Stone - When God Was a Woman

Originally published in Great Britain under the title The Paradise Papers by
Virago Limited in association with Quartet Books Limited.

Copyright 1976 by Merlin Stone

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any means without the prior written permission of the Publisher, excepting
brief quotes used in connection with reviews written specifically for inclusion in
a magazine or newspaper.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Stone, Merlin.
When god was a woman.

Bibliography: p.
1. Women in religion. I. Title.
BL458.S76 291.1783412 76-22544
eISBN: 978-0-307-81685-6

v3.1

To Jenny
and Cynthia
with Love

Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to use the following copyrighted material.

From They Wrote on Clay by Edward Chiera: Reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press. 1938, 1966 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

From Ancient Israel by Roland De Vaux: Copyright 1965 by Roland De Vaux. Used with permission of McGraw-Hill Book Company and Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.

From Archaic Egypt by W. B. Emery: Copyright 1961 by Walter B. Emery. Used by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

From The Greek Myths by Robert Graves: Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Copyright 1955 by Robert Graves.

From The Hittites by O. R. Guerney (2nd edition, 1954). Copyright O. R. Gurney 1952, 1954. Used by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

From The Greatness That Was Babylon by H. W. F. Saggs: Used by permission of Praeger Publishers, Inc.

Cast of Upper Paleolithic Venus figure

Goddess with reptilian head

Bronze statue of the Goddess astride two lions

Goddess seated upon double feline throne

The Little Goddess of the Serpents

Ivory serpent Goddess

Enthroned Sumerian Goddess

Goddess holding serpents and flowers

Clay sculpture of a couply lying on a woven bed

Limestone statue of the Cobra Goddess Ua Zit

Gold pectoral of winged Isis

Statue of the Lady of Byblos

Isis and Osiris

Snake tube

Aphrodite

Aphrodite priestess

The Greek Goddess Demeter

Seal stone of Athena

Athena in battle helmet

Amazon frieze

Votive relief of Artemis

Man enjoys the great advantage of having a god endorse the code he writes; and since man exercises a sovereign authority over women it is especially fortunate that this authority has been vested in him by the Supreme Being. For the Jews, Mohammedans and Christians among others, man is master by divine right; the fear of God will therefore repress any impulse towards revolt in the downtrodden female.

Simone de Beauvoir
The Second Sex 1949

In his statement opposed to the ordination of women, Bishop C. L. Meyers said the Episcopalian priesthood is a masculine conception.

A priest is a God symbol whether he likes it or not. In the imagery of both the Old and New Testament God is represented in masculine imagery, he said in a statement that was circulated among some 760 delegates at Grace Cathedral for the 2 day convention.

Christ is the source of Priesthood. The Sexuality of Christ is no accident nor is his masculinity incidental. This is the divine choice, the statement said.

San Francisco Chronicle
25 October 1971

In the beginning there was Isis: Oldest of the Old, She was the Goddess from whom all Becoming Arose. She was the Great Lady, Mistress of the two Lands of Egypt, Mistress of Shelter, Mistress of Heaven, Mistress of the House of Life, Mistress of the word of God. She was the Unique. In all Her great and wonderful works She was a wiser magician and more excellent than any other God.

Thebes, Egypt, Fourteenth Century BC

Thou Sun Goddess of Arinna art an honored deity; Thy name is held high among names; Thy divinity is held high among the deities; Nay, among the deities, Thou alone O Sun Goddess art honored; Great art Thou alone O Sun Goddess of Arinna; Nay compared to Thee no other deity is as honored or great

Boghazky, Turkey, Fifteenth Century BC

Unto Her who renders decision, Goddess of all things, Unto the Lady of Heaven and Earth who receives supplication; Unto Her who hears petition, who entertains prayer; Unto the compassionate Goddess who loves righteousness; Ishtar the Queen, who suppresses all that is confused. To the Queen of Heaven, the Goddess of the Universe, the One who walked in terrible Chaos and brought life by the Law of Love; And out of Chaos brought us harmony, and from Chaos Thou has led us by the hand.

Babylon, Eighteenth to Seventh Centuries BC

Hear O ye regions, the praise of Queen Nana; Magnify the Creatress; exalt the dignified; exalt the Glorious One; draw nigh to the Mighty Lady.

Sumer, Nineteenth Century BC

How did it actually happen? How did men initially gain the control that now allows them to regulate the world in matters as vastly diverse as deciding which wars will be fought when to what time dinner should be served?

This book is the result of my reactions to these and similar questions which many of us concerned about the status of women in our society have been asking ourselves and each other. As if in answer to our queries, yet another question presented itself. What else might we expect in a society that for centuries has taught young children, both female and male, that a MALE deity created the universe and all that is in it, produced MAN in his own divine imageand then, as an afterthought, created woman, to obediently help man in his endeavors? The image of Eve, created for her husband, from her husband, the woman who was supposed to have brought about the downfall of humankind, has in many ways become the image of all women. How did this idea ever come into being?

Few people who live in societies where Christianity, Judaism or Islam are followed remain unaware of the tale of Eve heeding the word of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, eating the forbidden fruit and then tempting Adam to do the same. Generally, during the most impressionable years of childhood, we are taught that it was this act of eating the tasty fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that caused the loss of Paradise, the expulsion of Adam and Eve, thus all humankind, from this first home of bliss and contentment. We are also made to understand that, as a result of this act, it was decreed by God that woman must submit to the dominance of manwho was at that time divinely presented with the right to rule over herfrom that moment until now.

The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden is not exactly the latest news, but few contemporary happenings have affected women of today any more directly. In the struggle to achieve equal status for women, in a society still permeated by the values and moralities of Judeo-Christian beliefs (which have penetrated deeply into even the most secular aspects of our contemporary civilization) we soon realize that a thorough examination of this creation legend, alongside its historical origins, provides us with vital information. It allows us to comprehend the role that contemporary religions have played in the initial and continual oppression and subjugation of womenand the reasons for this.