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165 foundations of Neopalatial religion laid in the Protopalatial period, and probably much earlier, in cults at caves, peak sanctuaries, and communal tombs easy to access
horns of consecration (symbol shaped like abstract bull horns)
166 Crete lacks evidence for the large formal temples like Egypt and Mesopotamia
sanctuary at Kato Syme, Proto and Neopalatial cult activity, cult continuity into the historical period when sacred to Hermes and Aphrodite
some ritual structures laid out on a steep slope below an imposing waterfall around areas that included large bonfires and places where votive offerings such as stone offering tables were deposited
167 Zakros Sanctuary Rhyton depicts a peak sanctuary consisting of a tripartite façade with horns of consecration and "masts" set in the background like a backdrop for the courtyard in front.
168 unclear what depictions of women are of goddess
mistress of the beasts a good candidate
borrowing of Tawaret, a hippopotamus goddess associated with women and childbirth in Egypt
169 Xeste 3 at Akrotiri had an intriguing fresco depicting two young women flanking a seated "Wounded Woman" with a bleeding foot, above a lustral basin (small sunken room of unknown function)
some scenes show bulls trussed on low tables, there seems little doubt that some of them were killed and consumed, in a practice that may have been social, religious, or both
170 possible indications of human sacrifice, not certain
What can be said with certainty is that the widespread destructions at the end of LM IB marked a significant change in Minoan religious practices
171 wide variety of practices: tholos tombs (round domed tombs), burial in built structures, inhumation, use of terracotta sarcophagi, and the collection of skulls following the decomposition of the body
172 individuals were laid to rest initially on plain or painted wooden biers or beds, sometimes deposited atop a low, built platform or dais. Significantly, this burial practice foreshadows by some seven centuries the later Greek rituals of prothesis (mourning the deceased on a bier) and ekphora (carrying a bier to a grave site) that we see on Late Geometric vases
173 simple scenario: the administrators tie string around the handles of the bushels of olives and over cloths that cover the mouths of the wine jars. Over the knots of these tied strings they then press lumps of clay and impress the clay lumps with the engraved seals and finger rings provided by the state (sth like this probably going on at Lerna in EH II)
174 early Knossos sealings were impressed by seals bearing the name "JA-SA-SA-RA", may be the name of a goddess akin to Hittite Esha-sara or Levantine Asherah.
175 Linear A is found on different kinds of clay documents: sealings over knots of string, prismatic sealings over tightly wrapped leather packages (probably written documents on parchment), "roundels" that look like discs and are impressed by seals around the rim, and neat rectangular clay tablets.
176 Because the earliest habitation levels in Crete betray a full knowledge of developed Neolithic culture and many of the objects look Anatolian in inspiration, it is presumed that Crete was deliberately colonized by people from southwest Anatolia
177 The phrases on side A begin with similar signs, and those on side B end in similar signs, suggesting repetitious phrases on A and rhyming phrases on B. For these reasons, it is likely that the Phaistos Disc records a poem or song, or, if it is religious, as some suppose, a chant or hymn.
178 If Crete in the Neopalatial period was heavily urbanized across most of the island, then it is difficult to imagine it fragmented into mutually exclusive states; instead, we should imagine a centralized political control, Knossos with some sort of hegemony symbolized by its throne, with secondary (Phaistos, Malia) and tertiary regional centers, along with large and small towns and farms.
179 Evidence from frescoes also suggests that Minoan society was sex-segregated, at least at ceremonial gatherings
representations of female deities, mostly seated
far fewer representations depict what could be male divinities: men who stand between two rampant lions or who hold griffins on a leash
180 more women than men, however, appear in powerful roles, at a larger relative scale
181 no known matriarchies, Crete best candidate
horns of consecration (symbol shaped like abstract bull horns)
166 Crete lacks evidence for the large formal temples like Egypt and Mesopotamia
sanctuary at Kato Syme, Proto and Neopalatial cult activity, cult continuity into the historical period when sacred to Hermes and Aphrodite
some ritual structures laid out on a steep slope below an imposing waterfall around areas that included large bonfires and places where votive offerings such as stone offering tables were deposited
167 Zakros Sanctuary Rhyton depicts a peak sanctuary consisting of a tripartite façade with horns of consecration and "masts" set in the background like a backdrop for the courtyard in front.
168 unclear what depictions of women are of goddess
mistress of the beasts a good candidate
borrowing of Tawaret, a hippopotamus goddess associated with women and childbirth in Egypt
169 Xeste 3 at Akrotiri had an intriguing fresco depicting two young women flanking a seated "Wounded Woman" with a bleeding foot, above a lustral basin (small sunken room of unknown function)
some scenes show bulls trussed on low tables, there seems little doubt that some of them were killed and consumed, in a practice that may have been social, religious, or both
170 possible indications of human sacrifice, not certain
What can be said with certainty is that the widespread destructions at the end of LM IB marked a significant change in Minoan religious practices
171 wide variety of practices: tholos tombs (round domed tombs), burial in built structures, inhumation, use of terracotta sarcophagi, and the collection of skulls following the decomposition of the body
172 individuals were laid to rest initially on plain or painted wooden biers or beds, sometimes deposited atop a low, built platform or dais. Significantly, this burial practice foreshadows by some seven centuries the later Greek rituals of prothesis (mourning the deceased on a bier) and ekphora (carrying a bier to a grave site) that we see on Late Geometric vases
173 simple scenario: the administrators tie string around the handles of the bushels of olives and over cloths that cover the mouths of the wine jars. Over the knots of these tied strings they then press lumps of clay and impress the clay lumps with the engraved seals and finger rings provided by the state (sth like this probably going on at Lerna in EH II)
174 early Knossos sealings were impressed by seals bearing the name "JA-SA-SA-RA", may be the name of a goddess akin to Hittite Esha-sara or Levantine Asherah.
175 Linear A is found on different kinds of clay documents: sealings over knots of string, prismatic sealings over tightly wrapped leather packages (probably written documents on parchment), "roundels" that look like discs and are impressed by seals around the rim, and neat rectangular clay tablets.
176 Because the earliest habitation levels in Crete betray a full knowledge of developed Neolithic culture and many of the objects look Anatolian in inspiration, it is presumed that Crete was deliberately colonized by people from southwest Anatolia
177 The phrases on side A begin with similar signs, and those on side B end in similar signs, suggesting repetitious phrases on A and rhyming phrases on B. For these reasons, it is likely that the Phaistos Disc records a poem or song, or, if it is religious, as some suppose, a chant or hymn.
178 If Crete in the Neopalatial period was heavily urbanized across most of the island, then it is difficult to imagine it fragmented into mutually exclusive states; instead, we should imagine a centralized political control, Knossos with some sort of hegemony symbolized by its throne, with secondary (Phaistos, Malia) and tertiary regional centers, along with large and small towns and farms.
179 Evidence from frescoes also suggests that Minoan society was sex-segregated, at least at ceremonial gatherings
representations of female deities, mostly seated
far fewer representations depict what could be male divinities: men who stand between two rampant lions or who hold griffins on a leash
180 more women than men, however, appear in powerful roles, at a larger relative scale
181 no known matriarchies, Crete best candidate
