The Original Whore with the Heart of Gold

It is interesting to consider the progression that took place after the Akkadians conquered Sumer, as a matrilineal culture that openly honored a sexual goddess with sexual rites was gradually transformed into a male-dominated culture where sex was more and more considered dangerous and/or shameful. This same transformation occurred in the three ancient civilizations that most directly influenced modern Western culture, namely Judea, Greece and Rome.

Why? The easiest answer is that as militaristic patriarchies established patrilineal descent, female promiscuity could no longer be permitted to threaten men's knowledge of paternity. For a man to be sure he was father of his children, the argument goes, he had to restrict access to his women. He had to make it bad and wrong for his women to have sex with anyone but himself. Any religion that encouraged female promiscuity had to be opposed.

This explanation is compelling in its simplicity and economic force, but it is not altogether psychologically satisfying. It explains political repression, but it does not explain the shame and fear so commonly attached to sex after the goddesses were discredited. The Original Whore with the Heart of Gold