Customer Reviews

Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitude

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An international cast of bad girl goddesses star in this irreverent treatment of mythology. Isis from Egypt, Osmotar from Finland, Freya of the Norse Gods, Maeve of Ireland, Judith and Jezebel from the Middle East, Lilith from the Garden of Eden, and Kali from India are among the featured players in Trina Robbins' collection.

The overarching theme that Trina Robbins puts forth in her arch, humorous stories about these goddesses is assertive females. Well, she's a feminist so that's no surprise, but they form a different perspective compared to the traditional way goddesses in mythology are portrayed.

Here's an example of her biting humor when she tells of Elisha telling Jehu he could be king. "Guess what? Jehovah just told me that you can be the next king of Israel. All you have to do is slay that sl-- Jezebel and her grandson. Jehu went, 'Cool,' and gathered an army to invade the palace. Today we call this a military coup, but Jehu simply insisted that God was on his side."

On extraordinary feats performed by Osmotar (how she created the various creatures) and Kannaki (how she destroyed the city), Robbins accurately writes: "Warning: do not try this at home."

In most stories, there is a small postscript telling of similar situations or an expansion of the theme. For example, after telling Lilith's story, Robbins explains that Lilith was left out of the Bible because, guess which sex wrote the Old Testament? One guess, and it isn't women. Also, guess what sanitized story evolved out of Freya and the dwarves who owned the diamond necklace she wanted so bad? Hint: can you sing, "Hi ho!"?

Oh, and for those of you wondering who Pele is as in Tori Amos's Boys For Pele album, you'll find that answer here.

Definitely not on the scholarly side, but maybe this book will get people without a previous inkling about these goddesses to find out more about them. Those familiar with them will get a laugh. Maybe.

This book is a refreshing antidote to the rather soppily sentimental view of all goddesses as kind, nurturing mother figures. Here you will find stories of goddesses being cruel, vengeful, lustful, greedy and cunning, and enjoying themselves thoroughly. Trina Robbins tells their stories in a brisk, breezy style, and the book is delightfully illustrated. Great fun.

Nothing like an informative AND irreverent book about Dark Goddesses to slip into your Holiday (silk) stocking. I recently came across Trina Robbin's tongue-firmly-planted-in-rouged-cheek, book, "Eternally Bad: Goddesses
with Attitude" and fell in...lust. Although those who are very serious and straightlaced about their goddesses (yawn) may not like how these familiar myths and stories are presented, the rest of us know a good thing when we see it! If you like similiar books in this genre like "Uppity Women of the Ancient/Medieval/Renaissance World(s)," this one will blow your skirt up and tickle your fancy for sure!

I've read a great many goddess/mythology and woman's spirituality books. At the bottom of the author's wit and whimsy are the wonderful empowering stories of goddesses and heroines told in a fresh and delightful way. Sometimes you find just as much wisdom in humor than in pedantic sholarship or esotericism.

And really, who could resist that cover image of a Goddess "Girls' Night Out"--priceless....and don't forget to do the Bee-otch Goddess Quiz at the end!

Enjoy it folks!

Move over Ares. Watch your back Thor. Goddess power and bad attitudes are taking over. From the second I saw the cover of "Eternally Bad" in the bookstore to the time I got it home and soaked up every word I found myself thoroughly intrigued and definitely wanting more. Giggling non-stop and cheering the bad babes of myth made for a fun and, yes, informative read (a nice change from the stuffy, conventional, god focused, myths your high school Lit teacher used to force you to trudge through). It's also nice to see some of the less written about Goddess girls get their side of the story out there as well. Mythology fanatic or not, no one can resist these eternally bad girlfriends of the Goddess-hood. You won't be disappointed!

This book is a must-read for all feminists, Goddess-worshippers, and those interested in mythology and ancient history! It's an incredibly hilarious read, with a healthy tongue-in-cheek tone, an often-irreverant style, and fresh contemporary language. Far from espousing and propagating myths about goddesses being, as Ms. Robbins puts it, "the Virgin Mary with crystals," she really brings them to life in all of their not-so-nice glory. These goddesses are empowered women who aren't afraid to do things that many people falsely assume exist only in the domain of the male deities. She divides the book up into sections, giving us stories with themes such as "G.I. Janes," "Bad Girls of the Bible," "Goddesses Who Love Too Much," and "Tramps and Thieves." The goddesses come from a wide variety of cultures, such as Native American, Hawaiian, Scandinavian, Japanese, Indian, and Greek, and they vary in the nature of their badness. For example, some goddesses merely loved the wrong man, or were warriors, or created magick potions, while others did maleficent things such as killing and eating innocent people or drowning an entire city. There are tales such as Osmotar, the Finnish goddess who invented beer, Freya, the Norse goddess who slept with a pack of dwarves to get a beautiful diamond necklace, Inanna, the Sumerian goddess who got her grandfather drunk to get all of his powers, secrets, and servants, Lilith, the woman who according to legend was created before Eve and whose only "crime" was that she was assertive and didn't want to be some meek little submissive housewife to Adam, and Pele, the Hawaiian goddess who killed her favorite sister because she caught her kissing the husband she had, unbeknownest to Pele, brought back to life just for her. I also loved that there was a chapter on Jezebel, since all of the secular research does bear out that she was not the evil woman depicted in the Bible.

Some people, such as historical purists and serious scholars, might not like the contemporary language and anachronisms, but that's part of the fun quality of this book. It's not meant to be a scholarly treatise on goddesses. As Ms. Robbins points out, a lot has been lost in the move to make goddesses seem all nice and sweet, these loving earth mothers who go around casting positive spells and blessing drum circles. It might have been done to make Goddess-worship seem less threatening to outsiders, but it really robbed these women of their personalities and uniqueness. The only downside for me was that I wished there had been a pronunciation guide somewhere, primarily for the Celtic and Hawaiian names.

This was my first book by Trina, and I absolutely loved it! She offers her own unique take on the often misrepresented or just plain forgot about "bad" girls of the ancient world.

Trina Roberts book is enlightening in many perspectives. It puts the femenist spin on countless stories, my favorites being that of Lilith and Jezebel. The idea of the book is wonderful, to show that Goddess' are not all the happy, helpful, home and hearth, mother types society makes them out to be. It displays the stories in simple and easy to read ways that are amusing and pleasurable. However, the fact that she mixes the literary ability of a twelve year old and sexual themes could cause some controversy. My only possible complaint on this magnificent piece of work is that the vocabulary of many of the Goddess' she portrays as clever and vindictive are rather pathetic. They say such things as, "You are so hot, lets have sex."
Though the vocabulary can be amusing, after awhile it gets irritating.
Overall this book is, as I said, magnificent. The idea of it is absolutely amazing and the spin on the legends never ceases to bring laughter. This is a book for teenage girls of today to read and find a more simplistic and hilarious spin on their favorite myths and legends.

This book covers different mythological goddesses and their stories,as well as women in religion claiming that title,
such as Jezebel,who were bad goddesses and not your ever
faithful and loving type.

This book is well written,well told , interesting and fun.

Trina Robbins is a "sharpshooter" of mythological knowledge
and intelligence.

While I'm a technical writer, I'm not a technical reader. I never read a text in college unless the professor took the exam directly from it. If Trina had written my textbooks, I may have read them! Trina Robbins presents solid mythology in an entertaining, humorous way. I laughed my way through the book and also found the little blocks of history dispersed throughout informative. My favorite story is that of Kali and Shiva's reaction to her aggressive dance. Eternally Bad is a must-have for any Goddess library.

Wonderful collection of the old Goddess mythological stories told in a (like totally) modern way. Very uplifting and fun to read.