Antiquities Exhibits

Art historian Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe points out there is plenty of archaeological evidence to indicate that women occupied an important if not dominant position within the practice of Minoan religion and possibly the entire society as well. In scenes of ritual worship, women appear to dominate the proceedings and far outnumber male priests and attendants. "Moreover men are rarely seen in commanding positions, despite attempts to identify them in such positions," Witcombe says. "Even the lifesize male figure in the reconstructed frescoed stucco relief at Knossos which Evans identified as the "Priest-King" is now believed to be made up of fragments of several different figures. The only thing that seems relatively certain is that one or more of the figures was male." He also observes that typical evidence of a male-dominated society in the second millennium including walled citadels, fortifications, temples to gods, large public sculpture and boastful...

The iconic figurine of a woman holding a snake in either hand with a cat sitting on top of her head discovered by Arthur Evans in the "Pillar Shrine" within the Minoan palace of Knossus, Crete is probably one of the most instantly recognized artifacts from the Minoan world.  The original faience sculpture is displayed today at the Herakleion Archaeological Museum on Crete.  But a less well known delicate figurine composed of ivory and gold, dating from 1750 to 1580 BCE, can be seen in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. In the ancient world, snakes were symbolically associated with the renewal of life because the reptile was known for sheddding its skin periodically.  This belief was shared not only by the Minoans and Pelasgians, indigenous inhabitants of the Aegean Sea region and their cultures, but by the ancient Mesopotamians and Semites as well. Within the Greek Dionysiac cult, the serpent signified wisdom and was a symbol of fertility.  Other scholars...

Isis-Aphrodite is a form of the great goddess Isis that emphasizes the fertility aspects associated with Aphrodite. She was concerned with marriage and childbirth and, following very ancient pharaonic prototypes, also with rebirth. Figures depicting this goddess are found in both domestic and funerary contexts. Popular already in the 3rd to 2nd centuries B.C., they continued to be made in Roman times. Dating technology places these pieces in the Roman period. These statuettes were created between 161 - 180 CE and are thought to be possibly reflecting the image of Empress Faustina Minor, wife of Marcus Aurelius. Statuettes with a vulture cap have been found in both Egypt and Syria. Images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Isis-Aphrodite resembling the Roman Empress Faustina Minor, wife of Marcus Aurelius, 1st - 2nd century CE Egypt Isis-Aphrodite with vulture cap that resembles Roman Empress Faustina Minor wife of Marcus Aurelius 161-180 CE Egypt