(Photo Essay 2) Grandmothers by Kaalii Cargill

The so called “Venus” figurines are figures from prehistory that I prefer to call “Grandmothers”. The figurines were carved from soft stone, bone or ivory, or formed of clay and fired. Over the last 5 years, I have been visiting with the Grandmothers. This series of posts includes images and impressions of those visits.

Delphi, Greece

When I think of standing in Delphi, I remember the mountains and the cicadas. Before the sanctuary at Delphi was dedicated to Apollo, the sibyls/ wisewomen resided in a cave high on the slopes of Mt Parnassus (2,457 m /8,061 ft above sea level).

Temple of Apollo, Delphi

I walked among the classical ruins – the temple, the sibyl rock, the tholos – and drank from the Castalian Spring.

Tholos, Temple of Athena, Delphi

Sitting in the shade of an olive tree, listening to the cicadas, I understood why the ancient Greeks represented music as a cicada sitting on a harp. Surely the people walking there thousands of years ago heard the same song . . .

Olive trees on the path to the Tholos, Delphi

The Corycian Cave sits high above the temple ruins. The landscape holds the memories and meaning of this place – the long, slow climb up the side of the mountain, the flickering shadows beneath the fir trees, the ever-present cicadas. I visited the cave alone, entering through the small opening, climbing down the rocky slope into a vast cavern (90m long, 60m wide, 50 m high).

Entrance to Corycian Cave
Main cavern, Corycian Cave

In the half light, the huge stalagmites emerged from the shadows – Grandmothers waiting forever for us to remember them. Formed by Nature over millennia, these figures echo the shapes of prehistory Grandmother figurines.

Grandmother stalagmite, Corycian Cave

Water drops fell slowly from the roof of the cave, taking all the time in the world to form the next layer on the silent guardians of the cave. I listened for Her voice. Between the soft sound of dropping water there was only silence – a deep, eternal silence.

Water drops, Corycian Cave

Meet Mago Contributor KAALII CARGILL


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