The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines [Paperback]

Patricia Monaghan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1997

This third edition of this classic reference is the definitive, one-volume source of goddess myths from around the globe. Discover more than 1,500 goddesses in Australia, Africa, India, the Americas, Japan -- and experience her as she truly is. The new edition adds hundreds of new entries to the original text -- information which is found only in rare or limited editions and obscure sources.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the introduction to this third edition of her useful encyclopedia, Monaghan (Magical Gardens: Myth, Mulch & Marigolds, Llewellyn. 1997) offers a chronicle of changes in technology and research methodology that librarians will appreciate. The encyclopedia opens with an excellent essay entitled "Cultures of the Goddess" that discusses the myths, legends, and goddess worship of every civilization. Clear, well written, and informative, the entries that follow are longer than dictionary entries and shorter than encyclopedia entries. In addition, there are more than 50 photographs of statues, vases, and other artifacts. The book concludes with an excellent index of goddesses arranged by attributions (e.g., love, death, weather, and insects), an index that provides variant names, and a listing of feast days. The result is an exceptionally fine reference work that is both readable and well arranged. Highly recommended for public, school, and college libraries.?Gail Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology Lib., Alfred
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

One of the leaders of the contemporary earth spirituality movement, Patricia Monaghan has spent more than 20 years researching and writing about alternative visions of the earth.  Raised in Alaska, where much of her family still lives, she considers herself blessed to have learned the ecology of the taiga, the subarctic forest, in her youth.  She was a writer and reporter on science and energy related issues before turning her attention to the impact of mythic structures on our everyday lives.

The worldwide vision of the earth as feminine--as a goddess, called Gaia by the Greeks--led her to recognize the connection between ecological damage and the oppression of the feminine in Western society.  Much of her work since that time has explored the question of the role of feminine power in our world, in an inclusive and multicultural way.  

An avid traveler, Patricia has researched earth spirituality and goddess worship on three continents.  She has traveled widely in Europe, especially in Ireland.  She holds dual US/Irish citizenship and has edited two anthologies of contemporary Irish-American writing.

Patricia is a member of the resident faculty at DePaul University's School for New Learning in Chicago, where she teaches science and literature.  

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 3rd edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567184650
• ISBN-13: 978-1567184655
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #713,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best, most thorough, insightful Goddess book out there!, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines (Paperback)

Patricia has created the best Goddess reference book I have seen, and I have collected shelves of such books. I turn to this book first for research, for many years and through several editions. It gets deeper and better and bigger! Patricia's writing is clear, poetic and concise. It is well organised, the cross-reference tables are indispensable, the stories are a delight. A must for anyone interested in learning more about the Goddess's many manifestations.

49 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't Look for Historically Accurate Celtic Info Here, January 17, 2002

By 

Francine Nicholson (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines (Paperback)

My area of expertise is Celtica so my comments pertain specifically to those entries in the book. If you are looking for a book with wonderful pictures and beautifully written descriptions, then you may enjoy this book. However, if you are looking for accurate information about the Celtic goddess figures named here, please look somewhere else, such as Mac Killop's _Dictionary of Celtic Mythology_ or, better still, read the myths--the Ta/in (as translated by Thomas Kinsella) or the Mabinogi (as translated by Patrick Ford) for yourself. In addition, Monaghan makes significant errors or repeats notions that are not accepted by recent scholarship. For example, Monaghan conflates several distinct figures into one without justification, such as presenting the figure of Bridget as a pan-Celtic goddess of primary importance when she was probably only one of many local deities. Some of her statements are essentially speculative, such as "Some rituals and legends suggest that Brigid's history may date back even beyond the era of the Celts." Monaghan's etymologies of "Celtic" goddess names are sometimes incorrect; for example, she gives the meaning of Bridget's name as "'bright arrow' or simply the 'bright one.'" In fact, the name means, "high one." "Sheela na gig" does not mean "hag." In her description of Morgan le Fey, Monaghan confuses various theories--such as one set that associates Morgan with an earlier figure named Muirgein vs. those that associate Morgan with the medieval figure of the Mo/rrigan. More importantly, Morgan le Fey is a figure of late medieval tales, not a goddess figure. My largest criticism of Monaghan's work is that she works on an assumption that is widespread among modern Wiccans but doesn't seem to reflect pre-Christian attitudes or practice; this assumption views goddesses in various cultures as variations on a handful of themes. For example, Monaghan repeatedly lumps together goddesses from several cultures. In doing so, she glosses over the differences that make each goddess--and the culture who venerated her--unique. She also lumps together Irish and Welsh figures as if the two cultures were a single "Celtic" group, ignoring the unique histories and approaches of these two groups. In the process, I think her approach leads to misunderstandings of the figures and the cultures. This approach almost certainly does not reflect belief and practice in pre-Christian Celt cultures.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Comprehensive Out There, July 2, 2000

By 

Erin O'Rourke "Gwytherinn" (NY, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Book of Goddesses & Heroines (Paperback)

I could read this book over and over again. (And if I didn'thave to keep getting it out of my library, I would! Amazon has anorder on the way...) Whether I was looking something up or just opening the book to a random goddess/heroine, it was always entertaining and informative.

Goddesses and Heroines far surpasses what is commonly known of the goddesses and heroines which is what really makes this book special. Rather than just recounting a myth you may have read several times, there's always a piece of information you probably don't know. I especially loved the way she describes well known Biblical figures. It really gave me a new way to look at things.

At the bottom of each entry it gives you other names and/or figures related to the deity which I found to be really helpful. It heightened my understanding of what I had looked up originally and expanded the myths, showing me how things were interrelated.

In short, this was a book I *always* enjoyed reading. I know I'll refer to this book a countless number of times in the future to learn about new Goddesses and Heroines, to research, or to just reread myths I love.