'Goddesses with Upraised Arms' in Crete and Cyprus : a comparative study

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to establish whether Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Cretan and Cypriot ‘Goddesses with Upraised Arms’ figures and figurines form one group or two separate assemblages. Of special importance is the re-evaluation of the long-lived assumption of the direct origins of the Cypriot figurines and figures from the Cretan terracottas. This is done using a number of comparatives, including typological and contextual similarities and differences (production, find spots, associated attributes), and also their performative aspects, like the way they were handled, displayed and used. Modern methodologies used in coroplastic studies were applied, according to which identity and meaning are constructed by the process and context of usage rather than being possessed by the artefact.