#Snake #Goddess of #Knossos, #Crete, @1600 BCE
7.6 cm round
Two #Minoan snake goddess figurines were excavated in 1903 in the Minoan palace at Knossos in the #Greek island of Crete. The figures are now on display at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The Knossos figurines, both significantly incomplete, date to near the end of the neo-palatial period of Minoan civilization, around 1600 BCE.
The smaller figure, as restored, holds two snakes in her raised hands, and the figure on her head-dress is a cat or panther. However, as excavated, she lacked a head and the proper left arm was missing below the elbow. The head was recreated by Evans and one of his restorers. The crown was an incomplete fragment in the same pit, and the cat/panther was another separate piece, which Evans only decided belonged to the figure some time later, partly because there seemed to be matching fittings on the crown and cat. Recent scholars seem somewhat more ready to accept that the hat and cat belong together than that either or both belong to the rest of the figure.
This snake handling Goddess may be related to the #Phoenician #Astarte (virgin daughter). She was the goddess of #fertility and #sexuality and her worship was connected with an orgiastic cult. Her temples were decorated with serpentine motifs. Statuettes similar to the "snake goddess" type identified as "priest of Wadjet" and "magician" were found in Egypt.
Learn more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_snake_goddess_figurines