
The Language of the Goddess
Unearthing the Hidden Symbols of Western Civilization
Marija Gimbutas(Author)
Thames & Hudson Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 26. February 2001
Book
Paperback/Softback
424 pages
978-0-500-28249-6 (ISBN)
Description
The Goddess is the most potent and persistent feature in the archaeological records of the ancient world. She was a symbol of the unity of life in nature, and the personification of all that was sacred and mysterious on Earth. Here, in this pioneering and provocative volume, Marija Gimbutas resurrects the world of Goddess-worshipping, earth-centred 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 2000 symbolic artifacts - sculptures, figurines, temple models, frescos, vases, sacrificial containers - 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.
Reviews / Votes
"'Gimbutas has not only prepared a fundamental glossary of pictorial keys to the mythology of the otherwise undocumented era of European prehistory, but has established the main themes of a religion in veneration both of the universe as a living body of Goddess-Mother Creatrix and of all the living things within it as partaking in her divinity' - from the foreword by Joseph Campbell"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
526 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 187 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-500-28249-6 (9780500282496)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Marija Gimbutas was professor of European archaeology at UCLA. She wrote over twenty books, including Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe.