The figurine of the Snake Goddess dating back to 1600 BC was found in 1903 in the treasury of the tripartite sanctuary in the palace of Knossos. The figurine is made of faience. The goddess wears a hat on her head on which a feline sits. Her long black hair hangs down her back and curls down around her breast. The eye sockets are bulging, indicating that the goddess-priestess is in a state of trance. On top,the goddess wears a short- sleeved,striped shirt tied with an elaborate knot at the waist,with a low cut front that leaves breasts completely bare, symbolizing fertility. In the middle she wears an oedipal apron decorated with tangent triangles. She also wears a long bell-shaped narrow skirt.
The goddess-priestess holds in each of her hands a snake, which in Minoan religion is a sacred animal and indicates chthonic worship. In Minoan Crete the snake is treated as a benevolent animal, the “ophi ekuro”. The Goddess of the Serpent symbolizes the goddess of fertility who is identified with the Mother Goddess.
The snakes twisting in the air as she holds them in her outstretched hands and the small feline on her head alludes to the goddess’ dominance of the wild.
Evans connects the Goddess of the snakes with the Egyptian Ouajet and is a precursor of the Goddess Rhea,showing similarities with the Phrygian Cybele and the Ephesian Artemis.
There is a hypothesis that the figurines of the snake goddesses were used in rituals to protect female fertility, menstruation, conception and the provision of breast milk.
It is believed that the Goddess of the snakes of Minoan Crete was Ariadne, whose name means “completely pure”.
The idol of the Goddess of the snakes is cross-shaped. The cross in Minoan Crete was a solar symbol. All Minoan sanctuaries faced east, and many ceremonies were performed at sunrise. Of particular interest are the solar alignments in the throne room; the Minoans began the year from the winter solstice. (21/22 December).
