Essay: A description of the Minoan Snake Goddess

Much of my time from 2008 to 2010 was spent taking courses at Athabasca University. One course was titled ‘A Survey of Western Art I’. This was my first essay assignment for that course and I thought that it might be interesting to convert it into a blog. I was trying to write succinctly since the assignment was for just 500 words. The instructor was apparently not impressed with my basic premise, the level of detail provided nor my essay writing ability. (Oh well). Here is my essay:

The First Assignment was to describe the Minoan statue commonly known as the Snake Goddess.  The meaning of this art object is open to interpretation.  Since the statue is almost – but not quite – unique we must go with the evidence of our eyes and some reasonable speculation.  There were no inscriptions and similar figures were not recorded in Minoan frescoes.  Some imagination is required to give it meaning.

My description is based on illustration 4.15 in Janson’s History of Art and the accompanying text.  Viewing her there we see a foot high statue holding two live snakes in her upraised arms.  She has a fierce expression in her eyes.  Her head is topped with a hat and a cat.  Her breasts are bare and she is an obvious fertility symbol.  The label says Snake Goddess so we can categorize her as such and continue on to the next exhibit.  Upon further research and reflection though, these conclusions seem far less certain.[1]

Context is important to both archaeology and art history.  This object was found broken into pottery pieces.  One arm, the head and parts of the skirt were missing.[2]  The missing pieces were reconstructed according to the discoverer’s imagination and the whole piece was reassembled.  In the illustration we can clearly see the small crack lines delineating the reconstructed and original parts. It is uncertain whether the feline creature belongs with this statue at all.

It is a familial size.  This was not some grand Athenai for great temple worship.  This was a small personal object to be viewed up close; perhaps even to hold clenched in one’s own hand just as the figure itself grasps the snakes.  The height is shown as 29.5 cm high, but since much is a reconstruction the exactness of this measurement seems doubtful.

This is made of faience.  That is technical sophisticated tin-glazed pottery.  The flesh is white.  The clothing patina has a variety of browns and smoky yellows.

Female figures similarly dressed in flounced skirts appear in frescoes.  This particular example of clothing has a half-dozen overlapping layers extending to the floor.  The layers consist of panels decorated with black vertical lines.  The waist is cinched with a tight belt over a short overskirt that curves down in front.  The upper bodice is open to expose and accentuate the breasts.

While the open breasts and tight waist certainly suggested female fertility to the Victorian era male mind; they might just as well have simply been a fashionable and comfortable way to dress in the Mediterranean heat.

So when we view an art object – especially one reconstructed with missing pieces – we must be aware of our cultural interpretations.  In popular imagination this is a fierce Snake Goddess created for veneration.  It might just as easily have been a doll illustrating bravery like the leaping dancers of the Toreador Fresco.  Whether this is a magic deity or entertaining decoration is entirely in the eye of the beholder.

References used in this Essay

Davies, Penelope J.E. et al. Janson's History of Art: The Western Tradition, 7^th edition.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc., 2007.

Benne, Melissa  Breathing New Life Into Old Art: The Minoan Snake Goddess Meets the InternetSpringfield, MO: Drury University
 

Whitcombe, Christopher L.C.E.  Images of Women in Ancient ArtSweet Briar, VA: Sweet Briar College

---

[1] According to a Drury University student paper:
“She may be a snake charmer, a priestess, a Goddess, a festival attendee, a dancing girl, all of the above or nothing that has ever been encountered before. However, it is her appointment of ‘Minoan Snake Goddess’ that is intriguing. This label has caused the biggest response among scholars, feminists, earth-based religious followers, and others today.” (Benne)

[2] My description of the reconstruction process was influenced by the writing of Professor Witcombe, Department of Art History, Sweet Briar College