MALTA and GOZO

Islands of the »Great Mother«

Approximately in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, halfway between Sicily and Tunisia, there are the islands Malta and Gozo which are very famous for their mighty prehistoric temples. More than 5000 years ago there had existed a highly-developed civilization on these small Mediterranean islands. Imposing stone monuments give evidence of its former significance and prosperity.
On Malta there are the temples Hal Tarxien, Hagar Qim, Mnajdra and the subterranean temple Hal Saflieni, which impress and make you wonder how Stone Age people could make them; on Gozo there is the huge twin temple Ggantija.
The temples form a unity with their surrounding landscape. It is evident that the ancient people of Malta had very deliberately chosen the places for their temples.

front of the Hagar Qim temple	huge enclosure of the Hagar Qim temple
portal of the Ggantija temple on Gozo	holy shrine of the Mnajdra temple with peculiar ornamentation

The subterranean temple Hal Saflieni was of special significance. In its elaborately constructed stone rooms there have been discovered the bones of about 7000 people. The walls had been painted red by ochre. There has been found the statue of a goddess in sleeping position. This sleeping goddess represents the aspect of death which in matriarchal religion was directly connected with rebirth. Correspondingly, in Greek mythology the god of sleep, Morpheus, was the brother of the god of death, Thanatos.

Many woman figurines - with very feminine shapes - have been found in the temples. They have to be interpreted as representations of the almighty »Great Mother«. The worship of the »Great Mother« is an essential characteristic of matriarchal cultures - those are civilizations in which women have the predominating gender role.

The impressing prehistoric remains of Malta and Gozo clearly give evidence that about 5000 years ago there had existed a highly-developed, presumably matriarchal civilization.

Goddess of Hal Tarxien	the so-called Venus of Malta	sitting goddess of Hagar Qim
sleeping goddess from the subterranean temple of Hal Saflieni

Giresun Adasi Project

*B o o k s*
To study the Maltese temples in detail, you should read the book Habitations of the Great Goddess by Cristina Biaggi.
Gerhard Pöllauer: The Lost History of the Amazons Recent research findings on the legendary women nation ISBN: 978-1-4461-9305-1; Paperback, 148 pages, 87 black-and-white pictures, 3 illustrations Price: $17.48 This book focuses on the numerous traces of the Amazons. It reports on latest findings and investigation in the legendary homeland of the Amazons at the river Thermodon and on the Amazon island Lemnos. Fresh evidence indicates that the Amazons really existed! According to these new discoveries the lost history of the Amazons can be reconstructed.
Gerhard Pöllauer, Geheimnisvolles Lemnos. Die von Frauen beherrschte Insel (Mysterious Lemnos. Island dominated by women) ISBN: 978-3-902096-77-7; Paperback, 128 pages, 97 black-and-white pictures, 3 color photos, 1 map Price: EUR 13.00 The rather unknown North Aegean island Lemnos amazes with its great prehistoric past. About 5000 years ago there existed a highly-developed civilization which created imposing cities, mighty rock buildings and impressive sanctuaries on this Greek island. The discovery of Poliochni was sensational. Because of its largeness and refinement this Bronze Age settlement is regarded as the most ancient city of Europe. Also the discoveries at Myrina in the west and Hephaistia in the north witness the island's prehistoric importance. Presumably there was a further city in the Northeast - Chryse, which was sunken under the sea. Moreover, the findings make evident that in this ancient civilization there was gender equality, it even seems that the women had the predominating gender role. Not without reason in antiquity Lemnos was described with the words »island dominated by women«. => Table of contents At present, this book is only available in German.

Updated: November 15, 2024
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