Featured Title:
Watchers of the Dawn DVD and ebook |
 |
| The Modern Antiquarian Reissued |
 |
| Login |
|
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like your own home page, fewer ads, and your contributions link to your page. |
| Who's Online |
There are currently, 109 guests and 6 members online.
You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here |
| |
Moderated by : Andy B , TimPrevett , coldrum , Klingon , MickM , TheCaptain , bat400 , davidmorgan , Runemage , SolarMegalith , sem
The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map : Index >>
Stones Forum >> Divine Women series by Bettany Hughes
|
 |
| Author |
Divine Women series by Bettany Hughes |
Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 7001
from Surrey, UK
 OFF-Line
|  Posted 11-04-2012 at 21:45
A log of the prehistoric sites visited in episode one of the BBC TV series Divine Women by Bettany Hughes
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/visits.php?name=Andy%20B&op=visitlike
In this three-part series award winning historian, Bettany Hughes sets out on an epic journey across continents and back in time to trace the hidden and, often controversial, history of women in religion.
From Ancient Greece and Rome to China and India, she uncovers stories which unlock a secret history of the world: one which still affects us today.
From the dawn of time humans have felt the need to worship, to find a purpose and bring a shape to human existence. Women have always been at the heart of our understanding of the divine but, Hughes argues, this part of our history has often been ignored, buried away.
In this first episode, Hughes goes back to the beginning of time and visits the world’s oldest religious site to find startling evidence that women were there, at the very birth of organised religion. She finds the evidence of the origins of the worship of the female form and traces the development of goddess worship.
Bettany then visits a world where goddesses ruled the heavens and earth and reveals why our ancestors thought of the divine as female. Travelling across the Mediterranean and the Near East, she goes to remote places where she encounters fearsome goddesses who controlled life and death including the formidable goddesses Kybele and Gaia – the former was called on to save Rome in her hour of need. And she ends up in modern day India, where the goddess is still a powerful force for thousands of Hindus. Immersing herself in the excitement of the Durga Puja festival, Bettany experiences goddess worship first hand and finds out what she means to her devotees.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01g8dd2
http://www.bettanyhughes.co.uk/divine-women
There was me thinking that prehistoric goddess worship had been totally discredited in archaeological thinking - is Bettany mounting a rearguard action?
 Profile
 Email
 Reply
|
sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1709
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| Posted 11-04-2012 at 22:57
Divine Women - Bettany Hughes.
Need more be said?
I was a bit disappointed that there was no mention of Venus figures prior to Goblekli Tepi (ie 20,000yrs before) and I'm sure Mary Beard would have made merry with the rock art pic of a lady "being simultaneously penetrated and giving birth".
Never mind Bettany, just get those eyes out for the boys!
Profile
Reply
|
davidmorgan
Joined:
23-11-2006
Messages: 1603
from The New Forest
OFF-Line
| Posted 11-04-2012 at 23:04
Pity there was no mention of Hebat, the Hurrian/Hittite sun goddess, possibly from whom the word "Eve" was derived.
Profile
Reply
|
vlad
Joined:
13-05-2006
Messages: 1291
from Stockholm
OFF-Line
| Posted 12-04-2012 at 08:25
It`s a pity not all BBC programmes are accessible to me in Sweden. So I wonder in vain, if she`s going to talk about Thyiades of Delphi (a group of "handmaids of God"). Similar groups could have been precursors to witches of medieval times. Hatred of the Church against them could have also arisen from using the symbolism of dividing a god`s body into parts, in both traditions.
OK; I know. The Last Supper is the source of the tradition in case of the Christians. But wherefrom Jesus took that strange non-Jewish approach. The closest source to Jesus`declarations lies in the memphitic theology of All- Encompassing Ptah.Why the bishops of Rome tried to extinguish any traces of the Egyptian connection? Well; maybe just because the cult of pharaohs - sons of Ptah, which were raised by Hathor, - was one of the basic roots of the heritage? (Jesus initiated into being a spiritual Jewish "king"?)
Now; whenever in history a male tried to ascend to "higher" levels of conscioussness, a female being was supporting him. And most people were aware that they will spend all their lives and afterlives within the lap and bosom of the Mother Goddess. "Moving over to the womb of Abraham"? - no; thank you.
[ This message was edited by: vlad on 2012-04-12 13:30 ]
Profile
Reply
|
howar
Joined:
20-08-2008
Messages: 80
from Orkney
OFF-Line
| Posted 12-04-2012 at 22:46
I believe you are thinking about the present rejection of wholly matriarchal societies versus the continued acceptance of strongly matrilinear ones
Quote:
|
On 2012-04-11 21:45, Andy B wrote:There was me thinking that prehistoric goddess worship had been totally discredited in archaeological thinking - is Bettany mounting a rearguard action?
|
|
Profile
Reply
|
sem
Joined:
12-11-2003
Messages: 1709
from Bridgend,S.Wales
OFF-Line
| Posted 20-04-2012 at 22:17
Part 2 was good
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01gkpg4/Divine_Women_Handmaids_of_the_Gods/
Within 60secs you get the quote "If you leave out the words of Jesus and the Apostle (?) Paul it is perfectly possible to tell the story of early Christianity without a man."
Nikos Kazantzakis eat your heart out!
Profile
Reply
| |
|
|
|
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTES: This site uses COOKIES. Please do not use this web site if you do not agree to our Terms and Conditions of use.
If you plan to visit ancient sites in person, please make sure you follow our Charter.
Articles, photographs and comments are the property of their respective authors or contributors, please contact them for permission to reproduce. Site design ©1997-2012 Andy Burnham.
|
Main News