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.