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| Home > Reconstructionism > Greek/Hellenic > Kerux Index > Kerux #10 | Search |
| The Kerux #10 1 Mounikhion 4/694 (26 March 2001) edited by Drew Campbell |
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THE KERUX #10
Mounikhion 4/694 begins at sundown on Monday, March 26, 2001. This issue of the Kerux is being sent to you early, as your humble editor will be traveling when the new month begins. We'll return to our regular schedule with issue #11.
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
* Book Review: _Lost Goddesses of Early Greece_
* From the Hearth: Incense for the Mounikhia
* Announcement: Greek Tragedy in the San Francisco Bay Area
* News Report: Breakthrough in the Study of Classical Manuscripts
* Poll Results: Where do you worship the gods?
* New Poll: Priestly roles in modern Hellenism
* Upcoming Events
* How to Contribute to the Kerux
***
BOOK REVIEW: _Lost Goddesses of Early Greece_ by Charlene Spretnak
I picked up Charlene Spretnak's _Lost Goddesses of Early Greece_ on the recommendation of a well-meaning friend. Although not pagan herself, she assumed that the book would appeal to someone like me who worships the ancient goddesses (and gods). And in a way, the recommendation was a helpful one, as it made me examine carefully some of the larger methodological questions that reconstructionists grapple with.
The bulk of Charlene Spretnak's _Lost Goddesses of Early Greece_ is made up of a selection of feminist reinterpretations of Greek myth. The stories themselves are evocative and beautifully written and would make excellent liturgical readings for neopagan, goddess-centered rituals. Indeed, the book could stand alongside some of the best modern liturgical poetry. But for a reconstructionist, this otherwise lovely collection is marred by an introductory essay and bibliography that should raise serious concerns about how ancient religion can be forced into the service of modern ideology.
Spretnak, who teaches at a small, alternative institute in the San Francisco Bay Area, subscribes to what has been called "the matriarchalist hypothesis." In short, the hypothesis goes like this: During some period in prehistorical Europe, women either ruled or otherwise dominated the culture. The violent overthrow of the "Old European" matriarchy at the hands of the invading patriarchal Indo- Europeans spelled the end of this peaceful, prosperous, and egalitarian golden age. This story has been variously told for the last 100-plus years, and its vagaries are well-documented by feminist historian Cynthia Eller in her book _The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory_.
Relying on outdated scholarship and ignoring any evidence that calls into question her matriarchalist assumptions, Spretnak ends up making statements that are not only misleading, but occasionally ridiculous. She consistently writes of "the Great Goddess," as if there were only one worshipped by all ancient peoples at all times and in all places. Further, she reduces all goddesses to a single role: sources of "the flowing, protective love" (p. 18) of the Mother. (One wonders what the Erinyes would have to say about this.) She summarily dismisses the possibility--most scholars would say "fact"--of early polytheism, instead imposing a dumbed-down monistic thealogy on the ancients: "The seeming multiplicity of deities is misleading since each was a facet of the one, omnipotent Goddess" (p. 20). This is nothing more than projecting modern feminist spirituality back onto prehistory. When discussing sources for pre-Indo-European (or, to use Spretnak's politically loaded term, "prepatriarchal") goddess myths, she goes so far as to say that the "most obvious" reason for the lack of concrete evidence for these myths is that "they were co-opted and replaced for political reasons" (p.22)--not that the pre-Indo-European inhabitants of Europe were illiterate, a simple fact which she mentions only briefly (p. 22).
It is telling that Spretnak decided not to footnote her own myth retellings--footnotes being, in her words, "intrusions [that] would violate the artistic integrity of the sacred stories." (p. 24) Is it not possible that this defensive and rather precious posture is meant to cover up the extent to which the narratives she constructs are products of her own imagination and political agenda rather than historically based reconstructions? In fact, she admits as much:
My methodology, once the research was completed, was to study all the index cards of information on a particular Goddess, meditate on that material, and then _become_ that Goddess as much as possible before reconstructing her myth. (p. 25, Spretnak's emphasis)
I want to stress that, from a reconstructionist perspective, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with Spretnak's method, only with her conflation of historical fact and personal inspiration. In essence, Spretnak confuses religion with spirituality. The first is the product of a people's communal experience with their gods; the latter, an individual's experience. A culture's mythology is at heart a consensual thing, the record of those intuitions about the gods that ring true, not just for the one, but for the many. Spretnak has not reconstructed pre-Hellenic myths; she has simply recorded her own spiritual insights. In the language of the pagan Internet, she has tried to pass off a UPG (unverified personal gnosis) as part of an ancient religion.
So how can we evaluate the usefulness of Spretnak's work for modern Hellenes? First, we must ask whether it is relevant. Certainly insights into our goddesses must be considered of importance to our religion. Next we must ask whether it reflects what we know of history. Here I think it is safe to say that Spretnak's work fails rather spectacularly. Finally, we must ask whether it offers personal insights that resonate with what we, as a community, have experienced with our gods. If _Lost Goddesses of Early Greece_ passes on that score, then we should feel free to integrate it as a modern innovation. But in no case, I think, can we do what Spretnak does: claim that her researches into things thealogical tell us anything about authentic ancient religion.
***
FROM THE HEARTH
Potnia Theron
For Artemis, Mistress of Wildlife, at the Mounikhia.
2 parts frankincense
2 parts cedar
1 part pine
1/4 part camphor
***
ANNOUNCEMENT
Pyrokanthos writes: The San Francisco Bay Area will be Tragedy Friendly this year with the promise of no less than five productions. The brilliant Shotgun Players have promised us Iphigenia in Aulis, written by Euripides, directed by Patrick Dooley, and performed for free at John Hinkel Park in Berkeley and John McLaren Park in San Francisco.According to the brochure, there will be previews on June 22 & 23, Opening June 24, Through August 12. No performances on July 14th or 15th.We also learn that there will be special shows at dawn! Check out Shotgun at their website: http://www.shotgunplayers.com.
The Berkeley Repertory Theater will inaugurate its new space (it started in a store front, built a splendid theater downtown, and is now adding a new theater, and all since the early 70s!) with Aeschylus' Oresteia! The dates of the run are March 4th through May 6th. Tickets run from $35 for the preview performances though $51 for the Saturday night shows; but there are substantial discounts for Seniors and Students, and there is a program of $15 tickets for persons under Age 30. The Berkeley Repertory Theater can be contacted via its website at: http://www.berkeleyrep.org.
***
Digital device reads wealthy Roman's library of
'lost' classics
By David Keys, Archaeology Correspondent
11 February 2001
Hundreds of long-lost works of ancient Greek and Latin philosophy, science and literature Ð possibly including works by Aristotle, Archimedes and Seneca Ð are about to be rediscovered in what promises to be the most important re-emergence of classical literature and thought since the Renaissance. American scientists have succeeded in developing a remarkable new high- tech system for reading previously illegible manuscripts. Using digital technology, academics from Brigham Young University near Salt Lake City, Utah, will "remaster" the lost wisdom of the ancients. Classical scholars believe the technology will open up the world's greatest surviving ancient works which have been illegible because of their poor state of preservation.
For more, visit http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Science/2001-02/ latin110201.shtml
Thank you to Alexis for sending this exciting article!
***
POLL RESULTS
QUESTION: Where do you worship the gods?
CHOICES AND RESULTS
- Indoors at home, 26 votes, 26.80%
- Indoors at another's home, 5 votes, 5.15%
- Indoors in another space, 4 votes, 4.12%
- Outdoors in a public place (park, beach, etc.), 7 votes, 7.22%
- Outdoors in a private place (yard, etc.), 15 votes, 15.46%
- In the wilderness, on the sea, or other natural environment,
12 votes, 12.37%
- In a temple or other set place of worship, 2 votes, 2.06%
- At an ancient site, 1 votes, 1.03%
- Wherever an image of a god is, 5 votes, 5.15%
- Online (chatrooms, etc.), 2 votes, 2.06%
- Internally (in meditation, etc.), 18 votes, 18.56%
***
NEW POLL
In the ancient world, Hellenic priests did not officiate at weddings or funerals; these rituals were in the hands of families. However, clergy in most of the dominant religions today do perform such rituals. Should Hellenic Reconstructionists innovate by expecting our priests to lead these life cycle rituals?
To vote, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/polls/kerux
***
UPCOMING EVENTS
=Northern California=
On Saturday, 7 April 2001 Thiasos Olympikos will celebrate Te Gynekia, which will include Women's Mysteries. This is for Women and Girls only.
On Saturday, 14 April 2001 the group will celebrate the Delphinia, in honor of the God Apollon.
For more information, visit http://home.pon.net/rhinoceroslodge/ or contact Pyrokanthos at rhinoceroslodge@pon.net .
=New England=
The Greater Boston Pagan Network hosts a series of open rituals by different local Pagan groups. For transportation and parking details, send a blank message to sabbats-faq@numachi.com or contact Maureen at MaureenRW@excite.com or 781-388-3773.
***
CONTRIBUTE TO THE KERUX
The Kerux is always looking for articles, reviews, and announcements of interest to the Hellenic Reconstructionist community. We're particularly interested in items that support home-based religious practice and eusebeia (piety). Paste your contribution into an email and send to kerux-owner@yahoogroups.com.
***
The Kerux is a project of Nomos Arkhaios, an educational resource center promoting the study and practice of traditional Hellenic religion. For more information, visit the website at http://www.nomos-arkhaios.org . Individual authors appearing in the Kerux retain all rights to their work. If you'd like to reprint something you see here, please write directly to the author of the piece for permission.
This article originally appeared on Andrew Campbell's Nomos Arkhaios site which is currently on hiatus.
This article is copyright © 2000-2003 by Andrew Campbell and is reprinted here with permission.