--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These three creation stories were shaped…" description: "\"“These three creation stories were shaped in the patriarchal, slave-holding world of early urban civilization in the eastern Mediterranean of the secon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/rosemary-radford-ruether-39569_another-world_these-three-creation-stories-were-shaped_1579027.jpg" --- # These three creation stories were shaped in the… ![“These three creation stories were shaped in the patriarchal, slave-holding world of early urban civilization in the eastern Mediterranean of the second and first millennia M.C.E. In the Babylonian story that urban world is still new and precarious. Another world, not under male/human control…” quote by Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/rosemary-radford-ruether-39569_another-world_these-three-creation-stories-were-shaped_1579027.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/rosemary-radford-ruether-39569_another-world_these-three-creation-stories-were-shaped_1579027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/rosemary-radford-ruether-39569_another-world_these-three-creation-stories-were-shaped_1579027.jpg) > ““These three creation stories were shaped in the patriarchal, slave-holding world of early urban civilization in the eastern Mediterranean of the second and first millennia M.C.E. In the Babylonian story that urban world is still new and precarious. Another world, not under male/human control, stands as the earlier beginning, ruled by a huge theriomorphic Great Mother, who gestated all things, gods and cosmic beings, in the mingled waters of her womb. The story mandates her dethronement, and with it a demotion of the female from primal power to secondary consort. Slavery is a central institution mandated by this story.”” [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how ancient creation myths reflect patriarchal, slave‑holding societies, demoting female divine power and legitimizing slavery. **In simple terms:** Ancient myths embed patriarchal values and justify oppression. Key Takeaway Recognize how cultural narratives shape gender and power structures. Themes gender power mythology history slavery Mood critical reflective Type analytical historical When to use this quote - Academic study of ancient texts - gender equity advocacy - social justice education Key Concepts Patriarchal critique mythic analysis feminist theory Questions to Reflect On - How do modern narratives challenge these ancient power dynamics? - What alternative myths could uplift female agency? A Different Perspective Such myths also contain symbols of female empowerment that can be reclaimed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) [Creation stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation-stories/) [Great mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-mother/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [Within the mystery of life there is the infinite darkness of the night sky lit by distant orbs of fire, the cobbled skin of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/within-the-mystery-of-life-there-is-the-infinite-darkness-of-the/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“Now from science we have a new creation story, which is very alluring and very exciting. It's not about deposing all the other wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-felten/now-from-science-we-have-a-new-creation-story-which-is-very-alluring/) David Felten > [It's only a story, you say. So it is, and the rest of life with it - creation story, love story, horror, crime, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-only-a-story-you-say-so-it-is-and-the-rest-of-life-with-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“This was the scientific age, and people wanted to believe that their traditions were in line with the new era, but this was impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/this-was-the-scientific-age-and-people-wanted-to-believe-that-their/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Every character I've had in my act - none of them have a similar creation story. I actually thought up Peanut and designed him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-dunham/every-character-i-ve-had-in-my-act-none-of-them-have-a-similar/) [Jeff Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-dunham/) > [The world exists only when we think about it; creation stories are for children. In reality the world is created every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-klein/the-world-exists-only-when-we-think-about-it-creation-stories-are-for/) [Jean Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-klein/) > [In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was Gotcha!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/attila-the-stockbroker/in-the-beginning-was-the-word-and-the-word-was-gotcha/) Attila the Stockbroker > [The creation story unfurling within the scientific enterprise provides the fundamental context, the fundamental arena of meaning, for all the peoples of the Earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/the-creation-story-unfurling-within-the-scientific-enterprise/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Most nations have some type of creation story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-van-lente/most-nations-have-some-type-of-creation-story/) [Fred Van Lente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-van-lente/) > [We ought to recognize that religious strife is not the consequence of differences among people. It's about conflicts between creation stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-ought-to-recognize-that-religious-strife-is-not-the-consequence-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Creation stories, so central in the religions of the Middle East, play a surprisingly marginal part in Greek myth. The Greeks had nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/creation-stories-so-central-in-the-religions-of-the-middle-east-play/) [Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/) > [Creation stories had never been regarded as historically accurate; their purpose was therapeutic. But once you start reading Genesis as scientifically valid, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/creation-stories-had-never-been-regarded-as-historically-accurate/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [There's no way that you can stop nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-negron/there-s-no-way-that-you-can-stop-nature/) [Luis Negron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-negron/) > [My God is not improbable to me. He has no need of a creation story for himself or to be fine-tuned by something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-god-is-not-improbable-to-me-he-has-no-need-of-a-creation-story-for/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [There is no way that you can read the entire Bible seriously and take every word literally. Contradictions start in the first chapter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/there-is-no-way-that-you-can-read-the-entire-bible-seriously-and-take/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More by Rosemary Radford Ruether > [We do not have thousands of years to unlearn the wrong patters that were established over thousands of years. The exponential speed-up of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/we-do-not-have-thousands-of-years-to-unlearn-the-wrong-patters-that/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [In every generation women have to be taught their place one more time. The subordination of women is never accomplished for once and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/in-every-generation-women-have-to-be-taught-their-place-one-more-time/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [The Big Lie makes those who toil appear to be idle, while those who speak into dictaphones appear to be the hard workers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/the-big-lie-makes-those-who-toil-appear-to-be-idle-while-those-who/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [God is not a 'being' removed from creation, ruling it from outside in the manner of a patriarchal ruler; God is the source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/god-is-not-a-being-removed-from-creation-ruling-it-from-outside-in/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [The critical principle of feminist theology is the promotion of the full humanity of women. Whatever denies, diminishes, or distorts the full humanity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/the-critical-principle-of-feminist-theology-is-the-promotion-of-the/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [Women must see that there can be no liberation for them and no solution to the ecological crisis within a society whose fundamental model…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/women-must-see-that-there-can-be-no-liberation-for-them-and-no/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [“Domination of women has provided a key link, both socially and symbolically, to the domination of earth, hence the tendency in patriarchal cultures to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/domination-of-women-has-provided-a-key-link-both-socially-and/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [In his latest book Marc Ellis asks the defining question for Jewish life today: 'Can injustice, represented by Jewish domination of Jerusalem, be at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/in-his-latest-book-marc-ellis-asks-the-defining-question-for-jewish/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [The liberating encounter with God/ess is always an encounter with our authentic selves resurrected from underneath the alienated self. It is not experienced against,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/the-liberating-encounter-with-god-ess-is-always-an-encounter-with-our/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) > [An effort to declare the ban on contraception ‘infallible’ would have the immediate effect of focusing Catholic dissent on the doctrine of infallibility itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-radford-ruether/an-effort-to-declare-the-ban-on-contraception-infallible-would-have/) [Rosemary Radford Ruether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) [Explore all 11 Rosemary Radford Ruether quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-radford-ruether/) ## More Another world quotes > [I identify with Superman. I am adopted, I am an only child, and I love the idea that he comes from another world, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-singer/i-identify-with-superman-i-am-adopted-i-am-an-only-child-and-i-love/) [Bryan Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-singer/) > [Every time you touch me I stop breathing, that's why I never have much to say. Every time I see you, my heart skips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-time-you-touch-me-i-stop-breathing-that-s-why-i-never-have-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. 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If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [To try to really land a spacecraft really on another world is really difficult, and if we lose that ability, it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/to-try-to-really-land-a-spacecraft-really-on-another-world-is-really/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“Story is a butterfly whose wings transport us to another world where we receive gifts that change who we are and who we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/story-is-a-butterfly-whose-wings-transport-us-to-another-world-where/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-never-liked-to-talk-about-began/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The young man knows that he is irretrievably lost. This is no town of cats, he finally realizes. It is the place where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-young-man-knows-that-he-is-irretrievably-lost-this-is-no-town-of/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [ \[The Utopia of Rules\] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-challenge-to-us-all-should-we-just/) [Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/) > [We are here to make another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/we-are-here-to-make-another-world/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [“How often since then has she wondered what might have happened if she'd tried to remain with him; if she’d returned Richard's kiss on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/how-often-since-then-has-she-wondered-what-might-have-happened-if-she/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“There is another world and it is in this one. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-eluard/there-is-another-world-and-it-is-in-this-one/) [Paul Éluard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-eluard/) > [“One late-autumn day I opened the back door to fetch some water, and there was a young hare sat on my back step. Save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-ansell/one-late-autumn-day-i-opened-the-back-door-to-fetch-some-water-and/) Neil Ansell [Browse all 707 Another world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“These three creation stories were shaped in the patriarchal, slave-holding world of early urban civilization in the eastern Mediterranean of the second and first millennia M.C.E. In the Babylonian story that urban world is still new and precarious. Another world, not under male/human control, stands as the earlier beginning, ruled by a huge theriomorphic Great Mother, who gestated all things, gods and cosmic beings, in the mingled waters of her womb. The story mandates her dethronement, and with it a demotion of the female from primal power to secondary consort. 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