CLA204H5 Lecture Notes - Knossos, Eaves, Hieros Gamos
Document Summary
The role of the female divine (in general) Human beings worshipped a powerful gh" goddess (30,000bce) This is based on archaeological records as far east as serbia. Matriarchal = mother leading worship possibly these cultures had gender-mutual relations. Primordial entity is gaia (mother earth) in many cultures there is the importance of the primeval goddess, such taimant (starts the universe by breaking off portions of herself that become the gods and goddesses) There may have been a time in human history when reproduction wasn"t understood fully and therefore. The vegetative myth: a goddess who embodies a piece of or is the mother goddess, mates with a male and the task is deadly to him. Often rituals accompany this myth where a male would be chosen. The motif of dying reappears in other myths but is strong in the vegetative myth.
