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.
I read only one and a half books this week, but for a good reason. U received the edits for the second in the Bronze Age Crete Mysteries, On the Horns of Death. No cover or pub date yet.
The Lindbergh Nanny. by Mariah Fredericks, tells the story of the kidnapping, but from the perspective of the baby’s nanny. Although the first few chapters are a little slow moving, it picks up and by the time the kidnapping happens. the book is captivating. The characters, Ollie and Elsie Whately who also help in the Lindbergh household, and the various members of the people below stairs are well drawn and memorable. Although I knew who the kidnapper was, I followed along as Betty tried to determine the inside man.
I can only imagine how much research the author had to do. Fact and fiction are well woven together so it is impossible to tell the difference. (I appreciated the author’s note at the back.) Charles Lindbergh does not come off very well, among other things, he was a Nazi sympathizer. The depiction of celebrity was terrifying. This book deserved its nomination for the Agatha Award.
The second book is The Secrets of Harwood Hall.
The one is more suspense, at least so far. Mrs. Lennox, a young widow, takes a post as governess for a young boy, Louis. From the first, she has questions. Why such a small staff? Why does the family never go to the village? What business is the mistress of the house engaged in?
Then she is awakened late one night. Thinking Louis needs her, she goes out into the hall and follows someone or something creeping through the house. I am looking forward to finishing this captivating story.