• Figure of goddess with upraised arms



Figure of goddess with upraised arms
Figure of goddess with upraised arms

Figure of goddess with upraised arms

Π11041
Clay
Mended from many pieces and restored, mainly on the face.
Height: 61.5 cm. Base diameter: 19 cm.
Karphi
Settlement
Late Bronze Age. Postpalatial period, Late Minoan IIIC period.:
1200 - 1070 BC:
Gallery:
XI
Case:
117
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Postpalatial period (1300-1100 BC). Settlements. Sanctuaries. Tombs
Communal shrines
Description
Figurine of the "goddess with upraised arms" found in the main communal shrine of the settlement of Karphi in Lassithi. Unlike other similar figurines, this has none of the religious symbols that are attributes of the goddess. The hair has a central parting over the forehead and appears to be caught up at the back rather than falling in long, stiff locks as in other figurines of the same type (e.g. Π11043). Two of the five published figurines from the Karphi shrine are not wearing a diadem with symbols. The existence of figurines without diadems, and the lack of standardisation in the combinations of symbols when these are present, are among the issues hindering the identification of these figures with specific goddesses, while even their function as cult figurines is sometimes called into question.
Bibliography:
Eliopoulos, T.C. "The "Minoan Goddess with Upraised Arms" Today." In G. Vavouranakis, K. Kopanias, C. Kanellopoulos (eds), Popular Religion and Ritual in Prehistoric and Ancient Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. Oxford, 2018, 85-95. Gaignerot-Driessen, F. "Goddesses Refusing to Appear? Reconsidering the Late Minoan III Figures with Upraised Arms." American Journal of Archaeology 118 (2014): 489-520. Gesell, G.C. "From Knossos to Kavousi: the Popularizing of the Minoan Palace Goddess." In A.P. Chapin (ed.), ΧΑΡΙΣ. Essays in Honor of Sara A. Immerwahr (Hesperia Supplement 33). Princeton, 2004,131-150. Seiradaki, M. "Pottery from Karphi." Annual of the British School at Athens 55 (1960): 1-37.
Author:
E. S.


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