Re: [tied] Re: Religion

Glen (Me):

>Actually, Gimbutas disagrees with you. The head of the bull can be
>seen as a fertility symbol of the Goddess. As such, Athena/Dionysus as >the
>Goddess would have given birth to herself (in the form of a cow >mother).

John:

>Glen I can accept the bovine links with fertility, but it is usual
>that the bull is a symbol of male fertility (despite attempts of
>feminists to find the bucephalion (bulls head) as being a metaphore
>for the womb and falopian tubes - I feel they are grasping at straws
>here.

... Then I take it that you view Catal Huyuk as a _patriarchal_ site?

>The Mnevis Bull, the Apis Bull, the Bull of Zeus in his Rape
>of Europa, the Minoan Bull that Pasiphe conceived an un-natural lust
>for when Minos refused to sacrifice it to Zeus as he had promised.
>In fact Bull mythology suggests that the Bull, from the first was
>symbolic of the male consort of the Goddess.

But... Gimbutas argues that the functions of the Goddess were taken up by a
new _male_ figure. I don't see why not. Putting aside her feminism, there is
no question that the Goddess is by far the primary figure of Old European
religion while the steppes and Middle East seem to go for male sky gods. It
would make sense that, as is typical of all other theological mergers, that
one deity takes over the functions of another.

As Preserver, the Goddess adopted animal forms, such as a cow, doe, horse,
etc. The Semitish would have adopted the Goddess and her symbols equating
her primarily with the male Sky (Anu). Thus the association of Sky with a
male animal symbol, the bull. The people of the steppe knew only one sky god
called *T:eien/T:eieu and so equated him with the new SemitoEuropoid god.

- gLeN

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