Minoan Snake Goddess Essay

619 Words2 Pages

Over the centuries many statues of the Minoan and Greek empires have been created. Among these statues there are many similarities. The Snake Goddess statue was created in
1600 BCE. under the Minoan Empire. This statue arguably influenced the Aphrodites of Knidos, which was created centuries later by the Greeks. However, though there are many likenesses, both goddess sculptures contain unique aspects.
The Snake Goddess is a Minoan artifact believed to be a goddess of fertility, as well as having power over animals. Scholars believe that women played a dominate role in the Minoan society, located in Crete. The Snake Goddess is a faience differing from the typical marble statue. This 11/2 inch statue visually has a strong sense of power, from the snakes in her hands, to the lioness on …show more content…

This love goddess is known for being the cause of the Trojan War. Aphrodites of Knidos was sculpted out of marble in the 4th century by Praxiteles. This particular Aphrodites made the city of Knidos famous. People flocked to her temple to see the nude sculpture in her entirety, viewing Aphrodites of Knidos from every side.(Kleiner.123) For the Greek culture, it was irregular to represent a goddess in the nude. Noble women and goddess sculptures wore garments of wealth. Female nudity was left for the slave girls and courtesans. Aphrodites of Knidos shows the shifting of weight from one leg to the other, “which art historians describe as contrapposto”.(Kleiner.107) She is getting ready to take a bath, with her dress draped over a water pitcher. She is life size, wears a slight smile and has dewy eyes depicting a human like image reminiscent of the Snake Goddess. This sculpture is not openly exotic because her right hand is shielding her pelvic area, but the soft radiant flesh of the marble that Aphrodites of Knidos wears draws the viewer into her sensuality. (Kleiner,

Show More
Related

  • Psychoanalytical Criticism of The Swimmer by John Cheever

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    archetypal figures: smacked the bronze backside (libido) of Aphrodite (Greek Water Goddess of love and beauty – vain and unfaithful like Neddy)

    Read More

  • Goddesses, Whores, Wives, And Slaves: Women In Classical Antiquity

    1877 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will discuss the well published work of, Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken, 1975. Print. Sarah B. Pomerory uses this book to educate others about the role women have played throughout ancient history. Pomerory uses a timeline to go through each role, starting with mythological women, who were called Goddesses. She then talks about some common roles, the whores, wives, and slaves during this time. Pomerory enlightens the audience on the topic of women, who were seen as nothing at the time. Men were seen as the only crucial part in history; however, Pomerory’s focus on women portrays the era in a new light.

    Read More

  • Marble Statue Of A Koouros, Greek, Attic

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also, the sculpture named Kroisos (Kouros from Anavysos). ca. 540-525 BCE. Compare with the Kouros, both of them are freestanding, painted sculpture. Kroisos has a greater body than Kouros, and I can image that the flesh, sinew and bones inside the stone. And as for Kroisos’s facial expression is more naturalistic than Kouros. His lips are drawn up that becomes an artificial smile, I mean the archaic smile, but not reflect in his

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Homer's Odyssey

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Athena and Calypso are the most significant goddesses presented in The Odyssey. While Athena embodies both feminine and not so feminine traits, Calypso embodies the sexual nature of women and the thought and feelings of sexualized women. Calypso, for example, sheds light on the double standards that exist between gods and goddesses: “Hard-hearted you are, you gods! You unrivaled lords of jealousy- scandalized when

    Read More

  • Differences and Similarities of The Women of Athens and Sparta

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    --- Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken Books. 1995, 2010. Kindle Edition. Location 2733 of 6360.

    Read More

  • Greek Mythology - Aphrodite

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    Aphrodite is one of the most famous figures of Greek mythology, because Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexual rapture. She was desired by nearly all of the Greek gods. Aphrodite was one of the twelve main gods on Mt. Olympus, and she was the most powerful goddess when it came to members of the opposite sex. There are many origins to Aphrodite's birth. Some of them are: She arose full-grown out of the foam of the sea, She is the daughter of Zeus and Dionne, She is the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, which would make her a Titaness, or She is the daughter of Titans Oceanus and Tethys, making her an Oceanid. (Dittus 34-35) “The most common origin of her birth is her being foam-born, which is what her name means” (Parin 45). This origin says that Aphrodite arose nude and full-grown out of the foam of the sea and riding into the shore of Cythera on a scallop shell. She found Cythera to be too small of an island, so she went to live in Paphos, in Cyprus, which is still the principal seat of her worship.

    Read More

  • Aphrodite and Demeter

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    She tempted many, even Zeus: “she beguiles even his wise heart . . . mates him with mortal women, unknown to Hera” (Hesiod). The goddess of love, “she was a particular favourite with the city’s many prostitutes but also supervised the sexual life of married women” (Blundell, 1998). To curb her promiscuity, Aphrodite was married to Hephaistos (god of the forge), who cared deeply for her, and made he...

    Read More

  • Athena Parthenos: The Goddess of Wisdom

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is a copy of the sculpture of Athena Parthenos, dressed in battle attire, that was originally created by Phidias during the period of 447-39 B.C. The statue of Athena Parthenos was to be constructed, not of bronze, but of gold and ivory. The face, arms, and feet of the statue were to be made of ivory and the clothing, of thickly plated gold. The statue was an enormous size that towered thirty-three feet tall. The costly nature of the materials out of which it was designed was intended to overwhelm the viewer, creating a sense of religious awe.

    Read More

  • The Visit Of The Metropolitan Museum

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    The trip to the metropolitan museum was a great trip to learn and to study art. What is art you may ask, well art is an expression you use to show a visual picture. It can be through painting or through sculptures. Some other example of art is music, literature and dancing. For today 's paper we will be talking about art as a sculpture. The two sculptures in this photo are King Sahure and a Nome God and Marble Statue of Dionysos leaning on archaistic female figure (Hope Dionysos). You can find these statues in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. King Sahure and a Nome God is an Egyptian art that was made in 2458-2446 BCE. The artist is unknown. It was during the 5th dynasty and it also belong to the old kingdom. The Marble statue of Dionysos Leaning in the archaistic female figure is a Greco-Roman art. Belonging to the Roman imperial period of the late first century A.D. Augustan or Julio-Claudian period 27 B.C., to 68 AD. It is classified as a stone sculpture and it is made out of marble. The height of the statues is 82 ¾ inches. There is no evidence who was the original artist.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    She places in people the desire to have sexual relations and causes fear in men of the power of seduction by women. Her marriage to her husband was ignored as she had affairs with immortal and mortal men. Her infidelity in her marriage places her on the side with Greek men, rather than Greek women because only Greek men were able to cheat on their wives; not the other way around. In conclusion, the three important rules discussed in this paper that Greek women were required to obey, can be seen in the myths of the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Whether or not the Greek goddesses obeyed or did not obey these rules, their importance to the Greek culture is ever strong.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Athena And Aphrodite

    1450 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aphrodite and Athena were both great powerful women who were revered as goddesses in greek mythology. They both were greatly worshipped, however due to their distinct personality traits they were worshipped and spoken about and very different ways. Both goddesses are immortal and female, and both seem to distinguish the incongruous gender roles between men and women throughout ancient Greece. What makes these two goddesses interesting, however, is their differences, which will determine how they will be reflected in myth. On one hand you have Athena, the androgynous goddess of war and wisdom. On the other you have Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexuality. During this time, even among the immortals, women were seen as inferior and less

    Read More

  • Ancient Greek Olympics

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    statue was found in the Hera's Temple. Contained in the Temple of Zeus was one

    Read More

  • The Important Role Of Athena In Homer's Odyssey

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Greek gods and goddess have sparked my interest ever since seventh grade when I read The Percy Jackson Series. All throughout the books my attention was grasped by their power and demanding personalities, one specific goddess that stood out to me was Athena. Her charm and dominant personality fascinated me and definitely caught my attention. Before reading The Percy Jackson Series, I knew very little about Athena or the gods and goddess’ in general. Later, I took it upon myself to find out more about who the gods were and why they are important to the series I was reading at the time. My knowledge came in handy during the research I did to complete my paper. During my research I found that Athena was very important in not only The Odyssey, but in Greek mythology. She was one of the most confident and practical goddess’, and she was very well respected by the Greek people because of how she helped them.

    Read More

  • The Human-like Gods

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the best summarizes of Greeks’ gods attitude toward human is the claim of Aphrodite in Euripides’ Hippolytus that she will treat well the people who revere her power, but will “trip up” those who are proud towards her, and this pri...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Judgement Of Paris

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aphrodite leg is creating a V shape. Hera seems to be modeled after Aphrodite of Knidos, with her hand somewhat modestly place to cover the female part and her body shape is also quite similar too Aphrodite of Knidos. Athena on the other hand, is giving the audience her full back. Her body creates “s” shape with gives a sense of motion. All four females depicted in the painting have that ideal female body congruent with Greek ideal at that time, 0.7 waists to hip ratio, unfit, non-muscular body. Same can be said with all the males depicted in the painting, they all adhere to the male ideal body; they are all extremely muscular and ripped, ready to protect their town and women, even Eros, a child has an extremely muscular body. Paris is seen horizontally extending his arm towards to Aphrodite granting her the apple, show casing every arm muscle just like in Discus Thrower, as if the artist just capture the exact moment of motion. There is an implied line, directing the viewer’s eyes towards the focal point, Aphrodite and Paris. All the character’s eye direction in the painting is going towards Paris choice of giving the apple to Aphrodite instead of choosing to give it to Hera or Athena. Furthermore, a dog, next to Paris, is seen horizontally lying down on the floor, which according to Greek culture, dogs were the protectors, they are calm, loyal and devoted to their masters. The viewer based on location and proximity of the dog to Paris can conclude that he will protect Paris from harm, foreshadowing the Trojan War, which Paris escapes alive. There is also iconography in the painting such as Eros, to identify Aphrodite, a peacock to identify Hera, and armor for

    Read More

More about Minoan Snake Goddess Essay

Open Document