Minoan Religion

Minoan religion was the religion of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization of Crete. Written information about the Minoans is scarce, so scholars have reconstructed it almost entirely from archaeological evidence. Arthur Evans, excavator of the Minoan palace of Knossos, thought the Minoans almost exclusively worshipped a mother goddess. Recent scholarly opinion recognizes a much more diverse Minoan religious landscape. The Minoan pantheon featured many deities, the majority of whom are female, but a young spear-wielding male god is also prominent. Possibly as aspects of the main, probably dominant, nature and mother goddess, archaeologists have identified a mountain goddess who was worshipped at mountaintop sanctuaries, a dove goddess, a snake goddess (perhaps protectress of the household), the Potnia Theron goddess of animals, and a goddess of childbirth. Late Minoan terracotta votive figures of either goddesses or worshippers carry attributes such as birds in their diadems. Some scholars regard the chief Minoan Goddess as a female divine solar figure. Hungarian philologist Károly Kerényi believed that the most important Minoan goddess was Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos and mistress of the labyrinth. Ariadne is identified in Linear B (Mycenean Greek) tablets unearthed in Knossos. One supernatural type of figure in ancient Crete, and later by the Mycenaeans, is called the Minoan Genius, a fantastic creature displaying features of both a lion and a hippopotamus. This composite nature implies a connection with ancient Egypt. These figures are portrayed as attendants and supporters of deities. Although they probably did not receive worship themselves, they may have played a role as a protector of children and were associated with fertility. The griffin is also depicted. The bull-headed man, perhaps precursor of the Minotaur that Greek mythology later located at Knossos, does not appear on Minoan seals until after the Mycenean invasion. Early conjectures by Arthur Evans about links between politics and religion have fallen out of favor, but many scholars continue to beleive that some form of theocracy existed on Crete. This would align Crete with contemporary Egypt and Mesopotamia, where kings were usually regarded as having a particularly close relationship with the gods. The evidence that priestesses conducted rituals is stronger, but men fulfilling the role of priests or priest-king are identifiable by diagonal bands on their robes and by their carrying across their shoulder a ritual axe-sceptre with a rounded blade. These male figures increase in the period that precedes the Mycenean invasion, when some evidence exists of men dressing as priestesses, possibly to overcome gender restrictions. Over 300 sites dedicated to cult prctices have been identified by the presence of metal and clay votive figures, double axes, miniature vessels, and models of artifacts depicting animals and human figures. Greek-style temples were unknown, and within the Knossos palace complex no central rooms devoted to a cult have been identified other than the center court where youths, perhaps of both sexes, may have performed a bull-leaping ritual. The bull-leaping ritual is so prominently depicted that it is assumed it was religiously significant. Bulls, especially their heads, are prominently in palace art, but they were probably sacrificed, rather than worshipped.