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The Language Of The Goddess

"The first authoritative work on the ancient goddess culture."—Boston GlobeThe Goddess is the most potent and persistent feature in the archaeological records of the ancient world, a symbol of the unity of life in nature and the personification of all that was sacred and mysterious on earth.In this pioneering and provocative volume, Marija Gimbutas resurrects the world of the Goddess-worshipping, earth-centered cultures, bringing ancient matriarchal society vividly to life. She interweaves comparative mythology, early historical sources, linguistics, ethnography, and folklore to demonstrate conclusively that Goddess-worship is at the root of Western civilization. Illustrated with nearly 2,000 symbolic artifacts, Gimbutas' magnum opus is at once a "pictorial script" of the prehistoric Goddess religion and an authoritative work that takes these ancient cultures from the realm of speculation into that of documented fact. Over 500 illustrations.

Paperback: 424 pages

Publisher: Thames & Hudson; New edition edition (February 2001)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0500282498

ISBN-13: 978-0500282496

Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches

Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #372,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #100 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age & Spirituality > Goddesses #646 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources > Archaeology #968 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion

"The Language of the Goddess" is a must-have for anyone interested in symbolism and imagery, as it presents some of the oldest decorative markings ever scratched into stone, bone, and wood. Most of the images, reproduced in line drawings and black-and-white photos, are taken from Neolithic European village sites dating back as far as 7,000 B.C. Thus they are, for the most part, a product of agricultural cultures. However, there is a striking similarity between some of these marks and those found on relics from Paleolithic hunter-gatherer sites, examples of which appear in this book.The link between the images from Neolithic and Paleolithic sites arises at least in part from those cultures' shared worship of the Goddess. In the text accompanying the images, Gimbutas tries to reconstruct the world-view of the European Goddess-centered people. She works by inference, looking at various found objects and their markings--not just in their historical context but also in relation to each other.For instance, in her chapter entitled "Net Motif," she writes, "Signs associated with the framed net -- parallel lines, zig-zags, tri-lines, M's, and chevrons -- place it within the aquatic symbol family. . .the framed net also appears with symbols of becoming: egg, vulva, uterus, fish bladder forms, and plant leaves. This implies that the net is linked with aqua-cosmogony, the life source, and the birth of human, animal, and plant life. . .in other words, it must have been a symbol of the "water of life" well known to us from myths. The net design. . .probably emphasizes the life-giving power of the Goddess."It is interesting that we still speak of "the web of life," and the "interconnectedness of all beings.

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