The Lost Goddess

Paleolithic Era aka “The Stone Age”

2.5 MILLION YEARS AGO -10,000 BCE

Everything we know about prehistoric goddess traditions and the great primordial goddess comes to us from archaeology and the remains of oral traditions, such as the “Old Woman” of the Australian Aboriginals. The original conception of the goddess is in the form of Mother Earth, the sacred female force responsible for creation of the cosmos, humanity, earth, and all its flora and fauna. The goddess was the universal soul, who accepted all plant, animal, and human matter in death in order to create new life.

Some of the oldest sculptures, figurines, and icons unearthed from early human civilizations are “Venus” figures like those above. These were depictions of women, usually with emphasis placed on the breasts, hips, buttocks, and pregnant bellies. The oldest known figurine, the Berekhat Ram Venus has been dated to approximately 230,000 - 700,000 BCE. The widespread discovery of such icons lends evidence to the existence of a pervasive practice of goddess reverence, if not worship, that dominated much of human prehistory.

Mesolithic Era aka “The Middle Stone Age”

10,000 BCE - 8,000 BCE

Roughly around 10,000-9,000 BCE the archaeological record finds that some groups of humans gave up their nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle and begin farming. Though this transition may have taken hundreds or thousands of years, we see throughout this period a continuance of the practice of creating Venus figures as we did in the Paleolithic. Many Meso- and neolithic figurines were discovered near or around the community’s central hearth, demonstrating perhaps a prehistoric belief of a protective aspect of the goddess.

Neolithic Era aka “The New Stone Age”

9,000 BCE - 3,000 BCE

During the Neolithic Era, several major shifts in belief were unfolding. The first of which being the connection of the female with agriculture and the Earth. Thus, the feminine powers of creation and regeneration were thought to hold sway over the success of crop yields. Around this time you begin to see the occurrence of rituals related to the harvest and the emergence of the archetype of Mother Earth as progenitress, provider, and protector of life. You begin to see some of her earliest associations and symbols at this time: birds, cats and lions, serpents and scorpions, chevrons, meanders, and spirals.

The Bronze Age

3,300 BCE - 1,200 BCE

The Bronze Age is when human civilizations begin to differentiate on more of a cultural basis. They have been living in large groups and communities for thousands of years by now, and have established practices of agriculture, social living, and bronze metallurgy. However, values, priorities, and needs are still inextricably tied to their geographic regions. You begin to see the emergence of more specialized goddesses. Those providing the vital functions each unique civilization relied on for survival, replacing the general Primordial Mother figure. Often these depictions highlighted her animal associations, preserving some of her earlier symbology with the forces of nature.

It’s also during this period that the first written human language emerged: cuneiform. Used by the Ancient Sumerians, the civilization that inhabited the southern region of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This language holds the first recorded references to the Creator Goddess. In ancient Sumeria and Babylon, both the Creator of humanity and of the cosmos were goddesses: Nammu/Ninhursag and Tiamat. However, regional conquests by male “kings” soon saw swift changes to thousands of years old religiospiritual practices. The rise of the sky gods begins and the marginalization of the goddess ensues.

There were attempts to preserve the old beliefs, however. A text known as the Eridu Genesis, emerged following the conquest of Sumeria by Sargon the Great. The text is badly damaged, (possibly due to conquerers) and speaks of Nintur (also Ninmah, Nintud, Ninhursag), the Creator Goddess, and her deliberations about what to do with mankind gone astray, pondering ways they might return—themselves and the world—to peace. The story recounts the Goddess’ desire for humans to build temples, cities, and sacred spaces for divination in “pure” locations and also speaks of a Great Flood. Many think “The Great Flood” story originated from the Bible, but the Eridu Genesis is actually the oldest account of this tale and likely influenced the other Great Flood stories. For example, the Book of the Heavenly Cow from Ancient Kemet as well as the Christian Bible.

The first story in all of recorded human history has also been dated to this productive time period: The Epic of Gilgamesh. Written before the ascension of the Babylonian king, Hammurabi, and before the conquest of Sumeria by the Akkadian Sargon the Great, somewhere around 2100 BCE. The epic spans twelve clay tablets and began in Sumeria as a series of poems and tales and was rewritten in the 12th century BCE by the Babylonians. It speaks of a tyrannical king, who despite being warned, advised, challenged, and blocked by both goddesses, gods, and mortals continued to lead a life of conquest, violence, and fame-seeking. These choices lead to many travails including a curse from a demi-god, the death of his friend, the terrorization of his kingdom, and denial of the gift of immortality. The epic appears to issue a stark warning to men seeking power and glory, letting their ambitions drive their decisions and behavior.

Across the Mediterranean near another sacred river, Ancient Kemet (Egypt was the name given to the region by its Roman conquerers), worshipped the goddess Neith. She was goddess of war, creation, the inventor of birth, and caretaker of the souls of the dead. Serqet, goddess of healing, magic, and protection (often associated with the scorpion) and whose name meant “She Who Causes The Throat To Breathe” along with Mehet-Weret (also called the Celestial Cow), goddess of water, creation, and rebirth were likewise widely worshipped from 6,000 to 3,100 BCE. However, into the Bronze Age they saw their attributes and abilities reassigned to a younger pantheon of goddesses such as Hathor and Isis, who had risen in popularity among the public. However, many of her symbols survived the transition.

This pattern can be tracked across many cultures worldwide. That of an original Creator Goddess once widely worshipped and revered and through conquest by seekers of power—history’s kings—fell prey to a great reorganization of the human belief system. Reverence and respect for the forces of nature, the processes of birth and death, and regeneration were replaced with fear and mistrust of the feminine. The once great cosmic goddesses were usurped, often violently, by male counterparts and the goddesses that remained were banished to dominions deemed of lesser value to the patriarchal ruling classes: motherhood, compassion, the moon, love, and beauty.

The Iron Age

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