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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the weaker brother or husband to the Egyptian Goddess Isis?

2. At Nimrud, documents show that women still serve as ____________ and magistrates in the 8th century BCE.

3. Robertson Smith claims the Semitic religion results from the juxtaposition of ___________ worship and a female kinship system.

4. What is another name for Artemis, as discover by scholars in the classical Greek times?

5. Archaeology indicates that societies revere the Mother Goddess as the supreme __________.

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the vanguard of the battle ax cultures, as Merlin Stone and others describe them.

2. How does male dominance begin to creep into once female-ruled societies?

3. How did Middle East societies look at the Goddess in their ancient times?

4. Why does brother-sister marriage develop in Egyptian times, according to scholar Dr. Margaret Murray?

5. Why are Hebrew women supposed to be inferior to their neighbors, according to the Priest/archaeologist Roland de Vaux?

6. What is the effect the Adam and Eve story has had on the female child, according to the author?

7. What are the three types of evidence which seem to point out the existence of the Goddess in Upper Paleolithic times?

8. Describe the battle ax cultures in terms of what their presence was like during their arrival and contact with Goddess-worshiping Middle Easterners.

9. What are some of the rights women are given in the Code of Hammurabi?

10. What is Eridu said to be the place of when it steps away from the Goddess religions?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While the idea of God being a woman is a compelling one, it seems there may not be enough evidence to back this claim up.

Part 1: Why do you think God being a woman is a plausible idea? What evidence is available?

Part 2: Why do you think God being a woman is not a reasonable argument?

Part 3: Do you think clear evidence is necessary in order for the author of the book to convince the reader? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

The relation between the snake and the woman/Goddess is clear from the text and from the art and historical research that is presented in the book.

Part 1: Why does the snake make sense as a symbol for the Goddess in the book?

Part 2: Why does the snake seem to be a less than appropriate symbol for the Goddess?

Part 3: What do you think the link between the snake and the Goddess is? Why is this important?

Essay Topic 3

Women were deeply affected, it seems, by the presence of a more matriarchal society and structure.

Part 1: How were women affected by having a matriarchal society?

Part 2: How might women be affected today if the government and all positions of power were to be filled with women?

Part 3: What are the advantages and the disadvantages of a patriarchal society?

(see the answer keys)

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