Comments on: Ars Longa, Vita Brevis

By: Arturo Villanueva

Arturo Villanueva — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:15:57 +0000

I do not agree with Lerner on this issue due to the fragile foundation that she builds her theory on. Their could have been soldiers in those times that went on long journeys and did not get to see their wives for long periods of time. The figurines couldve have made to keep a memory of their significant other during hardships.

By: Paul J. Moloney

Paul J. Moloney — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:25:27 +0000

Speaking of goddesses, it seems at least coincidental that a city dedicated to the goddess Athena produced three of the greatest philosophers the world has ever known.

By: Mohammad Qassimyar Phil 125

Mohammad Qassimyar Phil 125 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:32:55 +0000

though i understand what gerda is trying to say i do not agree with her philosophy. i do not believe societies all worshiped a mother goddess before a version of a male god. it is completely not permissable to make such outrageous conclusions from such little evidence. sure there are statues being found but what connection does that have to do with a female goddess. lets say in the distant future a man finds a barbie. he should have no right to make wild assuptions that we all worshipped some sort of barbie goddess. even though her statements make sense after, the root of her argument in flawwed. her philosophy is like a grand building with no foundation. once something shows that the statues are not all representing goddesses, her building will come crashing down. i agree more with the statues representing a pregnant women but i can’t see them all representing female goddesses

By: Raquel M. Gonzalez

Raquel M. Gonzalez — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:03:13 +0000

I think this statue could possibly be a fertility goddess. I have seen ancient male statues with exaggerated phalluses that were supposed to represent fertility gods so why wouldn’t this represent a fertility goddess? This little statue reminds of the movie “The Witches of Eastwick”. In the movie, Cher’s character is a sculptress of goddesses called “boobie dolls”. They were very round with large breasts and a belly. Except for the size of the head, the sculptures in the movie resemble this statue.

By: niki novak

niki novak — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:52:50 +0000

Hmmm glorification of the female body? Is that so hard to believe? No, the body is beautiful. However the facts surrounding this artificate is what makes me believe that this had to have been sacred to who ever created it. The figurine was made out of ivory, not rock not clay. This figurine was also not created with a head and had enlarged womanly features, representing the obvious importance to the creator behind the art. Would a man or woman today create a figurine for their wives or sisters in pure gold? something diffucult to obtain? I believe this object supports other findings in regards to the goddess tradition. I believe the creator of this artifact wanted and new that this piece would last beyond their stay on earth, that is why i believe it must have been holy. You only make the best for the best.

By: Emily Johnson

Emily Johnson — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:00:34 +0000

I read the first two comments on this from 2009 and have to disagree with what they are saying. I believe that figurines like these hold a lot more power in their symbolic meaning than some of us would like to believe, especially when it comes to contemporary religious values. They [figurines] were created in such an early time in history, without regards to any other social institutions influencing them. Where I’m going with this is that during the Mother Goddess tradition there were no other traditions. Versus a society like ours, where we are inundated with so many religious and social institutions, it’s hard to identify with just one.

As simplistic as it sounds, these figurines were the only form of tradition at the time that this was created, and I believe it is a pure symbol of ancient tradition before the rest of the world happened!

In regards to Professor Rosentand’s comment about this figurine being labeled as “pornographic” by some viewers, I have to agree that art DOES in fact reveal a lot more about the beholder who comments than those that don’t. In my latter paragraph, I mentioned outside social influences. Our society would automatically look at something like this as pornographic because anything in regards to “sex” is automatically sexualized and deemed taboo. I was fascinated learning about the Mother Goddess tradition in our class and find figurines and history from this time period with utmost intrigue.

By: Kristina

Kristina — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:37:47 +0000

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis… At first this quote confused me a bit, but after I thought about it, it makes total sense. The literal meaning, “Art is long, Life is short is so true. Art does last forever, and life doesn’t. Artifacts have been found from thousands of years ago and will continue to pop up as archaelogists find them! The statue that is spoken about in this blog is a major symbol of matriarchy.
This symbol is supposed to indicate that our ancestors lived in a matriarchal society. This is very difficult for me to comprehend since our more recent history indicates that it was a patriarchal culture and in some ways, our lives are highly dominated by men. The fact that there has yet to be a female president is a pretty decent example of a country run by men. It just seems silly for me to believe that women have ALWAYS been placed on such a high pedestal, when it doesn’t even seem that women are completely equal to men even in this day and age….

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:04:53 +0000

http://tinypic.com/r/2rqhvkh/6

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:04:07 +0000

This is a True Fertility Goddess.She is preganat,carved from metal..she is 2″ high,is painted in red to lrepresent blood..Due to age some is missing.At her base is very detailed female parts,very risque but beautiful carved art.She still has some old caked on dirt from where ever she was found,which is unknown.

By: Giovanni Khuri- Phil 125

Giovanni Khuri- Phil 125 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:45:35 +0000

Art is absolutely useful in discovering the past. Without art many of histories’ greatest stories would not have been told. Besides guessing what the true meaning of a work is what makes art so enjoyable. I have seen these types of figurines in a Art History class before and I agree it is an object of worship. The emphasized parts of the figurine clearly indicate that it symbolizes fertility. Although I am not an art historian these figurines seem to say something about the culture who created them. Exactly what they are saying is a question posed to the viewer.