Poppy goddess
Encyclopedia
The name poppy goddess was given to a large female figurine which is believed to represent a Minoan
goddess, discovered in a sanctuary of the Post-palace period (LM III
,1400–1100 BC) at Gazi of Crete
.The teraccota figurine has raised hands and seeds of opium poppies on her head.
In this period, Mycenean
influence particularly on art was strong over the island, showing that Crete was now little more than a province of the Mycenean world after the Mycenean invasion in 1450 BC. Teraccota figurines were found in public sunctuaries, not only in palace-sunctuaries as it is usual in earliest periods. Clay idols with raised hands were also found in the shrine of double axes in Knossos
, in Gournia
, in Myrtos
, and also in the sunctuaries of Gortys and Prinias
. On the heads of the figures there are various religious symbols, such as horns of consecration, diadems, birds and the seeds of opium poppies. The female figure known as the poppy goddess is perhaps a representation of the goddess as the bringer of sleep or death.
The figures found at Gazi, which are larger than any previously produced on Minoan Crete, are rendered in an extremely stylized manner. The bodies are lifeless, the skirts simple cylinders, and the poses stereotyped.
Poppies were used in Greco-Roman myths as offerings to the dead. Robert Graves
believed that a second meaning of the depiction and use of poppies in the Greco-Roman myths is the symbolism of the bright scarlet colour as signifying the promise of resurrection after death and that the poppy
was the emblem of the goddess Demeter
. According to Theocritus
for the Greeks Demeter was still a poppy goddess bearing sheaves and poppies in both hands.(Idyll vii 157)
Karl Kerenyi
asserted that poppies were connected with a Cretan cult which was transmitted to the Eleusinian mysteries
in Classical Greece
: "It seems probable that the Great Mother Goddess
who bore the names Rhea
and Demeter, brought the poppy with her from her Cretan cult in Eleusis and it is almost certain that in the Cretan cult sphere opium was prepared from poppies."
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
goddess, discovered in a sanctuary of the Post-palace period (LM III
Minoan chronology
Sir Arthur Evans developed a relative dating scheme of Minoan chronology based on the excavations initiated and managed by him at the site of the ancient city of Knossos. He called the civilization that he discovered there Minoan...
,1400–1100 BC) at Gazi of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.The teraccota figurine has raised hands and seeds of opium poppies on her head.
In this period, Mycenean
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
influence particularly on art was strong over the island, showing that Crete was now little more than a province of the Mycenean world after the Mycenean invasion in 1450 BC. Teraccota figurines were found in public sunctuaries, not only in palace-sunctuaries as it is usual in earliest periods. Clay idols with raised hands were also found in the shrine of double axes in Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
, in Gournia
Gournia
Gournia is the site of a Minoan palacecomplex on the island of Crete, Greece, excavated in the early 20th century by theAmerican archaeologist, Harriet Boyd-Hawes. Gournia lies in the municipality of Ierapetrain the prefecture of Lasithi.-External links:...
, in Myrtos
Myrtos
Myrtos is a coastal village in the west of the municipality of Ierapetra, in the prefecture of Lasithi on the island of Crete in Greece. It is located from Ierapetra, the most southern town of Europe and from Agios Nikolaos, on the road to Viannos...
, and also in the sunctuaries of Gortys and Prinias
Prinias
Prinias , Crete, 35 kilometres southwest of Iraklion, about halfway between Gortyn and Knossos, is an archaeological site that has revealed a seventh-century BCE temple with striking similarities to Egyptian architecture, and an Egyptianizing seated goddess...
. On the heads of the figures there are various religious symbols, such as horns of consecration, diadems, birds and the seeds of opium poppies. The female figure known as the poppy goddess is perhaps a representation of the goddess as the bringer of sleep or death.
The figures found at Gazi, which are larger than any previously produced on Minoan Crete, are rendered in an extremely stylized manner. The bodies are lifeless, the skirts simple cylinders, and the poses stereotyped.
Religious significance
The raised hands of the idol indicate that it is a deity who gazes toward the visitor, and the gesture of the two upraised hands with open palms is the epiphany gesture of the goddess. It is possible that the goddess is giving a greeting, or a blessing , or is praying, or it may symbolize her appearance in earth in human form.Poppies were used in Greco-Roman myths as offerings to the dead. Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
believed that a second meaning of the depiction and use of poppies in the Greco-Roman myths is the symbolism of the bright scarlet colour as signifying the promise of resurrection after death and that the poppy
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
was the emblem of the goddess Demeter
Demeter
In Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons . Her common surnames are Sito as the giver of food or corn/grain and Thesmophoros as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society...
. According to Theocritus
Theocritus
Theocritus , the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC.-Life:Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings. We must, however, handle these with some caution, since some of the poems commonly attributed to him have little claim to...
for the Greeks Demeter was still a poppy goddess bearing sheaves and poppies in both hands.(Idyll vii 157)
Karl Kerenyi
Karl Kerényi
Károly Kerényi was a Hungarian scholar in classical philology, one of the founders of modern studies in Greek mythology.- Hungary 1897–1943 :...
asserted that poppies were connected with a Cretan cult which was transmitted to the Eleusinian mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance...
in Classical Greece
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
: "It seems probable that the Great Mother Goddess
Mother goddess
Mother goddess is a term used to refer to a goddess who represents motherhood, fertility, creation or embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother.Many different goddesses have...
who bore the names Rhea
Rhea (mythology)
Rhea was the Titaness daughter of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth, in Greek mythology. She was known as "the mother of gods". In earlier traditions, she was strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, the Great Goddess, and was later seen by the classical Greeks as the mother of the Olympian...
and Demeter, brought the poppy with her from her Cretan cult in Eleusis and it is almost certain that in the Cretan cult sphere opium was prepared from poppies."
External links
- mekon (poppy): Theoi project