Analyzing Minoan Religious Turmoil

Robert Campbell

Missouri Valley Historical Conference

February 16, 2015

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Abstract

The Minoans are a misunderstood and understudied civilization. The timeframe is murky

and scholars are still trying to theorize the cause of their collapse. Between the Early and Late

Bronze Age there was an enormous amount of communication but not enough to establish an

accurate portrayal of what took place. There needs to be more tangible evidence like artwork,

cylinder seals, and pottery. I intend to undertake appropriate further research to investigate better

angles on this topic. In order to determine whether new approaches are viable, it is necessary to

first establish a methodology. In my initial research I have focused on cylinder seals, ring

impressions and artwork in particular to analyze hybridity of civilizations within the Bronze Age.

During these initial enquiries, I noticed that culture was a trade in itself. After the eruption of

Thera, the changes became more apparent on Crete. The gods were becoming male instead of

female, religious icons being desecrated, and Mycenaean take over leading to possible Minoan

migration. Despite the changes in the Eastern Mediterranean the Minoan race held strong. This

civilizations’ remarkable ability to adapt was the key to their survival regardless of the many

hardships they faced. My research was conducted to understand the Minoan people and attempt

to pursue more factors of their identity. This research not only gave me insight into these people

but also into issues that face scholars conducting relevant studies.

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Finding Minoan Identity

One of the murkiest areas of history is the Early to Late Bronze age. The Minoans were a

prominent civilization during this period.1 These people lived on Crete, an island in the

Mediterranean north of Egypt, and were experts of the sea and trade. The dates of their existence

varies based on whom you ask. Part of the reason for this is that there is still much to learn from

these people and material access is limited, along with epigraphic sources considering that their

primary language is yet to be fully deciphered. The FUSE research grant from the University of

Nebraska at Omaha provides an opportunity. Using this grant it is possible to research the

influence and religious impact of these ancient people with the aim to further comprehend them.

The beginning of the Minoans is established around 2700 BCE.2 However, the dates tend

to vary depending on the author. Cynthia Shelmerdine uses 2700 BCE as the beginning of the

Minoan civilization beginning to thrive, while Cyprian Broodbank has a chart that indicates the

start was 3000 BCE3, being the start of the Early Bronze Age. At the same time, Egypt and the

Near East were growing. The limitations concerning access to material leave one particular

viable path by which to study these people, that of the archaeology evidence. Using artefacts

such as cylinder seals and pieces of art history we can gain insight into the cultures and

influences that created them in comparison to contemporary material from adjoining cultures.

Nanno Marinitos assert that the Egyptians describe a people as “Keftiu”, a term that represented

the Minoans whom they encountered early on Crete.4 Early trade would have been with ryhtons,

1 Sir Aurther Evans, who founded this civilization, coined the term Minoan. He named these people after King

Minos from the Greek story of Theseus and the Minotaur. 2 Cynthia W. Shelmerdine, The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2008), 80 3 Cyprian Broodbank, The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean from the Beginning to the

Emergence of the Classical World (London: Oxford University Press, 2013), 13-14 4 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine (Urbana: University of Illinois

Press, 2010), 4

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jugs, and styles of art. The importance of early trade shows mass amounts of communication

between civilizations.

Dr. De Angelis from the University of British Columbia agrees that further analysis of

Aegean civilizations may be able to enlighten us with early trade measures within the Eastern

Mediterranean. During our meeting, hybridity was mentioned, and not just of the east but

including the west. Trade stretched from Sardinia west to Mesopotamia. The influence was clear

especially in specific areas like Crete and Egypt. Around 1500 BCE, there was common trade

between the two powers. Not only was this common trade in goods, but also in culture and

ideologies. For instance, once the new city of Peru-nefer was rebuilt in 1500 BCE, there was an

abundance of Minoan art inside. The decorations included bull-leaping frescos, with other scenes

that were previously known only on Crete.5

Seals were common in both previously mentioned cultures, and as such can be used to

analyze cultural similarities and religious acceptance between two cultures. Most notably is the

common image of the bull that appears widely in the Mediterranean world and was particularly

associated with the Minoan culture, but also with the Egyptians. Dr. Marinatos relates seals and

scarabs between these cultures in her book, Minoan Kingship.6 The seal that is examined shows

a bull with a double axe about the horns. On the Egyptian scarab, there is what looks to be an eye

of Rah. The religions are not the same, but are taking ideas from one another. She goes on to

compare the idea of bull and ox heads on other seals across the Near East, and establishes an

argument of all having the same mystical belief in the bull.

5 Eric H Cline, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), 17 6 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess, 117

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“These few examples show that in Anatola, Syria, and Palestine the ox head is a

manifestation of mythical animal and a carrier of the luminaries of heavan.”7

This isn’t a strong argument. The modern view of art is for art sake because it is now

available to the masses. Art in the ancient times probably had greater symbolism because it was a

way to express ideas in illiterate societies or societies with limited literacy. The ox and bull

images are seen across the Aegean and Near East, but nonetheless show imitation and hybridity

among the cultures. Her research brings a great point of early influence among the powers, but

they may not have added the religious belief to their objects.

Cylinder Seals

Viewing cultural change can be as simple as looking at a small object such as a cylinder

seal. On collaboration with Associate Professor Jeanne Reams of the University of Nebraska at

Omaha, we asserted that two cylinder seals, which appear in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

were particularly interesting in establishing a base from which to undertake this study. The seals

reiterate the theory of early communication to establish new concepts by providing a

comparative point between the Minoan and Egyptian cultures. In this case, Egyptians had a

similar form of authentication concerning the use of clay balls called “bullae” that had the

inscriptions on the inside and had to be broken to read.8 This was not the most efficient way of

doing business, but influenced the change in cylinder seals.

Dominique Collon’s book, First Impressions, uses an example of a seal from Crete and

will be used in comparison with two pictures taken from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.9

Collon’s example shows dolphins on the seal, which was a common trend in art during the end of

7 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess, 119 8 Daniel C. Snell, A Companion to the Ancient Near East (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing 2005), 40 9 All cylinder seal illustrations drawn thank to Ashley Raposo.

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the 2nd millennium BCE, and is seen in figure C.10 The linear lines stretch from the top to the

bottom, with dolphins at a slight angle with their head and bodies vertical in a row. This is

interesting because sea life was familiar to the Minoans, and adding hunting or mystical

creatures was rarely seen, and was made from cornelian.11 The two pictures from the MET have

no marine life, but have been declared as Minoan.

On analysis of the two seals discussed above, we were able to determine that they were

very different from others found elsewhere on Crete and the pieces were Minoan, but have great

Near Eastern influence. The first seal (Figure A) was from 1650 – 1450 BCE, made by the

Minoans, while the other piece (Figure B) was from 1400 – 1300 BCE, and was Crypto-

Minoan.12 Figure A was made out of marble, while the other is made out of Haematite.13

Haematite was known to the Near East as a strong metal with many applications. These two seals

both show animals, but neither show marine life. The first seal shows birds flying in the wind

and the other shows a mixture of horses. The second seal shows what looks to be a griffin in the

middle. The griffin in the middle helps indicate this was not a Minoan original because the

griffin was not as important to them as it was to cultures in the Near East. This illustrates the

Minoans imitating certain cylinder seals.

10 Dominique Collon, First Impressions: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East, (Chicago: University of Chicago

Press, 1988), 141 11 Dominique Collon, First Impressions, 149 12 "The Collection Online. The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Collection Online:The Metropolitan Museum of

Art. Accessed August 27, 2014. http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online. 13 "The Collection Online.” Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Not many seals were found on Crete, and the few that have are from Knossos. The

example by Collon shows the use of marine life being around the same time as the Thera

eruption. The piece with the griffin is Crypto-Minoan, which could mean the creator of this seal

received the idea from Near Eastern trade. Once seals were becoming widely accepted in the

Aegean by the end of the 2nd millennium BCE, Cyprus was becoming a centralized entity of

trade. They began to produce cylinder seals quickly and in mass quantities.14 What this may

instigate is the possibility of Minoan knowledge of seals, but choosing not to use them because

they already had a system in place with Linear A seals. Minoan seals were usually imitations of

seals from other civilizations, and the Linear A seals had the text imprinted on the seal

explaining what is being traded. The Linear A seals were mainly used for administrative

purposes. The imitation and influence seen on the seals from the MET help indicate the hybridity

14 Dominique Collon, First Impressions, 141

Fig. A. Sketched example from Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fig. B. Sketched example from Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fig. C. Sketched example from Collon’s book of cylinder seals.

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of this region. The smallest of objects can show a larger story, this type of cultural comradery

was progressing quickly, and may have started earlier than once previously predicted.

Cultural and Historical Context

Objects from the same culture exhibits continuity. The first phase of Cretan artwork was

similar to Mesopotamia, which indicates communication between mainland Mesopotamia and

the Aegean. After looking at the artwork, multiple questions come to mind. How important was

Minoan trade to the Aegean, and in turn, were there influences that helped the Minoans thrive

economically? Did the shift in artwork after the Thera eruption be religious change? All previous

research on the near East and Aegean have allowed historians to answer similar questions, but

now is the time for fresh minds to look for new possibilities.

Minoan trade stretched west to Sardinia, and went as far east as Babylon. Cline mentions

multiple encounters of Minoan goods being traded to Babylon specifically to Hammurabi. The

king of Mari sent a pair of sandals from Crete to King Hammurabi.15 Importing was just as

important as exporting during the peak of Minoan history. The most popular goods were bronze,

pottery, and culture. After reviewing 152 vessels, the most interesting reveals was regarding

marine life. Through this analysis it is clear that, all marine-life artwork was created after the

eruption of Thera in 1628 BCE.16

The Thera eruption was of incredible magnitude, and created a tidal wave that was over

thirty feet, hitting northern Crete.17 This was a major cataclysm that would affect all aspects of

Minoan life. Most historians believe that Thera affected these areas, but not to the point of

collapse. One particular point of analysis indicates internal issues among the Minoans. All signs

15 Eric H Cline, 1177 B.C., 19 16 Cyprian Broodbank, The Making of the Middle Sea, 372 17 Cyprian Broodbank, The Making of the Middle Sea, 372

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pointed to an issue with administration or possibly religion. The Minoans were strong enough to

handle such destruction, but turmoil during and after is what really weakened them. Dr. De

Angelis agrees with Cline’s conclusions in his book 1177 BC. Thera jump-started the situation

on Crete. Prior to this cataclysm, the Minoans were thriving and had to fend of the Mycenaeans,

but life was flourishing. Once the eruption occurred, religious beliefs were shaken and left a

weak island for the Mycenaeans to take.

Religion played a strong roll in Minoan life on Crete, and the Minoans held beliefs

focusing on the Mother Goddess, who watched of the people. The Goddess has many

interpretations, but the familiar representation was a woman holding a staff standing on a

mountaintop. This is depicted in many different art pieces of the time. Pieces like this provided

the notion of the deity being known as Mother of the Mountain.18 Analyzing the situation of a

Minoan in northern Crete during the eruption helps gain perspective. Someone who worshiped

this Goddess and enduring such a cataclysm would shake their beliefs. After always believing in

a Goddess who protects from harm and keeps prosperity of the land, then losing hard work and

possible family death, staying loyal may have been a challenge. When pursuing multiple

scenarios, two practical options came to mind; one being to show more respect towards the

Mother Goddess, or to disown and start believing in a new God or Goddess. Both are represented

in the artwork of the post-eruption period.

Around 1600 BCE artwork began to show more marine-life on pottery and frescos.

Figures 8.a. and 8.b. are early pieces from Minoan and Mycenaean culture, both showing the sea

and marine-life, but both are after 1600 BCE. The most iconic dolphin and octopus frescos at

Akrotiri were both created after Thera. The sample size is too small to properly provide a

18 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess, 83

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definitive analysis, but still provide importance evidence. Marine life art created after the

eruption of Thera was abundant, and so far all the objects looked at in this research point to the

possibility of an ancient form of pietas.

Once the tidal wave crashed on to the northern shore of Crete the people would

theoretically panic. They decided to show respect for the sea and its animals through pottery and

art. This is only a hypothesis due to lack of cache and only having 152 objects available. Reames

suggests a method to solidify this theory. The amount of objects would have to include over one

third of the total cache of artwork and objects.19 We can also consider the point of verifying the

marine art appeasing the Goddess by analyzing each piece. This has not yet been undertaken in

previous scholarship. After all these years with plenty of objects, why has this not been done?

The likeliest of reasons would be scholars are focused on a set area, not wanting to include

multiple regions to study.

Religious Ring Impressions

Showing respect for the Mother Goddess or beginning to worship a different deity are

both possibilities. Ring impressions from Crete can help visualize gods or goddesses being

worshiped at the time. These impressions would be flat ovals attached to the top of a ring. The

common instance was showing the Mother Goddess holding a staff on top of a mountain or

palace.20 She tends to be accompanied by double axes, or horns on buildings on the sides of the

impression. One specific ring from Knossos shows the goddess in the air above two wolves on

each side of her extending up towards her while holding a staff.21 She is facing east, or to the

19 Jeanne Reames, interviewed by Robert Campbell, Omaha, NE, December 20, 2014 20 Ring Impression illustrations drawn by Robert Campbell. 21 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess, 70

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right, as she was usually depicted. This seal was found at Knossos, and was created in 1425

BCE.22

Further west, there is an example of a male god found in western Crete, Chania, standing

exactly how the Mother Goddess except his God is facing to the left instead of right, and has the

triangle shape that is familiar to Minoan culture with a bull’s head.23 He is standing on buildings

with bullhorns on the roofs. The God facing west may indicate influence from the Mycenaeans.

With the Mycenaeans having a patriarchal society, the shift from a female to a male goddess on

create is plausible. The impression was from Chania in 1425 BCE. 24 This indicates a greater

chance of Mycenaean influence. This impression is the opposite of the Mother Goddess and

indicates there were other Minoans who were worshiping a new or different deity. The male

could possibly another representation of an object found in Palaikastro.

22 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess, 83 23 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess, 75 24 Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess,75

Fig. D. Example of common ring impression of Mother Goddess.

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There was a discovery of a small icon of a boy made of hippopotamus ivory. The boy is

holding his arms out in fists and is sculpted in such a way that every muscle and many veins can

be identified. The precision of the piece indicates it was used for worship. The object is known

as the Kouros. Bettany Hughes discusses this object in her Ancient World series. She believes

that this statue was a new boy God.25

The face and genitals were removed and the overall body was scorched and burned,

definite signs of desecration. This leads to the idea of a passionate hatred or the possibility of

iconoclasm. The boy figure was found at Palaikastro (eastern Crete), and was found in several

pieces. The 50cm sculpture was the largest Minoan piece ever found and the head, torso, arms

and feet were found scattered in Building 5, while the legs were found in Room 2.26 There was

evidence of a large fire that took place, which was typical because of the materials used to build

the structures. There is a possibility that the destruction was done on purpose because of similar

practices found around the Near East known as iconoclasm from possible religious turmoil.

25 The Minotaur's Island. Performed by Bettany Hughes. Channel Four Television Corp: 2008. Film. 26 Weingarten, Judith. "Measure for Measure: The Palaikastro Kouros and Minoan Society."Aegaeum, no. 12, 15

(1995), 249

Fig. E. Example of ring impression depicting male God.

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Manifestation of Religious Turmoil

Most textbooks point the origins of iconoclasm to the Near East, in areas such as

Mesopotamia, Babylon, and moves northwest to the Hittite Empire.27 Typically, this type of

event would occur with colliding world ideals, religion, or politics. Petra Goedegebuure

researches Hittite history, and postulates that historians need to consider smaller-scale or

individual instances of iconoclasm.28 Most forms of this action in the Hittite Kingdom were

stealing idols, but rarely were they desecrated. This was considered to be a terrible act, and when

the objects were desecrated, they would mainly be royal sculptures, not deities. The Minoans

may have looked across the sea to two different civilizations; one being contact through the

Hittites, and another being contact through the Mesopotamian trade. Both cultures were trading

with the Minoans early on in the second century BCE, but which had the largest influence?

Further analysis reveals the Hittite royalty communicating with Minoan royalty, or

political cooperation. On the walls of the tomb of Menkheperreseneb, the first prophet of Amun,

images show the Minoan prince in the company of Prince of the Hittite.29 Since it is not clear

exactly when the prophet died, he lived between the time of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II

(roughly 1479 – 1397 BCE).30 Though this is later in the Late Bronze Age, there is still evidence

that would indicate communication between royalties. Marriage between two civilizations was a

regular occurrence because it would open up trade routes and allies in case of war. If this were

the case, there would defiantly be trade between these cultures.

27 Petra M. Goedegebuure, Iconoclasm and Text Destruction in the Ancient Near East and Beyond. Edited by

Natalie Naomi May, (Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 45 2012), 407-408 28 Petra M. Goedegebuure, Iconoclasm and Text Destruction in the Ancient Near East and Beyond, 408 29 Eric H Cline, 1177 B.C., 25 30 Cynthia W. Shelmerdine, The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, 4-5

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The Minoans were known to trading with Near Eastern cultures, including Mesopotamia,

from 1800 BCE and on.31 This would be one possibility that would lead to iconoclasm on Crete.

Many Mesopotamians believed in specific meanings of signs with hidden meaning, and would

need to speak to a series of oracles to for answers.32 If there was some sort of cataclysm like a

tidal wave, and Mesopotamian influenced Minoan religion, many people may take that as a sign

from the Mother Goddess. Just a little influence like this could stir the pot enough to change the

minds of some people. Mesopotamians and Assyrians would destroy idols after conquering, and

the Hittites would steal religious idols, it is plausible that the Minoans after such a loss would

turn against their Goddess and take ideas from both cultures based on their high level of trade

and royal connection.

Conclusion

Early to Late Bronze Age is one the murkiest areas in history, which gives scholars

freedom to create hypotheses to test. This should make historians and archeologists in this field

excited because there is still much to explore. The next test is to begin re-evaluating the

questions being asked, and try to approach new angles. The Minoans are an understudied

civilization, and this should not be the case, given that they have held their own with the largest

kingdoms of the time. They set trends, traded with dominant kingdoms, known to be the best sea

farers, and survived until the collapse of the Late Bronze Age. Civilizations like the Hittites

didn’t last past the collapse. This research is a great start to a long journey through to uncover

solve more mysteries about these people. The Minoan civilization did not go past the island of

Crete, but they acted as if their boarders were past the sea.

31 Eric H Cline, 1177 B.C., 20 32 Petra M. Goedegebuure, Iconoclasm and Text Destruction in the Ancient Near East and Beyond, 410

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