This is Barbara Walker’s theory of how the gods annihilated the Goddess -- what I call the "slimy slide," through history, from Goddess-only societies, to mixed pantheons, and then (for many of us, at least), god-only societies.
“Few societies of the Stone Age envisioned male gods. Their artifacts [seem to] show us only Goddesses and animal spirits…. Many centuries passed before men understood the real nature of paternity. During that time they invented a number of male gods who were supposed to have created either life on earth, or eternal life for humans by giving their blood and dying in the process….
“For thousands of years, various manifestations of the Mother Goddess lived on and were assimilated into the pantheons of patriarchal gods…. Gradually, however, the god became more and more ‘jealous .. until we find the evolution of something like the violent, warlike biblical Yahweh preaching complete destruction of all the pagan Mother-worshipping peoples….
”The same kind of conversion by warfare took place in Europe after the Roman Empire turned Christian…. [T]he last shreds of Paganism were destroyed in a five-century bloodbath now known as the reign of the [Christian] Inquisition.”
Walker, 2000, pp 79-81, Restoring the Goddess.
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thnx to glanzrr for the foto
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