Stone reconstructs the goddess-centered religions that preceded the patriarchal faiths, arguing that the standing of women fell together with the standing of the female deity as male gods were imposed. Drawing on archaeology, myth, and ancient texts, the book became a founding text of feminist spirituality. It is shelved here alongside African-centered religious studies for its documentation of how the feminine divine was suppressed.
Author: Merlin Stone ยท Original publisher: Dial Press (New York), 1976; published in England the same year as *The Paradise Papers: The Suppression of Women's Rites* (Virago Press, London)
