The Chalice and the Blade
from Banks Western Canyon Podcast Hosted by Irene Banks
In this episode, I review Riane Eisler’s The Chalice and the Blade, an important book that contrasts Dominator societies, built on hierarchy, with Partnership societies, based on cooperation and equality. Eisler helped broaden the study of the past by showing that women, domestic life, and goddess traditions deserve as much attention as men, warfare, and the gods. Yet her sweeping account of a homogenous and peaceful Goddess-centered Old Europe overrun by violent male invaders has not aged well. Recent archaeological and genetic research presents migration and cultural change as more complex. Eisler’s rhetoric is dated because of its Eurocentrism. Her interpretation of Mesopotamian mythology is also misleading. Myths featuring creator goddesses don’t prove the existence of an earlier matrifocal society, nor can mythic narratives be read as straightforward historical records. Although the book is significant for its feminist influence and its call for a future based on equality and cooperation, it is less reliable as an objective study of ancient goddess worship. Ultimately, The Chalice and the Blade reveals more about the feminist intellectual climate in which it was written than it does about prehistory. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bankswesterncanyon.substack.com
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