Minoan Goddess

It can be argued that Minoans took part in sacrifices as part of religious rituals, for instance this sarcophagus depicts a procession which ends in a bull sacrifice
2 Tree Shrine Seal
This seal displays two priestesses holding a double-axe in front of a tree-shrine of a goddess. It helps us to understand that holding tree shrine was a common religious observance in the daily lives of the Minoans. The double-axe features in other Minoan artefacts, commonly in sacrifices, suggesting that the priestesses sacrificed something to the goddess under the shrine.
3 Mistress of the Animals Seal
This seal shows the Mistress of the Animals, or Minoan Mother Goddess. She is depicted in many other representations of Minoan religious observances as the receiver
of sacrifices and rituals.
4 The Younger Snake Goddess
It can be believed that the Minoans worshipped female goddesses and that they played an important role in Minoan religion.
The figurine of the younger snake goddess from the palace of Knossos depicts a bare-breasted woman holding a snake in each of her hands, which can be thought of as a threatening position. She wears what looks like a sitting lion on her headpiece. The most popular interpretation of this figurine is that it depicts a snake goddess, one of the most popular goddesses of Minoan times; the statuettes were found in house sanctuaries suggesting that they were kept in households and worshipped as part of daily Minoan rituals. The snake goddesses are often associated as symbols of the renewal of life, as serpents shed their skin periodically, and this interpretation is also present amongst other ancient civilisations. However, W. Burkert noticed that snakes were represented as the protectors of the house, which later appears in Greek religion. This links back to the fact that these figurines were found in houses, making the interpretation of the snake goddesses being protectors of the house more
reliable.
5 Gold labrys
An item supporting the fact that Minoans took part in sacrifices in their lives is the labrys , a double-sided axe often held by priestesses in depictions of sacrifices. The axe itself is gold and engraved in a pattern which resembles Linear A, suggesting that it may have been used for decorative purposes rather than ceremonial or war deeds. Nevertheless, to further support the use of double axes in sacrifices is that the word labyrinth, a place where children were sacrificed to the Minotaur in mythology, is possibly derived from the word labrys. The axe could also be seen as a symbol of matriarchy, as only women are seen holding the labrys, priestesses sacrificing to goddesses. This axe is of a typical design of many other axes, implying that it is a reliable source.
6 Master Impression Seal
The Minoans may not have exclusively worshipped female goddesses, as suggested by the Master Impression Seal from Kydonia. This seal shows a large male figure standing upon a building-perhaps a temple, most likely a god rather than a king or leader because of the unnaturally large scale; he is holding a staff, next to which is a fish-like figure. This, along with what looks like waves flowing from the building upon which the god is standing, suggests that the seal is of the sea god Poteidan. The god is also associated with bulls, which may be represented by the horned object to the god’s right. There are not many other male gods recorded in Minoan history, and no male priests, though there were men in depictions of Minoan bull leaping . The seal may also be interpreted as a king standing above his city, however leaders do not often appear in Minoan culture, the priestesses seeming to be the highest human rank. G. Kopcke described the seal as “a record of the eruption of Thera”, stating that the object in the centre of the picture is an oncoming tsunami which destroyed the Minoans, however R. Castleden argues that whilst this would make sense since Poteidan is the Lord of the Earth and therefore tsunamis, G. Kopcke’s interpretation “does seem to be stretching the evidence” . The reliability of this seal is questionable, as the creator is unknown.
7 Gold ring
It has been argued that the Minoans did, at some point, turn to human sacrifice in a desperate attempt to please the gods.
A gold ring displayed in the Ashmolean Museum depicts a priestess (judging by her dress) standing next to a naked woman kneeling – perhaps praying or succumbing – upon boulders. Both the women have sacral knots on their necks, the priestess touching hers. A smaller person, possibly an epiphany of a god, stands above the naked woman, holding a dagger which is prepared to strike her. Whilst it was a common practice for women to bare their breasts when worshipping, it is uncommon to find one completely naked, ruling out the analysis that she may be praying. The evidence concludes that this could be a “rare depiction of human sacrifice” , as argued by Rodney Castleden. Since there is no picture of the original source available, the reliability of this is quite dubious, especially as historians have doubted the Minoans’s sacrifice of humans for religious purposes . However, a source similarly depicting a woman about to be stabbed is a sealstone found at Khania . The seated woman, maybe a goddess judging by her exaggerated breasts, is poised to stab a girl with a sword, once again hinting at human sacrifice, and increasing the accuracy of the ring as well since the content is typical to another
source.
8 Sacral Knot
Another religious symbol used by the Minoans is the sacral knot; whilst not as important perhaps as the labrys, the sacral knot appears in many frescoes and statuettes, one being the “Parisienne”.