The Body of the Goddess :
Sacred Wisdom in Myth, Landscape and
Culture
by Rachel Pollack
Paperback
(April 1997)
Element; ISBN:
1852308710
Reviews:
A reader from Cleveland, OH
, May 13, 1999 An absolute must-have for any Goddess worhipper
Wow. What a book. It's totally changed my view of human history (and,
more to the point, herstory) and brought fresh insights about the
Goddess. The dawn of civilization and religion, the matrifocal
civilization of Catal Huyuk and Crete, the Gallae, and the Eleusinian
Mysteries are all covered, with a spin on such things as landscape,
the labrys, and the Venus of Willendorf that I've never seen
elsewhere.
Oddly enough, she manages to miss the central mystery of the Attis myth -- that He was reborn as a woman -- but all in all, this is an absolute tour de force.
A reader from Maryland, USA
, November 24, 1997 Unique insights on Goddess religion
Rachel Pollack's unique insights are an important addition to the
literature on Goddess religion.
She brings alive the visual impact of the body of the Goddess in landscape--including the surroundings of sacred sites in Europe--in a way I've not experienced in other books. She sheds new light on parts of Greek mythology I previously felt were hopelessly fragmented by patriarchy. In particular, her moving discussion of the Persephone myth transforms many of the most disturbing aspects of the patriarchal version of this myth into a metaphor of the continuing power of the Goddess and of women.
Add to this, Pollack's fearless look at sexuality, gender fluidity
and gender-changing in ancient Goddess religions and you have a
wonder-filled tour de Source.