Ancient Goddesses of the Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ancient Goddesses of the Middle East - Essay Example However, during the past few thousand years, women have experienced marginalization from their power source. In the male dominated religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the female aspect of the Creator has been put aside. History reveals that remnants of the Goddess worshippers were annihilated because they were considered witches. It is alarming to note also that it was all done in the name of a loving God.1 By 4500 BC, the European continent hosted a flourishing group of Goddess worshipping cultures. Over the preceding two millennia, from about 6500 BC to 4500 BC, these cultures had undergone a peaceful evolution, and by the end of this time achieved what could properly be called a Golden Age of Old European civilization. They produced arts and crafts of remarkable quality. Communities achieved populations of many thousands and were laid out in a planned manner. Towns were located at consistently even distances from each other, with larger cities acting as religious and trade centers. According to Curtis, the peoples of this era believe and practice their religion in all aspects of their lives such as life, death, regeneration that is embodied in the female power, that is, the Goddess. Proof of this are the figurines and sculptures, the burial rites, the rich religious symbolism that were rampant during that age. Religion was so much a part of their lives that even ordinary chores like weaving was done inside the temples. It is almost common knowledge that in the present-day witchcraft, the central figure is a woman, the Goddess or the Great Mother. She represents life and fertility. She symbolizes the living force that connects all things in nature and the whole universe. She serves both as the creator and the destroyer. She is also called the Queen of Heaven as well as the moon. The Great Mother is endowed with magical powers and is often associated with feelings, intuition and the psychic faculty. Scholars agree that the Goddess is supposed to be without gender, however within the universe both the male and the female principles do exist. Furthermore, both in the Goddess worship both the male and the female principles are acknowledged.3 It is also recorded that, the Goddess has many features, titles and characteristics. At present however, particularly in witchcraft and Neo-paganism, she is worshipped as the triple Goddess such as the Virgin, the Mother and the Crone. Record shows that goddess worship dates back to Paleolithic times. Many anthropologists believe that the first "God" or gods of the peoples were feminine in nature. There is the so-called self-fertilization such as the ones mentioned in ancient creation myths and beliefs that all things came to order through this method. It means that there was no participation of a male counterpart and that the Goddess did all the creation by herself. Thus, it can be noted that the agricultural rituals and religions acknowledge that the gods were only successful because of the blessings of wisdom and goodness from the Great Goddess. This is evident in the existence of many matriarchal societies and tribes in the past. However, no concrete evidence can pinpoint that either of the gods or goddesses are superior to the other. The Great Goddess does not lord it over the male gods. In other