Johann Jakob Bachofen (Basel, December 22, 1815-ib., November 25, 1887) was a Swiss jurist, anthropologist, sociologist and philologist, theorist of matriarchy. He was one of the main representatives of anthropology, especially in the study of the symbol, specifically in myth. He studied law and philosophy in Berlin, was a student of Friedrich Schelling and even took classes with the historian Leopold von Ranke.

The main ideas that guided his anthropological reflections were those related to research on ancient religions based on female deities and the cult of fertility. Through his research, Bachofen built an interpretative complex of cultural traits based on a dualistic interpretation, for example, taking into account the contrasts between day and night, sun and moon, masculine and feminine, etc.

In his most famous work, The Matriarchy: An Investigation into Gynecocracy in the Ancient World According to its Religious and Legal Nature (1861), he stated that the matriarchy was the oldest regime and that there was a mythology—of a feminine nature—about the mother. original. For Bachofen, mythology was based on the matriarchal-patriarchal; He also studied the Orphic doctrine of immortality.