Mycenaean Female Figurines of Phi (Φ) and Psi (Ψ) style
These little clay female figurines, hand-made, appeared and developed in mainland Greece under Cretan and Anatolian influences. During the Late Helladic III A2 period (14th century BC) they spread throughout the Mycenaean world. They are known to scholars as Phi- and Psi-type figurines, as their shapes resemble those letters of the Greek alphabet. The Phi-type figurines are earlier, with the arms against the side or folded at the breast. During the Late Helladic III B period (14th-13th centuries BC) the Psi-type appears, with arms upraised in a gesture of worship or prayer.
According to Heinrich Schliemann, the Phi-type figures (Φ)) represent the full moon, the Psi-type (Ψ) the half-moon.
