The Many Lives of a Snake Goddess: Diachronic, Multicultural, and Multisensory Perspectives

The project examines two of the most iconic, but also problematic, finds from Minoan (Bronze Age) Crete: the so-called Snake Goddess figurines (dating to c.1600 BCE), which were discovered by Sir Arthur Evans during his excavations of the 'Palace of Minos' at Knossos in 1903. Ever since their discovery, the figurines have beguiled not only archaeologists, but also artists, writers, psychoanalysts, feminists, fashion designers, and followers of modern Paganism, among many others -all of whom have re-imagined these icons for their own purposes. They have become poster girls for Minoan Crete (3rd-2nd millennia BCE), a culture that, since Evans, has often been hailed as the cradle of European civilization and an advanced proto-feminist society. Since 1903, millions of people have encountered the originals in the Heraklion Museum, their replicas in the Ashmolean Museum, and their images in various media (both originals and replicas have been on display in these museums since the first decade of the 20th century). Relatively few people, however, especially among non-specialists, realise that these objects are problematic in many respects. Questions related to their ‘lives’ in Minoan Crete range from their actual original appearance (e.g. the accuracy of their reconstruction), to their typicality within Minoan iconography, their representation of the female body, and traditional interpretation as 'Mother Goddesses’. In addition, many people are unfamiliar with most aspects of their modern ‘lives’, such as their role in the construction of various identities (e.g. Cretan, Greek, European, Mediterranean, and LGBTQI) and their impact on various cultural practices, as illustrated, for example, by their uses in Neopagan rituals, Freudian psychoanalysis, poetry (e.g. poems by Aldous Huxley, Cecil Day Lewis, and Dorothy Porter), and the visual and performing arts. Through a variety of activities and outputs the project will provide a comprehensive and innovative overview of the figurines' 'many lives' to specialists and non-specialists alike. It combines the ancient and modern lives of these Minoan figurines through a systematic documentation and analysis of their rediscovery, reconstructions, diverse interpretations, and re-imaginations across multiple media and at multiple levels (individual, local, national, and transnational).