The goddess obscured: Transformation of the grain protectress from goddess to saint

Beacon Press, 1985. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Very good hardcover with red cloth to boards and gilt lettering to spine. Dust jacket is very good with wear to the head and spine. 8vo. (5.75 x 0.5 x 9.2 inches) Clean text free of marks or underlining. B&W photos and illustrations. Includes list of illustrations, notes and an index. 173 pp.

Fast shipping in a secure book box mailer with tracking. Goddess lore has persisted throughout the history of civilization. In The Goddess Obscured Pamela Berger traces one particular mythic figure, the grain protectress, and demonstrates how this figure was revered by many cultures.

Drawing upon ancient artifacts, medieval sculpture and painting, as well as folklore, poetry, and drama, Berger recounts the story of the grain protectress and documents the significance of an image that has persisted for millennia. In the ancient world, a female deity was believed to have extensive influence over vegetation and the fertility of animals. Known originally as the Great Mother, her persona took different forms over time, and in many societies she reappeared as the object of cult dedicated to the worship of a grain protectress. In all her guises, however, she retained the mystical power to foster plant fertility and to protect the harvest.

With the coming of Christianity to the pagan world, early church authorities attempted to discredit pagan myths and rituals. Nevertheless, agrarian people were reluctant to abandon the worship of a deity who was so deeply embedded in their folklore and whose mythic powers were inextricably bound with their agricultural livelihood. Berger demonstrates how the worship of this figure persisted in radically altered form throughout the early Christian era, as the powers associated with the fertility deity came to be attributed to female saints, various folk figures, and eventually the Virgin Mary.

Revealing the full dimensions of the grain protectress, The Goddess Obscured articulates themes and patterns that have been previously indistinct. Illustrated with 59 photographs of a variety of art works- from ancient artifacts to medieval paintings- the book provides an exhaustive account of this goddess's thriving artistic and cultural legacy.