Black Maria refers to the Black Madonna, or Black Virgin, which is a depiction of the Virgin Mary which has dark or black skin. Black Madonnas may have grown out of pre-Christian earth goddess traditions and that their dark skin may be associated with ancient images of these goddesses and the color of the fertile earth. Further assertions say that some of their Christian shrines were built on sites dedicated to Cybele and Diana, or Artemis of Ephesus. Black Maria's design is based on Jean Delville's The Idol of Perversity.