The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece

Greek religion is filled with strange sexual artifactsstories of mortal women's couplings with gods, rituals like the basilinna's "marriage" to Dionysus, beliefs in the impregnating power of snakes and deities, and more. In this provocative study, Marguerite Rigoglioso suggests these are remnants of an early Greek cult of divine birth, not unlike that of Egypt. Scouring myth, legend, and history from a female-oriented perspective, she argues that many in the highest echelons of Greek civilization believed non-ordinary conception was the only means possible of bringing forth true leaders, and that special virgin priestesshoods were dedicated to this practice. Her book adds a unique perspective to our understanding of antiquity, and has significant implications for the study of Christianity and other religions in which divine birth claims are central.

Marguerite Rigoglioso, Ph.D., is also the author of Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity (Palgrave, 2010). She is a member of the faculties of Dominican University of California, the California, the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Institute of California, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, where she teaches courses on women and religion. Her pioneering research on female deities and women's religious leadership in the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond has appeared in various anthologies and journals, including Feminist Theology, The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, Societies of Peace, She Is Everywhere, Trivia, and the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, where Is Everywhere, Trivia, and the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, where her paper on the cult of Demeter and Persephone in Sicily received an honorable mention for the New Scholar Award.

A Taxonomy of Divine Birth Priestesshoods * Divinity, Birth, and Virginity: The Greek Worldview * Athena's Divine Birth Priestesshood * Artemis's Divine Birth Priestesshood * Hera's Divine Birth Priestesshood * The Divine Birth Priestesshood at Dodona * The Divine Birth Priestesshood at Delphi * Is Virgin Birth Possible? and Other Outrageous Questions