"There's a new Mother Nature takin' over..."

The news came out yesterday--there's a new Earth Mother statue at her temple. I had to go see, and that gave me, if not a new experience, an experience I hadn't had in quite a while. I was headed for a temple and not rushing to try not to be late for a temple ceremony. (Very embarrassing, but I must admit to it to be honest. I forget about the passage of time, or underestimate how long it will take to get ready or get to the temple. My next goal is to tour the temples and collect landmarks so I am not late again. The temple ceremonies are very moving and beautiful; the empire's priestesses are amazing women who do a wonderful job.)

That combination meant that I was both looking for a place and not so desperate to get there that I didn't notice things along the way, and that led to my seeing a lovely unbuilt-up area in the city of Knossos. There I saw sheep peacefully grazing...

...and the path that took me there led on past high rocks and trees...

...ultimately to a dwelling. I didn't go there, lest I disturb anyone, but the path itself is a pleasure to travel, just to see the surroundings. It didn't lead to the Earth Mother temple, though, so I headed on my way and found it--and what a treasure I found at the end of my search!

Here I wish to my voice to the chorus in appreciation and gratitude to Beautiful Shamen for a magnificent statue.  Thank you, and thanks to Aeneas Anthony, architect of the city, for announcing this excellent work.

UPDATE: So you can compare, here's a photo I took of the temple back when I first visited the Minoan Empire sim:

UPDATE: It is a puzzlement. I went to the shrine to Europa, clicked "Create Landmark Here", could edit it to be labeled "Shrine to Europa"... no problem. Went to the various temples, clicked "Create Landmark Here", and could not edit it to save my life. Have I unintentionally offended the gods?