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Description
In this provocative new series, Bettany Hughes tells the stories of the extraordinary women whose legends and lives cast new light on some of the hottest arguments about the role of women in religi...on today. And drawing on cutting edge scholarship and archaeological evidence, she reveals what her favourite women in religion tell us about the lives of the real flesh and blood women of their day. In this episode, Bettany Hughes visits the world's oldest religious site to uncover the startling evidence that women were present at the very birth of organised religion. Travelling across the remotest parts of the Mediterranean and Near East, she encounters fearsome goddesses who controlled life and death, including the formidable goddesses Kybele and Gaia. She then arrives in modern day India, where the goddess is still a powerful force for thousands of Hindus. Immersing herself in the excitement of the Durga Puja festival, Bettany Hughes experiences goddess worship first hand and finds out what she means to her devotees.
Metadata describing this Open University video programme
Series: Divine women
First transmission date: 05-04-2012
Published: 2012
Rights Statement:
Restrictions on use:
Duration: 00:58:08
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Producer: Leonie Jameson
Screenwriter: Bettany Hughes
Presenter: Bettany Hughes
Publisher: BBC Open University
Link to related site: Website: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/ou-on-the-bbc-divine-women
Subject terms: Women in Hinduism
Production number: FKAO971P
Videofinder number: 82568
Available to public: no