V. Minoan Civilization- Equality

            

Female Character on Minoan Fresco

       Sexual equality exists among the Minoans. Glotz thinks that the Minoan women have many rights because from some Cretan seals, he have found out that artisan was not a profession limited to males. In addition, pieces of frescoes have proved to us the existence of female toreadors and pugilists in Crete and the freedom for women to show up in public events. In summary, both Phaeacian and Minoan women have high status in their society (Aegean Civilization, 143).

Minoan Goddess

Minoan Goddess

Well, this is my last blog on the Minoan Civilization. Hope you find them interesting!!!

Female characters in Minoan Art

Reference

Glotz, Gustave. The Aegean Civilization. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968. Print.

IV. Minoan Civilization- Artistic Techniques

As mentioned in the previous blogs, the Minoan art stood out from the art work of different civilizations at that time. In addition to the naturalistic representations of the art work, the Minoan artists were characterized by their decorative principles such as torsion, and symmetry and polychromy (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 123-134) . 

Minoan fresco is rich in colors

Remarkably, the use of a variety of colors (like white, orange, orange-yellow and red) and designing techniques in Minoan pottery or frescoes marked the achievement of Minoan art and promoted their unique artistic perspectives. Often, the artists used a technique (ex: hanging spiral) and combined it with an object (ex: a cluster of berries) to show their creativity in art (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 133). 

the Minoan jewellery was famous for their fine details

Furthermore, the Minoan jewellery was famous for their fine details and harmonized design. The most well-known of them all was a golden pendant in form of two bees joined together by heads and tips (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 196). The symmetrical position demonstrated nature’s harmony and balance and the decorative balls on the pendant might symbolize either honey drops or berries. Another example of artistic representation of harmony is a seal with an ibex (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 178). The design is composed by elements like Cretan ibex, native rocks and tree (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 136), which together make the scene a symbol of the balance in the Nature. In summary, the Minoans and the Phaeacians have had outstanding achievements in art.

Reference

Hutchinson, Richard Wyatt. Prehistoric Crete. London: Penguin Books, 1965. Print.

III. Minoan Civilization- peace & love

The Minoans share the spirit of peace and love of life in their art. Hutchinson also states in his work Prehistoric Crete that the palaces are characterised by a lack of fortifications and weapons like battle-axes, which are created for artistic and religious purposes, are rarely found there (187). 

The human figures in Minoan frescoes are often peaceful, joyful, and no scene of war or violence has ever appeared in their art. An example of a fresco with human characters is a piece dated to the Late Minoan period (1550 – 1500 BC), which illustrates a delightful girl dancing in circles with her curly hair flying in the air (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 277-278). Moreover, the Minoan frescoes are more natural and fluid but less “photographically correct” as compared to the Egyptian wall-paintings of the same period, which seemed too “stiff” and lacked emotions (131). 

In fact, the naturalism was a common theme in most Minoan art works: pottery, seals as well as frescoes. For instance, the Minoan artists loved to draw animals (ex: cat, monkey), plants (ex: rose, lily, myrtle, vetch), rocks (ex: river pebbles)… anything that related to nature (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 131, 276). The best and finest of the Minoan frescoes, according to Hutchinson, is the one depicting  a natural scenery of a Cretan dell, found in Hagia Triada, Mesara: “The scene shows two cats stalking a pheasant and the hindquarters of a roebuck leaping over rocks…” (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 276-277). In the light of these naturalistic and non-violent frescoes, readers could see how much the Minoans loved life and Nature.

Reference:

Hutchinson, Richard Wyatt. Prehistoric Crete. London: Penguin Books, 1965. Print.

II. Minoan CVivilization - Art

            In art, the Minoans used precious materials like gold, silver and ivory in the fabrication of decorating objects. For example, Minoan craftsmen were able to make very beautiful ivory seals. These seals were not only used for business purpose, but also are “articles of luxury” (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 135); they were finely made and the best among them (the Middle Minoan II B ones) were surpassing in grace in the ancient times (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 135). 

Minoan Art Galary:

Minoan Vase

Vase with design of Octopus

Vase with design of natural plants

Minoan Girl

Minoan gold ring

Fresco- Ringed Islands of Thera

Copper piece

Reference

Hutchinson, Richard Wyatt. Prehistoric Crete. London: Penguin Books, 1965. Print.

I. Minoan Civilization - Palace

        Starting from today, I will write blogs about the Minoan Civilization.From the indices and traces that the Ancient Minoans have left us, it seems that both societies are prosperous because they have marvellous palaces, splendid art pieces and jewelleries made with precious materials. The societies are peaceful and the people are living in harmony with the Nature. The artists have made remarkable achievements in art. And finally, the status of the women in the Minoan society is very high and sexual equality seems to exist among the group.

        
              Signs of prosperity can be found in the Minoan architecture, seals and jewellery.  In fact, the Minoans had opulent palaces where archaeologists have found beautiful frescoes and fragments of exquisite jewels.

Fall of the Minoans

         
   


       Adding to the splendour of the buildings, the palaces are marked by their functions and the excellent adaptation to nature. 

Knossos Palace

The effective communication between rooms was approved as well as the distribution of light and the advance draining system (Glotz, Aegean Civilization, 119).      

       

Minoan Jewellery

Minoan Board

          Furthermore, the Minoans had precious jewelleries to decorate themselves. From Mesara, historians had found fragments of very “small golden disks of thin leaf” that the Minoans attached on their garments as well as variant shapes of “beads”, “finger rings” and “golden rivet heads” (Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, 195). 







The main reason of their advanced techniques and creative design in the jewellery-making is that the people were living in abundance, so they would have time to stay focused on making more and more beautiful jewelleries with precious stones and wore them on different occasions.


Reference:

Hutchinson, Richard Wyatt. Prehistoric Crete. London: Penguin Books, 1965. Print.

V.The Phaeacian World- Artistic Culture

 The Phaeacians had great achievement in the field of art and performance.

Songs

In the Book Eight of The Odyssey, Homer develops the role of a talented bard named Demodocus in order to highlight the importance of the professional singer in the Phaeacian civilization. In The Odyssey, Demodocus is described as a famous and divine singer who is honoured and respected by all Phaeacians; He is particularly loved by Muse the goddess of music (De Jong, Narratological Commentary on the Odyssey, 191).

Demodocus the bard is singing during the feast.

Dance

The Phaeacians are very good dancers. In Book Eight, Homer vividly illustrates an interesting Phaeacian dance with a purple ball:

“After showing [the ball- throwing skill] at this high play, [the dancers] began tossing the ball quickly to and fro as they moved in their dance on the bountiful earth…” (Homer, Odyssey, 103-104).

Their artistic achievement is even approved and praised by the heroic Odysseus (Homer, Odyssey, 104), who has traveled in many places and must have seen many dances. Ultimately, the poet explores the Phaeacians’ superior place in the skills of singing and dancing.

This Roman relief shows two Phaeacian dancers. 

IV. The Phaeacian World -- Palaces

The Phaeacians are good architects. Homer claims that King Alcinous’ splendid palace is well built and decorated; the doors, the posts, the lintel and the guarding dogs are made of either gold or silver (Homer, Odyssey, 87). The objects which the Phaeacians use are finely made. For example, the “seats” in their assembly place are “of polished marble” (Homer, Odyssey, 94) and the “chair” on which Demodocus the bard sits is “silver-studded” (Homer, Odyssey, 95). These descriptions may also give readers an idea how rich King Alcinous is and thus emphasizing that the Phaeacians are living in leisure.

Alcinous holds a feast for Odysseus in his palace.

There are certain similarities between the Phaeacian and the Minoan architecture. The Minoans too had opulent palaces where archaeologists have found beautiful frescoes and fragments of exquisite jewels. Adding to the splendor of the buildings, the palaces are marked by their functions and the excellent adaptation to nature. The effective communication between rooms was approved as well as the distribution of light and the advance draining system (Glotz, Aegean Civilization, 119).

The opulence in Minoan palace can be compared  to the Phaeacian ones

Unfortunately, the world which Homer presents in his poem still remains unknown. It is true Phaeacian and Minoan cultures share many similarities, but we cannot draw any conclusion or direct connections between the two groups.People hope one day that archaeologists will find more evidence to Homer’s stories and thus reveal the mystery of the Phaeacians.

                          Coming up...Phaeacian Artistic Culture  ^0^