Venus of Willendorf 2

Click image(s) to see the larger version(s).

This stunning tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Arbuford24 and is licensed under Creative Commons.

The name "Venus of Willendorf" is something of misnomer. Yes, it was found in Willendorf, Austria. But the original statuette isn't really a representation of the goddess Venus, for she dates from approximately 25,000 BCE, which makes her much older than any mention of Venus or her Greek counterpart Aphrodite. She was given this name to make clear her importance as a very early goddess figure. You may ask why she looks the way she does. We don't really understand it and can only make educated guesses. She's probably a large woman to represent fertility and plenty. After all, only a people with lots of crops to harvest can grow so hefty. Her large breasts also play into the same ideal: large breasts produce more breast milk making for strong healthy babies. Those notions seems pretty straightforward to me but not all her characteristics are so obvious.

What I wonder about most is her face. Why is she-essentially-faceless? It may be because the ancient artist couldn't begin to put a face on the divine and so didn't try. It could be a representation of the facelessness of women, meaning her ability to produce healthy children was more important than her looks or her mind and opinions. It could be any number of things. Whatever the original reasons behind the statuette the Venus of Willendorf has become a much-revered image among modern pagans and is a personal favorite of mine. Enjoy.

You can see another Venus of Willendorf tattoo here.

Post title : Venus of Willendorf 2
URL post : https://tattoo35.blogspot.com/2010/03/venus-of-willendorf-2.html