Minoan and Mycenaen Art

Essay for Midterm

Because Linear A and the Minoan hieroglyphs have not yet been translated, we know very little conclusively about the Minoan Culture. All that we know about these people must be drawn from archaeological evidence. Their cities were centered around a central palace that would contain a central court, what would appear to be administrative offices, apartments, several smaller rooms, intricate systems of hallways and passages to connect them, and a sort of storage area. In the area surrounding the palaces there were smaller farmhouses and fields. It seems that the inhabitants of these houses would work the fields and bring their harvest to the storage area where it would be distributed evenly among the people. The palaces were heavily decorated with what Evans called the “horns of consecration”, stylized bulls’ horns that along with several “bull-leaping” images signify the Minoans fascination with the bull. They seem to have allowed previously domesticated cattle to run wild and then recaptured them in order to perform their bull-leaping ceremonies and eventually to sacrifice the animals to their female goddesses.

These goddesses are depicted often and hint at a matriarchal society though it may have only been an equal one. It is impossible to tell which of these depictions are the goddess herself, a priestess, or simply a female worshipper. Evans uncovered a room that he entitled the “throne room” but is now believed to be a space used for epiphanic rituals. The archaeological evidence seems to indicate that a priestess would, perhaps after taking opium extracted from the poppy, engage in a ritual involving an epiphany where she would either see or channel the goddess. During these rituals it appears that she would be dressed as the goddess.

We can be fairly sure that the Minoans were a peaceful people since none of their palaces are fortified and we find only what appear to be ceremonial weapons. However there is some evidence through an accidental cave-in at Anemospilia that they may have occasionally practiced human sacrifice.

Cities of mainland Greece during the Bronze Age, however, were heavily fortified, indicating extremely violent, warring societies. We also find many more images of warriors as well as weapons that appear to be functional. In addition to their fortification, Mycenaean citadels with their Megarons give us an idea of their social organization, a warrior aristocracy. They seem to have taken the influence of