[.ca] The Rotting Goddess: The Origin of the Witch in ... (ISBN 157027035X)

Excellent Work:
This is a very informative book, which expertly counters some of the erroneous understandings stubbornly clung to by modern scholars. The Rotting Goddess is a scholarly work in its own right, and the author employs sound methodology in his presentation. This is sure to annoy many modern scholars whose own views come up short in comparison. Essentially the book deals with archaic concepts regarding witches, focusing mainly on classical witchcraft, since this is the oldest material in Western literature about witches and witchcraft. The author nicely demonstrates how the image of Hecate shifts from a Great Goddess figure to a chthonic crone figure over the centuries, and how the villification of witches follows suit in a parallel course. Every witch and wiccan should have a copy of this book on their bookcase, and should read it at least twice.

A compassionate view of a mistreated Goddess:
Books such as When God was a Woman" by Merlin Stone or "The Language of the Goddess" by Marija Gimbutas reframe the role and signifigance of the Goddess in the evolution of religion. "The Rotting Goddess" continues in this vein to explore Hecate as an example of the treatment of the Goddess in the civilizations of classical antiquity. Parallell to the ancient debasement of the Goddess is the emergence of the Witch--her priestess. While Rabinowitz' writing can be challenging, as all classical scholarship is; the book is well worth navigating for its compassionate treatment of an abused Goddess. The book is a worthy addition to contemporary explorations of the ancient Goddess religions.

Tedious innacurate gibberish:
There are so many worthwile, neglected texts out there on the subject Rabinowitz has chosen, I can't see why anyone would bother. He is both factually innacurate-no space here to examine his many errors-and a bad writer. I understand this book was originally submitted as a doctoral dissertation at Brown, and actually passed, leading one to suspect why Brown gained the soubriquet of the "bonehead Ivy"

A nice addition to your Hekate library.:
Although this book was written in a "scholarly" style, it is still an easy read and an enjoyable one. The premise of the book is that greco-roman witchcraft originated in literature and Hekate witchcraft came later and as a result of the literature. The author shows how Hekate's cthonic traits were originally benign but were artificially empahsised to eventually turn her into "Queen of the Witches". He also shows us how the literary witch is actually a debased form of the Goddess.Some of the presumptions the author makes are a bit of a leap but as a whole this is a really good book. enjoy!

A Diffrent Look:
I bought this book for a project I was doing for school. Unfortunatly this book had nothing to do with that subject. It although was an very interesting read. It was a bit much at times but I find that every thing that lasts through time is. The time that must have been put in the little book must have been great. But I would not recomend this for any one truly wanting to learn of the goddess. This book was a study of the declime of women in a male dominate society, using the Goddess Hecete as an example of this.