[UA] Naked Goddesses

[John C]

I had a weird moment while talking to a friend of mine earlier this evening. 
  She was telling me that she’d been invited to Ireland in order to present 
a paper at conference, and she mentioned that it was probably because one of 
the movers and shakers behind this conference had been interested in, 
“...the work I’ve been doing on the Naked Goddess.”

“Huh?” I replied, eloquently.

Apparent the Naked Goddess is a term that historians apply to a particular 
goddess who appears on icons throughout the ancient world, from Iran to 
Egypt to Italy.  There’s not much known about her for certain, except that 
she’s depicted naked and she’s, well, a goddess -- she’s often shown 
standing atop an animal, like a lion.

The standard explanation is that the Naked Goddess is a different individual 
in different regions -- Aphrodite, Astarte, or someone of similar ilk, 
depending on who is worshipped in the area in question.  All things to 
everyone.  My friend has a different theory; she feels that the Naked 
Goddess is a symbol of the exotic....

I always enjoy talking to her; it’s not often that you hear the term “votive 
vaginas” used in a conversation(*).  One of her specialties is the history 
of prostitution in the ancient world.

I thought about trying to explain the NG of Unknown Armies to her, but I’ll 
save that for another time.  Her husband illustrates RPG books; I think that 
she’s kind of burnt out on games right now....

(*) At which point we said simultaneously that, "Y'know, "Votive Vaginas" 
would be a *great* name for a band!"

John Crimmins
john1x at hotmail.com
http://www.voicenet.com/~johncrim

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