Maltese megalithic art : fertility cult or sexual representation?

Abstract

This article examines the various categories of anthropomorphic representations produced by the Temple Culture of the Maltese Islands (c. 3600-2000 B.c.) and tries to identify their meaning on the basis of their materiaI, size, iconography and context. The most characteristic group is constituted by the enigmatic obese figures currently known as "Mother Goddesses" or "Fat Ladies ". Their asexuality raises serious doubts on their traditional, "Mother Goddess" interpretation. The intended acephaly of several examples may suggest an ancestral meaning while a recently discovered specimen representing a group of two identical figures, with, one holding a miniature figure, recalls the trinary element in the pantheon of several ancient oriental religions. Furthermore, these asexual figures and a few others that are more overtly female and erotic in their iconography are offset by the presence of unequivocal male sexual symbolism. In summary, the evidence seems to lead to the conclusion that the Temple people's view of the world was dominated by the concept of complimentary opposition between the masculine and the feminine principles, rather than one dominated by an all-pervading Mother Goddess.