Pagan symbolism, Venus effigies

Today, Venus figurines are seen as a symbol for the mother goddess. But what do they really mean? And who made them first? This blog is about one of the most famous symbols from the stone Age: Venus figurines.

A Venus figurine is a portable statue of a woman from the Late Paleolithic to the Neolithic, thus from the late early stone Age to the new stone Age. Most have been found in Europe, but figurines have also been found in Siberia and other parts of Eurasia. These figurines likely carry a symbolic meaning and represent a form of spirituality that has endured for as long as 29,000 years—a period 14.5 times longer than the time Christianity has been practiced.

In total, more than 200 Venus figurines have been found, usually small in size, ranging from about 3 to 40 cm high. They are considered one of the earliest forms of prehistoric art.

They are made of soft stone (such as steatite, calcite, or limestone), bone or ivory, or of clay that was fired. These clay figurines are among the oldest known ceramic objects. 

Most Venuses lack arms and feet, and their legs taper from wide hips to a point. The heads are often small and featureless. In many figurines, the belly, hips, breasts, thighs, or vulva are exaggeratedly large, or have a thick or pregnant belly. Some figurines show detailed hairstyles, and sometimes clothing or tattoos are depicted.

The first Venus statuette was found in 1864 by Paul Hurault in Laugerie-Basse in the Vézère Valley, Southwest France. The Venus statuette, from the Magdalenian (17,000-12,000 years ago), lacks a head, feet, and arms, but has a distinct vulva. Therefore, it was named Venus impudique (immodest Venus), in contrast to the 'modest' goddess Venus of classical antiquity.

Four years later, Salomon Reinach published about a group of steatite figurines from the caves of Balzi Rossi, and in 1908 the famous Venus of Willendorf was excavated in Austria. Since then, hundreds of similar figurines have been discovered, from the Pyrenees to Siberia.

In 2008, archaeologists from the University of Tübingen discovered the Venus of Hohle Fels, a 6 cm tall figurine carved from mammoth ivory, which is at least 35,000 years old and is the oldest known example of figurative art.

Possibly, the Venus of Tan-tan (500,000-300,000 years old) or the Venus of Berekhat Ram (280,000-250,000 years old) is one of the very first Venus figurines. However, science has not yet determined whether these are indeed Venus figurines.

The first figurines that we can definitely call Venus figurines were made by the Cro-Magnons of European Early Modern Humans (EEMH), Homo sapiens who migrated from West Asia to Europe starting 56,800 years ago. They lived alongside and interbred with the indigenous Neanderthals, who became extinct 40,000 to 35,000 years ago. There were three major Cro-Magnon cultures: the Aurignacian (43,000-26,000 years ago), the Gravettian (33,000-22,000) which split into the Epigravettian in Italy and the Solutrean in the west, and the Magdalenian.

The first group of Cro-Magnons became extinct around 38,000 BC due to a volcanic eruption that covered large parts of Europe in ash. About 1,000 years later, a second group of Cro-Magnons migrated to Europe. This group was a foundational population and formed the basic for all later Cro-Magnon cultures. The Cro-Magnons had an advanced culture while living in the harsh climate of the European Ice Age.

The Cro-Magnons developed various types of weapons, such as bows and spears, which they used, among other things, to hunt mammoths. They domesticated the dog, crafted musical instruments, used red ochre—possibly as cosmetics—and made jewelry. Additionally, groups traded raw materials over long distances, which were used, for example, to make Venus figurines.

The discovery of Venus figurines initially led to the assumption that Cro-Magnon society was matriarchal. There is no evidence for this. For example, most recovered graves are of men and boys, sometimes accompanied by luxurious grave goods.

Relatively few Cro-Magnon graves have been found. This may mean that not everyone was buried; perhaps some people were cremated and scattered, or exposed to the elements.

The people who were buried often received grave goods, such as tools and jewelry. The Cro-Magnons possibly believed in an afterlife or resurrection. They were also buried with red ochre. Multiple people were regularly buried in the same grave, often of both sexes.

The society of the Cro-Magnons was generally relatively egalitarian. However, grave goods indicate that some individuals had a higher status. For example, the grave of two children with very luxurious grave goods suggests that high status might have been hereditary.

A number of graves belong to people who were probably not suited for hunting or heavy physical labor. Yet they received rich grave goods, suggesting they might have had a special role, such as that of a shaman or craftsman.

Shamanism played a role in Cro-Magnon spirituality. In the Chauvet Cave (28,000 BC), the Lascaux Cave (15,000 BC), and Grotte des Trois-Frères (12,000 BC), hybrid bodies are depicted, a cross between human and animal. They possibly show a shamanistic ecstasy, where the shaman exchanges his human body for that of an animal to make a spiritual journey.

It is plausible that these shamans wore matching clothing during such rituals, such as antler headdresses, as found in the Mesolithic excavations of Star Carr (9300-8400 BC) and Badburg-Königshoven (7800-7600 BC).

Additionally, there is evidence of (ritual) cannibalism and the making of drinking vessels from human skulls. This was possibly to support this shamanistic journey or for another yet unknown ritual.

It is likely that the Venus figurines of the Cro-Magnons served as amulets that were carried with them. It is uncertain whether the Venus figurines were used to invoke the help of higher powers or spirits, or simply represented an ideal image that was pursued. During the Ice Age, a period in which famine constantly threatened, a round and full body was the symbol of prosperity, abundance, and survival. The Venus figurines can therefore be seen as an expression of the desire for food security, fertility, and continuity.

Today, Venus figurines are often interpreted as a symbol of a mother goddess. However, it is unlikely that the Cro-Magnons believed in gods with human forms. Their spirituality was likely focused on spirits and natural forces, which had a direct impact on their existence.

The life of the Cro-Magnons was hard and uncertain. They depended on nature: hunting wild animals and gathering food. Nature itself was unpredictable and could both give and take. A good hunt or abundant find could mean the difference between survival or death, while harsh winters, drought, or diseases always loomed. Shamans possibly tried to communicate with spirits of animals, ancestors, or natural forces through rituals to ensure, for example, a successful hunt.

Only around 3000 years after the Magdalenian period did the relationship between humans and nature change, with humans becoming dominant over nature. This is evident at Göbekli Tepe, where hunter-gatherers settled around 9,500 BC. Wild grain grew here, which they could systematically harvest, and they could hunt wild gazelles for a large part of the time. They settled here semi-permanently.

At that time, we also see a shift in how humans are depicted in relation to nature. An example is a relief from Sayburç where a man is holding his penis, flanked by two leopards. Next to one of the leopards stands a man holding a snake up against a bull. The man with the phallus is detailed, while the other figures are depicted with a few rough lines.

Where the Cro-Magnons, for example, depicted hunting scenes, a struggle with nature, these kinds of images show that humans had become dominant over nature. While people in the Paleolithic revered natural forces, spirituality in the stone Age was more about a connection with ancestors. Possibly, the first gods emerged from this.

During the last ice age, which lasted until about 12,000 BC, large parts of Europe were covered with glaciers and thus uninhabitable. It is estimated that only 5,000 to 130,000 people lived scattered across the continent at that time. These Cro-Magnon populations concentrated in relatively small habitable areas, called refugia, such as the Solutrean refuge in what is now Italy. After the end of the ice age, these groups began to repopulate Europe. They are now referred to as Western Hunter-Gatherers.

Between 45,000 and 26,000 years ago, groups of Cro-Magnons migrated eastward from Europe, reaching Anatolia via the Caucasus. This group adopted agriculture around 8200 BC from the population of the Levant.

From around 7000 BC, a group of these Anatolian farmers migrated and introduced agriculture in Europe: the Early European Farmers. The advent of agriculture marked the beginning of the Neolithic or the new stone Age in Europe.

In the Neolithic, people developed a different worldview than that of the Cro-Magnons, as we have already seen at Göbekli Tepe. They also made figurines that we can describe as Venus figurines. These likely had a religious significance.

Around 7,500 BCE, people settled in Çatalhöyük, Turkey. The different layers of settlement built on top of each other created a tell, an artificial mound. Çatalhöyük was a proto-city, a settlement as large as a city in size, but not clearly organized or with a central administration.

Various female figurines have also been found in Çatalhöyük. The original excavator, James Mellaart, saw these figurines as evidence of a female deity and a matriarchal society. His successor, Ian Hodder, refuted this theory. He demonstrated that men and women had the same social status, as they were treated the same way after death.

In 2004, Hodder excavated a remarkable figurine. The front resembles a Venus figurine, with large breasts and a large (pregnant?) belly. But the arms are very thin, and the back clearly shows the spine and possibly ribs. The front may symbolize wealth, prosperity, and life, and the back death. This tension between life and death is later seen in the Indo-European mother goddess.

Another well-known Venus figurine from Çatalhöyük is the Seated Woman. The figurine is made of clay. The seated woman, with large breasts, a thick belly, and thick thighs, is flanked by two leopards. This is interpreted by some researchers as the precursor of Cybele, the Phrygian mother goddess.

It is unclear whether the Venus figurines of Çatalhöyük depicted a goddess. They were often quickly produced and were utilitarian objects, frequently found in garbage dumps or fill layers of abandoned houses. Something that is not logical for depictions of deities. Venus figurines also make up only 5% of the 2,000 figurines found in Çatalhöyük. Additionally, many phallic symbols were used in sculptures and murals. Thus, there is no evidence of a matriarchal society.

Possibly, the Venus figurines reflected a bond between the inhabitants and their ancestors. This connection was tangible, as ancestors were often buried under the floors of houses. With these figurines, a family strengthened the bond with their ancestors, ensuring status, protection, and continuity.

The area of Southeast Europe between 6000 and 3500 BC is also known as Old Europe named. In this region, there were various cultures that shared many common characteristics, such as the shape of their houses and settlements, and the way they made pottery. They had large settlements where thousands of people could live and were probably among the first to use wheels. They could make pottery with very thin walls, which required them to fire the clay at very high temperatures. Because they could heat fire so intensely, they were probably also the first to melt metal. This marked the beginning of the Copper Age.

A theory, particularly popularized by the work of Marija Gimbutas, builds on Mellaart's work on Çatalhöyük and suggests that the society of Old Europe was peaceful and egalitarian, centered around a mother goddess. This society would be matristic, focused on harmony. It would have been destroyed and conquered by the patriarchal, warlike proto-Indo-European steppe herders.

This theory has been very influential but is no longer widely accepted by current science due to insufficient evidence. For example, men were more often buried with rich grave goods than women. Moreover, the society of Old Europe was already in decline before the Indo-European migration, and this was accompanied by internal violence.

The cultures of Old Europe made thousands of ceramic Venus figurines. Important examples come from the Vinča culture (5400-4500 BC), the Varna culture (4550-4100 BC), and the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture (5050-2950 BC). 

Some Venuses were placed in ceramic houses, others sat on chairs, and still others stood. They had smaller breasts than those of figurines from the early stone Age, and wide hips and buttocks. Some had a stylized face or wore masks. Figurines from the late Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, on the other hand, had realistic facial features, and some figurines from the Vinča culture appear to have bird-like faces.

Of the human figurines from the Varna culture, almost 90% are female. Male figurines were also made and were sometimes placed next to female ones. Almost all prestige graves, richly provided with grave goods, are, however, male. This suggests that men were in charge of external life, such as trade and diplomacy, while women were in charge of internal life, the household, and also rituals. It is possible that these women worshipped their ancestors, and it is possible that this veneration was matrilineal, through mothers and grandmothers.

It is not certain whether such a male-female division existed throughout Old Europe. Almost no graves have been found from the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, which gives us a much less clear picture.

The Venus figurines have been found in various contexts, but mostly in domestic settings. They were buried in the foundations of houses, possibly for protection, they have been found broken in refuse pits, and whole in the houses themselves. Because some houses had multiple figurines, some scientists suggest that it was toys. However, the figurines show no signs of use.

It is likely that some of the Venus figurines of Old Europe symbolized fertility. Although they usually had a flat belly, it was often decorated with a diamond shape, which possibly symbolized pregnancy.

In any case, in the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, the figurines were associated with grain. One group from Sabatinovka was found in a bakery. In Luka Vrubavetskaya, the clay of the Venus figurines was mixed with grains and flour. They may have been created to enhance the fertility of the land.

Although the Venus figurines of Old Europe are probably not evidence of the worship of a mother goddess, they did have a ritual function. They may indicate ancestor worship or symbolize fertility.

The island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea was inhabited from 5900 BC. The population built large temples in the late stone Age (3200-2500 BC). Within these complexes, more than 30 female statues have been found, the smallest being 20 cm and the largest up to 3 meters. They are carved from limestone and were probably covered with red ochre.

The figures are corpulent, with rolls of fat and wide hips and buttocks. There are both seated and standing Venuses. Some are clothed, others naked, possibly to emphasize the different functions of the figure. The vulva is not visible due to the seated pose, the clothing the figure wears, or the rolls of fat hanging over the crotch. Given the similarities between the various statues, it is possible that they represent one and the same figure, possibly a goddess.

Around 3800 BC, the Cypriot culture flourished, partly due to the first use of native copper resources. Simultaneously, a unique Cypriot sculptural tradition emerged with human representations in pottery and stone.

Some later figures are recognizable as pregnant or birthing women. These possibly symbolized fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth. They likely also had a broader symbolic value for the survival and continuation of the community.

Venus figurines were also made outside Europe, portable statues of female figures.

• From the Mal'ta–Buret' culture in Siberia, about thirty figures are known, approximately 23,000 years old. They differ stylistically from those of the Cro-Magnons, being slimmer and with less pronounced breasts. Half of the Venuses are clothed.
• In Mesopotamia, there are examples from the Hassuna culture (6000 BC) and the Halaf culture (6100-5100 BC). These are interpreted by scientists as fertility symbols.
• From around 4000 BC, female figurines were also produced in Mehrgarh, in the Indus Valley. From 2600 BC, male figurines were added, gradually replacing the Venus figurines.

Throughout the millennia during which Venus figurines were crafted, humanity underwent significant changes, causing the symbolism of these figurines not to remain constant. Hunter-gatherers lived in diverse conditions: some groups were nomadic and migrated weekly, others were semi-nomadic and built temporary settlements, such as in Çatalhöyük. Additionally, there were communities like those of Göbekli Tepe, where a permanent food source was present.

Venus figurines were produced in large numbers by both hunter-gatherers and agricultural communities, although their meaning varied over time. The earliest creators of these figurines likely did not personify their gods but used them as reflections of personal ideals and a desired state of prosperity. In later periods, Venus figurines appear more often associated with ancestor worship.

In both cases, the figurines emphasized concepts such as fertility, prosperity, and continuity. They symbolized both the fertility of the earth and that of humans. However, there is no evidence that Venus figurines refer to a mother goddess or a matriarchal or matristic society. By the end of the Neolithic, the tradition of making Venus figurines largely disappeared, although the underlying symbolism continued to live on.

From 3,000 BC, descendants of the Eastern Hunter-Gatherers, very distant relatives of the Cro-Magnon, migrated from the Pontic-Caspian steppes to Europe. They were the ancestors of the Greeks, Romans , Germans, Celts and other Indo-European cultures. Much is known about their religion and mythology. And they did not conceive these independently.

The Mother Earth (*Dʰéǵʰōm Méh₂tēr) is depicted as the vast (*pl̥th₂éwih₂) and dark (*dʰengwo-) house of mortals, the entity that carries everything and everyone. She is often paired with the Sky Father (*Dyḗus ph₂tḗr), in a relationship of contrast and union. The fertile rain of the Sky Father and the fertility of Mother Earth thus bring prosperity and welfare to the community. Dʰéǵʰōm is therefore often associated with fertility, growth, and death, and is seen as the origin and ultimate home of humanity.

From this context, the fertility goddesses in Indo-European mythology can be seen as a direct continuation of the Venus symbolism that has been depicted for 29,000 years. The archetype of Mother Earth, as a source of life, fertility, and continuity, reflects the essence of this ancient symbolism and connects prehistoric Venus figurines with later mythological and spiritual traditions.