Biography of the roman goddess ceres spaeth

Interest in goddess worship is growing in contemporary society, as women seek models for feminine spirituality and wholeness. New cults are developing around ancient goddesses from many cultures, although their modern adherents often envision and interpret the goddesses very differently than their original worshippers did.

In this thematic study of the Roman goddess Ceres, Barbette Spaeth explores the rik complexity of meanings and functions that grew up around the goddess from the prehistoric period to the Late Roman Empire. In particular, she examines two major concepts, fertility and liminality, and two social categories, the plebs and women, which were inextricably linked with Ceres in the Roman mind. Spaeth then analyzes an image of the goddess in a relief of the Ara Pacis, an important state monument of the Augustan period, showing how it incorporates all these varied roles and associations of Ceres. This interpretation represents a new contributio

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Barbette Stanley Spaeth has taken on the laudable task of correcting the distorted view of ancient goddesses frequently found in recent books about the current feminist pagan movement. This movement views ancient feminine deities as the prototypes for modern, independent, liberated women. Spaeth (hereafter S.) has her work cut out for her. The “Goddess” is back, her supporters say. Whether one believes matrifocal religion has recently been revived after millennia of disregard or that it has recently been created, it cannot be denied that the Goddess’s popularity is rapidly expanding. A cursory survey of one university’s on-line library catalog yields no fewer than forty-five books about or promoting current goddess-religion, all written within the last ten years. In addition to the literature, the Goddess has her own line of jewelry, available from Star River Productions. The card that accompanies a “Ceres pendant” combines scholarly and relig