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The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece
Greek religion is filled with strange sexual artifacts - stories of mortal women's couplings with gods; rituals like the basilinna's "marriage" to Dionysus; beliefs in the impregnating power of snakes and deities; the unusual birth stories of Pythagoras, Plato, and Alexander; and more. In this provocative study, Marguerite Rigoglioso suggests such details 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 individuals who could serve as leaders, and that special cadres of virgin priestesses 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. The book's stunning insights provide fascinating reading for those interested in female-inclusive approaches to ancient religion.
289 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2009
2 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Marguerite Mary Rigoglioso
6 books25 followersMarguerite Rigoglioso (pronounced REGAL-yo-zo, for you non-Italians!), Ph.D., is the founding director of Seven Sisters Mystery School (SevenSistersMysterySchool.com) and a scholar/practitioner of the ancient Mediterranean mystery traditions. The world's foremost authority on virgin birth, she is the author of The Mystery Tradition of Miraculous Conception: Mary and the Lineage of Virgin Births, as well as The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece, and Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity. These ground-breaking books reveal an entire suppressed history of holy women who engaged in the practice of divine conception throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, and cast Mother Mary in a completely new light.
As a teacher and mentor with Seven Sisters Mystery School, Dr. Rigoglioso works with one-on-one and with groups to help people develop their deep intuition, their unique spiritual path, and their sacred careers. She offers evolutionary online courses such as The Mother Mary Mystery Teachings, the Priestess of the Dove Oracle Training, the Holy Womb Chakra Teachings, the Divine Birth Mysteries Audio Series, the Awakening to Our Fairy Kin course, and more.
As a scholar, Dr. Rigoglioso has taught unique courses in religion, humanities, and women's spirituality at various colleges and universities in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Dominican University of California, the California Institute of Integral Studies, Sonoma State University, and Sofia University. She was also a founding faculty member of the former MA in Myth, Cosmology, and the Sacred at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK.
She has written many articles, lectured widely, and taught scores of courses and workshops on topics such as: women's spiritual history; the reclaiming of the oracle priestess path; goddesses, gods, patriarchy, and Masculine/Feminine balance; divine birth; the Pleiades as the Seven Mothers of the world; the expansion of consciousness and 5th dimensional reality; human-deity relations; Shadow work and negative entities; extraterrestrial and artificial intelligence agendas; fairy reality; and more. To aid her investigations, she has traveled extensively throughout Europe and North Africa exploring relevant sites and artifacts.
Her research on female deities and women's religious leadership in the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond has appeared in 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 her paper on the cult of Demeter and Persephone in Sicily received an honorable mention for the New Scholar Award.
Dr. Rigoglioso has presented her research at Harvard University in the Loeb Classical Lecture series, as well as at the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies, and the National Women's Studies Association. She has been interviewed on her research for numerous radio programs and podcasts, as well as for the documentary films The Vanishing of the Bees and The Search for Local Honey.
She holds a Ph.D. in humanities and an M.A. in philosophy and religion from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and an A.B. in psychology from Vassar College, with high honors. She integrates her academic pursuits with her own spiritual growth work and intuitional skills, which have been cultivated through years of ceremonial practice working with altered states of consciousness, as well as intensive study at the Foundation for Spiritual Development in San Rafael, CA.
She has served as a professional freelance writer, as well, working for clients such as Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Boston University, and numerous nonprofits, businesses, and authors.
Visit Dr. Rigoglioso at: SevenSistersMysterySchool.com to receive her free audios, videos, and articles, to learn more about her online courses, and to fi
As a teacher and mentor with Seven Sisters Mystery School, Dr. Rigoglioso works with one-on-one and with groups to help people develop their deep intuition, their unique spiritual path, and their sacred careers. She offers evolutionary online courses such as The Mother Mary Mystery Teachings, the Priestess of the Dove Oracle Training, the Holy Womb Chakra Teachings, the Divine Birth Mysteries Audio Series, the Awakening to Our Fairy Kin course, and more.
As a scholar, Dr. Rigoglioso has taught unique courses in religion, humanities, and women's spirituality at various colleges and universities in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Dominican University of California, the California Institute of Integral Studies, Sonoma State University, and Sofia University. She was also a founding faculty member of the former MA in Myth, Cosmology, and the Sacred at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK.
She has written many articles, lectured widely, and taught scores of courses and workshops on topics such as: women's spiritual history; the reclaiming of the oracle priestess path; goddesses, gods, patriarchy, and Masculine/Feminine balance; divine birth; the Pleiades as the Seven Mothers of the world; the expansion of consciousness and 5th dimensional reality; human-deity relations; Shadow work and negative entities; extraterrestrial and artificial intelligence agendas; fairy reality; and more. To aid her investigations, she has traveled extensively throughout Europe and North Africa exploring relevant sites and artifacts.
Her research on female deities and women's religious leadership in the ancient Mediterranean world and beyond has appeared in 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 her paper on the cult of Demeter and Persephone in Sicily received an honorable mention for the New Scholar Award.
Dr. Rigoglioso has presented her research at Harvard University in the Loeb Classical Lecture series, as well as at the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies, and the National Women's Studies Association. She has been interviewed on her research for numerous radio programs and podcasts, as well as for the documentary films The Vanishing of the Bees and The Search for Local Honey.
She holds a Ph.D. in humanities and an M.A. in philosophy and religion from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and an A.B. in psychology from Vassar College, with high honors. She integrates her academic pursuits with her own spiritual growth work and intuitional skills, which have been cultivated through years of ceremonial practice working with altered states of consciousness, as well as intensive study at the Foundation for Spiritual Development in San Rafael, CA.
She has served as a professional freelance writer, as well, working for clients such as Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Boston University, and numerous nonprofits, businesses, and authors.
Visit Dr. Rigoglioso at: SevenSistersMysterySchool.com to receive her free audios, videos, and articles, to learn more about her online courses, and to fi
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 8, 2009
The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece by Marguerite Rigoglioso, April 27, 2009.
Sex, drugs and star worship rolled into one startling new theory.
Dr. Marguerite Rigoglioso has presented the reader with one heck of an original new theory regarding, primarily, the ancient Greek goddess fertility cults. This book leaves the reader asking "has parthenogenesis been made real?"
As this book proves, Christians were certainly not the first to come up with the idea of a divine son of god born of a virgin mother. In fact, it appears that most, or nearly all ancient cultures held similar beliefs.
Though admittedly speculative in some of her interpretations, by scouring ancient as well as modern sources, Rigoglioso weaves together a strong and starting theory of the ancient divine mother goddess cults and the origins of many of today's patriarchal religions via the ancient goddess cults - one that I think is well founded. Basically, from her theory, pure parthenogenesis was the original theory, and was slowly usurped by the later male dominated patriarchal shifts in the act of Hieros gamos.
Pulling together an interesting history of entheogens, sex and astrotheology, she shows how these cults likely functioned, as well as what many of their esoteric practices, politics and social roles may have been. This book makes for a fascinating read.
Having done my own in depth research into the primary themes of this book: entheogens, ancient fertility cults, and astrotheology, there were no points in this book that I would say were in error. All that I found were ideas that my own research can build upon and expand (or visa versa). One point being her analysis of the black dove of the oak tree, symbolic not only of virginity and divinity, but also of the black Amanita pantherina for which the oak tree acts as mycelial host.
This book scores major points in originality, critical thought, and depth of analysis. Don't allow the price tag to scare you away.
Sex, drugs and star worship rolled into one startling new theory.
Dr. Marguerite Rigoglioso has presented the reader with one heck of an original new theory regarding, primarily, the ancient Greek goddess fertility cults. This book leaves the reader asking "has parthenogenesis been made real?"
As this book proves, Christians were certainly not the first to come up with the idea of a divine son of god born of a virgin mother. In fact, it appears that most, or nearly all ancient cultures held similar beliefs.
Though admittedly speculative in some of her interpretations, by scouring ancient as well as modern sources, Rigoglioso weaves together a strong and starting theory of the ancient divine mother goddess cults and the origins of many of today's patriarchal religions via the ancient goddess cults - one that I think is well founded. Basically, from her theory, pure parthenogenesis was the original theory, and was slowly usurped by the later male dominated patriarchal shifts in the act of Hieros gamos.
Pulling together an interesting history of entheogens, sex and astrotheology, she shows how these cults likely functioned, as well as what many of their esoteric practices, politics and social roles may have been. This book makes for a fascinating read.
Having done my own in depth research into the primary themes of this book: entheogens, ancient fertility cults, and astrotheology, there were no points in this book that I would say were in error. All that I found were ideas that my own research can build upon and expand (or visa versa). One point being her analysis of the black dove of the oak tree, symbolic not only of virginity and divinity, but also of the black Amanita pantherina for which the oak tree acts as mycelial host.
This book scores major points in originality, critical thought, and depth of analysis. Don't allow the price tag to scare you away.
June 7, 2020
There is a vast amount of information here, exhaustively compiled and sourced. But all this information, while shedding light on a fascinating subject otherwise overlooked in Greek mythology, absolutely does not stretch as far as the author tries to take it. While I do think it's a valuable resource of information, it is taken to some pretty bizarre conclusions (maybe Medusa's father pressured her into performing the heiros gamos with Poseidon..?)
July 12, 2024
I feel like my understanding of the world has shifted entirely. This is a scholarly work so certainly don't go into it expecting an easy or immediately digestible read.
May 13, 2023
This analysis is mindblowing and so well and extensively researched. With so many hints of proof to what the author is suggesting it seems hard to deny the argument of - the attempt of - divine birth in Ancient Greece in any regard. It is truly fascinating that at some point with all the references given the reader can already 'see through mystery' him/herself 'knowing exactly what must' be going on behind the scenes.
A highly interesting, mind-opening and provocative study.
A highly interesting, mind-opening and provocative study.
January 28, 2021
This was an interesting, though dry look at the theory of parthenogenesis. It's unlike any book about Goddesses I've read before.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews