Snake goddess

Snake goddess may refer to:

See also

Minoan snake goddess figurines

"Snake goddess" is the name commonly given to a type of figurine depicting a women holding a snake in each hand, as were found in Minoan archaeological sites in Crete. The first two of such figurines (both incomplete) were found by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans and date to the neo-palatial period of Minoan civilization, ca. 1700–1450 BCE. It was Evans who called the larger of his pair of figurines a "Snake Goddess", the smaller a "Snake Priestess"; since then, it has been debated whether Evans was right, or whether both figurines depicts priestesses, or both depict the same deity or distinct deities.

The figurines were found only in house sanctuaries, where the figurine appears as "the goddess of the household", and they are probably (according to Burkert) related with the Paleolithic tradition regarding women and domesticity. The figurines have also been interpreted as showing a mistress of animals-type goddess and as a precursor to Athena Parthenos, who is also associated with snakes.