• Issues in Feminism
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.81-120
• /
• 2019

This study looks into the history of Silla in terms of the theory of goddess culture recently rising in the Western academia. Goddess culture was introduced in the 1980s by Marija Gimbutas, a pioneering archaeomythologist. She showed us the lives of goddess-worshipping prehistoric Europeans which was peaceful, matrifocal, egalitarian and sedentary. It has been recognized that Silla society reveals it's own unique aspects in comparison with other kingdoms of the time. And those aspects seem to be in consonance with goddess culture, such as goddess-worship, the presence of 3 queens, respect for the motherline, the Hwabaek(council of nobles) and the Wonhwa(priestesses) etc. The study concludes that there was a culture in Silla that could be named as goddess culture. The culture shows the following 5 characteristics. The first one is the life-centered thought. Most of indigenous deities of Silla were goddesses and there was a celebration of the birth of life at the center of the goddess worship. The second one is egalitarianism. Silla society was not only prominent in gender equality but also seems to have maintained economic and social equality in relatively good level until the 5th century, based on communitarianism. The third one is political consensus. The politics of Silla rooted in a tradition of governance and consensus, as the Hwabaek tells which was run by the rule of unanimity. The fourth one is non-patriarchal masculinity. The masculinity of Silla society can be partly understood through the Hwarang, a group of men whose activities were based on aesthetic and life-centered spirituality. The fifth one is relatively weak belligerence. Silla was not a hostile, militant country, and kings were meant to be the guardians of a peaceful life rather than a conqueror.