Female iconography in ancient Iran, from the neolithic figurines and dancing women and ibexes painted on very ancient ceramics, to matricultural elements in the Elamite culture. The amazing cylinder seals of Kerman show goddesses with snakes emerging from their shoulders and female devotees in ceremony before them. The bronzes of Luristan exalt the ibex-women and other fantastical figures. In the north a wealth of female icons bursts forth 3000 years ago, first abtract figures in stone, and then hollow terracotta women. In the period of the Persian empires, the goddess Anahita comes into view in rock-cut shrine reliefs and temples. By the Sassanid dynasty, queens and female warriors and (once again) dancers show up in the historical record. We conclude with a look at Zoroastrian goddesses.
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Max Dashu founded the Suppressed Histories Archives in 1970 to research and document women's history and heritages from the most ancient times to the present, globally. www.suppressedhistories.net She is internationally known for her expertise on iconography, matricultures and female spheres of power; medicine women, witches, and the witch hunts; and the interconnections between patriarchy, conquest, and systems of domination.
She is the author of Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Culture, 700-1100 (2016) and Women in Greek Mythography: Pythias, Melissae and Titanides (2023). Her unfolding open access book, Magna Mater, Paulianity, and the Imperial Church (2024-25) looks at the origins of church-state authoritarianism and persecution. Her videos include Woman Shaman: the Ancients (2013) and Women’s Power in Global Perspective (2008), along with an extensive videography at https://www.youtube.com/@maxdashu/videos
Max blogs daily on the Suppressed Histories Facebook page, followed by 254,000 people internationally. She teaches online courses and visual webcasts, and has guest-lectured at scores of universities and international conferences.