According to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in Crete, where they're on permanent display, the snake goddesses are "the most important cult objects from the Knossos Temple repositories". They also beg the question: was ancient Crete a matriarchy? Kelly Macquire, in a podcast for Ancient History Encyclopaedia, says: "Women were prominent in Minoan religion, more than any other civilisation, and we know this because of the snake goddess statues that have been found in Minoan contexts, and the prominence of priestesses in Minoan art".
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