Venus Of Willendorf Analysis

The Venus of Willendorf is one of the best known examples of Paleolithic Art. Found in 1908, by archaeologist Josef Szombathy, it was discovered in an Aurignacian region of what is today Willendorf, Austria. The Aurignacian Culture, which stemed across central Afro-Eurasia around roughly 45,000 BCE to 27,000 BCE, were an Upper Paleolithic culture of hunter gatherers. Standing about four and a quarter inch, she is made out of Oolitic Limestone not indigenous to the area in which she was found. It is clear, however, the figure was important enough for early humans to have migrated with it. As one of the first known depictions of women in Art, she is faceless and the emphasis appears to be on her feminine traits; round protruding breasts, large child bearing hips, with carved detail on the pubis. Many such 'Venus'

figures have been found and their origins are mysterious. With deep roots in matriarchal worship, she may be linked with fertility as well as representation of the female role in life. Seen through the eyes of early humans, nature itself and the development of Homo Sapiens, would have been seen as divine, the first religious experience, the original 'why' if you will.

Religious beliefs throughout time have been the different cultural interpretations and similar expressions of central ideas or life experience, that remain inherently human nature.

Psychologically, this can also be seen by how the Id, or the instinctual reptile complex responsible for the survival structure of the brain, will act on impulse, always taking what it wants and needs. Not only will early man's needs depend upon this primitive functioning, but would have included undoubtedly his divine equal, woman. Their need, drive, and connection as primordial partners. Within the context of human life alone, the idea of man and woman would have completed the cycle of life, and therefore been held as sacred. The worship of the energy of nature and the natural world would have no doubt included the immensely important role of woman as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. This central idea of the cycle of life can be seen throughout history in almost every religious view. We must view the context of these figures with unbiased Pre-Christian eyes. The Divine Feminine encompasses all aspects of womanhood: sexuality, divinity, and completion of the life

cycle.

This same concept can be found in the effigies of several world religions. Ranging from Artemis at the Temple of Ephesus in Turkey, Isis in Ancient Eygpt, Gaia in Greek tradition, Kali in Hinduism, to Pacha Mama in the Incan Andes of South America. Seen also deeply in the creation myths of the Welsh Celtic mythology of the Triskelion, or the concept of the Triple Goddess. These roles of women are often associated with the phases of waxing and waning of the moon. Seen as divine, the act of menstruation mirroring these satelite stages, ultimately would have solidified their umbilical connection. The notion of the Moon Goddess and alike lunar deities often explain the symbolic connection of the Sun in relation to it.

Despite the push in later years to expell worship of The Great Goddess and the following of matriarichal lineage for a controlled patriarichal version, this perception also influenced early Christian-Judao views of the historical Yeshua Ben Yosef, or the man historically believed to be the real Jesus of Nazareth. At the historical paragon Beit Shean in northern modern-day Israel, is a painted scene through the history of man, hosting civilization there since 6,000 BCE to 5,000 BCE. After years of changing political hands, home to Gnostic Christians in the 6th Century AD, ruins of Gnostic worship and themed mosaics have been uncovered there. These worshippers would have viewed the biblical figure through a regional combination of Pagan, Jewish, and Christian beliefs and symbolism. Accompanied next to Jesus, depicted as Helios, the Sun God, in the focal mosaic is his transcendent counterpart, the Great Goddess, or the Moon Goddess, conveyed by this time in history as Mary Magdalene. Surrounded by the postures of twelve men, deductively seen to be the Disciples. Magdalene, traditionally put down by the church as a prostitute and whore, would be named through a Coptic controversial papyrus as his consort and wife. In this representation, she is celebrated as his celestial equal.

It is the repetition of the abstraction of the female form as life giver, or the symbol of the Chalice. Rudimentarily speaking, the symbolic forms of these can be seen in the chevron or pyramid shape as the penis and it's universal counterpart; the cup/chalice, cauldren, funnel or womb representational of the uterus. Symbols correlating to this basic representaion can also be found throughout the world; in Egyptian culture in the form of an Ankh, Spiral Ogee in Celtic myths, the Sumerian Tree of Life, Pagan pentagram and again with the symbol of the fish in Christianity. Controversially as well, debated heavily is the idea that the Grail or cup stands for the holy bloodline of their heavenly marriage and procreation. The reintroduction of these instinctual roles is seen yet again through the sacred view of the Sangreal, or Holy Grail (San greal in French also meaning royal blood). Magdalene stands as an echo across time of the power and natural position of women, the cosmic symbol of the phallus and womb as one, "As Above, So Below". This is seen as hallowed because as woman is the entrance through which man enters the world, earth is seen as her universal equivalent, hosting as portal for man into existance. The symbol of the bee is often used to represent this meaning, giving birth to the notion of Mother Earth. Raw and ultimate power coming from both woman who is the bearer and the nature which gave her life. Artemis, Phoenician Goddess, was often associated with bees and female divine soverignty.

Marija Gimbutas, a Lithuanian Archeologist, is famous for her ground breaking theories about The Great Goddess and her study of it in terms of ancient peoples. Her global interpretations of the symbolism of the cosmic egg, the number three, and the pivotal view of regeneration through birth rite. Her work reminds us of a pre-patriarichal time in human lineage where the power center would lie with the female roles in the family groups of Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age cultures. Much of the symbolism found within examples of Gimbutas findings draw a similar and clear connection with that of Goddess worship, as well as the Venus of Willendorf.

For support in my conclusion, I looked for modern day examples of this idea of the woman. Found in the masterwork of artist and occultist Oberon Zell, "Millennial Gaia" is the artistic embodiment of the reflection of womanhood and The Great Mother. As compared to 'Venus' figures, I believe they both represent two very different views of the human form in art, more specifically women in art. Comparing these two distinctly different pieces of art from two periods that are a world away from each other, one made in our lifetime and the other made thousands of years ago. Even though they are different, their portrayal of the female form is the same. Although they do differ in their idea of what the female form should ideally look like, their representations are similar. The pieces of the body that make it iconicly female are the same, displaying the breasts, curves, and sexual sense of the woman, and highlighting her role as the life giver or child bearer. Their views of beauty and organic simplicity are female and have remained unchanging since the dawn of human civilization. When it comes to the 'Woman of Willendorf", whether it is a view of the woman as the life giver or a representational view of the beauty of mother earth, one thing is clear, she is all lady.