Author Archives: catherine-johnson

Minoan Culture Then and Now

For me, the greatest struggle of this trip is not to somehow clear plate after plate of delicious Greek food during meals or to stay awake during all the amazing (but tiring) activities we do, but to comprehend the culture of the Minoan civilization. I find it too easy to dismiss the Minoans as primitive, especially when touring the ruins of palaces and towns. After packing up and leaving the hotel at Sitia, we visited the settlement on the island of Mochlos, which includes ruins from the Byzantine, Hellenistic, Mycenean, and Minoan periods. We saw several features of Minoan architecture that we are now well acquainted with: a pillar crypt, some ashlar masonry, and a group of house-like tomb structures. Then Bryan pointed out a triangular purple stone in the floor of one of the buildings and talked about a pagan religion that was founded in the 70s and worships Minoan deities, particularly the Cretan Mother Goddess. A group of goddess-worshipping women visits this site and others, where they perform their own religious rituals. It was surprising to hear how such an ancient civilization still influences contemporary culture in such a profound and direct way.

A short drive and several ABBA songs later, we arrived at the INSTAP research center in Pacheia Ammos. Eleanor Huffman took us on a tour and showed us the process all the artifacts go through before they’re published. They collect the fragments and sort them based on where they were found, then they meticulously try to piece them together and draw the finished (or partially finished) product – a process that is now fortunately digitalized. The most intriguing aspect for me was how thorough the researchers were in using all the parts from the excavation site: not only do they analyze pottery sherds but also bones and even the soil. Eleanor mentioned that once when analyzing soil, a researcher found some parts from olives and used radioactive carbon dating to determine when the olives were picked. The basement was full of shelf after shelf of labeled and crated artifacts. Someone asked what the process was for discarding artifacts and Eleanor responded that nothing is discarded. Every single find remains in the basement or is sent to a museum.

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Understanding the process by which artifacts are found and restored and how the ancient culture continues to shape peoples’ lives helps me comprehend that the Minoan civilization was more complex than the ruins suggest. And now when I walk into a museum and see a pieced together vase, I’ll think of the work that was behind restoring it and appreciate it much more.

 

 

Comparing Phaistos with Agia Triada

At times it’s difficult to relate to ancient communities because of the vast differences in things like technology, education, and language. But by congregating in groups and sharing activities through culture and religion I find that we are similar than we might expect. We noticed these similarities today as we visited the different ruins and learned about the many spaces and their functions. After another delicious breakfast of countless pies, we drove to the palace of Phaistos, one of the most notable in Crete. We entered the ruins by walking down a grand staircase, and then a second, narrower, staircase that led us to the central court facing Mount Ida to the north. 20140114-231048.jpgThe court, one of the most distinguishing features of a palace, was enormous and was likely used for religious events or a location to distribute food. To the west were magazines, some containing pithoi or small stone containers and to the north was the area of the “royal” residence.

20140114-231139.jpgIn order to reach the “king’s” hall from the court, we had to walk through a narrow corridor which could easily have been blocked off. Actually, this space reminded me of the Palace of Versailles, where, in order to reach the king’s private chambers, one has to enter a series of increasingly private and ornate rooms and finally walk through the Hall of Mirrors. The Minoan chambers included the familiar pier-and-door partition and light well which added to the luxuriousness of the rooms.

Perhaps one of the most useful aspects of Phaistos is that it includes an old Protopalatial palace and the newer Neopalatial palace. The Protopalatial area includes another central court that was distinct in that it included a raised walkway (probably for a religious procession) and a stone platform in the corner which may have been used for seating or bull leaping.

A few ruin stops later, we visited Ayia Triada (literally “holy trinity”). Unlike Phaistos, Ayia Triada is considered more of an administrative complex than a palace because of the lack of lustral basins, the smaller size of the Minoan Halls, and the many Linear A tablets and sealings found there.

20140114-231201.jpgDuring the New Palace period, Ayia Triada was even more prosperous than Phaistos, which is evident in features such as the wall murals. Since Ayia Triada is located so close to Phaistos, one would think that it would adopt similar features to the palace, but there are slight differences that are interesting such as the light well being located in the middle of a room instead of the end. The specific use of Ayia Triada is something of a mystery: it was thought to hold food for the population because of its many magazines, but in actuality it only has enough storage space to sustain a portion of the population. The mystery of Ayia Triada is the most intriguing to me: that even after excavating a site and digging up various artifacts it’s still impossible to understand the purpose of a building, probably because people constantly use spaces for a variety of purposes; for example, the gym near my house also has a chapel and a game room and I once stayed at a hotel that housed a small museum. Comparing Phaistos with Agia Triada just enforces the idea that culture is multifaceted, regardless of whether it was developed thousands of years ago or within the last decade.