On Snakes and Women

  Personally, I wouldn’t call myself a friend of snakes. But I know that in many cultures the snake is revered as a sacred animal. Most people try to stay as far away from them as possible: they are poisonous and bite and some ancient shiver beats the relationship between man and snakes. We inherently think of snakes as bad and are basically afraid of them from some ancient instinct. However we also know that they are fascinating creatures. We are able to watch their movement in amazement, how they react for different objects. But would you keep a snake at home? I certainly don’t.

 

    For my part, I am fortunate not to have mingled more closely with them so far. As I mentioned, many cultures view them as sacred animals, and so did the ancient Greeks. We know of many Minoan finds where young girls hold a huge snake over their heads without the slightest sign of fear. These findings roughly come from 1600BC. These figurines and statuettes come mainly from the house shrines (think of the Roman larariums here), where they seem to serve as the ’goddess of the household’. Of course, it is easy to grasp a small statue as a cult work of art depicting a deity. The important question is, why do we think this, and how do we know it is a very valid idea?

  Let’s start right away with the name of the goddess. According to Palmer, the Minoan name of the goddess is associated with the name ’A-SA-SA-RA’, which is explained in the linear A texts. Although the linear A writing is not quite readable today, Palmer still refers to captions that include ’A-SA-SA-RA-ME’, which he says is identical to the Hittite ’ishassara’, meaning both mistress and lover. In this case, the goddess could easily be the mistress of the house, as the entire household was taken care of by the woman.

  But if she were the mistress of the house, why would she keep two snakes over her head? Traditionally, the snake is a symbol of renewal as it peels off its skin from time to time and renews itself. In Minoan culture, the snake is the protector of the house, a role that later appears in the Greek religion. In  the Greek cult of Dionysos, the snake was a symbol both wisdom and fertility. Let’s see what we have collected so far: mistress of the house, rebirth, new life, wisdom and fertility. Okay, this all sounds very good, but what has this got to do with the female gender? Is there anything else?

  Of course it is. According to some scholars, the snake can be identified with the Phoenician goddess Astarte (the virgin girl). The cult of the goddess of fertility and sexuality is full of orgiastic elements. Her temples were decorated with serpent motifs. Evans linked the snake-goddess to the Egyptian snake-goddess, ’UADSET’, but didn’t make that connection. Statuettes like our goddess snakes have also been unearthed from Egypt, and they are called the magical priests of UADSET by the papyri. (though, who int he land of Egypt who doesn’t have magical abilities?!?)

  The story is a little more nuanced though. Let’s take an easier path and see the first snake goddess we know. She is the most famous of them all. This snake goddess was found by the British Arthur Evans in 1903 in the temple of the palace of Knossos. The figurine is made of faience, using a process similar to making pottery. It looks stunning. In ancient Egypt, this material symbolized the renewal of life and was therefore used in funeral cults and shrines. After firing it gets bright colors and bright light, so the goddess’s dress will be dazzlingly bright. The figurine’s clothing still fits the concept of ’bold wear’: really sexy outfit. We may see the wear of the women of Minos: the little vest fits snugly to the body, but leaves the breasts free, a long, ruffled skirt, and a woven, embroidered little apron.

  The statue reflects pride. It is also possible that the dress belongs to the cult, a special wear. Perhaps we can best understand the goddess’s message when we, women, pick up such a sexy set and swing snakes over our hands. Because this cult is not for men!