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The Sea and the Goddess
This chapter by Donald B. Redford discusses the "ever-present struggle between land and sea, fair weather and storm", which "dominat[ed] the mythology of the maritime cities of the eastern Mediterranean", in the form of stories of hero vs monster - tales describing creation and providing "an archetypal rationalization of kingship". The version of ( 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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More about Anat
Anat appears in names in the Bible: the personal name Shamgar ben Anat (in Jude) and the city name Anathoth (multiple times), probably short for "Beth-Anathoth", "House of the Great Anat ( Read more... )