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The permanent exhibition of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum

Frontside of the small snake goddess
Small snake goddess figurine

The two famous figurines of the Minoan earth goddess with the snakes, possibly representing a mother goddess and a daughter, are exquisite examples of Minoan miniature sculpture. The smallest of the two shows the goddess standing, holding snakes in both of her raised hands. She wears the elaborate Minoan garment - a tight vest with sleeves, which bares her ample bosom, and a long skirt with seven horizontal tiers and a short apron - and an equally elaborate head-dress on which a panther sits. The rather flat, lifeless body is enlivened only by the opulent garments and head-dress. By contrast, the triangular face is dominated by the huge expressive eyes, which convey all the tension of the figure. This figurine was found together with the another similar but larger figurine, and other precious objects.

Exhibit Features
Date: Late Bronze Age, about 1600 BC
Place of discovery: Knosos, Palace, sacred treasury-rooms
Dimensions: height: 0,295 m
Material: Majolica
Inventory number: ΑΕ 63
Exhibition hole: Hall IV
Copyright: Hellenic Ministry of Culture
 
 
 
  Suggestive Bibliography
 
Ελληνική Τέχνη, Η αυγή της ελληνικής τέχνης, Αθήνα, 1994, αρ. 60, 189, 323
 
Σακελλαράκης Ι.Α., Μουσείο Ηρακλείου, Αθήνα, 2003, 37, 39
 
Βασιλάκης Α., Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου, Αθήνα, χ.χ., 84-86
 
 
 
  See also
 
Palace of Knossos