Divine women – in many guises – have featured in every world faith from deep history until the present day, inspiring people and cultures across the world. In a cross-cultural and global approach, this book discusses Eve alongside Inanna, Radha and Aphrodite in the context of sex and desire, while in the chapter on evil, witches and Hecate are compared with other deities, like Lamaštu and the Cihuateotl, as well as monstrous women such as Taraka, Medusa, Rangda, and Lilith. Ideas of justice and defence are explored in the figures of Athena, Sekhmet and Kali, and the final chapter on compassion and salvation uncovers links between Isis, Mary, Tara and Guanyin.

The publication concludes with a discussion of contemporary feminism and modern interpretations of goddesses. Until the mid-twentieth century, the disciplines of theology, archaeology and history were heavily dominated by male academics, resulting in the under-representation of women’s experience and fewer studies on female divinity. This timely book, which is packed with fascinating insights into different cultures and beliefs, seeks to redress that balance.

The Australian edition includes an additional essay on the Yawkyawk as shapeshifting sisters in solidarity by Pat Hoffie and Margo Neale.

Belinda Crerar is the curator of the exhibition Feminine Power: the divine to the demonic and Curator in the International Engagement Department at the British Museum. She previously managed the collection of Romano-British antiquities and was a lead member of the major research project Empires of faith (2013–17).

Mary Beard is one of the world’s leading classicists and cultural commentators. A specialist in Roman history and art, she is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge and Classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement. She is the author of many bestselling and award-winning books, including Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome and Women and Power: A Manifesto. She has also written and presented many BBC television programmes, from Civilisations and Meet the Romans to The Shock of the Nude.

Professor Margo Neale is Senior Indigenous Curator and the Indigenous Advisor to the Director of the National Museum of Australia. Margo has curated many major local and international touring exhibitions including Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters and Utopia: The Genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

ISBN: 9781921953514
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Dimensions: 189 x 246 mm
Publisher: National Museum of Australia Press
Published Date: October 2022