God: Myths of the Male Divine Myths of the Male Divine

This is an examination of the god archetype from Palaeolithic time to the present day. The essays gathered here relate issues of myth and gender to the use of the male as a metaphor for the great mystery of existence. The evolution of the male god is traced from servant of the goddess to patriarch.



Gods is a "biography" of the god archetype from Palaeolithic times to the present. As a sequel to Goddess, this collection speaks to myth and gender issues in relation to the use of the male as a metaphor for the great mystery of existence. The authors retell myths from North and South America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, tracing evolution of the male god from servant of the goddess to seed-bearer, to war god, to the patriarchal god of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.