The Enduring Goddess: Artemis and Mary, Mother of Jesus

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorWilson, Barrie A.
dc.creatorIonescu, Carla
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-25T14:08:32Z
dc.date.available2016-11-25T14:08:32Z
dc.date.copyright2016-05-30
dc.date.issued2016-11-25
dc.date.updated2016-11-25T14:08:31Z
dc.degree.disciplineHumanities
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractTradition states that the most popular Olympian deities are Apollo, Athena, Zeus and Dionysius. These divinities played key roles in the communal, political and ritual development of the Greco-Roman world. This work suggests that this deeply entrenched scholarly tradition is fissured with misunderstandings of Greek and Ephesian popular culture, and provides evidence that clearly suggests Artemis is the most prevalent and influential goddess of the Mediterranean, with roots embedded in the community and culture of this area that can be traced further back in time than even the arrival of the Greeks. In fact, Artemis reign is so fundamental to the cultural identity of her worshippers that even when facing the onslaught of early Christianity, she could not be deposed. Instead, she survived the conquering of this new religion under the guise of Mary, Mother of Jesus. Using methods of narrative analysis, as well as review of archeological findings, this work demonstrates that the customs devoted to the worship of Artemis were fundamental to the civic identity of her followers, particularly in the city of Ephesus in which Artemis reigned not only as Queen of Heaven, but also as Mother, Healer and Saviour. Reverence for her was as so deeply entrenched in the community of this city, that after her temple was destroyed, and Christian churches were built on top of her sacred places, her citizens brought forward the only female character in the new ruling religion of Christianity, the Virgin Mary, and re-named her Theotokos, Mother of God, within its city walls. The fundamental position of this work is that a fusion took place between the ancient worship of Artemis in Ephesus, and the elevation of Mary to Theotokos, and that this fusion is not a result of the church-initiated action to convert the Ephesians, but rather the Ephesians forcing the early church to accommodate their traditions of Artemis by reshaping and reinterpreting the authority and responsibilities of the Virgin Mary.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/32726
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectWomen's studies
dc.subject.keywordsArtemis
dc.subject.keywordsEphesus
dc.subject.keywordsVirgin mary
dc.subject.keywordsTheotokos
dc.subject.keywordsVirgin birth
dc.subject.keywordsGoddess
dc.subject.keywordsGreek gods
dc.subject.keywordsClassics
dc.subject.keywordsArtemis ephesia
dc.subject.keywordsArtemision
dc.subject.keywordsFusion
dc.subject.keywordsTransformation
dc.subject.keywordsChristianity
dc.subject.keywordsCouncil of ephesus
dc.subject.keywordsCyril
dc.subject.keywordsNestorious
dc.subject.keywordsGospel
dc.subject.keywordsArtemis at ephesus
dc.subject.keywordsMany breasted
dc.subject.keywordsHoney
dc.subject.keywordsBees
dc.subject.keywordsAncient ritual
dc.subject.keywordsBrauron
dc.subject.keywordsEarly Christianity
dc.titleThe Enduring Goddess: Artemis and Mary, Mother of Jesus
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Carla_Ionescu_Dissertation_Manuscript.pdf
Size:
1.99 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.83 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
YorkU_ETDlicense.txt
Size:
3.38 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download

Collections

Humanities

All items in the YorkSpace institutional repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved except where explicitly noted.