'
She was a goddess alike of the air, the earth, and the underworld, and
representations of her have survived in which her various attributes
are expressed. As goddess of the air, she is represented by a female
figure crowned with doves; as goddess of the underworld, her emblems
are the snakes, which we see twined round the faience figure at
Knossos, or the terra-cotta in the Gournia shrine. Her figure is
often seen upon seals and gems, standing on the top of the rock or
mountain, with guardian lions in attendance, one on either side,
and sometimes with a male votary in the background.
The earliest form of her worship, and one which proved very persistent,
was apparently aniconic. The divinity was not embodied in any graven
image, but was inherent in such objects as the rude natural concretions
found in the House of the Fetish Shrine, or was supposed to dwell
in sacred trees, on which sometimes perch the doves which indicate
that the goddess is present as ruler of the air, or which are twined
with serpents, showing her presence as goddess of the earth and
underworld. In the place of sacred trees we have often sacred pillars,
which seem to have been objects of worship down to Late Minoan
II. at least, since in the Royal Villa at Knossos, dating from
this period, there is a pillar-room similar to the much earlier
pillar-rooms of the Great Palace.
Pages:
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272