famously known as the 'goddess of Anatolia', more recent views see it as the representation of a powerful woman ~ the animals at her knees suggesting death and the dead, the caretaking of which was her gender's responsibility and the source of her importance

Mellaart is for many a controversial figure, having been accused of selling artifacts, and of misinterpreting and sensationalizing the dig's findings (see entry at wikipedia) See also spongobongo.
To others, such as awakened woman, and godess alive the goddess is all too real.