n of food supply. It
has been shown that during this period of primitive man's existence
group thinking predominated, and man thought of himself as part of the
group rather than as an individual. At this time, therefore, the idea
of the deity which was evolved was not that of an individual god.
Generally speaking, it was the "vegetation spirit" existing throughout
nature which was deified. This was the general period of earth
worship,--the forces of nature associated with the earth being man's
main interest. The earth at this time was highest in primitive man's
regard.

During the time of earth worship, the social organization of the tribe
was such that the mother was the dominating influence in social
structure. Descent was matrilinear, and a society known as matriarchy
existed, as contrasted to the later patriarchy. The mother was the
leading figure in social as well as in family life. At this period a
certain degree of sexual promiscuity existed; the mother of the child
was known but the father was not and so the descent was in the female
line. With earth worship, then, there was mother worship, and the term
"Mother Earth" had a very real significance.

With the social state of matriarchy, the mother cults developed. These
mother cults evolved the numerous female deities of antiquity, Themis,
Demeter, Cybele, and many others being the expression of mother worship.
These deities were generally associated with the wild elements of
nature,--with the wind, and the hills and the forests.

Associated with the mother religion in a way which at first does not
appear to be very clear arose the phallic cults. It should be here
stated that the mother religion was not the religion of the mother
alone, but also that of the mother and child. The child was the
adolescent,--a youth about to be initiated at the public ceremony, at
which he was often circumcised and after which he was able to take up
the reproductive functions of the male. Miss J. Harrison has shown that
Dionysus was the embodiment of this conception. Here the youth was
necessary only to the extent that he could become a father. It was his
generative attribute which was sanctified, rather than that he was a
male being existing as an individual. For this reason, the deification
of the phallic principle, _i. e._, the generative attribute, preceded
the deification of the male as an individual. At least this is the
impression one gains of this development. In any case,