Dr.Marguerite Rigoglioso is author of The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece, and Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity. She teaches on women and religion at Dominican University of CA, the California Institute of Integral Studies, The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Greek religion is filled with strange sexual artifacts--stories of mortal women's couplings with gods; the unusual virgin birth stores of Pythagoras, Plato, and Alexander; and more. In this study Marguerite suggests such details are remnants of an early Greek cult of divine birth. She argues that many in the highest echelons of Greek civilization believed non-ordinary conception (parthenogenesis) was the only means possible of bringing forth high spiritual beings who could serve as true leaders or avatars, and that specific cadres of virgin priestesses were dedicated to this practice. Her book adds a unique perspective to our understanding of antiquity and has significant implications for the study of christianity and other religions in which divine birth claims are central. " . . .an orginial piece of scholarship that dares to imagine traditions at the foundation of Western culture in an entirely new light."
"Come to the Altar" composed, played and sung by Janie Rezner, www.janierezner.com from her CD, "Oquawka Speaks the Words and Music of Mother God."