Don't miss...
The
films will transmit April 11, 18 and 25 on BBC 2 at 9pm. The series tells the
story of the relationship between women and religion from 9000 BC onwards. The female of the species has
always formed 50% of the population but has never occupied 50% of human
history. Yet the connection between women and the divine has been so strong in
all societies that when we follow the stories of 'divine women' we uncover
new evidence for the character of humanity and a fuller, truer history of the
world.
April 11 -When God Was A Girl - Programme One looks at the evolution of the
goddess in Turkey, Greece, Rome and India
April 18 - The Handmaids of God - Programme Two investigates
the story of the priestess; from the poet Sappho on the island of Lesbos to
Vestal Virgins in Rome and the elevated role of women in the early Christian
church
April 25 - The War of the Word - Programme Three explores a
missed 'golden age' for women, when historical characters such as the Empress Theodora in Byzantium, Wu Zetien in
China (the Empress who called herself Emperor), the early women of Islam and
Anglo-Saxon Hilda of Whitby, used the power of ancient traditions and new ideas
about religion and philosophy to wield influence in a man's world - notably
through the power of reform, education and the word. We look at evidence
through the Byzantine Empire, early Islam, in China, Northumbria and Oxford.