HIDDEN
The first one will be hidden
‘The Many Lives of a Snake Goddess’
Βαστά την γη στον ουρανό, ....... Μητέρα τση συνείδησης, ....... Στο χώμα τση ανασκαφής, ....... Σαν ρίζα που ξεθάφτηκε, ....... Θραύσματα τση Θεότητας ....... She holds the earth up to the sky, ....... Mother of our conscience, ....... Asleep for years ....... Like a root that was unburied ....... Fragments of the Goddess .......Οι Πολλαπλές Ζωές Μιας Θεάς των Όφεων -
μαντινάδες
ανάσταση στα νέφη
και με φιδίσιο βλέμμα
μεταμόρφωση μου γνέφει.
απ’τα βάθη τση ψυχής
χειραγωγεί τση όφιδες
και τση κύκλους τση ζωής.
για χρόνια κοιμισμένη
ξεθάφτηκε κ’είδε το φως,
η Μάνα ανημένει.
από τση Κρήτης χώμα
ήρθε γιατί ξεχάσαμε,
το γυναικείο σώμα.
βρεθήκανε στην γη
κ΄ενώθηκαν να γιάνουνε
τ’ανθρώπου την ρωγμή.The Many Lives of a Snake Goddess -
Cretan Mandinada* Poetry translation
resurrection to the heavens
and with a serpentine gaze,
tells me of transformation.
from the depths of our soul,
she holds the serpents
and the cycles of life.
in the soil of the excavation
she was uncovered and saw the light,
our Mother awaits us.
from the Cretan soil
she came because we forgot,
the female body.
were found inside the earth
and joined together to heal
our human fragmentation.
It was an honour to have been commissioned to write five poems in the Cretan mandinada form and to translate fifteen poems by award-winning poet Ruth Padel, from English to Greek for this unique project.
The project is spearheaded by Ellen Adams (Reader in Classical Archaeology, King’s College London), Nicoletta Momigliano (Professor of Aegean Studies, University of Bristol) and Christine Morris (Professor of Greek Archaeology and History, Trinity College Dublin).
It explores the enigmatic Snake Goddess Figurines (c.1600 BCE), unearthed by Arthur Evans during his 1903 excavations of the ‘Palace of Minos’ in Knossos, Crete. These figurines are among the most iconic, yet controversial, discoveries from Minoan (Bronze Age) Crete.
A diverse group of artists was commissioned to contribute to the project, including Ruth Padel (poetry), Tanvir Bush (creative writing), Zoë McWhinney (acting) and Roussetos Panagiotakis (fine art). More information, the artworks and a full list of collaborators can be found on the project website: mlsg.squarespace.com
*Mandinades are a Cretan poetic form of condensed meaning in a fifteen-syllable verse of rhyming couplets. They are part of a living tradition on the island. They range from being used artistically in songs, to being created spontaneously, and shared anonymously, to express many aspects of daily life.