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Gender conflict has deep, historical roots.

Goddesses: Mysteries of the Divine Feminine, is a book based on lectures and notes by the late Joseph Campbell. It is produced by the Joseph Campbell Foundation and edited by Dr. Safron Rossi. The book traces the Goddess in history from ancient times and peoples to around the time of the European Renaissance (around the 15th century).

It is a fascinating work and an in-depth look into an aspect of mythology that is frequently overlooked. Many works feature entire pantheons and tribal deities but few are devoted to following the archetypal motif of the Goddess as she moves, evolves, diminishes, and rises transformed through the many arcs of history and mythologies. Goddesses is one of those few that I've encountered.

The story begins in the Old Stone Age (30,000 - 10,000 BC) where archaeological artifacts depict women as magical vessels which produces life and where men are depicted as task-performers. The book notes that today, women are more often than not, seen as objects seen primarily in terms of appearance and youth, while men are seen as task-performers -- not much has changed.

With the development of agricultural societies, authority transfers to the female and the Goddess is seen as the global forces and energies of nature and life. As some tribes become nomadic with hunting as their primary means of support, the Goddess decreases and the male hero-gods gain prominence. The mythologies depict these gods killing off their maternal ancestors. The male gains authority and dominance among these societies.

As history continues the two types of societies increasingly come into conflict with one another. Cultures are subsumed by conquering. The warring societies dominate. Cities develop and mythologies have to change and adapt to justify specialization of tasks and castes. For a period of time, from around 3000 BC (give or take several centuries) to around 700 BC, male-oriented mythologies dominate.

However, the Goddess cannot be silenced forever and begin their return into the Greek pantheon. Based on its themes, it is suggested that The Odyssey was composed by a woman to bring the feminine characteristics and power back into Greek thought. The book goes into great detail on an analysis and interpretation of the Iliad (which precedes) and The Odyssey to see the transformation in thought that takes place between these two works.

Goddesses shows that throughout history, the feminine mythologies focus on life and harmony, that she help unite people into community. On the other hand, the masculine kills and divides, and promotes mostly self-interest.

Because many readers have the Jewish and Christian texts as their primary religious and mythological background, comparison are made throughout Goddesses highlighting similarities between what is found in the Bible and what is found in surrounding cultures, often predating the biblical texts by hundreds and thousands of years.

The major monotheistic religions are patriarchal. According to Goddesses they have effectively conquered and killed the female character, even though vestiges can be found in their texts if one looks deeply. Attributes and characteristics that are typical of the female are assigned to the male deity. In so doing, these religions are able to keep the Goddess dead.

Goddesses ends in the time of the Renaissance with a return of the Goddess into mythology. The Arthurian legends, the Virgin Birth, and the veneration of Mary are interpreted as part of the return.

I really enjoyed Goddesses and found it quite informative. It shows how mythology and religion have been employed as weapons in gender and sex power struggles since the dawn of human civilization. It shows how people have tried to make sense of the world and the universe from the very beginning of consciousness. It shows how mythologies form, develop, change, are borrowed, and are transformed to fit the needs of people at any given time. It shows that mythologies themselves are not sacred, but they point to a transcendent reality that is believed to exist.

For some this book will be very uncomfortable. It will challenge and greatly refute the concept of divine special revelation (at least the way "special revelation" is typically understood) in certain religious traditions. It will challenge the foundational soundness of the idea that an exclusive "male deity" can be truly good. It will challenge the origins and purposes of religious thought and practice. I think this is a good thing. We need to be more aware of the use and misuse of the powers of mythology and religion. We need to be more cognizant of our commonalities across cultures and beliefs.

The rise of feminism in the modern era, I now see, is no accident. It is a natural process predicted by anthropology, history, and mythology. It is part of a working out of gender relationships in our time. Will the feminine be able to successfully establish herself a lasting presence as an equal power and authority in the still-patriarchal modern society? Will she be able to transform the mythologies and religions that inform us today into ones that welcome the full participation of the feminine?

(This review is based on an advance review copy supplied by the publisher through NetGalley.)