The marble figures of nude women with folded arms created in the Cycladic islands between 5300 and 2000 BCE are enigmatic relics of a vanished Aegean culture, likely linked to early fertility, healing, and musical cults. 

Though their precise function remains debated, their recurring iconography—especially the female form—suggests a central role in ritual practices surrounding birth, life, and death, possibly overseen by powerful female intermediaries such as midwives or priestesses.