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4. Dethroning the Goddess and Phallocentrism Cultural Advance to the Oedipal Period In this chapter we will further develo p the hypothesis that phylogeny also recapitulates ontogeny—th e histor y o f a culture parallel s individual psy chological development. I n the previous chapter we examined mytholog y in primitiv e culture s a s a n externalizatio n o f th e adaptatio n use d i n th e early preoedipa l perio d o f chil d development . I n thi s chapte r w e wil l explore the outward expressions of the phallic and genital periods of child development i n later cultures. As alread y noted , Gimbuta s (1974 ) speculate d tha t th e grea t mothe r goddess was dethroned and replaced by male warrior gods about six thousand year s ago , whe n wave s o f Indo-European s o n horsebac k invade d Europe. However, i t appears that dethroning of the goddess was a much more gradua l proces s tha n Gimbuta s envisions . At som e unknow n tim e in prehistory, people figured ou t the role of the father i n procreation. As a result, the great mother goddes s was at first supplemented wit h a male god, and only later was she totally supplanted in importance by a masculine god of fecundity. Male phallic symbols now became more important tha n female symbol s o f th e womb . A phallocentri c societ y graduall y evolve d and in time became the most common form of social organization throughout th e world . In ancient agricultural societies, the human sexual experience was proj ected onto nature, which was personified. T o deal with one's helplessness against natural forces and the trauma of death, human life was considered 37 38 Historical-Cultural Background to be similar to plant life. An analogy was made between men inseminating women t o produc e huma n lif e an d th e need fo r seed s to b e sown i n th e earth t o yiel d plan t life . Campbel l (1988 ) point s ou t tha t analogie s wer e also mad e betwee n human s an d plant s concernin g rebirt h o r lif e afte r death. Th e dea d bod y wa s burie d i n th e earth , believe d t o b e Mothe r Nature's womb. Like a seed, the dead body would then be reborn magically later in women. Phalli c symbols were placed o n tombstone s i n the hop e of rebirth afte r death . Ou t o f death cam e life. Examples of Phallic Worship Direct reproductions were made of the male genitalia, or in their symbolic form b y erec t stone s an d trees , whic h represente d th e mal e generativ e power. Stone s were worshiped by the ancient Greeks, Romans, Germans, Gauls, and Britons. Greeks wore phallic amulets made of wood (especiall y from the fig tree), stone, or metal, which were associated with Dionysos, the male god o f generation an d the harbinger o f spring. Cake s shaped lik e a phallus wer e popula r sacramenta l food s i n Greec e an d Rom e (Briffaul t 1929). The circle of large stones at Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain in England , was probably another phallic symbol. The axis of these stones was arranged to point toward the sun on summer solstice, which probably means that a male sun go d wa s worshiped. Earl y Christian clerg y attempted t o stamp out phallic worship, but the Christmas tree bedecked with lights remains a carryover of this pagan mythology. Man identified himself with his penis as a symbol of strength and worshiped its generative power. A mythology about the change of seasons also arose in Europe and the Middle East , whic h replace d th e on e solel y associate d wit h th e femal e deity. A male deity was now also introduced into the mythology alongside the female deity. It was thought that a male god died before eac h winter, as a scapegoat fo r man' s sins , and was rebor n eac h spring . However , h e was brough t bac k t o lif e b y hi s...

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