Was Malta a place for the veneration of a Mother Goddess?

Abstract

The question of whether Malta was a place for the veneration of a Mother Goddess during Neolithic times brought with it many controversial issues. This article presents results from the now historical ‟Malta Conference on Archaeology and Fertility Cultˮ held at the University of Malta in 1985. It includes a descriptive analysis of the various anthropomorphic sculptures found during excavations from different Neolithic temples and presents interpretations by some archaeologists who do not agree with the theory that worship of a ‘Mother Goddess’ existed. This article also includes interpretations by scholars who maintain that a ‘Mother Goddess’ existed in Malta more than 5,000 years ago and that the early Maltese practiced some sort of religion due to the quantity of similar figurines found in different temples on the islands.