The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future
by Riane Eisler

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Book Reviews of The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future

Book Review: A Myth for Our Times
Summary: 5 Stars

Her title derives from symbols for these two paradigms: the chalice, symbolizing life begetting, community and sharing; and the blade, symbolizing the power to take rather than give lifethis is the ultimate power to establish and enforce domination. She points out that for millennia the blade has been a masculine symbol, this is not the problem.

"The root of the problem lies in a social system in which the power of the Blade is idealizedin which both men and women are taught to equate true masculinity with violence and dominance and to see men who do not conform to this ideal as 'too soft' or 'effeminate.'" (p. xviii)

She further points out that the directions of partnership cultures and dominator cultures will be quite different. Partnership cultures emphasize technologies to sustain and enhance life while dominator cultures develop technology to destroy and dominate. Consider our own culture, where schools resort to nearly every fund-raising dodge imaginable, even relying on the proceeds of gambling, while the military/industrial complex consumes the lion's share of our resources. The average teacher in California makes less than a wet-behind-the-ears college graduate who goes to work programming computers for a defense contractor! What would it be like if schools got all the money they needed and the Army had to hold bake sales to buy new hardware?

This book is an origin myth. It attempts to explain where we came from, how we evolved from an age of partnership to an age of domination. It also explores how we might begin to reverse the process. Numerous scholars have challenged Eisler's ideas and her use of archaeological evidence. I have noticed her sifting through Hebrew history and using only those aspects which support her theories, while ignoring important writings and events which tend to support a partnership paradigm while she is exposing the dominator model. Regardless of how well the evidence fits the history she lays out, this is a masterful piece of social deconstruction. Whether a golden partnership age existed or not, we do not live in one now, and we never will unless we learn to live differently together.

Eisler starts her chronicle with old Europe. She spends three chapters exploring the stone age, neolithic art, Goddess worship, and the equalitarian nature of partnership culture evinced through archaeological exploration Crete and the work of Marija Gimbutas. Then she begins to describe the Indo/Aryan/Kurgan invasions of Europe. She examines the role of metallurgy and male supremacy. She notes growing evidence of warfare, human sacrifice, and slavery.

She decries the truncation of civilization as partnership gives way to male domination of societies. She shows how memories of the partnership age lingered on in myths and religious practices for thousands of years until myths morphed, giving solar/warrior Gods supremacy over fertility/mother Goddesses. Women and sexuality were marginalized, securing the male domination of culture. She traces the effects of patriarchy through classic culture and the Christian mythos into the very heart of our modern civilization.

Although she does a masterful job of tracing the history of the problem, she offers little in this book for solving the problem. She spends 180 pages telling us how and where we went wrong, only to offer a paltry 18 pages generalizing about what we need to do now. I found this disappointing, but there's only so much that can be crammed into the pages of a single book. Her book, The Partnership Way, acts as a guide through this book for a group wishing to work within the partnership paradigm.

The Chalice and the Blade presents a powerful deconstruction of our society. It offers an "origins myth" to us and gives us a prophetic challenge to live differently. Although her use of scholarship has been attacked, this book is still worth reading. You don't have to run out and buy an Apple  Computer to "think different," you can read this book! A solid five stars.

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Summary of The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future

The phenomenal bestseller, with more than 500,000 copies sold worldwide, now with a new epilogue from the author--The Chalice and the Blade has inspired a generation of women and men to envision a truly egalitarian society by exploring the legacy of the peaceful, goddess-worshipping cultures from our prehistoric past.

United States Books

• Books > Subjects > History > Americas
• Historical Study > History of Ideas
• Social History
• Science & Math > Evolution
• Social Sciences
• Women's Studies > History