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9780195093063 English 0195093062 He has been a trickster, a shaman, a divine child; he has been a sacrificefor the rebirth of nature, a consort with the earth goddess, a warrior, a skyking; he is the creator, a distant and impersonal immensity. He is the maledivine, seen in the many gods of human myth--and his life story is told here inthis graceful and illuminating account by David Leeming and Jake Page.Ranging from the prehistoric cave paintings to the mystic Jewish Kabbalah, fromthe ancient Indian Vedas to North America's Sioux and Shoshonean tales, Leemingand Page reveal the changing mask of the male divine, illustrating each stagewith mythic stories. We see how God first emerged as a shaman, an "animalmaster" and sorcerer (as in the Bear Man of the Cherokee Indians) who embarks onspirit journeys. He soon appeared as a trickster--as Loki of the Norse people,Legba of Africa's Yoruba, and Krishna of India--both creating and bedeviling.With the Neolithic age came the rise of agriculture and animal husbandry, ofsettlements and specialization in the roles of males and females--and a moresophisticated body of myths and rituals. Here emerged the Mother Goddess, andthe male God took his place as her consort, ultimately dying in order thatnature might be renewed. The authors illustrate this new stage in the maledivine with tales of the Egyptian Osiris (husband of Isis), the Caananite Baal,and Wiyot of California's Luiseno (Shoshonean) Indians, among others. Theydescribe the rise of a male sky God as "the equal to, the true mate, of Goddess,who was still associated with Earth." In the Iron Age, the sky God became moreaggressive, separating from the Goddess and taking his place as the King God, asZeus, Odin, and Horus. Ultimately he emerged as the creator, a more distant andimpersonal force. Here Leeming and Page also illuminate an important trend--asense that the divine is beyond gender, that it permeates all things (as seen inthe Chinese Tao and En Sof of the Kabbalah). They see a movement in thebiography of God toward a reunion with the Goddess. "As the Supreme Beingbecomes less Goddess and less God," they write, "it speaks more clearly to theessential human need for unity and understanding."In their previous work together, Goddess, Leeming and Page provided a marvelousbiography of the female divine--an account that won a wide and enduringaudience. Now, in God, they provide the perfect companion volume--completing, asthe authors write, "a record of what we humans believe ourselves at the deepestlevel to be.", He has been a trickster, a shaman, a divine child; he has been a sacrificial victim, a consort of the earth goddess, a warrior, a sky king; and the creator, a distant and impersonal immensity. He is the male divine, seen in the many gods of myth, and his life story is told here in thisgraceful and illuminating account by David Leeming and Jake Page. Illustrating their points with materials ranging from the prehistoric cave paintings to the mystic Jewish Kabbalah, from the ancient Indian Vedas to tales of the North American Indians and other myths from around the world, Leeming and Page reveal the changing mask of the male divine. We see howthat divinity emerged in some areas from cults involving "animal masters" (as in the Bear Man of the Cherokee Indians), sorcerers, and shamans who embarked on spirit journeys. God sometimes appeared as the trickster--as Loki of the Norse people, Legba of Africa's Yoruba, Raven and Coyote of NorthAmerica, and Krishna of India--both creative and bedeviling.With the Neolithic age came the rise of agriculture and animal husbandry, of settlements and specialization in the roles of males and females--and a more sophisticated body of myths and rituals. Here the Mother Goddess was dominant, and the male God became her consort, ultimately dying in order thatnature might be renewed. The authors illustrate this new stage in the male divine with tales of the Egyptian Osiris, the Caananite Baal, and Wiyot of California's Luiseno Indians, among others. They describe the rise of a male sky God as "the equal to, the true mate, of Goddess, who was stillassociated with Earth." In the Iron Age, the sky God became more aggressive, separating from the Goddess and taking his place as the King God, as Zeus, Odin, and Horus.Ultimately he emerged as the creator, a more distant and impersonal force. Here Leeming and Page also illuminate an important trend--a sense that the divine is beyond gender, that it permeates all things (as seen in Chinese Tao, the Indian Brahmin, and En Sof of the Kabbalah). They see a movement inthe biography of God toward a reunion with the Goddess. "As the Supreme Being becomes less Goddess and less God," they write, "it speaks more clearly to the essential human need for unity and understanding." In their previous work together, Goddess, Leeming and Page provided a marvelous biography of the female divine--an account that won a wide and enduring audience. Now, in God, they provide the perfect companion volume--completing, as the authors write, "a record of what we humans believe ourselvesat the deepest level to be.", This is an examination of the god archetype from Palaeolit hic time to the present. The articles gathered here relate myth and gender issues to the use of the male as a metaphor for the great mystery of existence. The contributors use myths from North and South America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa to trace the evolution of the male god from servant of the goddess to seed-bearer, to war god, to the patriarchal god of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
9780195093063 English 0195093062 He has been a trickster, a shaman, a divine child; he has been a sacrificefor the rebirth of nature, a consort with the earth goddess, a warrior, a skyking; he is the creator, a distant and impersonal immensity. He is the maledivine, seen in the many gods of human myth--and his life story is told here inthis graceful and illuminating account by David Leeming and Jake Page.Ranging from the prehistoric cave paintings to the mystic Jewish Kabbalah, fromthe ancient Indian Vedas to North America's Sioux and Shoshonean tales, Leemingand Page reveal the changing mask of the male divine, illustrating each stagewith mythic stories. We see how God first emerged as a shaman, an "animalmaster" and sorcerer (as in the Bear Man of the Cherokee Indians) who embarks onspirit journeys. He soon appeared as a trickster--as Loki of the Norse people,Legba of Africa's Yoruba, and Krishna of India--both creating and bedeviling.With the Neolithic age came the rise of agriculture and animal husbandry, ofsettlements and specialization in the roles of males and females--and a moresophisticated body of myths and rituals. Here emerged the Mother Goddess, andthe male God took his place as her consort, ultimately dying in order thatnature might be renewed. The authors illustrate this new stage in the maledivine with tales of the Egyptian Osiris (husband of Isis), the Caananite Baal,and Wiyot of California's Luiseno (Shoshonean) Indians, among others. Theydescribe the rise of a male sky God as "the equal to, the true mate, of Goddess,who was still associated with Earth." In the Iron Age, the sky God became moreaggressive, separating from the Goddess and taking his place as the King God, asZeus, Odin, and Horus. Ultimately he emerged as the creator, a more distant andimpersonal force. Here Leeming and Page also illuminate an important trend--asense that the divine is beyond gender, that it permeates all things (as seen inthe Chinese Tao and En Sof of the Kabbalah). They see a movement in thebiography of God toward a reunion with the Goddess. "As the Supreme Beingbecomes less Goddess and less God," they write, "it speaks more clearly to theessential human need for unity and understanding."In their previous work together, Goddess, Leeming and Page provided a marvelousbiography of the female divine--an account that won a wide and enduringaudience. Now, in God, they provide the perfect companion volume--completing, asthe authors write, "a record of what we humans believe ourselves at the deepestlevel to be.", He has been a trickster, a shaman, a divine child; he has been a sacrificial victim, a consort of the earth goddess, a warrior, a sky king; and the creator, a distant and impersonal immensity. He is the male divine, seen in the many gods of myth, and his life story is told here in thisgraceful and illuminating account by David Leeming and Jake Page. Illustrating their points with materials ranging from the prehistoric cave paintings to the mystic Jewish Kabbalah, from the ancient Indian Vedas to tales of the North American Indians and other myths from around the world, Leeming and Page reveal the changing mask of the male divine. We see howthat divinity emerged in some areas from cults involving "animal masters" (as in the Bear Man of the Cherokee Indians), sorcerers, and shamans who embarked on spirit journeys. God sometimes appeared as the trickster--as Loki of the Norse people, Legba of Africa's Yoruba, Raven and Coyote of NorthAmerica, and Krishna of India--both creative and bedeviling.With the Neolithic age came the rise of agriculture and animal husbandry, of settlements and specialization in the roles of males and females--and a more sophisticated body of myths and rituals. Here the Mother Goddess was dominant, and the male God became her consort, ultimately dying in order thatnature might be renewed. The authors illustrate this new stage in the male divine with tales of the Egyptian Osiris, the Caananite Baal, and Wiyot of California's Luiseno Indians, among others. They describe the rise of a male sky God as "the equal to, the true mate, of Goddess, who was stillassociated with Earth." In the Iron Age, the sky God became more aggressive, separating from the Goddess and taking his place as the King God, as Zeus, Odin, and Horus.Ultimately he emerged as the creator, a more distant and impersonal force. Here Leeming and Page also illuminate an important trend--a sense that the divine is beyond gender, that it permeates all things (as seen in Chinese Tao, the Indian Brahmin, and En Sof of the Kabbalah). They see a movement inthe biography of God toward a reunion with the Goddess. "As the Supreme Being becomes less Goddess and less God," they write, "it speaks more clearly to the essential human need for unity and understanding." In their previous work together, Goddess, Leeming and Page provided a marvelous biography of the female divine--an account that won a wide and enduring audience. Now, in God, they provide the perfect companion volume--completing, as the authors write, "a record of what we humans believe ourselvesat the deepest level to be.", This is an examination of the god archetype from Palaeolit hic time to the present. The articles gathered here relate myth and gender issues to the use of the male as a metaphor for the great mystery of existence. The contributors use myths from North and South America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa to trace the evolution of the male god from servant of the goddess to seed-bearer, to war god, to the patriarchal god of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.