to all women
Hera does closely attend
The happenings among mankind
And the faithful She does defend
Beautiful and wise and yet capricious
Hera is all unto Her own being
Watching over the world and the planets
All knowing and all seeing
Honor the Mother unto us all
Respect Her, keep Her amity
Always foremost in deep devotions
For mind She has little pity
In triple aspect She guides
The female human race
Look to a rose, a garden, a sea
There too will you see Her face

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Jewels of the Moon

Artemis!  Selene!  Hekate!
Triple gems
Emerald, ruby, amethyst
Each a treasure unto herself
Together a celestial magnificence
The Hunt, the Mother, the Craft
All phases of all women in time
Hail the ladies, hail the whole
Three time beat of life lived
All ages join hands in the circle
The dance of women
The turning of the moon
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Ananke, The Imminent Divine

Fate, doom, necessity
Sends one becoming into the world
Often comes unbidden
Gifts beyond imagination
Truth and lie detector
Manifesting through intuition
That inner voice
Timeless and shamanic
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