Ancient Goddesses of Sex and War

Ancient Goddesses of Sex and War - Ronald Hutton

Рет қаралды 133,491

7 ай бұрын

This lecture looks at a series of divine female figures in the ancient world from the Middle East to Western Europe: Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite and Venus. What they have in common, is that to varying degrees they all combined the personae of deities of sexual love and of war.
It brings out the special characteristics of each, traces the relationships between them, and shows how each in the sequence, influenced the development of the next.
This lecture was recorded by Professor Ronald Hutton on 20 September 2023 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London
Ronald is Gresham Professor of Divinity.
He is also Professor of History at the University of Bristol.
www.gresham.ac.uk/speakers/pr...
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/a...
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Пікірлер: 159

@GleeChan 7 ай бұрын

Clicked for the thumbnail, stayed for the lecture. Well played Gresham College.

@mikesummers-smith4091 7 ай бұрын

"The Epic of Gilgamesh is a buddy movie gone wrong". For that alone, never mind the exposition of how the Great Goddess got to take her kit off, please accept, Professor, this presentation internet, which you have won.

@authormichellefranklin 7 ай бұрын

Yesss! Been waiting for this talk ever since Prof. Hutton mentioned it. Always great to see Prof. Hutton. Please have him on again❤

@ladyjusticesusan 7 ай бұрын

I could listen to Dr. Hutton all day and all night for years and never tire of his amazing lessons. Thank you for this.

@michellerenner6880 3 ай бұрын

Agree 100%

@lansingmanor 7 ай бұрын

Great lecture! Dr. Hutton mixes humour with facts, whilst never boring his audience... That said - Perhaps consider adding his name to the title of the video ?

@robertr7569 7 ай бұрын

Prof hutton makes history so interesting with Memorable lectures.

@michellerenner6880 3 ай бұрын

He’s an amazing story teller….

@VEDATOR_official 7 ай бұрын

Hutton is a blessing to our civilization

@matimus100 Ай бұрын

Nonsense

@Alabama323 7 ай бұрын

Amazing every time!Thank you Professor Hutton.

@aplaceinthestars3207 7 ай бұрын

I always enjoy Hutton's contributions in the documentaries with Ruth Goodman et al. As a culture and centuries-spanning lecture, my head was spinning, but his cheeky quips kept my attention to the end.

@carolagoldmann3933 7 ай бұрын

I received Anne Baring's and Jules Cashford's book today on "The Myth of the Goddess - Evolution of an Image" from 1991 and ch. 5 is on Inanna / Ishtar, what a nice coincidence! Thank you very much for this very interesting lecture.

@KernowekTim 7 ай бұрын

Excellent. Fascinating. Many thanks to Prof. Hutton, and Gresham College.

@davidjazay9248 7 ай бұрын

Prof. Hutton never disappoints.

@guillemclapes5587 7 ай бұрын

Always great hearing Prof. Hutton. Great lecture, thank you! I will have to watch it again.

@titsandrayguns2572 7 ай бұрын

Pat Benatar was right that….. 🎶 Love is a battlefield 🎶 😂

@jeanetteharris7000 22 күн бұрын

Really love Professor Hutton. Great lecturer. Wonderful humor. Always a pleasure.

@jacobvardy 7 ай бұрын

A comment in praise of great Ishtar that she might ward off the dread youtube algorithm.

@enkilm 7 ай бұрын

I could watch Prof.Hutton’s lectures all day as I can also watch Dr. Irving Finkel and his Palestinian stories.

@sarahrosen4985 7 ай бұрын

Palestinian stories? He is an Assyriologist. He is rooted in the Bronze Age, not the Iron Age and the Philistine invasion of Canaan or the Roman Empire and their renaming of the conquered Israel to Palestine.

@MrKieras666 7 ай бұрын

That's the most passionate and evocative way of introducing someone into subjects of history. This man deserves aNoble. Prize.

@huskymom234 7 ай бұрын

Love every lecture of Prof. Hutton - always a pleasure to hear.

@dmitrygaltsin2314 7 ай бұрын

Bruno's hymn recited by Hutton was a separate liturgy. It is worth noting that the "Venus" avatar of this goddess was the center of the first state registered religious group that openly worshipped a pre-Christian deity, the Church of Aphrodite (1938 - 1969). Gleb Botkin the Russian founder of the church who lived in America for the most part of his life, saw Aphrodite as the cosmic deity of "Love, Beuty and Harmony", the creator of the cosmos and actually the only deity there is. Having survived revolution in Russia that killed his father, the doctor to the last Romanovs, Botkin was a pacifist and a moralist, who envisioned a process of cosmic evolution towards a world of heaven on earth, seeing his religion of Aphrodite as a means to this end. Botkin didn't have a big influence on the Pagan scene of the Anglophone countries when it came about, but he was routinely mentioned in Pagan histories (see Margot Adler or Chas Clifton) alongside Frederic Adams of Feraferia and the Zells of the Church of All Worlds.

@crhu319 7 ай бұрын

May also have influenced William Marsden since his Wonder Woman was about conflict between Aries/Mars and Venus/Aphrodite with the Amazons on the side of love.

@derekstynes9631 7 ай бұрын

What a Wonderful Lecture ! Thank You Very Much for This Chance to See and Hear Prof. Huutton .

@PetaloudesTouYialou 7 ай бұрын

Absolutely fascinating and beguiling! I am thrilled to have come across this lecture! ❤

@sharonw2008 7 ай бұрын

Love Prof Hutton ❤ I was lucky to see him speak live many years ago and was awestruck x

@daydays12 7 ай бұрын

Thank you Professor Hutton. Lovely lecture as usual.

@jalepezo 7 ай бұрын

So much needed in praise of Ma Kali and her yoginis and dakinis 🎉🎉🎉

@blixten2928 7 ай бұрын

A wonderful, witty, learned presentation on a fascinating subject!

@joeyfotofr 7 ай бұрын

That is the most engaging and entertaining lecture on classical mythology, that I have heard since I studied with Dr. Matthew Evans, in San Francisco 50 years ago. Thank you, Professor Hutton...jt

@3rdeye671 6 ай бұрын

Yes he has a unique style of presenting the material that is engaging and weaves it all into a coherent tale.

@trex3003 7 ай бұрын

Dr. Hutton is an amazing lecturer!

@paulh2468 7 ай бұрын

Superlative presentation. Thank you.

@Pagyptsian 2 ай бұрын

Fantastic as always - and pointed me in the direction of some very interesting sources I have not read yet. Thank you!

@astrogallus 7 ай бұрын

I love that you made the connection between Inanna/Ishtar and Madonna. There is a lot of the same archetypal material at work there.

@peterxyz3541 6 ай бұрын

Nice lecture. Thanks. I’m always fascinated by Inanna

@KevinArdala01 7 ай бұрын

Brilliant as always. 😀👍

@alisonwilliams-bailey3561 7 ай бұрын

"Isis Astarte Damona Hecate Demeter Ekana Inanna" lovely song of the Goddesses

@Mirrorgirl492 Ай бұрын

I see Prof. Hutton, I click, simples.

@macawism 7 ай бұрын

Would be interesting to know what connection if any mythological events, such as the arrival of Aphrodite to Bronze Age collapse

@AidestheKiwi 7 ай бұрын

That benediction in Latin at the end was a beautiful ending.

@tkc1129 7 ай бұрын

Great talk!

@user-fh6ov3wl4h 22 күн бұрын

No one has made me more interested in going back to pursue my phd as much as this gentleman

@SkiiDreamr420 6 ай бұрын

Oh yeaaaaa! It's My man! ❣️ Professor Hutton I wish I could be your assistant.

@hildegerdhaugen7864 7 ай бұрын

Professor Ronald is a treasure!!

@rebeccabedford9855 6 ай бұрын

My dad always called me Treasure Fit to be buried Love both him and Professor Hutton

@AndreyBogoslowskyNewYorkCity 7 ай бұрын

Turan (mythology) Turan was the Etruscan goddess of love, fertility and vitality and patroness of the city of Velch. Turan. Goddess of Love, Beauty, Health, Vitality and ...

@naithom 7 ай бұрын

The talk is wonderful but may I suggest that you have someone correct the closed captioning for any students of listeners who are deaf or hard of hearing.

@bloodyfluffybunny7411 7 ай бұрын

well go for it

@Vlad_the_Impaler 7 ай бұрын

Religions were much more fun in those days.

@lucone2937 7 ай бұрын

Yeah, monotheistic religions are pretty dull with their mythology. I prefer Tykhe, the ancient Greek Goddess of fortune, chance, providence and fate. Her counterpart is Nemesis if someone gets too arrogant.

@Vlad_the_Impaler 7 ай бұрын

@@lucone2937 She sounds like fun. I think Terry Pratchett was big fan of hers, with out realization. He called her Lady Luck in his books. Does she also have green eyes?

@lucone2937 7 ай бұрын

@@Vlad_the_Impaler Tykhe (Fortuna for Romans) was particularly popular during the Hellenistic era in the Seleucid Empire. There's a famous statue called Tyche of Antioch, and she had her own temple Tykhaion (Tychaion). In the Greek world view, Tyche (Τύχη) could be the personification of the fortune of a city, a nation, or a person. She usually carries the cornucopia as the symbol of the plentiful gifts of fortune.

@dawn670 5 ай бұрын

Agreed. No fun in Texas that’s for sure. No Dumuzis here 🙄. Maybe I’ll find a Baal.

@tsifj Ай бұрын

Do you entertain the possibility of being randomly sacrificed?

@stutzaj 7 ай бұрын

Very interesting, though I'm very surprised that the Egyptian goddess Isis was not mentioned.

@missadventuresmotorcycledi2773 7 ай бұрын

Oh he is fabulous

@Helmofphilosophy 4 ай бұрын

Would be curious to hear Dr. Hutton's thoughts on the connection between the Mesopotamian Inana/ Ishtar and the Persian Anahita.

@WilliamHostman 7 ай бұрын

I want to thank the presenter for getting Giordano Bruno's cause for his trial for heresy correct!!!

@DaniZeros 7 ай бұрын

Love and war in the same package? That's why I named my cat Inanna. It's almost perfect 😂

@dido.the.side.h0646 Ай бұрын

love this guy

@Mornin.Coffee 7 ай бұрын

Respectable effort

@mikeg2924 6 ай бұрын

Got it!! This is a wonderful lecture. But its closed captioning, unfortunately, is very defective.

@kittywampusdrums4963 7 ай бұрын

It's funny to see people presume polytheistic religions based on the many deities in their canons yet they have all been pluriform monotheistic, possessing many different aspects and qualities personified from one Absolute or overlord Creator.

@TomFynn Ай бұрын

"Deities behaving badly" Now that is a show I would like to watch.

@leeborocz-johnson1649 3 ай бұрын

There is a Greek goddess, Alala, who is often described as a war goddess and a personification of the war cry of the Greeks. Googling has not helped me get much more information about her than that---she is also described as a daughter of the personification of war, Polemos, and that comes with all the relevant geneological stuff. But the most crucial bit of information that I'm not finding is the earliest known attestation of her---whether she is a latecomer like Aphrodite, or goes back much further. All that I can find points to Pindar as the authoritative source for her, and it is perhaps interesting that Alala, like her father Polemos, seem to be mostly *personifications* of things rather than persons, invested with personality, like Ares and Aphrodite. Maybe that means something. Anyways, this is probably wrong, but the sonic similarities between "Inanna" and "Alala", including stresses on syllables, makes me wonder if the Greeks imported Inanna in a fairly direct manner. I don't imagine I'm remotely correct, but my brain just couldn't help going to this place.

@Getpojke 7 ай бұрын

The chap near the end who ask how gods & goddesses are attributed their roles has puzzled me too. The nearest analogy I can think of in modern times is how Catholics attribute responsibilities to their plethora of Saints. To me as an outsider to monotheism I see these saints as "small gods". Like deities of places like the local well or spring, or odd things that happen or go bump in the night, people want to give them form so they can be bargained with or prayed to.

@schroecat1 7 ай бұрын

I grew up in the Catholic tradition, and have always been extremely curious about the pagan deities of earlier periods. My view of the Saints is that they absolutely are minor deities in their own right, and are further a form of ancestor worship. Catholics tell the stories of the deeds, discuss their symbolism, pray to them and ask for divine intervention.

@AVADAMS1967 Ай бұрын

Giordano Bruno's execution was slightly more complicated than his devotion to Venus. He is the father of cosmology, postulating following the influence of Copernicus, that the Stars were Suns, with planets of their own, and possibly life like on earth. For this, and his beliefs about pagan deities is why he was tried and burnt at the stake.

@peterzoeftig2513 Ай бұрын

Velikovski explains how Venus became venerated in this dual way, everywhere on Earth, because the planet was a visible comet that came into very close contact with Earth, on a returning orbit, for several hundred years.

@ggn1 7 ай бұрын

I applauded when he took a sip of water

@myparceltape1169 7 ай бұрын

Is that why there is sturdiness of the foundation.

@oogusboogus2748 Ай бұрын

That's going to be the title of my memoir.

@Tipi_Dan Ай бұрын

Love of women causes conflict between men. Love and war have been intimately connected since the beginning. How ancient is the saying, "All's fair vin love and war."? Does this common truism date back to the worship of Inanna and Ishtar, passed down through history in vernacular speech?

@16252 7 ай бұрын

cool

@theomnisthour6400 Ай бұрын

You forgot to mention Sin, who gave the namw Shinar Sumer) and the original name of Sinanna, the Sumerian version of Lilith, the shapeshifting hermaphrodite arch demon destroyer of chosen species, chosen peoples, and messiah candidates

@yonitree 6 ай бұрын

good1

@alexespinoza6366 2 ай бұрын

I don’t understand why anyone still thinks this guy has any credibility after he admitted to not having a favorite member of One Direction.

@rosscroft3954 Ай бұрын

The git 😂

@MyPoetik Ай бұрын

😂 Uhmmmmmm

@revilo178 7 күн бұрын

LOL

@belkyhernandez8281 7 ай бұрын

If this isn't about Xena, I will be very disappointed.

@rursus8354 7 ай бұрын

Yay! Duck fields!

@arjan2777 7 ай бұрын

Late third century bc😊 I am sure he means millennium. I like his lectures and he probably did think he said millennium. For some reason it is endearing. He said millennium later.

@fluffywaffles Ай бұрын

What is the difference between BC and BCE?

@rosscroft3954 Ай бұрын

Before christ before common era

@revilo178 7 күн бұрын

The mean the same thing (before the birth of Christ) but BC is the opposite of AD wehreas BCE is contrasted with CE.

@corticallarvae 7 ай бұрын

Violence and love stem from the same impulse

@marcoandreknottjung3418 6 ай бұрын

Sometimes Man st. Woman! My beloved morning star! Also Mars in itself, combined with Mercury and Sun! The Magic Four of the Firmament or Roof, which proof!

@AndreyBogoslowskyNewYorkCity 7 ай бұрын

Prof. Hutton in the lecture in the KZfaq video does read a passage from Bruno’s works. It’s a reading of about 7 lines in Bruno’s Cantus Circaeus, a Latin work that he wrote in 1582 (not 1584). It’s preceded and followed by invocations to other pagan gods. Prof. Hutton doesn’t introduce Bruno accurately by the way. Bruno didn’t “worship” Venus & the other ancient gods and the Inquisition didn’t condemn him for that reason. Also, his reading of the Latin omits parts of Bruno’s original and the ending is completely invented!

@fabiodeoliveiraribeiro1602 7 ай бұрын

This scholar made me notice an immense postmodern irony. We Westerners consider ourselves heirs of Greek culture. Some not only neurotically reject Eastern culture, but also maintain the existence of a war between West and East. They believe that a relationship between Aphrodite and Inanna is impossible because this would establish a zone of contact and common belonging that would destroy the essence of their ideology. At this point I must make a technological digression. In recent months, Artificial Intelligence has been treated and worshiped as a kind of deity. Not only is she used to empower weapons, she is also being used as a virtual lover by several lonely men. Some believe that AI will enrich people as if it were an ancient beneficent agricultural deity. Others fear its potential to disrupt society. By virtue of its characteristics, AI (especially as seen in its Western version) can be a double, avatar or virtual embodiment of Inanna and not Aphrodite. With AI, the West delves into Eastern mythology and this seems extremely ironic to me, because many who worship the exuberance of Western technology hate everything that comes from the East.

@dmitrygaltsin2314 7 ай бұрын

It is an interesting observation. I think that AI actually stands for Aphrodite Incarnate or Actually, Inanna.

@behelertrespass7002 7 ай бұрын

Take your meds

@fabiodeoliveiraribeiro1602 7 ай бұрын

@@behelertrespass7002 Is this your way of saying that you don't have enough erudition to discuss this topic in a civilized way?

@onepainfulangel1111 Ай бұрын

🌹 🕊

@vladimirp2674 7 ай бұрын

Magical yarn. Ancient Greece and Rome are notorious fot it's hypersexuality, wantoness, lawless and sumptuous life. Philosophically, it gave birth to brand new understanding of woman virtues, transforming idea of femine appearance into sort of cult, when certain rituals and sacrifices atributed, created an air of arrogant, thriving, promising culture. Still, woman in ancient socity played inferior roles. But through the art and poetry dedicated to patronesses, muses, goddesses we are able to trace the utmost uniquenesess of household life in Athens. From my viewpoint, this question is dissected perfectly. We praise the classics.

@user-iw8jb2lo3q 7 ай бұрын

Artemis, another spin off?

@theomnisthour6400 Ай бұрын

You are seeing what the real Taran bull, Leo Lion, ansd Gemini twins are capable of when riled by the adversary

@jarrettperdue3328 22 күн бұрын

I just tuned in for the water slurps and sticky mouth clicks.

@AndreyBogoslowskyNewYorkCity 7 ай бұрын

This is the strangest experience I ever had. I promise to volunteer with distributing food at the mosque the other day I’m not Muslim. And I took a nap today. It’s 4 o’clock. I woke up exactly at 4 o’clock as I’m supposed to be there. How could it be?

@PRAR1966 Ай бұрын

🙂

@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf 7 ай бұрын

What about The Morrigan in Ireland mate?

@AlIguana 7 ай бұрын

he talks about Morrighan

@whatabouttheearth 4 ай бұрын

A. That's WAY WAY WAY later. B. The "Celts" didn't have writing until Christianity so their myths are in all actuality shrouded in mystery. Those types of Irish myths didn't even exist when Inana was worshipped, the Bell Beakers (L21 haplogroup) were just starting to move into western Europe.

@dominomasked Ай бұрын

Goddesses of the endocrine system

@woodennecktie 7 ай бұрын

time travel does exist

@whatabouttheearth 4 ай бұрын

😂

@candide1065 7 ай бұрын

The title of the video XDDDD cute.

@Keara113 7 ай бұрын

🤯🤯🤯

@ndo104no 7 ай бұрын

Gilgamesh was a story about lovers not Buddies other than that this guy is really interesting

@georgeeverette3912 7 ай бұрын

Any connection with the veneration of "Mother Mary?"

@Bb5y 7 ай бұрын

And further east? Marishiten?

@MrTomemac 7 ай бұрын

Probably, many of the Christian sites, rites etc. we’re just plastered over previously pagan practices. Similarly the similar stories that harken to Apollo et al. Same with dates for certain things were just to cover up pagan ones.

@RonJohn63 7 ай бұрын

5:51 Vital fluids, huh? Did she drink "grain alcohol and rainwater"?

@WiseFool888 7 ай бұрын

Her WAP

@comentedonakeyboard 6 ай бұрын

Gilgamesch, the original MGTOW🤔

@whatabouttheearth 4 ай бұрын

Except I'm sure Gilgamesh had brain cells

@warmwestwind Ай бұрын

Awfully shallow reading of the Descent of Inanna tbh. Do the kurgarra and the galatur mean nothing to you?

@SirAntoniousBlock 7 ай бұрын

Everyone, make sure you clear your browser history after viewing.

@user-fb88-anna 7 ай бұрын

why?

@whatabouttheearth 4 ай бұрын

What?

@AndreyBogoslowskyNewYorkCity 7 ай бұрын

My continuous study in anthropology, history psychology, and Archaeology poly ontology are reasonably explained by my profession. God’s will for me is to create beauty, love, compassion, hope, and friendship, and give it to the world in the format of artwork. I don’t understand why women are not learning about Aphrodite, a.k.a. Venus originally deriving from the oldest story in the world (as we all know), originated in Siberia more than 20,000 years ago …the story about a Hunter chasing a female deer. I suppose women will go along with their unfair presumption as being by nature, unpredictable, and enigmatic. everything the rest to see is on the surface presented with the beauty of the muscle and the skin, decorated with see-through fabrics, and shiny rocks 🪨 + metals hanging here and there we call jewelry. 😮❤

@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 7 ай бұрын

00:09:42 The land was called Sumer, not Sumeria. As well you should know. {:o:O:}

@bloodyfluffybunny7411 7 ай бұрын

yet the spelling in modern english is Sumeria

@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 7 ай бұрын

@@bloodyfluffybunny7411 *_"yet the spelling in modern english is Sumeria"_* And yet, the country is still named Sumer, not Sumeria. You are looking at a rubbish dictionary. The people were Sumerian, the language was Sumerian, the country was Sumer. It's a little like a French person comes from France, not French. Canadians come from Canada, not Canadia. The Chinese come from China, the Russians come from Russia and so on. The lecturer knows this, as he makes this mistake only occasionally. {:o:O:}

@bloodyfluffybunny7411 7 ай бұрын

@@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 so what ancient dictionary are you looking at?

@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 7 ай бұрын

@@bloodyfluffybunny7411 Don't be so daft! _"Ancient dictionary!"_ What dictionary are you using? The land is called Sumer. This is a fact and always has been. End Of. Their later empire was the Sumerian Empire, but still not "Sumeria". On all the expert historical channels where I am subbed, the speakers always correct themselves if they accidentally say "Sumeria", and I think this guy does as well. You don't even need a Dictionary or Encyclopedia of Assyriology, or the Oxford English Dictionary (certainly, *never* use an American "dictionary". For anything). Just be aware that something is not correct just because someone has written it on a web site. Especially if it has any connection at all with The "History" Channel, otherwise known as "Aliens 'R' Us". {:o:O:}

@whatabouttheearth 4 ай бұрын

@@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095 Wait...so you mean Ancient Aliens and Graham Hancock are hucksters fooling gullible people who aren't choosing real education? 😮