MINOAN CIVILIZATION (Crete : 4050 BP- 3400 BP)
Crete is 8 times the size of Massachusetts
Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941)
● British Archaeologist
● Fascinated with the earliest expressions of Greek civilization
● Mysterious inscriptions led him to Crete Purchased the rights to excavate at the most
significant site incentivized: Kafala (Knossos)
○ Building on pilot work by Minos Kalokairinos
Assembling the Team
● Evans brings 2 key collaborators on board
○ Duncan Mackenzie (archaeologist)
○ Theodore Fyfe (architect)
● Excavation at Knossos (previously known as Kafala) began in 1990
Minos, Minotaur, Minoans
● King of Minos of Crete
● His monster, the Minotaur
○ Part bull, part human
○ Feeds on human blood
● Evan’s see Knossos as connecting materially to this Ancient Greek mythology
Monumental Architecture/Public Works Projects-Why?
● Keep people busy
● Organize people to work together under large organization of a common, material goal
● Promote ideology of cultural identity across classes
● Impress with power
Minoan Civilization Chronology
● First farming villages on Crete: 8000 BP
● Minoan Culture (5150- 3400 BP)
○ Pre-Palatial Period (5150- 4050 BP)
○ Palace Period (4050- 3400 BP)
Pre-Palatial Basics
● 5150- 4050 BP
● Crete = mountainous landscape with limited fertile land
● Iconic material culture
○ Bronze knives with rivet-fastening technology
● Burials: stone-vaulted communal graves whose social differentiation and status
● Increasing size of settlements over time
Palace Period
● 4050- 3400 BP
, ● Condensing sub period divisions elaborated by Evans
● Rise of palace sites across Crete
○ Administrative centers for a small state or province
Palace of Knossos (3950- 3530 BP)
● One of several major palace sites
● Food surplus storage
● Radiating floor plan
● Stone and timber construction
● Frescos!
Elements of Minoan Architecture
● Iconic forms
● Technology
● Ornamentation/ Art
Iconic Forms: Minoan Columns
● Materials
○ Wood (entire tree trunks)
○ Stone
● Style
○ Smooth tapered pillars
○ Simple round capitals (top of the column)
● Use/ Placements
○ Colonnades
○ Space dividers
○ Ceiling/ Roof supporters
○ Facilitate airflow between rooms
○ Symbolic?
Technology: Plumbing
● Ceramic pipes brought water in
○ 700-5000 meters distance
● Complex stone drainage / sewage systems took water out
○ 150 meters of plumbing
● Flush toilets
● Bath
● Value of hygiene in Minoan design and infrastructure
Ornamentation & Art
● Frescoes
, MINOAN CIVILIZATION II
Queen’s Megaron: Dolphins
Throne Room/“King minos Throne”
● Griffon and vegetal frescoes flank a built-in carved stone seat (throne)
● Central stone basin before the throne
● Interpretations: Ritual Significance!
○ Throne room (Political use)
○ Religious space used by high priest or priestess
○ Ceremonial space used only occasionally over the course of the year’s rituals
Ladies in Blue & “La Parisienne”
● La Parisienne=
○ Priestess wearing a sacral knot
○ Figure on the libation fresco (ceremonial banquet scenes)
○ Heavy created frescos
○ 3 Women richly dressed, jewels
Prince of the Lilies
● Life-sized fresco
● Elaborate headdress of way-lilies and peacock feathers (religious significance)
● Evans identifies the young man as the ruler of Knossos
○ Other interpretations: athlete or priestess
○ Not representative of a particular historical ruler
● Gender in Minoan Art
○ Red= masculine figure
○ White= feminine figure
○ Generally Speaking
● Restoration art by Emile Gillieron and son (jr.)
● Is the “Prince” leading an animal in a religious procession? Maybe for a sacrifice
Toreador Fresco
● Young man vaulting over the back of a massive charging bull
● Young woman (?) standing with open arms
● Religious/ Ritual significance?
Bull Leaping
● Sporting event?
● Rite of initiation?
● Reenactment of a mythological event?
● Representation of constellation movements in the night sky?
Minoan Bulls
● Found in shrines
Crete is 8 times the size of Massachusetts
Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941)
● British Archaeologist
● Fascinated with the earliest expressions of Greek civilization
● Mysterious inscriptions led him to Crete Purchased the rights to excavate at the most
significant site incentivized: Kafala (Knossos)
○ Building on pilot work by Minos Kalokairinos
Assembling the Team
● Evans brings 2 key collaborators on board
○ Duncan Mackenzie (archaeologist)
○ Theodore Fyfe (architect)
● Excavation at Knossos (previously known as Kafala) began in 1990
Minos, Minotaur, Minoans
● King of Minos of Crete
● His monster, the Minotaur
○ Part bull, part human
○ Feeds on human blood
● Evan’s see Knossos as connecting materially to this Ancient Greek mythology
Monumental Architecture/Public Works Projects-Why?
● Keep people busy
● Organize people to work together under large organization of a common, material goal
● Promote ideology of cultural identity across classes
● Impress with power
Minoan Civilization Chronology
● First farming villages on Crete: 8000 BP
● Minoan Culture (5150- 3400 BP)
○ Pre-Palatial Period (5150- 4050 BP)
○ Palace Period (4050- 3400 BP)
Pre-Palatial Basics
● 5150- 4050 BP
● Crete = mountainous landscape with limited fertile land
● Iconic material culture
○ Bronze knives with rivet-fastening technology
● Burials: stone-vaulted communal graves whose social differentiation and status
● Increasing size of settlements over time
Palace Period
● 4050- 3400 BP
, ● Condensing sub period divisions elaborated by Evans
● Rise of palace sites across Crete
○ Administrative centers for a small state or province
Palace of Knossos (3950- 3530 BP)
● One of several major palace sites
● Food surplus storage
● Radiating floor plan
● Stone and timber construction
● Frescos!
Elements of Minoan Architecture
● Iconic forms
● Technology
● Ornamentation/ Art
Iconic Forms: Minoan Columns
● Materials
○ Wood (entire tree trunks)
○ Stone
● Style
○ Smooth tapered pillars
○ Simple round capitals (top of the column)
● Use/ Placements
○ Colonnades
○ Space dividers
○ Ceiling/ Roof supporters
○ Facilitate airflow between rooms
○ Symbolic?
Technology: Plumbing
● Ceramic pipes brought water in
○ 700-5000 meters distance
● Complex stone drainage / sewage systems took water out
○ 150 meters of plumbing
● Flush toilets
● Bath
● Value of hygiene in Minoan design and infrastructure
Ornamentation & Art
● Frescoes
, MINOAN CIVILIZATION II
Queen’s Megaron: Dolphins
Throne Room/“King minos Throne”
● Griffon and vegetal frescoes flank a built-in carved stone seat (throne)
● Central stone basin before the throne
● Interpretations: Ritual Significance!
○ Throne room (Political use)
○ Religious space used by high priest or priestess
○ Ceremonial space used only occasionally over the course of the year’s rituals
Ladies in Blue & “La Parisienne”
● La Parisienne=
○ Priestess wearing a sacral knot
○ Figure on the libation fresco (ceremonial banquet scenes)
○ Heavy created frescos
○ 3 Women richly dressed, jewels
Prince of the Lilies
● Life-sized fresco
● Elaborate headdress of way-lilies and peacock feathers (religious significance)
● Evans identifies the young man as the ruler of Knossos
○ Other interpretations: athlete or priestess
○ Not representative of a particular historical ruler
● Gender in Minoan Art
○ Red= masculine figure
○ White= feminine figure
○ Generally Speaking
● Restoration art by Emile Gillieron and son (jr.)
● Is the “Prince” leading an animal in a religious procession? Maybe for a sacrifice
Toreador Fresco
● Young man vaulting over the back of a massive charging bull
● Young woman (?) standing with open arms
● Religious/ Ritual significance?
Bull Leaping
● Sporting event?
● Rite of initiation?
● Reenactment of a mythological event?
● Representation of constellation movements in the night sky?
Minoan Bulls
● Found in shrines
