[Stones] Longman of Wilmington Abuse

[Andy Norfolk]

Ric wrote:
> just out of pure academic interest, anybody care to
> identify the 'Goddess' - definite article - thus
> invoked, please - in terms of specific culture /
> timescale?
The archaeologists used to be utterly convinced of the existence of a 
"Great Goddess" worshipped in pre-history across - well most of Europe 
at least. Then they woke up one morning and decided she had never 
existed because there was no hard evidence to back up this hypothesis. 
She used to appear in archaeological books, but now hardly even gets a 
footnote as a historical curiosity of earlier theory. At Çatalhöyük* 
*James Mellaart began his excavations when the Great Goddess theory was 
still completely accepted in archaeological circles and his early 
reports followed the accepted party-line. His were work takes a much 
more cautious approach based on what they have actually excavated. 
Meanwhile... Robert Graves clearly had heard of this theory and it is a 
basic premise underlying his book "The White Goddess". Similarly 
Margaret Murray also used this theory in some of her books. Later still, 
and no less influentially in some circles, Marija Gimbutas wrote many 
books based again on the premise that there was a Great Goddess, some of 
which came out well after she had ceased to be part of the 
archaeological consensus. There were of course many very important 
goddesses in many parts of Europe in pre-history and things that we know 
about them have been worked into the characteristics of the "Goddess". 
So the "Goddess" in question is based at least in part on what 
archaeologists told us up until the early 1970s. Some of her attributes 
come to us by way of Gerald Gardner and many other Pagan authors.The 
story of how the Goddess has come to be who she is is long and 
complicated - and I must go and re-read Terry Pratchett's book "Small 
Gods", which explains a lot about belief in divinities :)

For me - she's real and part of my life and beliefs. But that's another 
story...

Andy N


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