The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe, 6500-3500 BC.

1. Old Europe: A Distinct, Ancient Civilization (6500-3500 BC)

The study of this culture, to which I have applied the name ‘Old Europe’, reveals new chronological dimensions and a new concept of the beginning of European civilization.

A unique cultural pattern. Between 6500 and 3500 BC, southeastern Europe developed a complex, sedentary, agricultural society distinct from its neighbors and later Indo-European cultures. This period, termed "Old Europe," saw the rise of large settlements, craft specialization, and sophisticated religious practices. It was not merely a provincial reflection of Near Eastern developments but an autonomous civilization.

Regional diversity. Old Europe encompassed five major regional variants, each with developed traditions in ceramics, architecture, and cult organization. These included:

• Aegean and Central Balkan (Proto-Sesklo, Starčevo, Vinča)
• Adriatic (Impresso, Danilo, Hvar)
• Middle Danube (Linear Pottery, Lengyel, Tisza)
• East Balkan (Karanovo, Boian, Gumelnița)
• Moldavian-West Ukrainian (Cucuteni/Tripolye)
  These groups shared core cultural patterns while developing unique artistic styles.

Cut short by invasions. This flourishing civilization's momentum was interrupted by aggressive infiltrations from the Russian steppe between 4500 and 2500 BC, bringing patriarchal, pastoral, and war-oriented cultures. The vibrant art and social structures of Old Europe largely vanished, surviving primarily in the Aegean region, notably influencing the later Minoan civilization.

2. Matrifocal Society & Goddess Dominance

In this culture the male element, man and animal, represented spontaneous and life-stimulating — but not life-generating — powers.

Woman-centered society. Old Europe was characterized by a matrifocal and likely matrilinear social structure, contrasting sharply with the patriarchal Indo-European system that followed. This societal organization is reflected in the dominance of female deities and the central role of women in religious imagery and practice.

Goddess as source of all. The worship centered on a Goddess embodying the creative principle, seen as the ultimate source and giver of life. The male element, while present, was viewed as life-stimulating rather than life-generating, holding a secondary position in the pantheon and mythical structure.

Egalitarian and peaceful. Unlike the war-oriented Indo-European cultures, Old Europe is depicted as largely egalitarian and peaceful. The archaeological record shows a focus on agriculture, settled life, and elaborate ritual rather than fortifications or extensive weaponry, aligning with a society less driven by male-dominated hierarchy and conflict.

3. The Great Goddess: Life, Death, and Regeneration

The feminine nature, like the moon, is light as well as dark.

Composite divine image. The central deity of Old Europe was a complex Great Goddess, encompassing aspects of life-giving, death, and regeneration. She was not solely a nurturing "Mother Goddess" but a powerful figure controlling the entire cycle of existence, reflecting the dualistic nature of life and death.

Androgynous and corpulent. Early Neolithic depictions often show her as a corpulent figure with folded arms and a phallus-shaped head, suggesting an androgynous nature and absolute power derived from combining both principles. This form evolved over millennia, but the folded-arm posture, symbolizing embryonic life or the state of the deceased awaiting rebirth, remained a key feature.

Universal womb. Her image, particularly the accentuated pubic triangle, symbolized the universal womb, the inexhaustible source of life to which the dead returned for rebirth. This concept is reinforced by burial practices, such as placing bodies in egg-shaped pithoi in a foetal position, accompanied by miniature vessels filled with red color symbolizing blood and life restoration.

4. Mistresses of Waters: The Bird and Snake Goddess

The mythical water snake and the water bird are vehicles of an energy which has its source in water.

Divine ambivalence. The Bird and Snake Goddess, often appearing as a single divinity or intimately related figures, were the mistresses of cosmic waters and air. They embodied divine ambivalence, controlling the life-giving force of water and assuming shapes like snakes, cranes, geese, ducks, or diving birds.

Symbols of water and energy. Their imagery is consistently associated with water symbols:

• Parallel lines, V's, chevrons, zigzags, meanders (representing rain, streams, cosmic waters)
• Spirals (snake movement, cosmic energy)
• Water birds (cranes, ducks, owls)
• Snakes (vitality, periodic rejuvenation, immortality)
  These symbols appear on figurines, vessels, altars, and masks, reflecting a deep concern with invoking and controlling moisture for agricultural fertility, especially during periods of climate change.

Nurse and nurturer. Beyond their cosmic role, these goddesses were also seen as nurses or mothers, nurturing the world with moisture (rain as divine milk). Figurines often depict anthropomorphic snakes or birds holding babies, symbolizing the protection and sustenance of young life, both human and natural.

5. Symbolic Language: Ideograms and Early Script

Approximately one out of every hundred figurines was incised with the signs of the Linear Old European script (not religious symbols and not ideograms).

Visual communication. Old European art employed a rich system of conventionalized graphic designs, or ideograms, to symbolize abstract ideas related to cosmogony, cosmology, and divine functions. These recurring motifs provided a visual language understood across different regional groups.

Categories of symbols:

• Water/Rain: Parallel lines, V's, zigzags, chevrons, meanders, spirals.
• Life/Regeneration: Cross, encircled cross, crescent, horn, caterpillar, egg, fish.
  These symbols were not merely decorative but essential components of religious expression, appearing on cult objects, figurines, and even house walls.

Rudimentary script. Beyond ideograms, evidence suggests the existence of a rudimentary linear script, appearing on figurines, spindle-whorls, miniature vessels, and clay plaques. The Tartaria tablets are notable examples, indicating writing associated with religious functions as early as the early fifth millennium BC, predating Sumerian and Minoan scripts.

6. Masks and Ritual Costume: Theatrical Religion

Masked figurines are mimetic representations of rituals and mythological scenes.

Non-human visage. A striking feature of Old European art is the prevalence of masked faces on figurines, often devoid of realistic human features and sometimes combining human and animal traits. This suggests the use of masks in rituals to transform participants and embody divine or mythical personas.

Variety and evolution. Masks varied regionally and evolved over time, from simple relief on cylindrical figures to elaborate pentagonal or triangular forms with exaggerated features like large eyes and beaked noses in the Vinča culture. Perforations often indicate attachments for perishable materials like plumes or horns, further enhancing the masked identity.

Ritual drama. The presence of masks, coupled with detailed depictions of elaborate costumes on figurines, implies a strong emphasis on ritual drama and theatrical performance. These were not static idols but representations of active participants in ceremonies, a tradition that finds parallels in later Minoan and Greek religious practices involving masked dancers and performers.

7. Shrines and Figurines: Centers of Cult Practice

Figurines are found on altars, simple platforms like benches, usually built of clay and covered with planks, arranged at the end or corner of the domestic shrine, not far from the oven.

Sacred spaces. Religious practices took place in various settings, including domestic shrines within houses, communal sanctuaries, and natural caves. Clay models provide insights into the architecture of these structures, depicting temples with elaborate portals, tiered substructures, and symbolic decorations like horns.

Cult equipment. Shrines were furnished with specific objects for ritual use:

• Altars (benches, tables, raised platforms)
• Ovens (often associated with altars)
• Cult vessels (askoi, libation jugs, partitioned bowls, zoomorphic containers)
• Bucrania (real or modelled bull skulls/horns)
• Figurines (placed on altars or near ovens/grindstones)
  These items facilitated ceremonies involving offerings, libations, and possibly sacred baking or grinding.

Role of figurines. Figurines served multiple roles: representations of deities, depictions of worshippers or ritual actors, and votive offerings. Their placement within shrines and graves, sometimes inscribed with signs, highlights their central importance in communicating with the divine and ensuring continuity of life.

8. Cosmogonical Images: Egg, Snake, Moon, Bull

The beginning of life within an egg is caused by the orbiting of two snakes or fawns.

Primordial elements. Old European cosmology conceived the universe originating from primordial water, often depicted as meanders or parallel lines. Life itself was believed to emerge from a cosmic egg, a concept shared with later mythologies, often shown enveloped in water and energized by snakes or other dynamic symbols.

Symbols of cyclical renewal. Key images represented the continuous cycle of life, death, and regeneration:

• Cross/Quartered Disc: Symbolizing the four corners of the world and the year's journey.
• Moon/Crescent/Horns: Associated with periodic growth and regeneration, particularly linked to the bull's fast-growing horns.
• Snake/Spiral: Representing vitality, rejuvenation, and the continuous flow of cosmic energy and water.
• Egg/Double-Egg/Lens: Symbolizing the source of life, the germ of becoming within the cosmic waters.

Dynamic compositions. Vase paintings, especially from the Cucuteni culture, illustrate these concepts through complex compositions. Snakes winding around cosmic eggs, bull horns encircling quartered moon discs, and dynamic arrangements of these symbols visually articulate the Old European understanding of the universe's origin and perpetual renewal.

9. Epiphanies: Goddess Manifestations in Nature

The image of the Great Goddess of Life, Death and Regeneration in anthropomorphic form with a projection of her powers through insects and animals... was the outward symbol of a community concerned with the problems of the life and death cycle.

Animal doubles. The Great Goddess manifested her powers through various animal forms, reflecting her connection to both wild and domesticated nature. These epiphanies included:

• Dog: Associated with the Moon Goddess, nocturnal, both dangerous and protective.
• Doe: Linked to regeneration, beauty, and the cycle of antler growth.
• Toad/Turtle: Symbolizing embryonic life, birth-giving, and the mysterious power over life processes.
• Hedgehog: Representing the uterus or foetus, linked to fertility and protection.
• Bee/Butterfly: Emerging from the sacrificed bull, symbolizing transformation, regeneration, and the food of the gods (honey).
• Bear: The nurturing mother, protectress of young life.

Hybrid forms. The fusion of human and animal traits in figurines (e.g., bird-woman, bull-man, toad-woman) created hybrid images possessing enhanced, supernatural power. These forms were not literal depictions but symbolic representations of the goddess's multifaceted nature and her presence throughout the natural world.

Sacrificial animals. Certain animals, like the bull, he-goat, ram, and pig, were particularly sacred and served as sacrificial victims, their sacrifice linked to the idea of death leading to new life, mirroring the goddess's regenerative function.

10. Legacy: Survival in Minoan and Greek Culture

The Old European mythical imagery and religious practices were continued in Minoan Crete.

Continuity in the Aegean. Despite the disruption caused by Indo-European migrations, the core mythical imagery and religious practices of Old Europe persisted, most notably in Minoan Crete. Minoan art abounds with symbols and figures directly inherited from Old Europe, such as the Snake Goddess, Bird Goddess, bull horns, double-axes (derived from the butterfly symbol), and elaborate ritual scenes.

Transformation in Greece. In mainland Greece, Old European concepts were assimilated and transformed within the emerging Indo-European pantheon. Goddesses like Athena and Hera, despite their Greek names and association with Zeus, retained archaic features and animal associations (owl, snake for Athena; cow-eyed, snake-haired for Hera) that trace back to the Old European Bird and Snake Goddesses.

Enduring motifs. Festivals and myths in classical Greece, such as the Dionysiac rites, the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the cults of Artemis and Demeter, incorporated elements with deep Old European roots, including:

• Phallic processions and symbols
• Bull-man figures and bull sacrifice
• Pig sacrifice (Thesmophoria)
• Masked ritual dances
• The Divine Child motif
  These survivals demonstrate that the earliest European civilization's legacy was not lost but profoundly enriched the cultural heritage of later periods.

Last updated: May 15, 2025