Critically analysing both their association with ritual and the polarity of ritual and profane, an attempt is made to unravel the lifecycle of these figurines, treating them as agents of activity. This article focuses on a small group of Early Iron Age terracotta animal figurines from this deposition. The richest evidence for this period is offered by a secondary deposition, detected near two Early Iron Age buildings, which revealed thousands of clay sherds, extending from the late ninth/early eighth to the late sixth century BC, quantities of animal bones, and more than 60 metal objects. The Early Iron Age marked the earliest activity there, traces of which offer fertile grounds for reconsidering life in the Cyclades at the time. Twenty-two edifices have come to light so far, and the systematic excavation continues to elucidate the long history of the site. Mandra, on the uninhabited islet of Despotiko in the middle of the Aegean Sea, is well known to the archaeological community, owing to the discovery there in 2001 of an extensive sanctuary of Apollo. Thus, the snake reveals itself as an excellent medium for accessing Greek ideas about the divine, anthropomorphism, and ancestry, the relationship between humans, nature and the supernatural, and the negotiation of the inevitable dichotomy of old and new.

This paper argues instead that ancient Greeks perceived the existence of a special primordial force living within, emanating from, or symbolised by the snake a force which is not more-and not less-than pure life, with all its paradoxes and complexities.

Previous scholarship has tended to focus on dualistic opposites, such as life/death, nature/culture, and creation/destruction. This paper will mainly utilise vase paintings as a source of information, with literary references for further elucidation, to explain why the snake had such a prominent role and thus clarify its meaning within the cultural context of Archaic and Classical Greece, with a particular focus on Athens.

Despite playing no meaningful practical role in the lives of the ancient Greeks, snakes are ubiquitous in their material culture and literary accounts, in particular in narratives which emphasise their role of guardian animals.

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