Mysteries Of The Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, And The Forging Of History

by Kenneth Lapatin

Not only is one of the most famous pieces of ancient Greek art-the celebrated gold and ivory statuette of the Snake Goddess-almost certainly modern, but Minoan civilization as it has been popularly imagined is largely an invention of the early twentieth century. This is Kenneth Lapatin's startling conclusion in Mysteries of the Snake Goddess-a brilliant investigation into the true origins of the celebrated Bronze Age artifact, and into the fascinating world of archaeologists, adventurers, and artisans that converged in Crete at the turn of the twentieth century. Including characters from Sir Arthur Evans, legendary excavator of the Palace of Minos at Knossos, who was driven to discover a sophisticated early European civilization to rival that of the Orient, to his principal restorer Swiss painter Emil Gillieron, who out of handfuls of fragments fashioned a picture of Minoan life that conformed to contemporary taste, this is a riveting tale of archeological discovery.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, Archaeology, Greece, Art History, Spirituality

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Mesoscope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This outstanding, informative, and entertaining book uses the controversy surrounding the world-famous "Minoan Snake Goddess" currently housed at the Boston Museum. Legal and ethical questions of the piece residing the United States aside, the fascinating and evocative ivory statuette of an apparent goddess in Minoan garb bearing a snake in either hand is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Bronze Age Aegean art and has had a decisive role in supporting the interpretation of Minoan religion as goddess-based. However, as Lapatin painstakingly shows, its authenticity is dubious at best and it is very likely a forgery.

In fact, the "Boston statute" is so widely lauded that this probable-forgery has itself given rise to numerous other similar forgeries -- Lapatin analyzes 15 individual cases, most of which have shown in museums. Ironically, the appearance of additional fakes inspired by the excitement generated by the Boston statue gives the impression that the Snake Goddess is typical of the Minoan milieu, when it is anything but.

And so we enter a hall of mirrors which poses extreme challenges to discerning a recovered past from a fabricated past. And this is the broader thesis of Lapatin's book -- the effort to reconstruct an image of an ancient culture is fraught with extreme epistemic challenges and demands careful and sober evaluation of the evidence, and a willingness to accept that there are many things we simply do not know.

Lapatin examines the provenance and unknowable provenience of the sculpture and uses it as a framework to explore the larger problems posed to archaeology by smuggling, politics, ideology, wishful thinking, and forgery, all compounded by a body of knowledge and interpretation surrounding Minoan culture that is over a century old.

In addition he gives an extremely engaging and readable overview of the excavation of Knossos by Arthur Evans and an invaluable (albeit brief) history of Europe's relationship to goddesses, and its ideas about goddess-based cultures.

Lapatin presents this information with the mastery of a first-rate storyteller. Although oozing with information and ideas, this book travels lightly and never wears its learning on its sleeve. It is accessible to laypersons with an interest in the ancient world, and is invaluable to students of archaeology, the Bronze Age, or Minoan culture. Highly recommended.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting object narrative of the Boston Snake Goddess. Showing once again how the mysteries of the past can never be fully understood, and often are misconstrued by a mixture of time and fantasy. Extra star for the plethora of ivory tits. At least boobs are a timeless truth 😎

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but fascinating book that uses the case of the Boston Snake Goddess, long considered to be an outstanding example of Minoan art, to explore both the world of art forgery and the way in which all interpretation of the past is inevitably tainted by our own contemporary tastes, desires and fears.

The object itself, an ivory-and-gold statuette of a bare-breasted woman wearing a long skirt and holding a snake in each hand, is no longer on view in the Boston MFA, as a result of the serious suspicion that it might be a modern forgery. The author traces back the story of the statuette through contemporary documents and letters, doing a bit of nifty detective work. What it comes down to is that no one can attest to the statuette being found during a bona-fide dig. Did it come from looters? Was it a fake? Was it a fake constructed from original Bronze Age materials? We will probably never know (even carbon-dating is not 100 % infallible), but I would say that the preponderance of the evidence points towards it being a fake, possibly even one created in the workshops of Sir Arthur Evans' own artists-restorers.

And that brings us to the second main topic of the book : Sir Evans was a careful archeologist (by the standards of those times), not a glorified grave-robber like Schliemann. But he fell prey to an incorrigible romanticism when it came to the interpretation of his findings regarding this exciting new civilization he discovered in Crete, around the turn of the 19th century. Unabashedly "restoring" entire walls, rooms, statues from tiny fragments or remains, he essentially created the vision of the Minoan civilization that remains alive until this day. The fragments from his books that were quoted were full of statements that sounded like confident assertions but were really no more than conjectures : " this is undoubtedly...", "must have been", "cannot but have been..".

And so we end up with tales of a matriarchal society, of the Mother Goddess with young male attendants, of the use of snakes in religious ritual... none of which seems to be quite as definite as Sir Evans seemed to think. This is of course a very human weakness and the author is actually quite indulgent and forgiving with the great archeologist.

All in all, a very enlightening book about how flawed our reconstructions of the past are doomed to be.

[Andrew Fear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rather sad book in which L carefully, rather gently but firmly, dismantles a lot of the edifice of presuppositions about Minoan Culture. The books of my childhood on Evans and his digs collapse before its analysis rather like the similar hippy world of the Maya has done in the New world. While L admits he cannot prove definitively that the Boston Snake Goddess of the title is a fake, the evidence he presents is overwhelming and it's hard to see how any reasonable reader could not draw this conclusion. Along the way (the evidence is presented in the last chapter, a rather odd way of going about things to my way of thinking), the extent of forgery and faddery about the Minoans at the turn of the 20th century is laid bare. Also exposed is the dubious behaviour of many of those involved in archaeological work at the time. During the period of its discovery, Minoan culture was hailed as "modern" and indeed, as envisaged and presented, it was just that - an invention of those times. Some very interesting points are made by L about the way forgeries which were accepted as genuine created a new template for assessing further forgeries so creating a downward spiral of deceit and delusion. L also points out how many "iconic" Minoan artefacts are heavily restored to the point of being useless for historic interpretation save for interpreting the period when they were restored or "reconstituted". Large numbers of these are the "goddesses" so beloved of Sir Arthur Evans. If there is a shortcoming in the book, it is a lack of discussion of Evans's mindset and his stubbornness in clinging to, and protecting, the fantasy world he had created. This is a valuable and thoughtful book, but "the goddess" industry is big business and embodies an ideology blessed by our times today through a delusion every bit as strong as that which afflicted Evans, so I suspect that sadly it will never command the breadth of readership it deserves

[Kathy Leland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was, for the most part, a very interesting book about a very famous Minoan "Snake Goddess" figurine (just google "snake goddess" images) that is not quite the genuine artifact we'd all been led to believe. The author has major credentials and his research was extensive, so some parts of the book are overly detailed and technical, but in between is fascinating information about the Minoan culture in Crete, the excavations carried out in Knossos in the early 1900's, and good explanations for how exuberance and hope easily led grown men to abandon critical thinking and conjure up visions of snake goddesses instead.

[Mary Magoulick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent analysis of early 20th century enthusiasm for ancient art and how we map our own expectations, desires, and visions onto the past. He obviously researched this very deeply, provided solid information on every possible topic related to the Minoan "Snake Goddess," including actual Minoan art (and a good history of the excavation and recreation at Knossos), other likely forgeries, analysis of the art (both ancient and modern), lives of people involved, and even the relevant science.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lapatin looks at the history and provenance of Minoan sculpture including a snake goddess that was discovered in Crete at the turn of the last century. It is an interesting introduction for anyone interested in the history of forgeries, archaeology or the history of the Minoan art and culture ancient Crete.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed zero convincing that most "Minoan" statues are fake, but this was still an engrossing read. Lapatin sketches out how the society was discovered and the opportunity for forgeries arose, and paints a very convincing picture. For an amateur Greek archaeology nerd like me, this was the perfect book.

[Elizabeth Kenneday · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those interested in Crete, archaeology, art and history, this is a fascinating study.

[Frederick Gault · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really want to say I have read this, but somehow it never happens. I am a flawed human being!

[Mirjam]

This is a GREAT book. Reminds me of the fact that the Etruscan boar vessel is (probably) a modern fake.

[Ron Orr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into one of the most famous artifacts from Minoan Crete.

[Ophelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early field of archeology is filled with fakes and con men. The book felt a little drawn out, but finished strong in the last two chapters.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is some follow-up reading to The King Must Die.

I can tell what Lapatin was trying to do here, building up the mystery of the Boston Snake Goddess...but he is a nonfiction author, and definitely not a mystery writer. It needed a good introduction (instead of the strange prologue he gave it) and it needed more flow.

He does know just the sort of geeky details to include to keep readers like me interested. He built his case well. Though he apparently thought his reader wouldn't know what carbon dating was. Rather insulting.

[Hester · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real life art history mystery! The "Snake Goddess" has been called the pinnacle of Minoan art, but nobody really knows where she is from. As Lapatin digs down, we see how the "history" of the Minoan civilization is, in some ways, a product of Arthur Evans' fervent wishes. Lapatin does not respect Evans very much. After reading some more about him, I wish Lapatin had given us some more of Evans' emotional context. His retreat into fantasy is understandable, considering his wife had died unexpectedly.

[Traceyalice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty riveting book about sketchy acquisition and curatorial practices by museums in the early 20th century--

[Stephen Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my go-to book for the story of the Minoan Snake Goddess. It also has a good bit of commentary about other forgeries, as well as museum practices and the limitations and abuses of science.