Love and Fertility are often interconnected, both being associated with feminine deities in Ancient Greek and Ancient Egyptian mythology. These ancient goddess are where we get the structural ideas for the Church of Aphrodite and the Fellowship of Isis. These are two neopagan religions that have developed in the last century. The Fellowship of Isis has flourished, while the Church of Aphrodite has seen little activity in the last few years. Both of these new religions worship the idea of the mother goddess, but they why has one not done so well? To answer this we must first consider the patron goddess that is being worshipped in each religion. Next we must research the people who founded each religion and the time periods in which they were developed.
Neopaganism is the worship of deities or practices from an ancient culture, the most common forms being Greek and Roman gods (Alder). The Church of Aphrodite, as it plainly says in its name, is dedicated to the worship of the greek goddess Aphrodite (Alder). In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is seen as the goddess of love, and often the physical kind (Davis 200). She is also seen as the goddess of beauty and has a great connection to the ancient Eastern fertility goddess (Davis 200). In Egyptian mythology Isis was the goddess of fertility, and she also resembled the devout, perfect wife (Davis 89). Isis also represented mystery and magic, for she was able to resurrect her murdered husband Osiris (Davis 89). So how do these Goddesses lead to the development of new religions movements?
The Fellowship of Isis was founded in the spring of 1976, in Ireland by Olivia Robertson, her brother Lawrence Robertson, and her sister-in-law Pamela Durdin-Robertson (Fellowship of Isis). ...
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...t something that is intrusive, or completely different from anything they have ever believed before. As much as we might want to get away from our roots, what is familiar is always more likely to attract our attention.
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The goddesses Played a vital role in Greek society for they were responsible for many aspects of Greek. life, i.e., a life of a child. birth, harvest, etc. Accompanying the 6 major goddesses (Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Hestia, Demeter and Artemis) we have the lesser divinities such as the Muses, the Graces, the Fates, etc. The second level of women used in Greek mythology is that of the human.
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Magliocco defines "Neo-Paganism" as others have before her as "a movement of new religions that attempt to revive, revitalize, and experiment with aspects of pre-Christian polytheism" (Magliocco 4). She continues to tell us that the Neo-Pagan goal is to gain a "deeper connection with the sacred, with nature, and with community" (4). This definition does not include any acts performed in the religion that may turn off any scientific readers from the start. Instead it is a broad yet exact definition that describes the religion from a rational standpoint.
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They worshiped Isis, an Egyptian Goddess, and also Mithra, an Iranian God, as well as the Greek Gods, and their own Roman Gods. The Romans took over the gods of peoples they conquered and established their festivals at Rome. Christianity draws heavily from Jewish culture, as Jesus was a Jew, but also bears the inspiration of the Roman Empire. A good example that Wikipedia gives is how the Romans included Greek, Anatolian, and East Mediterranean gods into their religion without adopting some of the cultish practices. The Egyptian goddess Isis, mother of the god Horus This image closely resembles the early Christian iconic art of Mary and Jesus, who, together with Astarte and other Near Eastern goddesses, influenced the rise of the Virgin Mary. The “sistrum”, a tinkling rattle that was shaken during ceremonies honoring the goddess, is the source of the bell that is rung at several points in a Roman Catholic mass. Another image that was adopted by Christianity was the Celtic High Cross, a pre-Christian symbol, which was later mixed and combined to form and symbolize the Christian crucifix. The High Celtic Cross is perhaps the best example of the link between pagan Celtic and Christian traditions and Armenian churches. The mixing of Christian traditions with these pagan, folk traditions resulted in religions such as Roman Catholicism, Irish Catholicism and Greek and Russian
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