Religion in the Cycladic Region by Michalis Palikisianos The Cyclades in the prehistoric period developed a unique and completely different culture from both the one of the mainland Greece and its Minoan equivalent; at least from 3200 BCE to about 1600 BCE during which time the Cyclades were influenced by the Mycenaean and the Minoan civilization and we had the masterpieces of Santorini. During this early period (3200-1600 BCE approximately) in the Cyclades religion develops within the context of the Great Mother and a secondary male God. There no temples during this period; at least temples with their subsequent meaning assigned. Only in relatively recent excavations in Kea identified some housings could be identified as temples. As it seems, in parallel with the pregnant goddess Mother, we have some strange forms of a marine deity which sometimes has constellations’ marks. In order to be able to understand this oddity we should briefly mention the thousands characteristic Cycladic statuettes that were found are the emblem and distinctive feature of the Cycladic civilization. These statuettes have two forms; the first one is made with marble and in some rare case, clay. They are almost plank-shaped and represent a female figure with clasped hands under the one of the chests which distinguished with difficulty, and over a belly that implies early pregnancy. This is the female Divinity of the pregnant Earth. The abstraction of the characteristics of these figurines is so great and their expressiveness of such importance that place them among the great masterpieces of modern sculpture. The second form includes large clay figurines in the form of a pan with a decorated outer, round surface. There are quite a few theories concerning the use of these so-called ‘pan-shaped’ objects, but the prevailing theory is that these represent the aforementioned marine deity which was probably connected with the stars. Their decoration varies; it sometimes includes spirals forming waves with boats and fish and other times large suns. The most important thing that identifies them with a female deity though is that, almost always, there is a drawing of a female genital organ. The understanding of the Cycladic religion problematic. The discovery of thousands of shattered pieces at the island of Keros, which was an outdoors sanctuary, indicates that idols in pieces were used as offerings. The dead were buried decorated and equipped with the essentials for the afterlife. All these, however, cease to be valid approximately in 1600 BCE, when the Cyclades no longer follow the customs and traditions of the rest of the Greek region.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 18:18:18 +0000
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