Goddesses and Amazons

Diane Thompson, NVCC, ELI

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Goddesses

Amazons

I have gathered a list of links to sources about the goddess religions, ancient and modern, and amazons. Some of this material is scholarly, some is modern cult lore, some is just plain fun. Serious scholarly work on the ancient goddess religions has been done by Marija Gimbutas, among others. This work inspired feminists to recreate ideas of the goddess in order to update contemporary religious views about the role and nature of the female divine. Their work is controversial, but interesting. For more information on goddesses, see the Troy Today: Women and Goddesses Bibliography.

GODDESSES

• Calypso and Circe: "Fragments of the primordial Great Goddess: CALYPSO & CIRCE," by Alicia LeVan. From Perseus.
• Diana: an interesting page with information about Diana/Artemis as a goddess and some great images. This is part of a large site, "Mythosphere," about some modern fantasy novels.
• "The Goddess and her Doubles": Chapter five of Deborah Lyons' book, Gender and Immortality (Princeton, 1966). Much about Iphigenia and her relationship to the goddess.
• Helen of Troy: A great set of annotated links to all sorts of materials on the semi-divine Helen, from essays to poems and films.
• Images of Women in Ancient Art: Issues of Interpretation and Identity; includes both images and analysis.
• An Interview with Marija Gimbutas: She is the archaeologist and scholar who brought the ancient practice of goddess worship to modern attention.
• Learning the Language of the Goddess: Introduction to the Interview with Marija Gimbutas, below. Includes a photo of her.
• Minoan Snake Goddesses: by Christopher L. C. E. Whitcombe. Lots of interesting information, some great images, and a useful bibliography.
• Mother Goddesses.com: an alphabetical listing of their names and information about many of them.
• The Shrine of the Goddess Athena: This is an extraordinary virtual museum dealing with all aspects of Athena. It includes a Museum, Encyclopedia, Atlas, Dictionary, Temple and Athanaeum. The design is elegant, the content rich and varied, the images lovely and plentiful. The tone is one of admiration and even worship for Athena as a still-living goddess.
• Women in Greek Myths: An index to all sorts of materials from Amazons to great goddesses, minor goddesses and nymphs.
• Women in Prehistory: The Venus of Willendorf. Image and essay on earth goddess/mother goddess. From the Images of Women in Ancient Art site, listed above.

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AMAZONS

• The Amazon Connection: Links to all sorts of WWW Amazonia, from films to myths to history. A good place to start searching the WWW for Amazon materials.
• Amazons: A serious feminist presentation of the concept of Amazons as exceptionally noble, brave women, both in legend and in history. Includes bios of a selection of women who fit this ideal, from the first to the twentieth century.
• Amazons: A very attractive, scholarly site with all sorts of information and images about Amazons.
• Amazons of Bronze Age Greece Bibliography: Good list of print sources, as well as a few WWW links on Amazons.
• Brave Women Warriors of Greek Myth: an Amazon Roster. IAXS Research Project No. 326 By Julie Ruffell. In Whoosh! online edition, Issue 12, September, 1997.  Nice images. 
• "Warrior Women of the Eurasian Steppes": An abstract of this article by Jeannine Davis- Kimball from Archaeology Abstracts. Archeological evidence of women warriors.
• Women as Warriors in History: a number of interesting links as well as a bibliography dealing with women warriors from many civilizations.
• Women in Greek Myths: An index to all sorts of materials from Amazons to great goddesses, minor goddesses and nymphs.