Making Women´s History Visible in Europe

A European Learning Partnership (Grundtvig 2)
 
Home

Partners

Meetings

 

Texts

Impressum

 

 

Karin: A Goddess

The object I want to tell you about is within this group of statues in the Akropolis museum. I passed several rooms with many female and male statues before I saw it. I stood some meters away, there were bodies missing, that’s what everyone would see at first glance.

 

What was so astonishing to me, was the way I put the pieces together in my mind. I became aware of what I was doing only when I moved nearer and had a look on the reconstruction beneath. It was such a big surprise to me as the woman with the snake in her hand was the goddess of war, killing a soldier with a lance. The statue’s arm holding the lance and her helmet are missing and so is the dying soldier in front of her.

All the same whether this reconstruction is right or not ... What is remarkable to me is what I saw or believed I saw at first sight. Without thinking I saw a woman on a killing field looking down and offering her hand to help someone up in front of her. At that moment the snake represented a healing symbol to me. I had no other interpretation in my mind.

Although I know about female doers in history, although I know what women and men are able to do, although I know that cruel gods and goddesses play their roles in religious thinking - I created this picture of a peaceful and helpful goddess.

 I was confused and stood in front of the goddess looking up on her with a feeling of admiration and disgust at the same time. She looked so beautiful.
Afterwards I thought deeply about this confrontation. Do I feel pride looking at objects like this? Do I feel shame?

                  I felt powerful when I left this museum.

Karin Gille-Linne

Hann. Münden, Germany

 

back