The Minoan culture, Lasting from approximately 5000 bp to 3450 bp is commonly thought of as the beginning of the group of cultures commonly referred to as Western Civilization. Located on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean sea, the Minoan culture is known today by the many wonderful artifacts left behind following the cataclysmic end of the society. We must know them through their art, for although the Minoans were literate, their written language known as Linear A has yet to be translated, and so the writings of the culture are unknown to us.
So it seems we know the Minoans largely by what we do and do not see in the archeological record. Though it is commonly understood that the Minoans were a great sea power of the time, through records of other cultures, and the ruins of palaces left on the island are spectacular in their luxury and beauty , we find no evidence of a large military presence on the island and the island itself bears very few markers of fortification. Rather than military might, the artifacts and ruins point to a prosperous culture with a love of beauty and art.
Among these treasures are fragments of 3 figurines collectively knows as “Snake Goddesses”. Discovered by Sir Arthur Evans in 1903 in a storage pit beneath the central court at Knossos, The figurines are typically dated at the time of their destruction around 3600 bp though it is likely they existed before this time. The objects are ceramic with a faience finish. Faience is among the first true glazes know to western culture and is composed primarily of ground and tinted quartz. The figures that we know so well today are largely reconstructed, and much of that was speculative, so for example, the hat of the figure known as the “votive” (above) may or may not belong with this figurine, and the head and left arm were reconstructed using the images on frescoes and symmetrical matching rather than anything found on site.
Without written language to point the way, all concepts of meaning and identity of the woman are speculation, but it is commonly held that these figurines represent priestess’ rather than a goddess, and in fact, the costume that they wear are seen represented in other media as well. Here are examples of frescoes and gold work featuring similarly dressed figures.
There is also a strong presence of women and snakes among more simple clay figurines that have been discovered in more common burial sites on the island which does point to some religious meaning for the symbolically charged figurines, though there are almost no examples of this image in a domestic context in the archeological record.
What ever her purpose was then, these figurines have captivated the minds of the west since her discovery. A google search titled “Minoan Snake Goddess” shows historical and archeological images mixed together with contemporary sculpture, painting, performance art and cult writing centered on these ancient images. I love them for their strength and strangeness, all the more for knowing they are so heavily reconstructed. The objects have become a collaboration of the distant past and the recent past, with modern science continually reviewing the connection. As theories change, our concepts of meaning and symbology can evoke as well, yet her mysteries will never be full penetrated. It seems then she has everything a good muse needs.
sources:
I did consult books for the writing of this article but was not able to use much of what if discovered there as it was not specific enough. those books were: The Art of Crete and Early Greece by Friedrich Matz 1962 and Minoan and Mycenaean Art by Reynold Higgins 1997. My main source for this piece was a wonderful website, Art History Resources by Christopher LCE Whitcombe. A link to the extensive section on my subject is here:
http://arthistoryresources.net/snakegoddess/discovery.html