The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother

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The emergence, dominance and subsequent subordination or erasureof powerful female figures of worship in this set of mythologies is theoverarching theme of The Goddess , and this theme has never beenmore relevantthan it is today. Christopher Fee and David Leeming chart the developmentof traditional Western gender roles through an understanding ofthe transformation of concepts of the Goddess from her earliest roots inIndia and Iran to her more familiar faces in Ireland and Iceland. With abroad, general appeal, this book contains a collection of highly entertainingand enjoyable myths.

Reviews

This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to understand the evolution of the woman as deity. The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother tells the intriguing story of the feminine principle as worshipped in dozens of cultures and across thousands of years. Just about every goddess from Indias Kali to Irelands Morrigan puts in an appearance in this amazing and sprawling saga. Learn about Krishnas wives, the footrace run by Macha (and how she cursed the generations of men), and the fate engendered by the sexual voracity of Fergus. Enjoy the visual pleasures of the illustrations. Open The Goddess to a random page, begin reading, and prepare to be seduced by tales as old as Eve herself. You will not be disappointed. * Jeffrey P. Cain, Associate Professor and Chair, Sacred Heart University *
Spanning the cultures of ancient India, Iran, the Near East, classical antiquity, and Celtic and Germanic Europe, and ranging from the paleolithic to the ascendancy of monotheism, the authors unveil the many faces of the Goddess: Embodiment of wisdom, the incarnation of sexual desire, living nurturer of field, forest and sea, Lifegiving Mother and Sacred personification of Death. The Goddess will stimulate readers eager for an introduction to the cultural and religious identities of these ancient cultures. * Stephen Lahey, Happold Professor of Religious Studies, University of Nebraska *

Author Bio

David Leeming (Author)
David Leeming is Emeritus Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut. He is the co-author of Gods, Heroes, and Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain (2001) and author of numerous books on mythology including Myth: A Biography of Belief (2002), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology (2005) and Medusa: In the Mirror of Time (Reaktion, 2013). He lives in Stonington, Connecticut.

Christopher R. Fee (Author)
Christopher R. Fee is Professor of English at Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania, and the author of The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother (Reaktion, 2016), Mythology in the Middle Ages: Heroic Tales of Monsters, Magic, and Might (2011) and Gods, Heroes, and Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain (2001).