Table Of Content

THE CHALI S& THE BLAD “The most important book since Darwin's Origin of Species.” —ASHLEY MONTAGU More Praise for The Chalice and the Blade: “I have never before praised a book so highly. . . . Everyone. . . should have the opportunity to read it.’-— Ashley Montagu ‘Eisler gives us a revealing study of history and an offer of hope. She demonstrates that to be human can be to affirm life, not death, in one of the most compelling books of the year.”’—Munneapolis Star Tribune “A notable application of science to the growth and survival of human understanding.’’—Marija Gimbutas, author of Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe “Excellent from every point of view. ...A very important picture of human evolution.’’—Nicolas Platon, author of Crete and former director of the Acropolis Museum ‘‘A daring journey from pole to pole of human existence.’’—Charles Tilly, professor of history, New School for Social Research “Casts a new light on all of the major problems confronting us to- day. . . brings new clarity to the entire man-woman question. . . . A major contribution.’”’—Jean Baker Miller, author of Toward a New Psychology of Women “Shows how our political and economic system may attain a new bal- ance.’’— Hazel Henderson, author of Creating Alternative Futures “A major breakthrough.” —Barbara Walker, author of The Woman's Ency- clopedia of Myths and Secrets “It opens a window to a new vista, a new perspective with which to see and understand the human condition. . . . So empowering that things that did not seem possible before now come within reach.’’— Sojourner “An extremely important book.’’—Merlin Stone, author of When God Was A Woman and Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood “A seminal work, destined to be debated and discussed for years to come. . . . Required reading for anyone concerned about our destiny on earth.””’— Ervin Laszlo, author of Evolution: The Grand Synthesis “As important, perhaps more important, than the unearthing of Troy or the deciphering of cuneiform.’’—Bruce Wilshire, professor of philosophy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey “Immeasurably valuable . . . really extraordinary in its vastness and vi- sion.’ —Gloria Orenstein, professor, Program for the Study of Women and Men in Society, University of Southern California “A very important book . . . opens up the entire question of the value, purpose, and cosmic fulfillment of the individu— aRlob.e”rt Muller, chan- cellor, United Nations University for Peace “To read Eisler is to glimpse new vistas of human possibility, fueled by the nurturing and regenerating powers associated with women.” — New Woman “The most significant work published in our lifetimes . . . might make the future possible.’’—Los Angeles Weekly “Eisler’s highly readable synthesis . . . is an important contribution to social histo— rPubyli.she’r' s Weekly “An imaginative and persuasive work.” —Library Journal “This clear and uncluttered study makes fascinating reading.’’— Booklist “Clears up many historical mysteries . . . provides foundations upon which to build a more humanistic world.’’—The Humanist “Fascinating. . . . Sweeping. . . . Examines the past, the present, and even the future to answer some of the central questions of our time.” —San Diego Weekly ‘“‘Rejuvenates my hope that things can change, that it is possible for all of us to create and live in the kind of world we have dreamt of.” — Woman of Power THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE Our History, Our Future Riane Eisler Also by Riane Eisler The Partnership Way Sacred Pleasure » HarperOne Permissions appear on page 272. The Partnership Way, a workbook published by HarperCollins for applying the ideas in The Chalice and the Blade to all areas of our lives, is now available at bookstores. For information on the International Partnership Network, please write the Center for Partnership Sutdies, P.O. Box 51936, Pacific Grove, California, 93950. A Catalyst Book of the General Evolution Research Group and the Center for Partnership Studies. THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE: Our History, Our Future. Copyright © 1987, 1995 by Riane Eisler. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022. HarperCollins Web site: http://www.harpercollins.com HarperCollins®, S° and HarperOne”™ are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers. FIRST HARPERCOLLINS PAPERBACK EDITION PUBLISHED IN 1988 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Eisler, Riane Tennenhaus. The chalice and the blade. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Sex role—History. 2. Social evolution—History. 3. Patriarchy—History. 4. Social history. I. Title. HQ1075.E57 1987. Ss 305.3'09 = 8643002 ISBN: 978-0-06—250289-6 09 10 11 RRD(H) 50 49 To David Loye, my partner in life and work Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction: The Chalice and The Blade Human possibilities: two alternatives. The evolutionary crossroads. Chaos or transformation. 1. Journey into a Lost World: The Beginnings of Civilization The Paleolithic. The Neolithic. Old Europe. 2. Messages from the Past: The World of the Goddess 16 Neolithic art. The worship of the Goddess. If it isn’t patriarchy it must be matriarchy. 3. The Essential Difference: Crete 29 The archaeological bombshell. The love of life and nature. A unigue civilization. The invisibility of the obvious. 4. Dark Order Out of Chaos: From the Chalice to the Blade 42 The peripheral invaders. Metallurgy and male supremacy. The shift in cultural evolution. Warfare, slavery, and sacrifice. The truncation of civilization. The destruction of Crete. A disintegrating world. 5. Memories of a Lost Age: The Legacy of the Goddess D9 Evolution and transformation. A golden race and the legend of Atlantis. The Garden of Eden and the tablets of Sumer. The gifts of civilization. A new view of the past. Vill CONTENTS Reality Stood on Its Head: Part I 78 Mother-murder is not a crime. The dominator and partnership mind. The metamorphosis of myth. Reality Stood on Its Head: Part II The rerouting of civilization. The absence of the Goddess. Sex and economics. Dominator morality. Knowledge is bad, birth is dirty, death is holy. The Other Half of History: Part I 104 Our hidden heritage. The cyclic unity of nature and the harmony of the spheres. Ancient Greece. Androcratic right and wrong. The Other Half of History: Part II 120 Jesus and gylany. The suppressed scriptures. The gylanic heresies. The pendulum swings back. 10. The Patterns of the Past: Gylany and History 135 The feminine as a force in history. History repeats itself. Women as a force in history. The female ethos. The end of the line. 11. Breaking Free: The Unfinished Transformation 156 The failure of reason. The challenge to the androcratic premises. The secular ideologies. The dominator model of human relations. Forward or back? 12. The Breakdown of Evolution: A Dominator Future 172 The insoluble problems. Human issues and women's issues. The totalitarian solution. New realities and old myths. 13. Breakthrough in Evolution: Toward a Partnership Future 185 A new view of reality. A new science and spirituality. A new politics and economics. Transformation. Epilogue 205 Notes 215 Figures 251 Index 265