early goddesses hinduism greeks romans christianity egypt & mesopotamia judaism islam prehistory...
TRANSCRIPT
Early Goddesses
Hinduism
Greeks Romans
Christianity
Egypt&
Mesopotamia
Judaism
Islam
PREHISTORY
See Marianne Ferguson’s Women and Religion, Chapters 1,2,3
Pre-History • Before written language, our earliest records of religion are found in…..
• Statues & sculpture• Cave paintings• Burial grounds
Assyrian gate guardian
Egypt
Bulls in cave art – Spain and France
Part human, part animal
12,000 BC oldest grave flowers
20th century archeological discoveries showed surprising evidence of widespread female religious statues, that were possibly suppressed over time by new male centered religious practices.
• For a long time, it seemed that male images and deities dominated, so it was assumed religions (and societies) were almost always patriarchal.
Do religious images tend to be male or female?
Goddess Worship in Ancient Societies(each explained in Ferguson Chapter 1)
Venus of Willendorf
Maha Devi
Ishtar Inanna Asherath
Goddess Worship in Ancient Societies(each explained in Ferguson Chapter 1)
Nut Isis
Aphrodite Cybele
Mater Magna
…oral traditions, stories told of the past.
• MYTHS
Definition: a system of interrelated stories that are meant to reveal the inner meaning of human life and the universe.
Myths truths are not historical or scientific.Their truth lies in the wisdom, meaning, values and guidance they provide for each society.These sacred stories are vehicles of passing on these truths from one generation to the next.
Are myths true or false?
Before written history there were…
5 Functions of Myth(Joseph Campbell)
1. Mystical2. Social
3. Pedagogical4. Cosmological
5. Personal/Psychological
See movie clip