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Update

To clarify the “Very Greek key-like” comment the editor made in Chapter 12 p102, in researching the history of Athena and the Aegis, the editor noted that the Greek key represents the snake-border of the Aegis, and is therefore a symbol of Athena. Athena's snake-bordered Aegis is the origin of the Greek key.

This observation is a tangent to "Soma". It was noted during research to clarify the section on Athena, and thus not included in the book, but still worth noting.

Recall that Athena is the goddess of civilization, wisdom and law, and for very many Classical (and earlier) Greeks, Athena Polias, protectress of the city. Additionally, the Greek gods were initially represented by objects (xoanon), and not anthropomorphized until about the 7th century BC.

Modern archaeology reveals a couple of Minoan statuettes showing a goddess or priestess wielding snakes. The importance and power of the snake to the Minoans is clear, and the the appearance of interlocking spirals (a stylized snake motif that look to be the fresco version of Minoan pottery snake figurines) on some Minoan frescoes and objects, in particular, an axe, further support this belief. Further, the Minoans influenced the Mycenaeans in their climb to civilizational importance. The remnants of Mycenaean civilization, plus the newly-arrived Dorian Greeks, eventually became Archaic and then Classical Greece.  Thus, Athena acquired snakes as an attribute.

The Aegis of Athena, as carved in the statue of Athena in the Gigantomachy (about 525BC), provided the initial clue. The Aegis of Athena, as carved in the statue of Athena of Aphaia (about 505-500BC), provides further support. In both cases, the snakes forming the borders are carved to look like Greek key patterns.

Early Archaic Greek pottery is geometric, but around 640-625 BC the Greeks start painting figures of gods, goddesses and heroes, and sculpting life-size statues (about 650BC). Athena's goatskin Aegis is depicted or carved with some effort to show the snakes as a key-like border, and by implication, this is the original and expected form of the Aegis.

Additionally, a short survey of black-figure pottery shows that in the earlier examples (pre-560BC), the Greek key motif usually appears on pottery with depictions of Athena, and pottery with the presence of Athena includes Greek keys, ... and usually not otherwise. 

The Greek key is a stylized representation of the snake borders of the Aegis, and is thus a representation of Athena. All know this, well, all who matter. At the time, it's obvious. The Greek key motif, as a personal and public display of a link to the city deity likely would have been religiously acceptable, if not required, prior to anthropomorphization, and still acceptable afterwards. Representation of this sort occurs in other religions. Consequently, aside from the fact that snakes are generally scary and frequently poisonous, Greek items including snakes might be usefully analyzed for an association with Athena.

The “Greek-key-symbolizes-Athena” relationship changed during the mid-6th century BC. By the beginning of Classical Greece, pottery indicates that the Greek key had become a generic Greek symbol rather than one indicating Athena. Note that on later statues of Athena (after about 500BC), the Aegis still has snakes, but they are not clearly carved as a border.

-    Edward Stanley, Editor, May 2015

Tags: Greek Key, Greek Key Origin, Greek Key Meaning, Origin of Greek Key, Meaning of Greek Key