Two Minoan snake goddess figurines were excavated in 1903 in the Minoan palace at Knossos in the Greek island of Crete. The decades-long excavation programme led by the English archaeologist Arthur Evans greatly expanded knowledge and awareness of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization, but Evans has subsequently been criticised for overstatements and excessively speculative ideas, both in terms of his "restoration" of specific objects, including the most famous of these figures, and the ideas about the Minoans he drew from the archaeology. The figures are now on display at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum (AMH).
The Knossos figurines, both significantly incomplete, date to near the end of the neo-palatial period of Minoan civilization, around 1600 BCE.[1] It was Evans who called the larger of his pair of figurines a "Snake Goddess", the smaller a "Snake Priestess"; since then, it has been debated whether Evans was right, or whether both figurines depict priestesses, or both depict the same deity or distinct deities.[2]
The younger "snake goddess", from the palace of Knossos. Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
The combination of elaborate clothes that leave the breasts completely bare, and "snake-wrangling",[3] attracted considerable publicity, not to mention various fakes, and the smaller figure in particular remains a popular icon for Minoan art and religion, now also generally referred to as a "Snake Goddess". But archaeologists have found few comparable images, and a snake goddess plays little part in current thinking about the cloudy topic of Minoan religion. Several scholars have also argued that these figurines are not really holding snakes in their hands, or as many snakes as Evans thought, but some other items.[4]
^German; this is the boundary between Middle Minoan and Late Minoan
^Ogden, Daniel (2013). Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Oxford University Press. pp. 7–9. ISBN 9780199557325 – via Google Books.
^German's term
^Bonney, Emily M. (2011). "Disarming the Snake Goddess: a Reconsideration of the faience figurines from the temple repositories at Knossos". Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology. 24 (2): 171–190. doi:10.1558/jmea.v24i2.171.
and 28 Related for: Minoan snake goddess figurines information
Two Minoansnakegoddessfigurines were excavated in 1903 in the Minoan palace at Knossos in the Greek island of Crete. The decades-long excavation programme...
snake goddessfigurines, a type of figurine in Minoan archaeology Renenutet, Egyptian snakegoddess Wadjet ("Green One"), Egyptian snakegoddess Nagapooshani...
of rituals, confusing what images in Minoan art represent, for example in the case of the snakegoddessfigurines, at least one of which may represent...
society. Many of the most recognizable Minoan artifacts date from this time, for instance the snakegoddessfigurines, La Parisienne Fresco, and the marine...
probably the Minoan precursor to Athena. The early twentieth-century scholar Martin Persson Nilsson argued that the Minoansnakegoddessfigurines are early...
from the Pashupati seal, Indus Valley civilization One of the Minoansnakegoddessfigurines, about 1600 BC Detail of the Gundestrup Cauldron antlered figure...
rediscoverer and promoter of Minoan civilization, believed that Minoan religion more or less exclusively worshiped a mother goddess, and his view held sway...
media related to Minoan pottery. Poppy goddess, a LM figurine Thrapsano, then and now, a village known for pottery This chronology of Minoan Crete is the...
characteristics such as snake tubes, a bench, and figurines with upraised arms believed to be a depiction of a Minoangoddess. Although some scholars...
discredit pagan practices and mythology. However, several Baubo figurines (figurines of women revealing their vulvas) have been discovered, supporting...
society. Many of the most recognizable Minoan artifacts date from this time, for instance the Snakegoddessfigurines, La Parisienne Fresco, and the marine...
portal Greece portal Ancient Greek art Arkalochori Axe Minoan Bull-leaper Minoansnakegoddessfigurines Phaistos Disc Stocker, Sharon R.; Davis, Jack L. (2017)...
233–235 Chapin, 54-58, 58 quoted Witcombe, Christopher L.C.E. "MinoanSnakeGoddess". Retrieved 2006-07-01. essay originally in Images of Women in Ancient...
female figurines, he came to believe that they all represented a singular goddess, who was the Minoan's chief deity, and that all the male figurines found...
fertility figurines Votive offerings Covers findings up to 650 BCE, including: Pottery decorated with griffins Artefacts and figurines from Kato Syme Minoan larnakes...
the "Tree-of-Life" that often is interpreted as representing a goddess. Confronted snakes are frequent images in many cultures from ancient times to historical...
Lilies and the Minoan frescoes from Tell el-Dab'a 1600 BC – The Gold Diadem of Caravaca, the Minoansnakegoddessfigurines, the Minoan Bull-leaper, the...
Bull-Leaping Fresco, the snakegoddessfigurines, and numerous Linear B tablets. While Evans is often credited for discovering the Minoan Civilization, his work...
of a goddess, often called ’Astarte figurines’, found in Israelite levels of many sites are representative of Asherah as a tree. These figurines have...
the "Snake-Legged Goddess," also referred to as the "Anguipede Goddess," so called because several representations of her depict her as a goddess with...
Gnosticism and Hermeticism and most notably in alchemy. Some snakes, such as rat snakes, have been known to consume themselves. The term derives from...
Konstantinos on Methana). The majority of these figurines are female and anthropomorphic or zoomorphic. The female figurines can be subdivided into three groups,...
(Laconia, Greece); National Archaeological Museum (Athens) Snakegoddess; 1460-1410 BC (from the Minoan Neo-palatial Period); faience; height: 29.5 cm; from...
recently several Bes-like figurines have been found in deposits from the Naqada period of pre-dynastic Egypt, like the thirteen figurines found at Tell el-Farkha...
of the Nile. Female breasts were also prominent in Minoan art in the form of the famous SnakeGoddess statuettes, and a few other pieces, though most female...
Global Information
