After two thousand years of flawed history, here at last is a biography of Mary Magdalene that draws her out of the shadows of history and restores her to her rightful place of importance within Christianity. Throughout history, she has been both revered and reviled, a woman who has taken on many forms-witch, whore, the incarnation of the eternal feminine, and the devoted companion (and perhaps even wife) of Jesus. In this brilliant new biography, Bruce Chilton, a renowned biblical scholar, offers the first complete and authoritative portrait of this fascinating woman. His descriptions of who Mary was and what she did challenge the male-dominated history of Christianity familiar to most listeners. Through groundbreaking interpretations of ancient texts, he shows that Mary played a central role in Jesus' ministry and was a seminal figure in the creation of Christianity.
"Drawing from the gospels (especially Luke 8), Gnostic writings and later Christian legends, Chilton shows the ways in which the Christian traditions have maligned Mary...a satisfactory survey of attitudes toward Mary from the Middle Ages to today."
Publishers Weekly
"...[Chilton] does a good job of explaining Mary Magdalene's role in the male hierarchy and the symbol she has become in her own right."
