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5 lut 2024 · Since the discovery of the so-called Minoan ‘Snake Goddesses,’ it has been debated whether British archaeologist Arthur Evans’ ideas and overstatements about Minoan culture were right. Contemporary research focuses on whether there was polytheism in Minoan Crete and what the connection of the Minoan religion with later Greek myths was.
The Snake Goddess, as originally excavated, lacked a head and half of her left arm. The complete right arm held a short wavy striped stick, which Evans interpreted as a snake. This was, in some measure, to match the other nearly complete figurine found in the Temple Repositories, which clearly had snakes slithering up both of her arms.
Minoan Snake Goddess figurines, c. 1600 BCE, Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete. Two Minoan snake goddess figurines were excavated in 1903 in the Minoan palace at Knossos in the Greek island of Crete.
Among the most important exhibits of the Museum are the two famous statuettes known as the “Snake Goddesses”, iconic symbols of the Minoan civilisation and exquisite examples of Minoan miniature sculpture.
The Snake Goddess was one of the Minoan divinities associated closely with the snake cult. She is called also Household Goddess due to her attribute of the snake, which is connected with the welfare of the Minoan household.
The Snake Goddess in Minoan Culture. Part of the attraction of the figurines is that they can be interpreted as embodying many of the perceived, and admired, characteristics of the Minoans: their elegant, fashionable costumes, their physical gracefulness, their sensitive yet forthright personalities, their sophisticated tastes and love of ...
6 gru 2023 · It has been said that the image of the Snake Goddess, discovered by Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos on Crete, is one of the most frequently reproduced sculptures from antiquity. Whether or not this is true, it is certainly the case that she is a powerful and evocative image.
