Elinor Gadon

Elinor W. Gadon (September 17, 1925 – May 8, 2018) was an American cultural historian, Indologist, art historian and author notable for her examination of women in myth and culture in history.

In 2006, she became a resident scholar at Brandeis University's Women's Studies Research Center Scholars Program in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Gadon's research has focused on the analysis of myth and imagery within their specific cultural contexts and how they affect issues of gender.

In part due to her major publication, The Once and Future Goddess, she has been compared to other "scholars of the goddess" such as Marija Gimbutas and others associated with the Goddess movement.

Indian art history has been a particular area of interest for Gadon.

"Whether they are practicing their spirituality alone, in groups, or in their synagogues or churches of origin, women of the movement are focusing on exploring the sacredness of the female body, sexuality, and women's experience."

Gadon is a proponent of female spirituality, and argued that western-oriented religions have a dearth of female-oriented imagery and symbolism, in contrast to Eastern religions such as Hinduism.

"Women in particular feel that within organized religion, there isn't any honor of what they hold sacred: the life process, the birth of their children, their sexual experiences."

- - - - - - - Valerie Hadden (book reviewer), The Examiner, June 27, 2009.

Retrieved July 12, 2014.

"The book mixes facts, quotes and stories, and the opinions of the author. The facts are interesting but tend toward dry. Obviously, Ms. Gadon has made a huge effort to get every historical reference scrupulously correct."

Gadon has taught at several educational institutions, including the Harvard Divinity School and Tufts University, where she was an associate scholar in the Women's Leadership Program.

At the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, she developed and directed a course in women's spirituality.