AEGEAN WALL PAINTING: A TRIBUTE TO MARK CAMERON || The ideals of manhood in Minoan Crete

The ideals of manhood in Minoan CreteAuthor(s): Nanno MarinatosSource: British School at Athens Studies, Vol. 13, AEGEAN WALL PAINTING: A TRIBUTE TOMARK CAMERON (2005), pp. 149-158Published by: British School at AthensStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40960400 .

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9 The ideals of manhood in Minoan Crete

Nanno Marina tos

INTRODUCTION

Mark Cameron established thematic units in the paintings of the palace of Knossos and he thought to have detected the presence of a goddess throughout.1 This paper in honour of his invaluable work is meant as a supplement to his contribution about female divinity as expressed in the Knossian murals. I shall address the issue of the expression of male prestige in Minoan Crete. I have argued elsewhere that some of the paintings in the Knossos palace represent a 'male point of view' a glorification of male prowess and courage. The bull hunting scene from the North Entrance of the palace as well as the Taureador panels would have exempli- fied male prestige; so would the Palanquin fresco and the Prince of the Lilies.2 Further, I would argue that scenes involving naval engagements or ships are connected with male feats. To be sure frescoes with such subjects were not found in any of the Minoan palaces, but I suspect that the Ship Fresco from Room 5 of the West House, Thera, was an adaptation of a Cretan origi- nal.3 I shall return to this point later.

The thesis that male authority found expression in the visual arts of the Minoans adjusts the picture of power structures in Crete which sometimes has been described as matriarchal. If the power of women was felt mostly in the field of ritual, which was the main male sphere of influence?

In an attempt to find an answer, I shall first deal with one class of homogenous objects: stone or metal conical rhyta. These vessels can be considered prestige items and were undoubtedly used in ceremonial contexts, most probably banquets.4 Being decorated with male iconography alone^ they were likely used by men in all-male feasts.

ATHLETIC CONTESTS AND HUNTING ON STONE RHYTA

The conical steatite rhyton from Ayia Triada must have been a highly prestigious vessel being, in all likelihood, covered with gold.5 It is divided into several registers all of which depict pairs of youths involved in fairly rigorous, if not violent, contests. The defeated are on the ground or are being hit by their opponents. No 'tame' picture here. That the males are youths can be shown by their long hair.6 It should be noted that some of the youths wear jewellery, surely a sign of wealth and aristocratic origin.

One register is not devoted to contests but to bull- leaping. At first this activity may seem like an anomaly in the homogeneous iconography. And yet, bull-leaping can also be considered a contest. It is a fight between man and beast, the human being the champion, the bull playing the role of the adversary.7 As we shall see further on, other rhyta also depict 'bull contests'. At any rate, the Ayia Triada piece shows that bull-leaping was contextually associated with various types of matches in the Minoan mind where there must be a victor and a loser.

Boxing is common on other stone rhyta. A fragment of a vessel in Boston depicts a pugilistic scene and it is possible that it may actually belong to the Ayia Triada rhyton.8

A stone steatite fragment found in the North-East palace region at Knossos (FIG. 9.1) has remarkable iconographical affinities with the Ayia Triada rhyton.9 It depicts a young pugilist with long hair and a cod- piece. At his feet lies a fallen adversary.

Another boxing scene was depicted on a stone fragment found at Knossos to the back of the Little Palace (FIG. 9.2). It depicts in the words of Evans '. . . the win- ner of the bout (who) throws his adversary. . . backwards by a powerful upper cut.'10

More difficult to interpret is a fragmentary scene from a third steatite vessel (a rhyton?) from Crete. In all likelihood, however, it also depicts an athletic scene, this time shown in connection with a sacred setting, suggested by the presence of a block with isodomic masonry topped by sacred horns (FIG. 9.3). Evans already recognised violent action in the scene.11 In my view, the figure to the left is a boxer or wrestler, his

1 Cameron 1987. 2 Marinatos 19930, cn- 3- 3 Niemeier 1990^. Opposed to this view and arguing for a dis-

tinct Cycladic tradition: Morgan 1990; Davis 1990. 4 Koehl 1 981; 1990. 5 PM I 688, fig. 508; Warren 1969, 174 with bibliography. 6 For the codes characterising youths see Marinatos 19840, 37,

59; Davis 1986; Koehl 1986. 7 Marinatos 1989, 23-32; 19930, ch. 10. 8 Warren 1969, 177; Benson 1966, 36-40. 9 PM I 689-00, fig. 510. 10 PM IV 600, fig. 595. 1 1 Evans 1901, 102; PM II 614-15. Evans speaks of ecstatic dance.



1 50 NANNO MARINA TOS

Fig. 9.1 (left). Stone fragment from Knossos. After Evans. PM I fig. 510.

Fig. 9.2 (above). Stone fragment from Knossos. After Evans. PM IV fig. 595.

right arm raised, the other thrown behind him. He is about to attack his opponent who must have been further to the left. Behind him is the fallen adversary of another attacker, who must have been to the right of the scene. Thus, the composition would have included pairs of contestants much like on the Ayia Triada rhyton.

A pattern is beginning to emerge. One class of stone vessels depicts scenes of contests with youths as protagonists. In one case a column, in another an altar and tree suggest an official, even religious setting.

It is well known that athletic contests are a phenom- enon which may be coupled with festivals and puberty rites in particular: youths contest with one another for the establishment of hierarchy. Noteworthy is the detail that many scenes show a victor and a loser, the victor thus receiving special emphasis. The conclusion that these vessels were manufactured in order to be used in connection with rites of passage is not far fetched. Note that the stone chalice from Ayia Triada, the so- called Chieftain's Cup has already been interpreted in this way;12 it too may have been used on such a ceremonial occasion.

Another male activity is hunting; evidently this subject too was chosen for stone rhyta. A fragment of a stone vessel found at Vapheio (FIG. 9.4) depicts a charg- ing boar.13 Traces of gold were still attached to it. The iconographical context is almost certainly a boar hunt such as is attested on the dagger from Lasithi.14 If the fragment belonged to a conical rhyton, as Evans restores it, the other registers may have had other types of hunt or contests. It will be remembered that on the Ayia

Triada rhyton bull-leaping and contests are part of the same iconographical programme.

Hunting, this time of a bull, is depicted on a fragmentary stone vessel from Crete.15 The bull is entangled in a net in an iconographical scheme similar to that on a seal from Routsi.16

On another rhyton (FIG. 9.5) the subject must have been bull-leaping. Here we have a prostrate bull, be- neath which is an oblong block, almost identical in shape to the capitals of the columns on the Ayia Triada rhyton. Evans correctly conceived the scene as the intermedi- ate zone between the bottom part of one register and the top of another.17 He also observed that such capitals occur on seal impressions with pugilistic scenes. But what is the bull doing here? Evans's restoration (FIG. 9.5)18 may be misleading: the animal looks like it has been sacrificed which is surely not the case because a sacrificial victim cannot lie on a capital! The capital surely belongs to a lower register, whereas the bull is the fallen adversary of the missing but successful bull- leaper on the register above. Thus here also we have an

12 Koehl 19860. 13 PM I 676, fig. 496. 14 PM I jig, fig. 541; Xenaki-Sakellariou 1985, 306, fig. 17. 15 On display in the Herakleion Museum. 16 CMS 1 no. 274. 17 PM I 688-9. 18 PAT I fig. 507.



THE IDEALS OF MANHOOD IN MINOAN CRETE 1 5 1

Fig. g.j. Stone fragment from Crete. After Evans. PM II fig. 386.

t_ - ::d

Fig. g.4 (above). Stone fragment from Vapheio. After Evans. PM I fig. 4g6.

vq f

v I

I

Fig. Q.5. Stone fragment from Knossos. After Evans. PM I fig. 507.

iconographical programme of bull-leaping coupled with other scenes, either hunt or athletic contests.

RITUAL SCENES ON STONE RHYTA

Not all stone rhyta had scenes of a violent nature; there are also scenes of a peaceful religious character. Young men in procession carrying bowls are depicted against the walls of what has been interpreted as a sanctuary (FIG. 9.6). 19 There are also offering scenes: a young man

is shown in the act of offering or depositing a basket of fruit against the fa9ade of a tripartite shrine (FIG. 9.7).20

A globular steatite rhyton from Ayia Triada, the so- called Harvesters' Vase (FIG. 9.8), depicts a procession of young men led by a bearded man dressed in a

19 PM II 725, fig. 486. 20 Alexiou 1964, pl. 1ST; Warren 1969, 175.




r-pT ) IT /a; ^n,^^fl V, / I

Fig. g.6 (left). Stone fragment from Knossos. After Evans. PM II fig. 486.

Fig. g.y (below). Stone fragment from Crete. After S. Alexiou, Kretika Chronika 13 (1959), 346 ff.



THE IDEALS OF MANHOOD IN MINOAN CRETE 1 53

Fig. g.8. Stone pyriform rhyton from Ayia Triada. After Nilsson igso,fig. 66.

special hide(?) dress.21 The men are carrying pitch-forks and musical instruments; the celebration is evidently related to a successful harvest. The important point here again is that men and only men are involved in this ritual celebration.

All the above mentioned vessels depict ceremonies. I think it likely that these ceremonies consisted of an all-male clientele and were concerned with male affairs. The men on our scenes are not depicted as hunters or athletes, but as participants in religious rites. Because the men are young, it is likely that these rites, enacted in front of the sanctuary, represent phases of puberty rites when the youths are being established in their new status.

The Harvester's Vase from Ayia Triada is interesting in this context. The older man on the vase is the leader; the rest of the participants are dressed in loin cloths. We thus have a duality of generations, an older man leading, younger ones following. It is interesting to note that a team of youths, rather than a single per- son, is shown on our vases. The collective character points to group ceremonies and it is worth asking why a harvest scene should be depicted on a prestigious vessel if the ceremony did not have an official character. Were the youths trained (symbolically I would assume) in agriculture? Was that part of their official training, a corollary to hunting?

SCENES OF WAR ON METAL AND STONE RHYTA

A special class of luxury rhyta has war scenes. The silver Siege Rhyton from Mycenae is the most obvious example. It must be admitted that it cannot be conclu- sively proven to be of Minoan origin, but it is my belief that it belongs to a Minoan iconographic tradition. Note that it has iconographical affinities with a rhyton from

Crete to be discussed below. The theme of the silver Siege Rhyton can be described as follows: a town is under siege and a naval force arrives by sea, perhaps to aid the town.22 Similar is the representation on another fragmentary piece found at Epidaurus (FIG. 9.9): a ship with helmeted men close to the coast, signifies an arriving fleet, whereas a file of marching warriors near by suggests that a town is besieged or defended.

The following stone vessel fragment from Crete (FIG. 9.10) has iconographical affinities with the silver Siege Rhyton in my view. In the lower part of the scene we see a helmet, which obviously belongs to a warrior; above is a man leading a billy-goat.23 The goatherd probably belongs to a pastoral settlement by the coast, whereas the warrior(s?) quite possibly arrive by boats to raid or aid the pastoral settlement. Alternatively, they are marching on land. The composition would be quite similar to that of the north wall frieze, Room 5, West House,24 and to some extent to the silver Siege and Epidaurus rhyta. In all cases the principles of the composition are similar: lower zone arrival of warriors by sea; upper zone settlement or city under threat.

Finally, another steatite fragment from Crete depicts a bearded archer in a boat (FIG. 9.1 1), according to Evans. The background is a scale pattern indicating the sea. It is possible, however, that the scales indicate rocky terrain, a convention which is at home in Minoan art. The archer, in that case, may be hunting in the

21 PM II 47, 791; IV 218; Warren 1969, 175-6; Sapouna- Sakellaraki 1971, 50-1, pl. 45 b.

22 Sakellariou 1975, 195-208; 1971, 3-14, figs. 1-2; Warren 1979, 126-7.

23 PM III fig. 128. Warren 1969, P488C; 1979, 126. 24 Morgan 1988, 1 56-60. For good illustrations see Doumas 1992,

pls. 26-29.




Fig. 9.9 (left). Stone fragment from Epidaurus. After Xenaki Sakellariou 1971, 1-3.

Fig. 9.10. Stone fragment from Knossos. After Evans. PM III fig. 128.

Fig. 9.1 1. Stone fragment from Knossos. After Evans. PM III fig. 59.

mountains. Whatever the case may be, we have a warrior/hunter here again.25

What these rhyta have in common, with a possible exception of the archer, is the sea. It is my belief that these rhyta are visual quotes from a complex pictorial cycle of which the Town Mosaic from Knossos is an early example and the Miniature Friezes from the West House at Thera a later one.26

Common to this pictorial cycle is war, and more spe- cifically, naval battles. The protagonists are not youths, but mature warriors.27

As mentioned above, the rhyta must originally have been manufactured for special banquets or victory cel- ebrations, although they could have been used also on more ordinary occasions as symbols of high status. The status was defined by athletic prowess and hunting for young men, by warrior imagery for older ones. Both display realms of male authority and victory.

A banquet scenario for the rhyta, which has already been suggested by Koehl, explains the apparent con- tradiction between religious ceremonies (for which rhyta were used) and secular subjects, such as war. Ceremony is a close corollary to status since religious ceremony reinforces the existing hierarchy.

25 PM III 106, fig. 59; Sapouna-Sakellaraki 1971, 48, 50, pl. 35a. 26 As both Warren 1979 and Sakellariou 1975, 207 have noted. 27 For the pictorial cycle and Egyptian parallels see PM III 86-

106. A connection with a literary epic tradition is argued (on different grounds) by Morris 1989 and Hiller 1990. 1 do not see the necessity of postulating a literary narrative since pictorial traditions can exist independently of literary epics. A good analogy is 'the town under siege' a pictorial formula often repeated in the Beni Hasan tombs of MK Egypt. The iconography has no literary equivalent. See below n. 30.



THE IDEALS OF MANHOOD IN MINOAN CRETE 1 5 5

CORRELATION OF THE ICONOGRAPHY OF RHYTA, SEALS AND FRESCOES

Most of the themes discussed above are not unique to stone rhyta but are repeated on seals and murals, as can be seen in TABLE 9.1 below. The only exception is the offerings scene (FIG. 9.7), where a youth is depositing offerings in front of a monumental structure. Exact parallels are lacking in other media and it may be that this representation was suited only to specific festivals, such as rites of passage, and that rhyta bearing such scenes were especially manufactured for these occasions. Note however, that on a seal impression from Knossos (FIG. 9.12) there is a man in a greeting position in front of a shrine or palace.28 The scene is a ritual as on the rhyta FIGS. 9.6-9.7.

The following table has no annotations; it is assumed that the readers are familiar with most scenes, which are quite common.

Fig. q.i 2. Seal impression from Knossos. After Evans. PM II fig- 326.

Table 9.1.

Rhyta Naval Scenes Athletics Ritual Hunt Bull Leaping

SEALS ships on many seals AT and Zakros Knossos numerous seals many seals since the Old Palace sealings with seal impression (Routsi) and rings period. On talismanic contests (fig. 9.13) (fig. 9.12) in particular

PAINTINGS Them, W. H. Tylissos (?) Thera, Xeste 3 Knossos, Knossos Knossos: Town Mosaic? Thera, Bi N. Corridor Tell el Dabca Kea Tell el Tell el Dabca

Dabca

The correlation of scenes and media as seen in TABLE 9.1 has important implications. It shows that the imagery was not confined to one class of objects only, and that the expression of the ideals of manhood was con- sistent and widely spread; moreover that the concepts connected with it were part of official ideology. By the latter term I do not mean 'government policy' alone, but such cultural ideas as are shared by the community and promote the prestige and status of its leaders. Thus, when a man in Thera decorated his house with a pair of Boxing Children he was not expressing biographical or family particulars but was plugging into a pool of culturally shared ideas concerning manhood, into which his own sons might aspire.29 Similarly, when the owner of the West House in Akrotiri commissioned the naval scenes in Room 5, he was drawing from an already established iconographical cycle which would be recognisable and understandable by all Aegeans. He may

have changed some particular details so that they would fit a Theran, even a family context, but the formulas of the tradition were already fixed in Crete long before. An analogy would be furnished by Egyptian society. When certain noble governors of Middle Egypt decorated their tombs at Beni Hasan with war scenes, these were not meant to be strictly biographical.30 Indirectly the lord was claiming participation either personal or through his family, in such glorious events. And when the rulers of Knossos commissioned bull-leaping or hunting scenes, they glorified the elite youths of the community in the training of which the palace may even have had a hand. At any rate, all these images reflect

28 PM II 524, fig. 326; CMS II.8 no. 273. 29 Morgan 1985, 16-18; 1995b. 30 Shedid 1994, 70-2.




Fig. Q.i 3. Seal impressions from Zakros, CMS II. 7 nos. ig-20 (above) and Ayia Triada y CMS II. 6 no. ij.

culturally and socially shared concepts with a common denominator: they are displaying the prowess of men who have to display strength, war skill and superiority, both towards animals and towards each other.

THE PRESTIGE OF MANHOOD

It remains to discuss what the ideals of manhood signify in a society such as Minoan Crete.

One first conclusion is that warrior aspects are not at all absent from the visual characterisation of the powerful Minoan man. On the miniatures from the West House, the leaders of the fleet are presented as warriors with spears and helmets as accessories,31 whereas the siege scenes on rhyta show warriors in action. It is worth noting that on the Boxers' Rhyton from Ayia Triada some of the contestants wear helmets. True, this is an athletic contest, not war, but it does show that the contestants were acting as warriors. I have suggested elsewhere that they were youths being trained for war.32 Warrior scenes showing struggles (designated as Kampfszenen by Ingo Pini)33 are depicted on ring

impressions from Ayia Triada and Zakros (FIG. 9.i3).34On one, the warrior (FIG. 9.14), whose status is indicated by a necklace,35 is holding the enemy by the hair and is ready to clobber him. The large dog next to him shows how closely hunt and war were connected in ancient mentalities. Dogs occur together with warriors also on the frescoes from Pylos.

A second conclusion is that representations suggest group solidarity. I find evidence of this in the bull-leaping scenes where evidently team work was necessary. The idea of female bull leapers is surely wrong and makes little sense in any traditional society.

31 Morgan 1988, 93-118; Marinatos 1984a, 33-61. 32 iviannatos 1993a, 210. 33 Pini 1989, 203, figs. 1, 2. 34 Xenaki-Sakellariou 1985, 302-5, figs. 12-16; CMS II.6 nos.

16-19 (Ayia Triada); II. 7 nos. 19-20 (Zakros). 35 This is hardly visible with naked eye but it has been observed

by Pini with the aid of a strong magnifying glass.



THE IDEALS OF MANHOOD IN MINOAN CRETE 1 57

Fig. Q.14 (left). Seal impression from Ayia Triada, CMSII.6no.15.

Fig. g.15 (below). Reconstruction of men from Xeste 3, Thera. Reconstruction: N. Marinatos; drawing: L. Papageorgiou.

w/ ^ Additional evidence in favour of male leapers comes

from the Minoan frescoes of Tell el Dabca, Egypt. The excavator, Manfred Bietak has come to the conclusion that the colour differentiation of the figures on the frescoes signify different skills and not different gen- ders.36 In the Tell el Dabca bull-leaping scenes, there are yellow, brown and one white figure associated with bulls. Yellow colour probably indicates that the athletes were adolescent. The red figures are leapers, whereas the white ones are trained hunters who hang on the horns of the bulls to arrest their movement and allow the leaper to perform. On a fresco from Tiryns, the horn grappler is white.37 This hypothesis of colour differentiation, indicating different tasks for

males rather than gender, is supported by other media depicting bull-leaping scenes. In no case is there any figure with breasts whether we look at seals, rings or bronze statuettes.

To return to the issue of group solidarity, the bull- leaping events demanded collaboration between old, more experienced hunters, acrobats and younger leapers, some of whom may have been in the first stages of training. Group effort is evident on a bull grappling

36 Bietak 19940, 199-200. 37 Rodenwaldt 19120 (1976) 162-5, pl. XVIII; PM II 650, fig.

415; Immerwahr 19900, no, 113, 202.




Fig. g.16. Seal in a private collection. After CMS X no. 278.

scene from Tell el Dabca (PLATE 13. 1). The existing fragments show clearly that there were at least two men involved in the effort to keep the bull down. This re- quires team work, mutual support and coordination.

Evidence of group solidarity between the old and young is also displayed on the Harvester's Rhyton (FIG. 9.8), where an older man leads a team of youths.

Finally, solidarity in ritual occasions is expressed on the frescoes with males from Xeste 3, Thera (FIGS. 1.27, 9. 1 5).38 There, young boys of different ages con- verge towards an older seated male. Sometimes the

juxtaposition older man, younger boy is shown in the so-called portrait seals of Minoan Crete (FIG. 9.16).39 It seems evident, then, that a sense of peer loyalty was cultivated in Minoan culture and that the youths were under the tutelage of older men.

In conclusion, young men were trained in war, hunting and athletics, the latter two being combined in bull-leaping. The aim of the training must have been to produce efficient leaders, but leaders for what? If Minoan Crete were the peaceful society that popular literature makes it out to be, then there would be no necessity for such training. Obviously the reality was different and military, especially naval, training was necessary.

However, we have seen that on rhyta there are also depictions of young males in peaceful, ritual activities. Part of the education would have involved respect and submission to the gods and the authority of the rulers. None of this is surprising or unexpected, if we view Crete as an ancient traditional society rather than a Utopian fantasy.

38 Doumas 1992, pls. 109-15; Marinatos 19930, 209-1 1 ; Morgan 2000.

39 Marinatos 19930, X33-



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