The ability of goddesses to cross societal boundaries established between the sexes on Earth was one of the main things that elevated them above most mortal women. Inanna, who was credited with the power to transform men into women, and women into men, was sometimes even described as if she herself were male. Professor Mary Beard, one of five guest contributors to the exhibition, observes in her prologue to the show's catalogue that the Greek goddess of wisdom Athena similarly had "martial attributes that fundamentally conflict with Greek concepts of female gender".
