To explore the lives of priestesses, who were once glamorous women at the center of civilization, the author has collected evidence from innumerable sources around the world. But, due in no small part to Western civilization's fear of matriarchal societies, these once-honoured women have all been denigrated and dismissed, stripped from the history books. Drawing on the works of such scholars of mythology as Joseph Campbell, Robert Graves, Sigmund Freud and Sir James Frazer, as well as many ancient historians and scholars long forgotten. She uncovers the truth beneath the myths, revealing the roles women really played in the formation of our civilization. From Asia Minor to Ireland, thousands of priestesses who lived throughout the ancient world emerge in full glory once more. The centuries-old battle wages by malevolent or ill-informed historians against heroic women and their matriarchal societies has denied these women their places in history. This book restores them to their rightful honour.