The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future - Hardcover

Eisler, Riane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062502875 ISBN 13: 9780062502872

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1987

Synopsis

Argues that there was a prehistoric shift in human society to patriarchy and at present society is beginning to shift away from patriarchy

About this title

Review:

Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities. Eisler proves that the dream of peace is not an impossible Utopia.’
Isabel Allende

‘Scholarly, passionate, essential reading.’
Fritjof Capra

‘Essential reading for anyone concerned with the future of humanity.’
Peter Russell

From the Back Cover:

'The Chalice and the Blade' is a fascinating and powerful reconstruction of prehistory and history which offers new hope for the future.

Examining the past as a blueprint for the future, Riane Eisler develops a theory of cultural evolution which contains two models, the dominator model, symbolized by the blade, when half of society dominates the other, and the partnership model, symbolized by the life-giving chalice, when men and women are valued equally. Some 5000 years before the global shift to patriarchy took place a society existed which was based on the 'gender holistic' model. This study reveals that it was a time of great peace and contentment which has been obscured from world view, despite the fact that the goddess culture lasted for thousands of years.

Today humankind stands at a crossroads. The lethal power of the blade, manifesting itself in the break-up of the family, environmental damage and possible nuclear holocaust, threatens global annihilation. Yet this is not our only option. We can, by rediscovering the partnership ethic and spirit of co-operation that existed in our prehistory, change our ideas and transform our culture.

"Until I read books like Riane Eisler's 'The Chalice and the Blade', I had assumed that men ran churches because men run everything, given half a chance... Now I realize it goes a lot deeper than that: it is a matter of male mana threatened by female magic."
KATHERINE WHITEHORN, 'Observer'

"This notable work contributes... to the growth and survival of human understanding."
MARIJA GIMBUTAS, author of 'Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe'

"...both scholarly and passionate... essential reading"
FRITJOF CAPRA, physicist

"A fascinating and thorough historical account of how our culture lost its feminist values, and with its value of life, leading us to the evolutionary crossroads we now stand at... Essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of humanity."
PETER RUSSELL, author of 'The Awakening Earth' and 'A White Whole in Time'

"Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities. 'The Chalice and the Blade' is one of those magnificent key books... Riane Eisler proves that the dream of peace is not an impossible utopia... This book offers us the certainty that a better world is possible, if only we could remember."
ISABEL ALLENDE

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0062502875
• ISBN 13: 9780062502872
• Binding: Hardcover