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My name is Olivia and I am a PhD student in Historical Studies at the University of Bristol. I am studying how adherents of Goddess Spirituality are reviving the veneration of ancient Mediterranean goddesses in the 21^st century. My goal with this research is to establish how we can build a mutually beneficial dialogue between Goddess devotees and scholars of the ancient world. This call is for those who may wish to participant in this research.

I have aimed to include a diverse demographic to ensure that it is representative of the many different voices and experiences within modern Goddess Spirituality. I therefore sought to learn from people from various ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and physical abilities. Through various waves of online advertisement I have attempted to reach such a demographic of individuals.

Invitations to participate in this research invitation were extended to those who fulfilled the following:

• ✓ You are based in the UK or the US (regardless of your nationality), OR you frequently engage with a Goddess Spirituality community in these locations.
• ✓ You identify with ‘Goddess Spirituality’ as your spiritual approach/path (flexible definitions are accepted).
• ✓ Your spiritual path involves goddesses from the ancient Mediterranean*

Questionnaires closed on January 10th 2023 and covered the following subjects:

• Round 1 Questionnaire was about Goddess devotees' spiritual paths (specific to Goddess Spirituality) and how they came to learn about ancient Goddesses.
• Round 2 Questionnaire was about the veneration of Aphrodite, Aset-Isis, and/or Sekhmet.
  
• Round 3 Questionnaire was about the spiritual experiences of  Goddess devotees' at museums and heritage sites.

My sincere gratitude goes out to everyone who responded to my thesis questionnaires, consented to interviews and sharing photos, and allowed me to engage in passive participation observation at online ceremonies.

*For this study I have focused on ancient cultures from countries known today as Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and Egypt. I have chosen to include Egypt in this study owing to how much ancient Egyptian culture influenced those of the ancient Mediterranean, especially with the cults of Isis.

If you want to know more about this research you can get in touch through in the following ways:

Email: hg19310@bristol.ac.uk

Blog: Contact box via https://teawithathena.blogspot.com/

Academia.edu: https://bristol.academia.edu/OliviaCiaccia

Instagram: @teawathena

 

Olivia Ciaccia

PhD Candidate Historical Studies, University of Bristol

Supervised by Prof. Ronald Hutton and Prof. Genevieve Liveley