Willendorf compared with Cycladic figures

A. Contrast the "Venus" of Willendorf (Figure 0.5) with the Cycladic figure (Fig. 0.8). Discuss what you think might be the reasons for their differences.

Since the ancient cultures, from which both figurines came, was centered on food production and resulted in freeing people from wandering from place to place, worship of the Mother Earth, or Mother Goddess became almost a cult and was a prominent part of ritual to insure the goodness of the earth. There were many beliefs about the spiritual aspects of life, death, food production and health and the people worshiped the Earth Goddess seeking good crops, fertile land and health. People settled in a place and lived there.

Contrasting the "Venus" of the Willendorf (Fig. 0.5) with the Cycladic figure (Fig. 0.8), some of the reasons for their differences could be associated with the climate and the ability to grow things. It could be that the people who used the Willendorf needed more favor from the earth and thus exaggerated her features, or that the area was quite fertile and she represented the rich fertility of the earth. The same is true for the people who use the Cycladic figure. They stylized the female perhaps because the Earth was so abundant and they did not need to exaggerate her features or because the earth was sparse in her production and she represented the lack of fertility of their land. Either way, they both represented the fertility of Mother Earth and the fertility of women and probably were used in ritual to seek favor with Mother Earth for good crops and good health. Another difference could be the way in which the female was viewed. Sometimes cultures will exaggerate the features of the female because that is what they understand and relate to as the purpose of the female. Her breasts, hips and other sexual features are the necessary parts for reproduction. Viewing the woman in this way means that an association could be drawn between the womb or soil of the Earth and her fertility in crop production. This could just be the way they viewed the female in what they experienced with growing things and having children. It was important for the Earth to be fertile as a matter of survival. Another point in contrasting the two is that the Cycladic figure is strangely lacking in sexual features and her arms hide her breasts. We know it is a female, but the question is why did they stylize her and hide her breasts? In my mind, it could be because she was so sacred that they could not look upon her breasts, which represented the fertility of the land to "feed" and produce healthy and abundant crops. Maybe she was a mystery to them and they represented this by stylizing her. Could she have been the results of male dominance emerging in the culture? We now have severe male dominance, which has been consistent for 1,000's of years. Could this have been part of that evolution? No one actually know why both of these figures were made the way they were, but it is probably closely related to the concept of Mother Earth that each culture understood, how they reverenced her and how they may have tried to appease or please her in their rituals and worship of her.

B. Compare the "Venus" of Willendorf (Figure 0.5) with the Cycladic figure (Fig. 0.8). Discuss why you think they share the similarities that they do.

Comparing the "Venus" of the Willendorf (Figure 0.5) and the Cycladic figure (Figure 0.8), I think that they have the similarities that they do have because they both are female, they represent the Mother Earth, the Mother Goddess, and they both have to do with the fertility, both of the female and the Earth. Although their features appear almost opposite from one another, the basic understanding and use of these figures was most likely the same. They were put in graves, used in rituals and worshiped like a deity. Death was part of the cycle of life with all living things and the Earth Goddess insured that death was not the end, that life and fertility would once again return. Seasonal climates would tend to exaggerate by reason of the seasons and what occurred in each season. Winter was when the Earth was "dead". Spring was when the Earth came back to life. Summer was when crops grew and matured. Fall was when they were harvested and when things began to die again. Of course, when the people also went through their seasons of life, these beliefs correlated with their births and deaths. The rituals developed to accommodate the culture’s evolution and development of their beliefs over time. But, the female was the primary symbol of worship in most Ancient cultures because of food production and living in an area for extended amounts of time.