Religion and the Bible

The Rise and Rise of the Queen of Heaven

Summer 2005 Issue





Blessed Virgin, Holy Mother, Mother of God, Bride of Christ, Bride of the Spirit, and Queen of Heaven.

Who is this iconic figure who has attained such exalted titles as well as a unique heavenly position? Where did she come from, and how did she progress from human to near-divine? What are the foundations of the dogmas pertaining to her, and how can we understand the fervent devotion she has been accorded over the centuries?



The Mary of popular piety—of countless prayers, statues, paintings and churches—appears far removed from the favored yet very human woman rooted in the Jewish milieu of the biblical narrative. How, when and why did the transformation take place?

There are, quite literally, countless studies on the subject of Mariology (or Mariolatry, depending on point of view): “without end” in the words of one scholar, “nearly unmanageable” in the words of another. This article can do little more than touch on a few of the key themes that outline the movement’s development.



ANCIENT ROOTS

In order to understand the phenomenon of Mary as the Virgin, it is important that we establish what the Catholic Church used as a base and then examine the imagery that developed.

Stephen Benko specializes in early Christianity in its pagan environment. In The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology, he traces the development of the cult of Mary from Greek and Roman mythology through to recent times. Benko avoids anti-Catholic polemics and is sympathetic to the place of the “queen of heaven” in Christianity. That said, he unerringly traces Mary’s roots to the pagan, pre-Christian heavenly queens of Greece, Rome and the wider Mediterranean—those mutable goddesses whose ranks include Artemis, Astarte, Celeste, Ceres, Cybele, Demeter, Diana, Ishtar, Isis and Selene.

“Christianity,” he notes, “did not add a new element to religion when it introduced into its theology such concepts as ‘virgin’ and ‘mother’; rather, it sharpened and refined images that already existed in numerous forms in pagan mythology.” (Continues)

Lord have mercy i do love the my lady!

Indeed. A great many pagans found solace in her imagery, when the catholic church adopted her to the faith. I attended a service once, and there she was, the queen of heaven, standing at the front of the congregation. I thought then what my pagan friends had said about how, in the ancient times, seeing their goddess in such a way, let them know their faith had not been destroyed, only re-formed.