II. Bearers of eternal life

Chalcolithic, c. 3800 BC - 2500/2300 BC

In antiquity, the most famous sanctuary of the goddess Aphrodite was situated in south-western Cyprus, to which people made pilgrimages from several countries around the Mediterranean. The temple was located at Old Paphos (Gr.Palaípaphos), where today the modern village of Kouklia is situated. A few miles to the west are the ruins of the town New Paphos (Gr.Nea Paphos), which was the capital of Cyprus during the Roman period. It was, however, in the area of Old Paphos that a fertility goddess was venerated for millennia and the believers practised rituals to her honour. Perhaps there were cult places in the villages where people gathered for communal worship, but families also devoted themselves to the goddess within their household shrines. The fertility cult was closely associated with farming, which always dominated the economy of Cyprus. People were dependent on good crops and livestock reproduction to survive. During this era, small cruciform figurines were manufactured in green stone called picrolite, which is akin to steatite. These small statuettes are so well known that they have become the archaeological trademark of the Chalcolithic age in Cyprus. The small figurines – and the use of picrolite – are unique to Cyprus and do not occur anywhere else.

The soft green stone allowed the artist to model the finest of details and the strong stylization appeals to a modern eye. These figurines were, however, not intended for the human eye, but rather had a symbolic role in the household cult and the grave. The prehistoric artist started with a naturalistic model, not to imitate, but to create a figurine with an important symbolic function. Non-essential details were omitted in order to emphasize more important features. The details of the face were most often omitted. The majority of the idols are represented with upturned heads, outstretched arms and in a sitting position. Usually their stomach is flat since they have just given birth to the baby. Perhaps the tiny figurines represent women giving birth in a sitting position, which was common in prehistoric and later times and still occurs in certain societies. The squatting position when giving birth is said to be much more comfortable for the woman.

Some of the statuettes are fragmentary and worn from use. Women, wishing a favorable and healthy delivery, wore them as sympathetic amulets. The picrolite figurines were tiny and could be worn close to the body, wrapped in cloth. It was important to the continuation of the community that the babies survived. Some of the idols have a suspension hole, and the women wore them as pendants around the neck. Many large female statues have similar figurines as a pendant around the neck, and this miniscule hanging ornament in its turn wears another tiny pendant figurine. The many statuettes found in tombs carry an aspect of fertility, but in a transferred sense. As a bearer of life, the figurine symbolized a possibility of rebirth and thereby became the guarantor of a new life, a reality and a necessity for prehistoric people. A few of them have been found in settlements, but the majority were excavated in tombs. Scholars consider these small idols