Inside the "Men's Club" -- Secrets of the Patriarchy
by HAWTHORNE ABENDSEN
PATRIARCHAL ORIGINS
There is at least circumstantial evidence in support of the hypothesis that the peoples whom we describe as patriarchal were once a special caste or "guild" in earlier Near Eastern civilizations. They seem to have been a 'taboo' group, 'branded" and set apart, like Cain --whose name, by the way, means 'expelled"-specializing in the risky skills of smelting (fire) and slaughter of arimals (bloodletting) for ritual purposes.
Not only this, but, because of their indifference to pain and death, they provided manpower for the first militias of early Near Eastern Empires, developing eventually into a distinct warrior caste. Careful reading of texts from 2000 BC suggest that, from male-bonded and therefore exclusive solidarity among themselves, they became an autonomous power and at last rose in revolt against their own rulers, who were temperamentally unprepared to resist storms of violence. (Archeologists examining the corpses of their victims note that they seem to have submitted passively, without resistance.) . . . .continued FREE!