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Energy is the only life and is from the Body
Distinguished religious scholar Christine R. Dowling writes passionately about the Greek goddess Gaia in her chapter for The Book of the Goddess, in similar energetic terms to Carl Olson's introduction to "the goddess" in general ( Read more... ) -
Anat, the Iliad, and the Bible
When I saw the spectacular conjunction between Venus and Jupiter currently in our skies, my first thought was, "She's probably threatening to beat him up." I was thinking of Anat's threat to El ("I will make your beard run with blood") in the stories of the hero Aqhat and of Baal's palace, and the parallels between that bloodthirsty Ugaritic ( Read more... ) -
Links December 2013
Presumptive "ocular prosthesis" found in the Burnt City - Tumblr discussion, including artist's impression. :)
Evolution of Angels: From Disembodied Minds to Winged Guardians
Africans in Roman York?
Oldest Perfumes Found on "Aphrodite's Island"
Peking Man Was a Fashion Plate
Papyri Point to Practice of Voluntary Temple Slavery in Ancient Egypt ( Read more... ) -
Predatory goddesses
The long list of goddesses and the mortal men whose children they bore includes Demeter and Iasion, Harmonia and Cadmus, Callirhoe and Chrysaor (Medusa's son), Eos and Tithonus (and Cephalus, and Orion, and Clitus), Thetis and Peleus, Aphrodite and Anchises, and Selene and Endymion. Perhaps these stories consoled grieving families who had lost sons ( Read more... ) -
Hecate-Artemis
Describing a spell for "dream-sending" (P. Louvre E 3229 2,10-3,1), the splendidly named Joachim Friedrich Quack remarks: "It has obvious connections with other Graeco-Roman magical texts of late Antiquity in its use of strange magical names. One of them, Neboutosoualeth, is actually well-attested in Greek papyri where it is normally an epithet of ( Read more... ) -
The goddess of aunties?
Discussing Artemis, Bodil Hjerrild notes the apparent contradiction between her virginity and her role as protectress of women in childbirth, children, and young wild animals. Echoing an idea I think I've encountered somewhere else, "Her virginity has to be understood rather as a conservation of power and maybe a concentration of fertile energy ( Read more... ) -
Gallus and Gala
Will Roscoe's article "Priests of the Goddess" compares the Graeco-Roman gallus, the Mesopotamian gala (and similar cultic performers), and the Indian and Pakistani hijra.
They have several things in common:
- they are priests of a goddess (or goddesses)
- they're organised into groups, and employed by temples
- they dance, sing, and play ( Read more... )
- they are priests of a goddess (or goddesses)
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Kunos, please
More gendery stuff later, but now for something completely different: Barbara Walker's Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets and the word "bitch ( Read more... ) -
Athena and the Amazons
Did some heavy-duty reading yesterday. We pass the gleanings on to you!
In her chapter "Athena and the Amazons", Susan Deacy explores the paradoxical nature of Athena: patroness of patriarchy, the goddess of Greek civilisation; and yet at the same time armed and armoured, not just unmarried but refusing marriage, and closely associated with those ( Read more... )