Stone Age Greek Sculpture
The statues are generally of women, and the women are generally very fat. They have big thighs and big breasts. Archaeologists call them "steatopygous" figurines, which means they have big butts. Possibly these figurines served some sort of religious purpose, maybe as fertility charms to make the crops grow.
But that's not the only kind of sculpture from the
Stone Age. There's another kind from later in the Stone Age. On the
Cyclades islands, between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, there
are tall, lifesize white marble
statues of people (and more small figurines as well). They seem to have
been made mainly to put in people's graves.
They were originally painted so they didn't look blank like this - they
had painted on eyes and mouths and perhaps clothes.
This is a Cycladic figurine of a man playing a flute - or anyway, some kind of pipes, like a double recorder.
To find out more about Stone Age sculpture in Greece, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your local library:
Greek Art and Archaeology (3rd Edition), by John G. Pedley (2002) This is NOT a children's book, but it has a lot of good information and is pretty readable. Plus, the author is really an expert in this field.
Early Cycladic Sculpture: An Introduction, by Pat Getz-Preziosi (1994). Published by the Getty Museum.
Deities, Dolls, and Devices: Neolithic Figurines from Franchthi Cave, Greece, by Lauren E. Talalay (1993). By a specialist, for specialists.
GIFT IDEA: Bronze Cycladic Figurine for your garden. List Price: $149.95 New Price: $79.99. You save: $69.96 (47%).
