The idea of a Mother or Earth Goddess has become a rallying-point for a generation weary of male-oriented religions. But is the idea of Goddess at the dawn of civilization a historical fact, or just consoling fiction? In this text, historians and archaeologists speak about this topic. From predynastic Egypt to classical Greece and early North West Europe to the Celts, they review the most recent evidence.
Lucy Goodison is an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London and has written several books on mythology and religion, specializing in the early Aegean. Christine Morris is Leventis Lecturer in Greek Archaeology in the School of Classics, Trinity College, Dublin.