The eternal femme: from the myths of the Great Goddess to concrete stories of real women who deserve never to be forgotten. This section offers the readers the opportunity to explore the role of women through time by use of literature, historical, mythological, and archeological analysis. The Assyrians worshipped Asherah, consort of Baal; the Egyptians, Isis who mothered Horus; the Phoenecians, Astarte; the Babylonians, Ishtar. These names are only a handful of the long list of goddesses linked to fertility rites and to the rebirth of nature and man.
February is the month of mother’s milk, that has always been associated with the element water, the idea of fertility and the world of women. February is also a month of preparation, waiting for the renewal of the cosmos, which will only arrive with March and spring. Also for this reason, in ancient times, the [...]
The reliefs and inscriptions that decorate the Main Fountain of Perugia catch the eye of every passer-by. In the past the reliefs of the fountain welcomed the visiting merchant for the fair, consoled the worried farmer during the harvest, lifted the spirit of those gathering in the Cathedral’s square, and made all quietly reflect, whether [...]
Book XI of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, or “The Golden Ass,” begins in the obscure silence of the night, with the moon rising from the sea in its unabashed fullness. Thus opens a fundamental chapter for the understanding of the cult of Isis.
“…video praemicantis lunae candore nimio completum orbem commodum marinis emergentem fluctibus. Nanctusque opacae noctis silentiosa [...]
Woman, in her role as wife, is the protagonist of four different scenes out of the twelve months of the Main Fountain of Perugia. There is no doubt of her identity as uxor, wife in Latin, is clearly written in letters above each of these four scenes.
We meet one in April: she holds a floral [...]
Woman, in her role as wife, is the protagonist of four different scenes out of the twelve months of the Main Fountain of Perugia, carved in 1278 on the lower basin by Giovanni and Nicola Pisano. There is no doubt of her identity as uxor – wife – because the Latin word is clearly written [...]
