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Although I'm no historian or writer I wish to the best of my capabilities bring to your knowledge what possibly could be defined as the most ancient Mother goddess cult in the world, what is for surely proven& endorsed by the UNESCO World Heritage is that these temples are the oldest freestanding structures in the world, they approximately date around 3200-2500 BC, 6,000 years before the pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

I shall be concentrating on five major temples both because they are noted as prehistoric masterpieces & major religious symbolism attributed to them, these temples are namely Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, Tarxien Ggantija& the Hypogeum.



Note the similarity in the temple design (in this case Mnajdra) & the figure of the goddess herself. All the temples basically share this characteristic amongst others. Hagar QimHagar Qim (which mean 'Huge stones of worship', other say that it means’ standing stones') was excavated in 1839 & in 1855 excavations were started.



MnajdraMnajdra lies adjacent to Hagar Qim. It is known as the 'Sun Temple' because it has been proven that that it's also a perfectly aligned with the solar calendar till this very day. The alignment days are as follows:

Summer solstice 20/21 June(The longest day)



Summer solstice

Equinoxes 21 March and 21 September(When night & day are of equal length)


March & September Equinoxes on sunrise

Winter solstice 20/21 December(The shortest day)



Winter solstice on Sunrise


Tarxien.

This shrine is most noted because they are the most decorated temples to be excavated in it the biggest statue of the mother goddess was found together many decorations including the many spirals which align the walls. It is also known as 'The Cathedral'.

The Hypogeum Not far from the Tarxien temples one can find the hypogeum which as its name implies this temple is excavated in contrast to the other which are above ground. It was discovered accidentally in 1902 by a stone mason who was laying the foundations of some houses. This incredible structure was excavated reaching 3 storey underground & still retains the same patterns all the other temples. This structure also includes an "oracle", a shaft where a male priest or shaman is said to have voiced his predictions, Female voices do go through this shaft. It is thought that these chambers were to symbolise death & the return to the mother deity & served as a burial chamber. In the1920's it is said that a class of students got lost in these chamber & were never to be found again, many theories have emerged regarding this matter including one which states that this temple was an opening to the inner earth.


Ggantija

Ggantija means 'Of the giants' because as transcended in folklore it was thought that a female giant built it, others attribute that origin to the mother goddess herself.

They were fully excavated in 1827.

From this illustrations one cannot deny the devotion these people had in the mother goddess. Perhaps the might have been the origin of the world cult we know up to this day or perhaps in those times The Maltese islands served as a sacred island only for chosen priesthood & people to live on. What is for sure is that undeniably this cult has diffused wide away through the ancient world. No one knows what became of the original constructors or their progeny, since as they had no writing knowledge or none has been found as yet.


Sources & Further reading:

http://web.genie.it/utenti/m/malta_mega_temples/index.html

http://www.edrichton.com/History/Temples.htm