Page 180 - Cyberculture and New Media

Leman Giresunlu 171
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with.” The introduction of what are seen to be the evils of
the male human condition came through the introduction of
the female and what is said to be her unique product,
sexuality. In Works And Days Hesiod elaborates on
Pandora and what she represents - a perilous temptation
with “the mind of a bitch and a thievish nature,” full of “the
cruelty of desire and longings that wear out the body,” ‘lies
and cunning words and a deceitful soul,” a snare sent by
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Zeus to be “the ruin of men.”

However, even a cursory look at ancient mythology’s record on the
significance of the term “goddess”, especially around the cult of Cybele B.C.
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6500-7000, points to a noteworthy connection. Cybele, whose cult
birthplace is considered to be Anatolia, was recognized as a major goddess
throughout diverse locations, there and the broader Middle East, including
the Trojans, Ephesians, Hittites, Sumerians, Phrygians, in Lydia, in Crete, in
Egypt, and around Lake Nemi in Italy. She was also regarded as a goddess of
the Amazons by the Black Sea region. The various names the cult of Cybele
acquired ranged from Kubaba (in Kültepe tabletes), Artemis (in Ephesus),
Mã (in Tokat Gümenek), Marienna (in Sumerians), Arinna (among the
Hittite), Isis (in Egypt), Lat (in Syria), Rhea (in Crete), to Venus (around the
region by Lake Nemi in Italy), and with the Greek word “meter” or the
Roman word “mater” added to various place names she became the goddess
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of these particular regions. Amidst the competitive and warring civilizations
of the time, the Cybele cult survived, and was recognized as a belief system
in the region. The female goddess’ role in her times concerned of the
regeneration of nature and the maintenance of its fertility to the detriment of
the male principle as depicted in sacrificial stories in mythology. Therefore,
the goddess cult was maintained in cycles of death, and regeneration through
sacrificial ceremonies. The Cybele cult’s fame and fashion spread until
Rome, to become one of the reasons, which attracted Romans to Anatolia.
Kathryn Rountree’s study on goddess pilgrimages refers to the
goddess figures in the Mediterranean region, and refers especially to the
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goddess pilgrimages made toward Turkey, Crete and Malta. The nature of
these goddess pilgrimages was unification with the empowering aspects the
memory of these goddess cults generated. Thus, they were helping to heal
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against the “wounds of patriarchy” : almost an observation reminiscent of
the potential the female gender has to offer in terms of an ability to surpass
mimicry just as Sadie Plant refers to within the context of women and
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cybernetics.
While the origin of the goddess cult provides for such historical and
archaeological knowledge, one also needs to make sure of the reasons
concerning the regeneration of the goddess cult and other mythological