In addition to her book, Matriarchy in Bronze Age Crete, Joan has published the following:
Articles
“The Centrality of Women in Bronze Age Crete: A Perspective from Archaeomythology.” In Proceedings of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology’s Second Egyptological Conference: Quod Est Superius Est Sicut Quod Est Inferius: The Cosmic Hypostasis and Earthly/Social Functions of Women During Antiquity in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Basin, Athens February 10-14, 2020, 15-24. Athens: Serapis Editions, 2022. Available for purchase from JHIE.gr
Since the time of Sir Arthur Evans, scholars have recognized the important role played by women in Bronze Age Cretan society. Most, however, minimize this role, as did Evans, and still conclude that the throne at Knossos was meant for a priest-king. Using the methodology of archaeomythology, a discipline founded by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, this paper will look at the role of women in all aspects of Bronze Age Cretan society, and demonstrate that, based on archaeological artifacts, history, and mythology, a strong case can be made for a woman-centered Bronze Age Crete.
“Understanding Bronze Age Crete through the Lens of Marija Gimbutas, Old Europe, and Archaeomythology,” The Journal of Archaeomythology, volume 10 2021: 51-63. (PDF)
This paper focuses on Marija Gimbutas’s profound understanding of and appreciation for Bronze Age Crete as the last existing expression of Old European civilization. It examines those features which made Crete unique for its time: the primacy of the Goddess, the central role of women in society, the high level of artistry, and the prevalence of peace, among others, and argues that many of the aspects of Bronze Age Crete which scholars find difficult to comprehend are understandable when viewed through the lens of archaeomythology and the concept of Old Europe. Indeed, it is only through those lenses that this unique Bronze Age society can be understood.
“The Mother Goddess of Bronze Age Crete.” In Goddesses in Myth, History, and Culture, edited by Mary Ann Beavis and Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, 52-74. Lytle Creek, CA: Mago Books, 2018. Available for purchase from Amazon.com and from MagoBooks.com.
Bronze Age Crete (c.3200-1070 BCE) evokes for some the image painted by Homer in the Odyssey of “a fair rich land,” surrounded by “wine-dark sea,” filled with “many men,” and boasting “ninety cities.” For others, it evokes the image of a highly sophisticated civilization, one that was the very foundation of later, classical Greek civilization and thus of our own: a peaceful, artistic, and refined civilization in which the preeminent deity was a Goddess and women were highly visible and important.
The understanding of Bronze Age Crete that I offer in this article is more nuanced than those above, and in many ways, radically different. Based on my many years of archaeological and archaeomythological research and study, and visits to Cretan archaeological sites and museums, I understand ancient Crete to have been not only a sophisticated civilization, highly artistic, refined, and peaceful—meaning an absence of warfare—but also one in which a Mother Goddess in her Triple Aspect of Life-Giver, Death-Wielder, and Regeneratrix was worshipped as the primary deity for thousands of years, within a society that was Goddess-centered, woman-centered, and probably matriarchal as well.
This article focuses on four well-known figurines, images of the Cretan Mother Goddess, from three different time periods. Beginning with a detailed definition of the term Mother Goddess, I then carefully examine each figurine and ask: Was the physical location of the figurine a religious or sacred place? Was she discovered in association with religious equipment? Does the figurine have religious symbols commonly associated with the Goddess on her? Are the attributes or characteristics of the Goddess displayed on her or in association with her? Are the position, size, gestures, and clothing of the figurine typically indicative of a deity? Are there human or animal attendants who act as devotees? Is there mythological and historical evidence that is related and can be used to support or further substantiate a claim that this figurine is indeed a Mother Goddess? Additionally, a wide range of archaeological and archaeomythological studies and interpretations were consulted.
I conclude that a highly probable and plausible argument can be made that the Mother Goddess, as I have defined her, was worshipped in Crete from at least c.3200 BCE to c.1200 BCE.
“Archaeomythology from Neolithic Malta to Modern Poland: Apprehending the Material and Spiritual Realities of Ancient and Present-Day Cultures.” In Myths Shattered and Restored: Proceedings of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology, edited by Marion Dumont and Gayatri Devi, 38-63. Albuquerque, NM: Women and Myth Press, 2016. Available for purchase from Amazon.com and Goddess Ink.
Was a Goddess worshipped in ancient Malta? Were women pre-eminent in Neolithic Çatal Hüyük? What was the purpose of the great stone monuments built by the Neolithic peoples of the British Isles? Why has the Black Madonna of Częstochowa been so deeply venerated in Poland? Archaeomythology, according to Marija Gimbutas, gives us “the possibility for apprehending both the material and spiritual realities of prehistoric cultures.” This paper looks at the methodology of archaeomythology, the worldview of its founder, Marija Gimbutas, how the methodology of the discipline has been elaborated upon by theorists since Gimbutas, and how the discipline of archaeomythology can provide possible and probable answers to the questions posed above.
“Demeter and the Eleusinian Mysteries: Ancient Origins and Modern Impact.” In Myths Shattered and Restored: Proceedings of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology, edited by Marion Dumont and Gayatri Devi, 217-262. Albuquerque, NM: Women and Myth Press, 2016. Available for purchase from Amazon.com and Goddess Ink.
This essay explores two aspects of the Eleusinian Mysteries: their origins and how they have affected me as a woman. The first section, employing the tool of archaeomythology, examines the reasons why Bronze Age Crete is one of the possible origin sites for Demeter and her Mysteries, and why the Eleusinian Mysteries reflect an “amalgamation of cult” between the Goddess civilization of ancient Crete and the patriarchal religion of the Mycenaeans and the Greek mainland. In the second section, I survey the work of two scholars of the Eleusinian Mysteries—Dr. Mara Lynn Keller and Dr. Kathie Carlson—and discuss how their writings helped me to understand that, far from being merely a quaint story to explain the seasons of the year, the myth of Demeter and Persephone holds multiple levels of meaning relevant to modern women and men.
