Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)

The first Joseph Campbell work to focus on the Goddess, edited and introduced by Safron Rossi, PhD, Curator of Collections at Opus Archives and Research Center, home to the archival collections of Joseph Campbell, Marija Gimbutas, James Hillman, and other scholars of mythology, Jungian and archetypal psychology, and the humanities. Joseph Campbell brought mythology to a mass audience. His bestselling books, including The Power of Myth and The Hero with a Thousand Faces , are the rare blockbusters that are also scholarly classics. While Campbells work reached wide and deep as he covered the worlds great mythological traditions, he never wrote a book on goddesses in world mythology. He did, however, have much to say on the subject. Between 1972 and 1986 he gave over twenty lectures and workshops on goddesses, exploring the figures, functions, symbols, and themes of the feminine divine, following them through their transformations across cultures and epochs. In this provocative volume, editor Safron Rossia goddess studies scholar, professor of mythology, and curator of collections at Opus Archives, which holds the Joseph Campbell archival manuscript collection and personal librarycollects these lectures for the first time. In them, Campbell traces the evolution of the feminine divine from one Great Goddess to many, from Neolithic Old Europe to the Renaissance. He sheds new light on classical motifs and reveals how the feminine divine symbolizes the archetypal energies of transformation, initiation, and inspiration.

Explore the mysteries of the feminine divine

Joseph Campbell brought mythology to a mass audience. His bestselling books, including The Power of Myth and The Hero with a Thousand Faces, are the rare blockbusters that are also scholarly classics. While Campbell's work reached wide and deep as he covered the world's great mythological traditions, he never wrote a book on goddesses in world mythology. He did, however, have much to say on the subject. Between 1972 and 1986 he gave over twenty lectures and workshops on goddesses, exploring the figures, functions, symbols, and themes of the feminine divine, following them through their transformations across cultures and epochs. In this provocative volume, editor Safron Rossi—a goddess studies scholar, professor of mythology, and curator of collections at Opus Archives, which holds the Joseph Campbell archival manuscript collection and personal library—collects these lectures for the first time. In them, Campbell traces the evolution of the feminine divine from one Great Goddess to many, from Neolithic Old Europe to the Renaissance. He sheds new light on classical motifs and reveals how the feminine divine symbolizes the archetypal energies of transformation, initiation, and inspiration.

Explore the mysteries of the feminine divine Joseph Campbell brought mythology to a mass audience. His bestselling books, including The Power of Myth and The Hero with a Thousand Faces, are the rare blockbusters that are also scholarly classics.While Campbell's work reached wide and deep as he covered the world's great mythological traditions, he never wrote a book on goddesses in world mythology. He did, however, have much to say on the subject. Between 1972 and 1986 he gave over twenty lectures and workshops on goddesses, exploring the figures, functions, symbols, and themes of the feminine divine, following them through their transformations across cultures and epochs.In this provocative volume, editor Safron Rossi—a goddess studies scholar, professor of mythology, and curator of collections at Opus Archives, which holds the Joseph Campbell archival manuscript collection and personal library—collects these lectures for the first time. In them, Campbell traces the evolution of the feminine divine from one Great Goddess to many, from Neolithic Old Europe to the Renaissance. He sheds new light on classical motifs and reveals how the feminine divine symbolizes the archetypal energies of transformation, initiation, and inspiration. On the great goddess Myth and the feminine divine The goddess in Paleolithic cultures The goddess as nature Goddess-mother creator: Neolithic and early Bronze age Stone to copper: Anatolia and old Europe Copper to bronze: Crete Indo-European influx Spears and languages Burial mounds and suttee Mycenae Sumerian and Egyptian goddesses The abstract field: rise of civilization The Semitic influx: Sargon and Hammurabi Myth of Isis and Osiris Goddesses and gods of the Greek pantheon Artemis Apollo Dionysus Zeus Ares Athena Iliad and Odyssey: return to the goddess The judgment of Paris The Iliad The Odyssey Mysteries of transformation The once and future goddess Mystery cults The abduction of Persephone Dionysus and the feminine divine Amor: the feminine in European romance Virgin Mary The court of love The renaissance of the goddess Lift-off Appendix: foreword to language of the goddess by Marija Gimbutas Goddess studies: essential reading. "Previously uncollected lectures and writings that trace the evolution of the Goddess, from Neolithic Old Europe to the Renaissance, and interpret classical motifs. Offers insight into self-actualization for women. Edited and introduced by the executive director of the Opus Archives and Research Center"--Provided by publisher.