Introduction

Abstract

The goddesses have stories to tell. One such story—far too long ignored—is that, in their original, unadulterated form, they were parthenogenetic. The word parthenogenesis comes from the Greek parthenos, “virgin,” more or less, and gignesthai, “to be born.” It means, essentially, to be born of a virgin—that is, without the participation of a male. For a goddess to be “parthenogenetic” thus means that she stands as a primordial creatrix who requires no male partner to produce the cosmos, earth, life, matter, and even other gods out of her own essence. Plentiful evidence shows that in their earliest cults, before they were subsumed under patriarchal pantheons as the wives, sisters, and daughters of male gods, various female deities of the ancient Mediterranean world were indeed considered self-generating, virgin creatrixes. This is the first book to explore that evidence comprehensively.