What are the Horns of Consecration? I mention them over and over in my mysteries. (In the shadow of the Bull and On the Horns of Death)
The horns, a symbolic representation of the horns of the sacred bull, were everywhere in Minoan Crete. They ranged in size from smaller ones that edged walkways and stairs to larger ones.
As I’ve discussed, one of the features of his culture was the bull leaping which, in my opinion, probably bridged sport and religion.
Since March is Women’s History month, I thought I would discuss the women of Bronze Age Crete. In my series, I chose to write about this advanced society from about 2600 to approximately 1100 B.C.E. where women played pivotal roles in religion, culture and possibly even the governing of the cities. (In my previous series, I had a male protagonist, a traveling weaver, because women had a much inferior role in the United States of the late 1700s. They couldn’t own property or vote and if their husbands died, their sons took on the responsibility for their care. I wrote about the Shakers extensively, however, since in that society, women were equal and shared equal power in governance of the community.)
Frescoes and artifacts unearthed portray women in positions of reverence and power, suggesting a society where gender roles were viewed differently from contemporaneous civilizations.
Religion was female-centric, with goddess worship at its core. The male figures were always pictured as smaller than a central and large female figure. Women – or priestesses – were often depicted with open arms in a gesture of divine power. I imagined them as influential figures, managing religious ceremonies and advising on state affairs.
Although the myths about Minos and the Minotaur are what we know today, one has to remember they were told by the Classical Greeks, a very patriarchal society. On Crete, real women likely held sway in the Minoan court. Administrative records and luxurious goods designed for female use display their influence, hinting at the wealth and status women enjoyed. I previously blogged about textiles and the elaborate clothing women wore.
Archaeological findings suggest that queens may have ruled alongside kings or even independently. The opulent grave goods of priestess-queens, often buried with symbols of power, reveal the respect and reverence these women commanded. I imagined a male consort who managed administrative details, under the Queen who was also the High Priestess.
The archeology suggests women’s influence extended beyond the spiritual realm into economics and craftsmanship. The intricately designed pottery, seal stones, and frescoes feature women in prominent roles. We know the intricate textiles, woven by the women, were traded all over the Aegean.
Emerging evidence further suggests that women in Minoan society received an education. In my books, I talk about the agoge, an initiation into society. I based it on what we know of the ancient Spartans who also educated their women. They spent a year minimum in a dorm with other women before marriage and children. (Boys, we think, went into a dorm at the age of seven.)
These ancient Minoans were a progressive culture ahead of its time.
I am fascinated by words and language. I’m not sure if that is because I’m a big reader or I became a reader and eventually an author because of it.
In any event, when I began researching the Minoans for my latest series, (In the shadow of the Bull and On the Horns of Death),
I quickly ran into the question of these old, probably the oldest, written languages. Unlike the hieroglyphics, which were finally deciphered thanks to the Rosetta Stone, Linear A and B resisted decoding.
Linear A, which was used by the Minoans, still has not been deciphered. And Linear B was not deciphered until the 1950s. An Englishman from Hertfordshire, Michael Ventris, finally succeeded, using a multi-disciplinary approach.
Tablets with this writing have been found in Knossos and Pylos, as well as other places, and was very early on recognized as the earliest form of Greek. Deciphering changed the way we understand the Aegean Bronze Age, especially the complex societal structures and the far flung trade networks. Linear B has been determined to be a very early form of Greek
I suspect when Linear A is deciphered, it will include primarily trade information but we can hope it will open a window into this exotic and still mysterious culture.
Since Crete is near the equator, it stands to reason that it is a hot country. That is partially true. During the summers, the weather is hot and dry. Winters, with temperatures in the fifties, are rainy. That is when the olive groves and the vineyards are watered. (Excavations have shown that the Ancient peoples did practice irrigation in the hot dry summers.)
Their clothing, loincloths for the men and short-sleeved jackets for the women, also suggest hot weather. (I often think those tiered skirts, probably made from wool, are very heavy and hot.)
Does that mean the Bronze Age culture never saw snow? No. Crete is a mountainous country. Two mountains, Jutkas and Ida, are even now pictured with snow.
Most of the population lived in the lowlands, (although not all) but the snow capped mountains were visible from communities on the plains.
Women, as expected, took care of children. And they were famous as spinners, weavers and dyers, as the previous posts demonstrate.
But what did the men do?
Well, farming was certainly a profession. Even many of the people who lived in Knossos owned farms. Besides goats and sheep and cattle, the farms grew grains and vegetables as well as the very important olives and grapes.
There were other professions, such as gold smith, jewelry maker, mosaic maker, but the primary job for men involved the sea. Minoan Crete had the best navy in the ancient world at this time. It was so superior that an Egyptian Pharaoh (one of the Ramses) sent a request to Crete for help pushing back the Sea Peoples. These people were sailing from Anatolia and attacking the rich cities of Egypt.
Besides the Navy, the men roamed far and wide, exploring the Mediterranean Sea and trading. (This was certainly a factor in the importance of women. The wives provided the woven goods for trade. As well, the women left behind ran the businesses while their husbands and other male family members were gone.)
Finally, fishing was an important part of this culture. The people who lived on the island ate from the sea. The mosaics show octopi, dolphins, and a variety of sea creatures. Fish bones, sheep bones and beef bones have been found during archaeological excavations.
I would guess just about everyone has heard of Atlantis. Plato was the first to write about this great naval empire that fell out of favor with the deities and was destroyed. (Plato was writing about hubris and criticizing Crete for opposing Plato’s native Athens.) Since Plato’s time, Atlantis has been used as a springboard for all kinds of fantastic suggestions.
Did you know that there may be a connection between Atlantis and Minoan Crete?
During the Bronze Age, Crete was THE Naval power, to the point that Ramses II in Egypt asked for help fighting the pirates attacking his country. Plato gives dimensions for Atlantis which are a factor of 10 for Crete. Plato also describes a highly sophisticated society – probably the first to have hot and cold running water and indoor toilets. He talks about a palace and a shrine to Poseidon. We know Poteidon was worshipped as a God in Crete and also that bulls, sacred to this God, were worshipped with many rituals including bull leaping.
One of the issues with this theory is the location of Atlantis, supposedly placed beyond the pillars of Hercules in the Atlantic Ocean. Some ancient historians have theorized that, before the sixth century BC, the “Pillars of Hercules” may have applied to mountains on either side of the Gulf of Laconia. The mountains stood at either side of the southernmost gulf in Greece, that opens onto the Mediterranean Sea. This would have placed Atlantis in the Mediterranean, lending credence to many details in Plato’s discussion.
For me, the most compelling argument for believing Minoan Crete was the seed of the Atlantis myth is the destruction. In Plato’s telling, earthquakes and floods swept over Atlantis and the island sank into the sea. Crete did not sink. But the volcano at Santorini/Thera erupted in approximately 1450 B.C.E., ripping out the center of the island and leaving an enormous caldera. Crete was nearby and would have been affected by earthquakes, tsunamis and ash. A nearby city, Akrotiri, was completely covered and is being excavated from the hardened ash now. The ash reached Turkey. This volcano, by the way, is still active and has built up an island of hardened lava. An island, by the way, you can travel to and walk on. Vulcanologists expect it to erupt again someday.
The explosion did not destroy Crete. Evidence of rebuilding has been found in and around Knossos. However, it severely weakened the Minoans and evidence of the Mycenaeans show up in the archaeological record right about then. Many believe that the Mycenaeans took the opportunity to conquer a rich and powerful, but severely damaged, neighbor.
I received wonderful news: both In the Shadow of the Bull and On the Horns of Death have been picked up by a publisher in Greece and translated. So excited!
This got me thinking about the language in Ancient Crete. What did they speak? Greek? It is hard to know since we, of course, have no examples of the spoken language. We do have sample of what there was of the written language, however.
There are several examples of ancient writings but the only one that has been deciphered is Linear B. That was finally deciphered in 1952 and was used primarily for administrative texts. Tablets have been found in Knossos, Kydonia, Pylos, Thebes and Mycenae. When the Mycenaean civilization collapsed, this style of writing disappeared.
Linear A, which some believe was a precursor of Linear B, (others posit they were used simultaneously), Cypro-Minoan and Cretan hieroglyphics remain undeciphered.
Linear B is believed to be a early form of Greek. Knowing how English spoken in the age of Chaucer sounded, I would guess a Greek speaker now would not be able to understand this early form.
First, a note. My website went down on Friday for some as yet unknown reason. However, after a discussion with Bluehost, it is now working again. So, this is the blog I would have written on Thursday.
This Bronze Age civilization was the pinnacle of sophistication and culture in the Mediterranean. Their art – the paintings, mosaics, sculpture, jewelry – even their pottery – was much sought after. Excavations on mainland Greece, Turkey and Egypt have found remnants of these trade goods.
They were also noted for their textiles, especially a purple dye. The murals, sculptures, and sculptures reveal clothing dyed many colors. Indigo was known. (In fact, our name for this blue comes from the Greek name – which went into Latin – for Indian. The dye was originally exported from India. Madder was also known, although the Minoans also knew of the cochineal beetle for scarlet.
But the dye for which they are known is Tyrian purple, a deep color extracted from tens of thousands of murex snail shells. The dye was so expensive that it became known as Royal purple.
The one color they did not have was green unless they overdyed blue and yellow. A green dye was discovered in the 1800’s, but since it was made with copper arsenide, it was incredibly toxic.
Is there a kernel of truth to the legend of the Minotaur? We already know there are many theories regarding the location of a labyrinth as described in the Greek myth. One theory mentioned previously is the complicated floor plan of the Knossos palace complex. Many of the Achaeans, the early mainland Greeks, would have come from halls with much fewer rooms so it is possible they saw the complicated and many roomed palace and were overwhelmed.
. A fragment of a floor with a labyrinth has been found during the excavation at Knossos. Was it decoration? Or something more? No one knows.
Or perhaps the maze as described in the myth hasn’t been found. Pieces of tablets from Knossos, talk about a place with a labyrinth. So far, no one knows where that might be. Or even if it was a different location.
What about the minotaur, a bull-headed man? Considering the number of ancient cultures who used masks to represent animals and/or Gods, it doesn’t take much imagination to guess a man wearing a mask played the part of the Minotaur in religious rites. Bulls were very important; sacred in fact in this Bronze Age culture.
Finally, we come to the core of the Theseus and Minotaur myth. The tribute of young men and women were chased through the labyrinth and consumed. The Minoans have the reputation for being a peaceful society. It is probably true that, because they were an island with an excellent Navy, they were well defended from outside invaders. But certain finds have suggested this society was not as peaceful as it appears to us now. Bones of children mixed in with the bones of bovines and sheep, and bearing the same cut marks, suggest they were eaten as the animals were. Were these ancient Cretans cannibals? Was eating human flesh part of their religious rites?
Another finding suggests human sacrifice. Three bodies, crushed by falling debris during an earthquake, seem to indicate the sacrifice of a young man by a priest. Many cultures sacrificed to appease the Gods. However, if they were sacrificing this young man to prevent an earthquake, they left it to late.
The word labyrinth is from Bronze Age Crete. Labrys refers to the double-headed axe used in religious rituals. It definitely was not a tool. Labyrinth did not refer to a maze. (Perhaps to a place of labors?)
The labyrinth in Knossos was made famous in the Theseus and Minotaur myth. To recap, Athens was required to send fourteen kids (seven girls and seven boys) to Crete to be consumed by the bull-headed monster the Minotaur. The monster is confined to a maze underneath the city so that neither he, nor the tributes, can escape. Theseus, the son of the Athens’ King, is included in one of the tributes. Ariadne, King Minos’ daughter, falls in love with Theseus and gives him a ball of string and a sword. Theseus successfully kills the Minotaur and uses the string to find his, and the other captives, out of the maze.
Was there a maze under Knossos? It is true that Crete is a nation of mountains and caves. Perhaps there was, exactly as the myth describes, and through the years the earthquakes and of course the volcanic explosion of Thera on Santorini has erased it.
Another theory posits that the interlocking rooms of the palace in Knossos, which comprised workshops, storage rooms, meeting rooms as well as apartments, was the original labyrinth.
Current excavations, however, have turned up a floor mosaic of a maze, as well as a fragment of pottery decorated with a maze. So, mazes were important to this society.
This is not unlikely, Mazes have been found in other long ago societies. A maze carved into rock has been found near Tintagel, Cornwall and spirals carved into rock at Newgrange. One author makes the claim that Glastonbury Tor is a maze.
Why Mazes? Were they a metaphor for birth and renewal? A quest to reach the center as a symbol of finding enlightenment? Or did the mazes in Ancient Crete have some religious purpose we don’t yet know?
On thing we can be sure of: a Minotaur did not sit at the center to eat the tributes for Athens.