It might appear that this statue is a Giacometti or a Moore, but it is actually
five thousand years old. Built by the mysterious Cycladic civilization in the early bronze age, thousands of such idols litter archaeological deposits in the western Aegean and Cyprus. They are thought to be ceremonial in purpose, perhaps for burials, but nothing is certain.
Most Cycladic sculptures are uniform, having similar humanoid shapes and proportions. But this one, with a frikkin'
snake's head is an exception; a puzzle in an already puzzling realm. What did it represent? A snake-god? A demon? A one-off flight of fancy? We can never know. Both are from the excellent
Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.
It might appear that this statue is a Giacometti or a Moore, but it is actually five thousand years old. Built by the mysterious Cycladic civilization in the early bronze age, thousands of such idols litter archaeological deposits in the western Aegean and Cyprus. They are thought to be ceremonial in purpose, perhaps for burials, but nothing is certain.
Most Cycladic sculptures are uniform, having similar humanoid shapes and proportions. But this one, with a frikkin' snake's head is an exception; a puzzle in an already puzzling realm. What did it represent? A snake-god? A demon? A one-off flight of fancy? We can never know. Both are from the excellent Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.
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