cas111:
>There was no "butterfly." That is a simplistic answer repeated over
>the years until it is unquestioningly accepted as "fact". The
>butterfly was part of Gimbutas' 'Mommy Complex' and supposed to be
>part of her political agenda for making us believe that the "peaceful
>matriarchal societies of the Neolithic peoples" worshipped
>their 'Great Goddess' above all else. It's rubbish.
Yes, all ethnologists can agree the "matriarchal peace" thing is
rubbish, but I'm not sure if we can ignore the "butterfly" motif.
I could swear that Gimbutas had illustrations of an insect-like
character in one of her books. There's also Hannahanna's bee that
is sent out to fetch Telipinu... What's that all about if it has
no bearing on the Goddess? The bee is otherwise useless to the
story if it is not a symbol of something greater (that is, if not
a symbol of Goddess' power (like a shakti) or even of the Goddess
herself).
- love gLeN
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