Some time ago, and interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of Kea. An
American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of Ayia Irini. The
city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of civilization. Houses --
often three storeys high -- were built of stone. They had large rooms with beautifully decorated
walls. The city was equipped with a drainage system, for a great many clay pipes were found beneath
the narrow streets.
The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth
century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of temple, clay fragments of fifteen statues
were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted. The body of one
statue was found among remains dating from the fifteenth century B.C. It's missing head happened to
be among remains of the fifth century B.C. This head must have found in Classical times and
carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then. When the archaeologists reconstructed
the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddesss turned out to be a very modern-looking
woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips. She was wearing a full-length
skirt which swept the ground. Despite her great age, she was very graceful indeed, but, so far, the
archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.