Goddess Anahit’s statue remnants to be temporarily exhibited in Armenia.

Over 20,000 young people from Armenia and the Diaspora launched a petition earlier this year to return the bronze-gilded statue of Goddess Anahit to its historical homeland.

A crowd of young people gathered on Wednesday outside the British Embassy in Yerevan, carrying the signatures and a written address to the British authorities. Minister of Education Armen Ashotyan and President of the Armenian Youth Foundation Karen Avagyan submitted the documents to the Embassy officials.

It is noteworthy that the campaign date, which coincides with the eve of Women’s International Day, was not selected randomly. Speaking to the crowd, Avagyan revealed that symbolic link between the two events.

“We cannot renounce Anahit,” Minister Ashotyan said, admitting that he had numerously raised the issues at meetings with his British colleagues both as an official and a politician, and as a citizen of Armenia.

The petition was launched in one of the social networking sites upon the initiative of Ashotyan. Earlier, the minister raised the issue on his Facebook profile. The British Ambassador responded to his appeal, not ruling out the possibility that the sculpture might be brought to Armenia for a temporary showcase.

The fragments of the Goddess’ statue were discovered in Western Armenia in the late 19th century. They were subsequently taken to England and have been ever since kept at the British Museum.

Anahit was the pagan goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology. In early periods she was the goddess of war. By the 5th century BC she was the main deity in Armenia along with Aramazd.