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1112 Obesity Surgery, 16, 2006 ©FD-Communications Inc. Obesity Surgery, 16 , 1112-1114 In this paper, we present a female figurine made of clay , found in F arsala,Thessaly , Greece, and which is house d in the Athanassakeion Archaeological Museum of Volos, Greece.This Neolithic figurine has visible characteristics of female obesity and belongs to a class of figurines ironical- ly named “Ven uses”.The figurine is describ ed, and specu- lation underlying the reason for its construction and uses are presen ted. In addit ion, the hist orical and social bac k- ground of the Prehistoric period is taken into considera- tion, in an attempt to evaluate the characteristics of ancient feminine obesity and compare it to its modern definitions. Key words : V enus, obesity , N eolithic, figurine, Thessaly- Greece Neolithic hamlets and caves have been found in hun- dreds of sites throughout Greece. However, only in Thessaly, which is a geographical area in Greece, are there more than 170 places of Neolithic interest. It seems that Thessaly was one of the first places in Europe to enter the Neolithic period, with the devel- opment of crop cultivation and animal domestica- tion. In this area, pottery appears to have developed even from the early Neolithic period. The female figurine presented (Figure 1) comes from this area, specifically from Farsala. It belongs to the Middle Neolithic period (5th Millennium B.C.) and is almost 7 cm in height. It preserves the typical characteristics of the ancient Neolithic peri- od and is thought to be an exquisite piece of sculp- ture of this period. 1 Neolithic figurines have certain characteristics based on their construction, sex, gen- eral shape and stature. The potter had to take into account the beliefs, taste and social needs of the entire group to which he belonged. The figurine had to convince people to be liked by them, and to be either a symbol or a direct copy from nature. To achieve these goals, the artists gave the figurines certain characteristics that keep up with the Neolithic prototypes. These characteristics created a type of art that easily influenced other artists of the neighboring hamlets and eventually the artists of more distant areas. Historical Note Obesit y in the Neolithi c Era: A Greek Fema le Figurin e Hel en Ch ristopoulou-Ale tra, PhD 1 ; Niki Papavramidou, PhD 2 ; Paolo Pozzi lli, MD, PhD 3 1 Assistant Pr ofessor , History of Medicine, F aculty of Me dicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2 History of Medicine, F aculty of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 3 Professor, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, University Campus Bio-Medico, Via Emilio Longoni, Rome, Italy Reprint requests to: H. Christopoulou-Aletra, PhD , Assistant Prof . for the History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 73 Nikis Ave., 54622 Thessaloniki, Greec e. Fax : +30 2310 999139 ; e-mai l: eale tra@med.au th.gr Figure 1. Neolithic figurine from Thessaly (Athanassakeion Archaeological Museum of Volos, Greece). Australia 7/26/06 3:29 PM Page 1112
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1112 Obesity Surgery, 16, 2006 © FD-Communications Inc.
Obesity Surgery, 16 , 1112-1114
In this paper, we present a female figurine made of clay,
found in Farsala,Thessaly, Greece,and which is housed in
the Athanassakeion Archaeological Museum of Volos,
Greece.This Neolithic figurine has visible characteristics of
female obesity and belongs to a class of figurines ironical-
ly named “Venuses”.The figurine is described, and specu-
lation underlying the reason for its construction and uses
are presented. In addition, the historical and social back-
ground of the Prehistoric period is taken into considera-
tion, in an attempt to evaluate the characteristics of ancient
feminine obesity and compare it to its modern definitions.
Key words : Venus, obesity, Neolithic, figurine, Thessaly-
Greece
Neolithic hamlets and caves have been found in hun-dreds of sites throughout Greece. However, only in
Thessaly, which is a geographical area in Greece, are
there more than 170 places of Neolithic interest. It
seems that Thessaly was one of the first places in
Europe to enter the Neolithic period, with the devel-
opment of crop cultivation and animal domestica-
tion. In this area, pottery appears to have developed
even from the early Neolithic period.
The female figurine presented (Figure 1) comes
from this area, specifically from Farsala. It belongs
to the Middle Neolithic period (5th Millennium
B.C.) and is almost 7 cm in height. It preserves thetypical characteristics of the ancient Neolithic peri-
od and is thought to be an exquisite piece of sculp-
ture of this period.1 Neolithic figurines have certain
characteristics based on their construction, sex, gen-eral shape and stature. The potter had to take into
account the beliefs, taste and social needs of the
entire group to which he belonged. The figurine had
to convince people to be liked by them, and to be
either a symbol or a direct copy from nature. To
achieve these goals, the artists gave the figurines
certain characteristics that keep up with the
Neolithic prototypes. These characteristics created a
type of art that easily influenced other artists of the
neighboring hamlets and eventually the artists of
more distant areas.
Historical Note
Obesity in the Neolithic Era: A Greek Female Figurine
Helen Christopoulou-Aletra, PhD1; Niki Papavramidou, PhD2; Paolo
Pozzilli, MD, PhD3
1 Assistant Professor, History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
Thessaloniki, Greece; 2 History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 3Professor, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes,
University Campus Bio-Medico, Via Emilio Longoni, Rome, Italy
Reprint requests to:H. Christopoulou-Aletra, PhD, Assistant Prof.for the History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, AristotleUniversity of Thessaloniki, 73 Nikis Ave., 54622 Thessaloniki,Greece. Fax: +30 2310 999139; e-mail: [email protected]
Figure 1. Neolithic figurine from Thessaly (Athanassakeion
Archaeological Museum of Volos, Greece).
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Christopoulou-Aletra et al
1114 Obesity Surgery, 16, 2006
Mother Goddess is simply taken as symbolizing fer-
tility. However, the fertility is specific to human fer-
tility,9 rather than its more general use for animals,
humans and plants. This interpretation has been
agreed by most authors.10-12 Although differentopinions have been expressed with respect to spe-
cific archeological issues, none has concerned the
actual interpretations.13 Some other authors have
questioned the significance of figurines in gener-
al.14,15 Finally, others have suggested that, among
the members of the Neolithic hamlet, these female
figurines represent one of the attempts to communi-
cate, because the lack of writing surely posed prob-
lems in social, economic and family life.16 Whatever
the interpretation of these figurines may be, the
great number of such symbols found in excavations
all over Greece shows their importance in every day
life during the Neolithic period, along with the close
relation with other “Venuses” found in Europe.
References
1. Theocharis D. Neolithic Greece. Athens: National
Bank of Greece edition, 1973: 67.
2. Hourmouziades G. Neolithic figurines. Thessaloniki:
Vanias Editions, 1994: 145.
3. These are other places of Thessaly. Hourmouziades
G. Neolithic figurines. Thessaloniki: Vanias Editions,1994: 148.
4. Colman E. Obesity in the Paleolithic era? The Venus
of Willendorf. Endocr Pract 1998; 4(1): 58-59.
5. Ackerknecht EH. History of medicine. Athens:
Marathia, 1998: 36.
6. McDermott L. Self-representation in upper Paleolithic
female figurines. Curr Anthropol 1996; 37: 227-275.
7. Ucko P. Anthropomorphic figurines of predynastic
Egypt and Neolithic Crete with comparative material
from the Prehistoric Near East and Mainland Greece.
London: Andrew Szmidla, 1968.
8. Hesiod. Theogony. Vol. 22. Introduction, translation,
comments: S. Girgenis, Thessaloniki: Zitros, 2001: 293.
9. Ucko JP. The interpretation of Prehistoric anthropo-
morphic figurines. J R Anthropol Inst 1962; 92: 38-54.
10.Hawkes J. The Mother Goddess. The Observer, 24
September 1961.
11.James EO. The cult of the Mother Goddess, London,
1959.
12.Renaud EB. Prehistoric female figurines from
America and the Old World. Scientific Monthly 1929;
28: 509-12.
13.Weinberg SS. Neolithic figurines and Aegean inter-
pretations. Am J Archaeol 1951; 55: 121-33.
14.Hogarth DG. Aegean Sepulchral figures. Essays in
Aegean Archaeology presented to Sir Arthur Evans.
Oxford, 1927: 55-62.
15.Myres J. Who were the Greeks? Sather Classical
Lectures 1930; 6.
16.Hourmouziades G. Neolithic figurines. Thessaloniki:
Vanias Editions, 1994: 233.
(Received February 17, 2006; accepted March 16, 2006)
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