Romantic Philosophies: The Ancient Roots and Modern Directions of the Romance PART 1 - Page 2

The philosophical roots of Romance are lost in the mists of time, but archaeology and anthropology are constantly unearthing new evidence of the feminine bases for many of the world's cultures. Wherever societies arose in the prehistoric world, there are invariably found images of fertility goddesses, their plump forms reminders of the life-giving power of woman.

Later cultures revered the Earth Mother or Gaia. She, too, personified the life-giving qualities of woman, translated those qualities to those of the world. She was a key figure in the lives of early agrarian cultures and so profound was her role that we still refer to 'Mother Earth' and 'Mother Nature.'

In this feminine tradition, even death was embraced as a transformation of spiritual energy into another state. In later times, parts of the Earth Mother mythos were adopted by Christians and integrated into their Marian/Mother of God theologies.

As societies centrified into settlements and city-states, they also became more territorial, more acquisitive and more male in their thinking. The days of living in harmony were numbered, replaced by conquest, domination, control and subjugation. These negatives often form the conflicts in Romance stories, as they are such deeply ingrained battles between the sexes, and within humankind as a whole.

Cults of female goddesses survived for a while longer. In Greek mythology, the triple goddess was personified by the Maiden Persephone, her Mother Demeter and the Wise-woman or Crone, Hecate. Some believe the female essence of this triad was translated into the male Christian trinity of Son-Father-Spirit.

Persephone's myth could be interpreted as an early Romantic tale. Abducted by the God of the underworld, she overcomes his domination to attain a resurrection into the world of light, where her presence brings renewed warmth and new life. But while she has overcome the bond of domination, she has bonded with him in another way, that makes her willing to be with him in his world. It is love and the acceptance of the need for life's cycles that unifies her with her dark mate.

This is a true Romance heroine: strong enough to defy an overwhelming male. Her mate wants her enough to take her to him by any means necessary, because he perceives that her presence is warmth, life, and love and her absence a winter of the soul. She has the emotional gift to form a profound bond with him, and in the end, they are both willing to share their lives in a way that betters the world. This makes her a goddess to be reckoned with.