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.
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.
As I’ve discussed in earlier posts, Artemis is one of the Gods who, it is believed, was a goddess in Bronze Age Crete and was adopted by the mainland Greeks. She remained virtually unchanged, unlike Hera who diminished from a goddess in her own right to the jealous wife of Zeus in Classical Greece.
Artemis was a virgin goddess and a goddess of the hunt, of vegetation, and of birth. Women in labor prayed to her.
In the myths of Classical Greece, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo. (Daughter of Leto by Zeus.) And since those myths all seemed to be dark and full of cruelty, Artemis too could be cruel. She turned a young hunter, Acteon, who accidentally saw her bathing, into a stag and his own hunting dogs took him down.
In my Ancient Crete mystery series, Martis, my protagonist, is a follower of Artemis.
As a devotee of Artemis, Martis plans to remain a virgin her whole life.
As part of my research, I hope to visit Ephesus where the ruins of a temple to Artemis still stand. Enormous in scale, the temple boasted a double row of columns that became a model for other Greek temples. Besides honoring Artemis, the temple also served as a place of sanctuary. Recent excavations have shown the stalls, where refuge seekers slept.
Historical note: Cleopatra’s sister Arsinoe was double-crossed and murdered on the temple steps before she could reach the safety of the temple.
In my Ancient Crete series, I describe a sport in which young people run at a bull, grab the horns, and flip over the back. Martis, my protagonist, wants to become a bull leaper in the first book – In the Shadow of the Bull.
In the second in the series, On the Horns of Death, Martis is a full fledged bull leaper.
Below is my imagined picture of what bull leaping might look like.
The bulls used in this sport/ritual were not the domesticated cattle we are now familiar with. Instead, a type of cattle now extinct called aurochs are thought to be ones used.
The aurochs were holdovers from the Ice Age and were much larger than domesticated bulls. From historical reports and excavated skeletons, we know the auroch bulls stood about six feet. They had long slender legs for walking long distances. For the purpose of bull leaping, they had long, thick curved horns.
What happened to the aurochs? We know they were still in existence during the Roman era; they were used as battle beasts in the arenas. The aurochs actually survived until the 1600s, but the numbers were much diminished. Over hunting and loss of range as humans expanded into their habitat. The date given for their extinction is 1627 when a poacher killed the last one on a reserve in Poland.
An effort to rewild Europe has attempted to bring back the Aurochs, among other extinct animals. DNA strands from some ancient cattle strains were combined. The result is called Heck’s cattle and gradually they have been introduced into Europe. Spain just announced a reintroduction in October, 2023.
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.
After Arge dies, poisoned as she stands at the altar on her wedding day, she returns as a spirit to ask Martis for help in identifying the killer.
Willies, spirits of young girls who were murdered before they married or had children, were a common feature of ancient myth. Sometimes they were good, sometimes not, but almost every myth includes the haunting of the family by these willies, usually for many years. Seven or nine seem to be the usual numbers. It was necessary for the families to perform the proper rituals to prevent disaster.
Fertility – both of people and livestock, was important for the health of the community. One reason for this is the danger associated with childbirth. One estimate I read of maternal death in childbirth was put at between 40 and 50%. Infant mortality was as high, and of course of those who survived birth, a large percentage did not make it to their fifth birthday. But I digress.
In Martis’ case, the spirit of her sister Arge is helpful. The question is this, is the spirit Martis sees truly a ghost of is it the voice of Martis’s subconscious? The reader has to decide.
I chose Arge because, in this way, Martis can have help figuring out what she’s seen and heard without involving someone who might be a suspect.
From the frescos, the statuary and other artworks, we know women had a lot of power in Bronze Age Crete. Seals show a female figure as several times the size of the male figure; that is assumed to be a representation of a Supreme Goddess with a less important consort or son beside her.
Other works show figures in the traditional clothing: the short, tight short-sleeved jackets and long skirts, with elaborate headdresses. Two very famous statues show these women holding snakes (which were sacred.) These, it is theorized, are the Priestesses.
In many cultures, women were expected to know prayers/spells and make regular offering to the Gods to safeguard their homes and families. The Bronze Age was an age when many women died in childbirth (estimates rise as high as half) and miscarriages and stillbirths were common. Women employed amulets, prayers, and appeals to wise women to help them attract their love, inspire pregnancy, make the birth easy, keep the baby safe and more. These practices continued up through Roman times.
Christianity does not have priestesses. The only formal avenue for women in their worship is to become a nun. The spells, love potions, amulets and so one went underground, to women who became feared as witches.
In Ancient Crete, women would have been responsible for the prayers and sacrifices to keep their homes safe. Clearly, as shown by the above statue, there were other women whose responsibilities were far greater.
In In The Shadow of the Bull,
I imagined a class of Priestesses who lived separately and were responsible for all the rituals involving appeals to the Goddess. This was their profession. I suspect these women would have also attained a high degree of political power as well so, in my reconstruction of the world, I made the female ruler also the High Priestess with the others below her.
I will be taking a break for the next few weeks but I will return the last week of October.
Last Saturday I attended the Albany Book Festival at the Albany University Upper Campus. This is always one of my favorite events as it gives me a chance to talk to both other writers and of course many readers.
My contest on Fresh Fiction has been extended through October. Follow this link: https://gleam.io/Jghrh/eleanor-kuhns-september to join and possibly win a copy of my new book, In the Shadow of the Bull, as well as A Simple Murder and a $10.00 Amazon gift card.
Very excited to announce I will be speaking at Newburgh Free Library next Wednesday, October 4 at 6:30. The event is free.
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.
What do we know about the cosmetics used by the women in Ancient Crete and the clothing they wore? Because we have no written records, archaeologists (and writers like me) are forced to rely on interpretations of murals, statuary and other art work.
Cosmetics were commonly used in the Ancient World: Egypt, the Middle Ages, and Asia. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, they were used by both men and women and all classes. Kohl was the most commonly used cosmetic. Kohl was made from galena, a dark gray ore and crushed charcoal, mixed with gum or water to make a paste. Cosmetics were so important cosmetic palettes were found buried in gold with the deceased’s grave goods.
Kohl was used for lining the eyes, like modern eyeliner. It offered health benefits in the form of protection from disease, bugs and sun rays. Red ochre clay was ground up and mixed with water to create a paste to paint on the lips and cheeks.
The murals also show the hairstyle fashionable at that time. Locks of hair were brought over the front of the shoulders. Most of the hair was drawn back from the forehead and decorated with pearls, gold beads or gems. Both sexes wore their hair in this manner.
Note in the graphic above the white ribbon at the back of the women’s necks. This was a sacral knot worn by the priestesses.
Finally, the murals and statuary depict a certain style of dress. All the women wear long skirts, usually ruffled or arranged in tiers, with a short short-sleeved jacket. Opinions vary about what women wore under the jacket. Were they nude or did they wear a blouse? It is difficult to tell from the artifacts available to us.
Below, a statue of a goddess or priestess holding snakes.
Notice the elaborate belt around her wasp waist. Apparently, tiny waists were also the fashion and tight belts were worn to accentuate it. These wasp waists and tight belts were worn by men as well as by women.
This is the setting I use for In The Shadow of the Bull, a mystery set in Bronze Age Crete. Martis’s preference for more comfortable clothing, and only a loincloth when she is bull leaping, is frequently mentioned. As she grows up, she too adopts the tiered skirt with its tight belt and the short-sleeved jacket.