Experiencing ritual: Shamanic elements in Minoan religion

Selected papers and discussions from the Tenth Anniversary Symposion of the Norwegian Institute at Athens, 12-16 May 199

Cretan Peak Sanctuary Figurines: 3D Scanning Project.

The largest corpus of terracotta figurines from the Cretan Bronze Age comes from the class of ritual mountain sites, known as peak sanctuaries. Thousands of figurines – anthropomorphic, animal, votive body parts, and more elaborate (but largely fragmentary) models – were deposited on these mountain sites during the Minoan palatial periods (second millennium B.C.). Our work with these handmade figurines encompasses the material from our excavation of the Atsipadhes peak sanctuary in western Cr..

Celebrations: sanctuaries and the vestiges of cult activity

Selected papers and discussions from the Tenth Anniversary Symposion of the Norwegian Institute at Athens, 12-16 May 199

Ritual and Religion in Neolithic Crete?

The tendency to view Neolithic Crete through the filter of Minoan Bronze Age sophistication means that the Neolithic material is often read as a precursor to Minoan civilization rather than understood in its own right. This is especially true in the interpretation of religion, where early studies viewed Neolithic Cretan religion as replete with goddesses and elaborate rituals. By contrast this chapter addresses the Neolithic religious material within its own context. Essential is the fact that for most of the Neolithic period (approximately 7000 to 3000 cal. BC) Knossos was the only settlement on the island, and was relatively isolated from cultural developments elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. Although only 1% of Neolithic Knossos has been excavated, the surviving evidence, fragmentary figurines, suggests religious life was focused on the simplicity of the household rather than the broader community. The change comes in the Final Neolithic period, wherein there is a massive dispersal of settlements across the island, indicating population growth perhaps supported by an influx of new settlers. Religiously this manifests in a enriched diversification of ritual material culture, including cave shrines and burial sites, communal feasting at population power centres, and perhaps also the beginnings of a ritual landscape.

High Places and Royal Shrines

Tara’s historical associations with the high kings of Ireland give it a unique role in Irish culture. This paper sets out to contextualise that role cross-culturally by drawing comparisons within a broader phenomenology of high-place shrines, particularly those that have royal associations. Presented here, therefore, are two case- studies: one archaeological (the mountain shrines of Bronze Age Crete, the Minoan peak sanctuaries) and one literary-historical (the bamoth high places of biblical Israel). The Minoan archaeological comparison obviously has no direct connection with Ireland, but it may illuminate some of the processes in the evolution and organisation of royal hill-shrines. The biblical case- study may have other resonances, however, given that Irish medieval chroniclers made conscious efforts to create a biblical genealogy for the high kings who claimed Tara, and played upon its symbolism

Health and Healing on Cretan Bronze Age Peak Sanctuaries

The peak sanctuaries of the Cretan Bronze Age are well-known for having a healing dimension. These ritual sites, of which around 25 are known, are characterised by both their location – on or near mountain peaks – and their distinctive finds of clay figurines of animals, humans, and detached anatomical models, termed ‘votive limbs’ within Aegean archaeology. By analogy with anatomical offerings elsewhere, these votive limbs quickly suggested to the earliest excavators, such as Myres at Petsophas in Eastern Crete and Evans at Jouktas above Knossos, that issues of health and healing were a significant element of Minoan peak sanctuary cult. Alternative interpretations of the finds – that they are parts of puppets, dolls or sacrificial dismembered body parts – are not supported by the evidence. Relatively few of the figurines can be recognised as explicitly representing illnesses, but the large category of votive limbs, including legs, arms, torsos with incised genitalia, and vertically split bodies, resonate with offerings familiar from later and more fully documented healing cults in the Mediterranean area. Indeed, the offering of anatomical models is a tradition which also finds expression in the contemporary metal tamata and wax models found in Greek Orthodox churches. The Minoan votive limbs have, somewhat surprisingly, not been studied or published in any detail. In this paper we review the study of the anatomical offerings from peak sanctuaries, considering them within the wider context of the figurine assemblages. In addition, we will explore the evidence for the processes or mechanics of healing in relation to ritual action and embodied experience at the peak sanctuaries