Giacobbe Giusti, Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

Giacobbe Giusti, Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

Plato’s Academy Archaeological Site in Akadimia Platonos subdivision of Athens, Greece.

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

Plato’s Academy mosaic — from the Villa of T. Siminius Stephanusin Pompeii.

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The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato(428/427 BC – 348/347 BC) in ca. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle (384–322 BC) studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC. The Platonic Academy was destroyed most likely by the Roman dictator Sulla in 86 BC.^[1] Many centuries later, in 410 AD, a sort of « revived » Academy, which had no institutional continuity with Plato’s school, was established as a center for Neoplatonism and mysticism, persisting until 529 AD when it was finally closed by Justinian I. Other schools in Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria, which were the centres of Justinian’s empire, continued.

Site

Giacobbe Giusti, Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

Ancient road to the Academy.

Map of Ancient Athens. The Academy is north of Athens.

The Akademia was a school outside the city walls of ancient Athens. It was located in or beside a grove of olive trees dedicated to the goddess Athena^[2], which was on the site even before Cimonenclosed the precincts with a wall.^[3] The archaic name for the site was Ἑκαδήμεια(Hekademia), which by classical times evolved into Ἀκαδημία (Akademia)] which was explained, at least as early as the beginning of the 6th century BC, by linking it to “Akademos”, a legendary Athenian hero.

The site of the Academy was sacred to Athena; it had sheltered her religious cult since the Bronze Age. The site was perhaps also associated with the twin hero-gods Castor and Polydeuces (the Dioscuri), since the hero Akademos associated with the site was credited with revealing to the brothers where the abductorTheseus had hidden their sister Helen. Out of respect for its long tradition and its association with the Dioscuri – who were patron godsof Sparta – the Spartan army would not ravage these original ‘groves of Academe’ when they invaded Attica.^[4] Their piety was not shared by the Roman Sulla, who axed the sacred olive trees of Athena in 86 BC to build siege engines.

Among the religious observances that took place at the Akademeia was a torchlit night race from altars within the city to Prometheus’ altar in the Akademeia. The road to Akademeia was lined with the gravestones of Athenians, and funeral games also took place in the area as well as a Dionysiac procession from Athens to the Hekademeia and then back to the city.^[5][6]

The site of the Academy^[7] is located near Colonus, approximately, 1.5 km north of Athens’ Dipylon gates.^[8]

Today

The site was rediscovered in the 20th century, in modern Akadimia Platonos neighbourhood; considerable excavation has been accomplished and visiting the site is free.^[9]

Visitors today can visit the archaeological site of the Academy located on either side of the Cratylus street in the area of Colonos and Plato’s Academy (Postal Code GR 10442). Either side of the Cratylus street are important monuments, like the Sacred House Geometric Era, the Gymnasium (1st century BC – 1st century AD), the Proto-Helladic Vaulted House and the Peristyle Building (4th century BC), which is perhaps the only major building that belonged to the actual Academy of Plato.

History

What was later to be known as Plato’s school probably originated around the time Plato inherited the property at the age of thirty, with informal gatherings which included Theaetetus of Sunium, Archytas of Tarentum, Leodamas of Thasos, and Neoclides.^[10] According to Debra Nails, Speusippus « joined the group in about 390 BC ». She claims, « It is not until Eudoxus of Cnidos arrives in the mid-380s BC that Eudemus recognizes a formal Academy. » There is no historical record of the exact time the school was officially founded, but modern scholars generally agree that the time was the mid-380s, probably sometime after 387 BC, when Plato is thought to have returned from his first visit to Italy and Sicily.^[11] Originally, the location of the meetings was on Plato’s property as often as it was the nearby Academy gymnasium; this remained so throughout the fourth century.^[12]

Though the Academic club was exclusive, not open to the public,^[13] it did not, during at least Plato’s time, charge fees for membership.^[14]Therefore, there was probably not at that time a « school » in the sense of a clear distinction between teachers and students, or even a formal curriculum.^[15] There was, however, a distinction between senior and junior members.^[16] Two women are known to have studied with Plato at the Academy, Axiothea of Phlius and Lasthenia of Mantinea.^[17]

In at least Plato’s time, the school did not have any particular doctrine to teach; rather, Plato (and probably other associates of his) posed problems to be studied and solved by the others.^[18] There is evidence of lectures given, most notably Plato’s lecture « On the Good »; but probably the use of dialectic was more common.^[19] According to an unverifiable story, dated of some 700 years after the founding of the school, above the entrance to the Academy was inscribed the phrase « Let None But Geometers Enter Here. »^[20]

Many have imagined that the Academic curriculum would have closely resembled the one canvassed in Plato’s Republic.^[21] Others, however, have argued that such a picture ignores the obvious peculiar arrangements of the ideal society envisioned in that dialogue.^[22] The subjects of study almost certainly included mathematics as well as the philosophical topics with which the Platonic dialogues deal, but there is little reliable evidence.^[23] There is some evidence for what today would be considered strictly scientific research: Simplicius reports that Plato had instructed the other members to discover the simplest explanation of the observable, irregular motion of heavenly bodies: « by hypothesizing what uniform and ordered motions is it possible to save the appearances relating to planetary motions. »^[24] (According to Simplicius, Plato’s colleague Eudoxus was the first to have worked on this problem.)

Plato’s Academy is often said to have been a school for would-be politicians in the ancient world, and to have had many illustrious alumni.^[25] In a recent survey of the evidence, Malcolm Schofield, however, has argued that it is difficult to know to what extent the Academy was interested in practical (i.e., non-theoretical) politics since much of our evidence « reflects ancient polemic for or against Plato. »^[26]

The three Platonic eras

Giacobbe Giusti, Platonic Academy, Athens, Greece

The School of Athens by Raphael (1509–1510), fresco at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City.

Diogenes Laërtius divided the history of the Academy into three: the Old, the Middle, and the New. At the head of the Old he put Plato, at the head of the Middle Academy, Arcesilaus, and of the New, Lacydes. Sextus Empiricus enumerated five divisions of the followers of Plato. He made Plato founder of the first Academy; Arcesilaus of the second; Carneades of the third; Philo and Charmadas of the fourth; Antiochusof the fifth. Cicero recognised only two Academies, the Old and New, and made the latter commence with Arcesilaus.^[27]

Old Academy

« Old Academy » redirects here. For the building in Munich, see Old Academy (Munich).

Plato’s immediate successors as « Scholarch » of the Academy were Speusippus (347–339 BC), Xenocrates (339–314 BC), Polemo (314–269 BC), and Crates (c. 269–266 BC). Other notable members of the Academy include Aristotle, Heraclides, Eudoxus, Philip of Opus, and Crantor.

Middle Academy

Around 266 BC Arcesilaus became Scholarch. Under Arcesilaus (c. 266–241 BC), the Academy strongly emphasized a version of Academic skepticism closely similar to Pyrrhonism.^[28] Arcesilaus was followed by Lacydes of Cyrene (241–215 BC), Evander and Telecles(jointly) (205 – c. 165 BC), and Hegesinus (c. 160 BC).

New Academy

The New or Third Academy begins with Carneades, in 155 BC, the fourth Scholarch in succession from Arcesilaus. It was still largely skeptical, denying the possibility of knowing an absolute truth. Carneades was followed by Clitomachus (129 – c. 110 BC) and Philo of Larissa (« the last undisputed head of the Academy, » c. 110–84 BC).^[29][30] According to Jonathan Barnes, « It seems likely that Philo was the last Platonist geographically connected to the Academy. »^[31]

Around 90 BC, Philo’s student Antiochus of Ascalon began teaching his own rival version of Platonism rejecting Skepticism and advocating Stoicism, which began a new phase known as Middle Platonism.

Destruction of the Academy

The archaeological site of Plato‘s academy.

When the First Mithridatic Warbegan in 88 BC, Philo of Larissa left Athens and took refuge in Rome, where he seems to have remained until his death.^[32] In 86 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla laid siege to Athens and conquered the city, causing much destruction. It was during the siege that he laid waste to the Academy, for « he laid hands upon the sacred groves and ravaged the Academy, which was the most wooded of the city’s suburbs, as well as the Lyceum. »^[33]

The destruction of the Academy seems to have been so severe as to make the reconstruction and re-opening of the Academy impossible.^[34] When Antiochus returned to Athens from Alexandria, c. 84 BC, he resumed his teaching but not in the Academy. Cicero, who studied under him in 79/8 BC, refers to Antiochus teaching in a gymnasium called Ptolemy. Cicero describes a visit to the site of the Academy one afternoon, which was « quiet and deserted at that hour of the day ».^[35]

Neoplatonic Academy

Further information: Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism

Philosophers continued to teach Platonism in Athens during the Roman era, but it was not until the early 5th century (c. 410) that a revived Academy was established by some leading Neoplatonists.^[36]The origins of Neoplatonist teaching in Athens are uncertain, but when Proclus arrived in Athens in the early 430s, he found Plutarch of Athens and his colleague Syrianus teaching in an Academy there. The Neoplatonists in Athens called themselves « successors » (diadochoi, but of Plato) and presented themselves as an uninterrupted tradition reaching back to Plato, but there cannot have actually been any geographical, institutional, economic or personal continuity with the original Academy.^[37] The school seems to have been a private foundation, conducted in a large house which Proclus eventually inherited from Plutarch and Syrianus.^[38] The heads of the Neoplatonic Academy were Plutarch of Athens, Syrianus, Proclus, Marinus, Isidore, and finally Damascius. The Neoplatonic Academy reached its apex under Proclus (died 485).

Emperor Justinian I.

The last « Greek » philosophers of the revived Academy in the 6th century were drawn from various parts of the Hellenistic cultural world and suggest the broad syncretism of the common culture (see koine): Five of the seven Academy philosophers mentioned by Agathiaswere Syriac in their cultural origin: Hermias and Diogenes (both from Phoenicia), Isidorus of Gaza, Damascius of Syria, Iamblichus of Coele-Syria and perhaps even Simplicius of Cilicia.^[37]

At a date often cited as the end of Antiquity, the emperor Justinianclosed the school in 529. The last Scholarch of the Academy was Damascius (d. 540). According to Agathias, its remaining members looked for protection under the rule of Sassanid king Khosrau I in his capital at Ctesiphon, carrying with them precious scrolls of literature and philosophy, and to a lesser degree of science. After a peace treaty between the Persian and the Byzantine empire in 532, their personal security (an early document in the history of freedom of religion) was guaranteed.

It has been speculated that the Academy did not altogether disappear.^[37][39] After his exile, Simplicius (and perhaps some others) may have travelled to Harran, near Edessa. From there, the students of an Academy-in-exile could have survived into the 9th century, long enough to facilitate an Arabic revival of the Neoplatonist commentary tradition in Baghdad,^[39] beginning with the foundation of the House of Wisdom in 832; one of the major centers of learning in the intervening period (6th to 8th centuries) was the Academy of Gundishapur in Sassanid Persia.^{[clarification needed]}

• Academy of Athens (modern)
• Cyrenaics
• Agora
• Hellenistic philosophy
• Plato’s Academy mosaic
• Platonic Academy (Florence)
• Platonism
• Peripatetic school
• Stoicism
• Epicureanism

Notes

1. Jump up^ Lindberg, David C. (2007). The Beginnings of Western Science. University of Chicago Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780226482057.
2. Jump up^ Thucydides. ii:34.
3. Jump up^ Plutarch. Life of Cimon, xiii:7.
4. Jump up^ Plutarch. Life of Theseus, xxxii.
5. Jump up^ Pausanias. Description of Greece, i, 29.2, 30.2
6. Jump up^ Plutarch. Life of Solon, i, 7.
7. Jump up^ Herbert Ernest Cushma. (1910). A Beginner’s History of Philosophy, Volume 1, pg 219. Houghton Mifflin.
8. Jump up^ Ainian, A.M. & Alexandridou, A. (2007). The “sacred house” of the Academy revisited. Acts of an International Symposium in Memory of William D.E. Coulson. Volos, Greece: University of Thessaly.
9. Jump up^ greeceathensaegeaninfo.com Plato academy, at GreeceAthensAegeanInfo.com^{[unreliable source?]}
10. Jump up^ pp. 5–6, D. Nails, « The Life of Plato of Athens », in H. Benson (ed.), A Companion to Plato, Blackwell Publishing 2006.
11. Jump up^ pp. 19–20, W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. 4, Cambridge University Press 1975; p. 1, R. Dancy, « Academy », in D. Zeyl (ed.), Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy, Greenwood Press 1997. I. Mueller gives a much broader time frame – « …some time between the early 380s and the middle 360s… » – perhaps reflecting our real lack of evidence about the specific date (p. 170, « Mathematical Method & Philosophical Truth », in R. Kraut (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Plato, Cambridge University Press 1992).
12. Jump up^ D. Sedley, « Academy », in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed.; p. 4, J. Barnes, « Life and Work », in The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle, Cambridge University Press 1995; J. Barnes, « Academy », E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge 1998, accessed 13 Sept 2008, from http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/A001.
13. Jump up^ p. 31, J. Barnes, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press 2000.
14. Jump up^ p. 170, Mueller, « Mathematical Method & Philosophical Truth »; p. 249, D. Nails, The People of Plato, Hackett 2002.
15. Jump up^ pp. 170–171, Mueller, « Mathematical Method & Philosophical Truth »; p. 248, Nails, The People of Plato.
16. Jump up^ Barnes, « Academy ».
17. Jump up^ http://www.hackettpublishing.com/philosophy/women-in-the-academy
18. Jump up^ p. 2, Dancy, « Academy ».
19. Jump up^ p. 2, Dancy, « Academy »; p. 21, Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. 4; p. 34–36, Barnes, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction.
20. Jump up^ p. 67, V. Katz, History of Mathematics
21. Jump up^ p. 22, Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. 4.
22. Jump up^ pp. 170–71, Mueller, « Mathematical Method & Philosophical Truth ».
23. Jump up^ M. Schofield, « Plato », in E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge 1998/2002, retrieved 13 Sept 2008, from http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/A088 ; p. 32, Barnes, Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction.
24. Jump up^ Simplicius, Commentary on Aristotle’s « On the Heavens » 488.7–24, quoted on p. 174, Mueller, « Mathematical Method & Philosophical Truth ».
25. Jump up^ p. 23, Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol. 4; G. Field, « Academy », in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd ed.
26. Jump up^ p. 293, « Plato & Practical Politics », in Schofield & C. Rowe (eds.), Greek & Roman Political Thought, Cambridge University Press 2000.
27. Jump up^ Charles Anthon, (1855), A Classical Dictionary, page 6
28. Jump up^ Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism, Book 1, Chapter 33, Section 232
29. Jump up^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed. (1996), s.v. « Philon of Larissa. »
30. Jump up^ See the table in The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy(Cambridge University Press, 1999), pp. 53–54.
31. Jump up^ « Academy », E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge 1998, accessed 14 Sept 2008, from http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/A001.
32. Jump up^ Giovanni Reale, John R. Catan, 1990, A History of Ancient Philosophy: The schools of the Imperial Age, page 207. SUNY Press
33. Jump up^ Plutarch, Sulla 12; cf. Appian, Roman History xii, 5.30
34. Jump up^ Giovanni Reale, John R. Catan, 1990, A History of Ancient Philosophy: The schools of the Imperial Age, page 208. SUNY Press
35. Jump up^ Cicero, De Finibus, book 5
36. Jump up^ Alan Cameron, « The last days of the Academy at Athens, » in Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society vol 195 (n.s. 15), 1969, pp 7–29.
37. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Gerald Bechtle, Bryn Mawr Classical Review of Rainer Thiel,Simplikios und das Ende der neuplatonischen Schule in Athen. Stuttgart, 1999 (in English).
38. Jump up^ The Cambridge Ancient History, (1970), Volume XIV, page 837. Cambridge University Press.
39. ^ Jump up to:^a b Richard Sorabji, (2005), The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200–600 AD: Psychology (with Ethics and Religion), page 11. Cornell University Press

Library resources about Platonic Academy

Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries

References

• Baltes, M. 1993. « Plato’s School, the Academy. » Hermathena, (155): 5-26.
• Brunt, P. A. 1993. « Plato’s Academy and Politics. » In Studies in Greek History and Thought. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Cherniss, H. 1945. The Riddle of the Early Academy. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
• Dancy, R. M. 1991. Two Studies in the Early Academy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
• Dillon, J. M. 1979. « The Academy in the Middle Platonic Period. » Dionysius, 3: 63-77.
• Dillon, J. 2003. The Heirs of Plato. A Study of the Old Academy, 347–274 BC. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Dorandi, T. 1999. « Chronology: The Academy. » In The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy. Edited by Keimpe Algra, Jonathan Barnes, Jaap Mansfeld, and Malcolm Schofield, 31–35. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
• Glucker, J. 1978. Antiochus and the Late Academy. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
• Lynch, J. P. 1972. Aristotle’s School: A Study of a Greek Educational Institution. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Murray, J. S. 2006. « Searching for Plato’s Academy, 1929-1940. » Mouseion: Journal of the Classical Association of Canada, 6 (2): 219-56
• Russell, J. H. 2012. « When Philosophers Rule: The Platonic Academy and Statesmanship. » History of Political Thought, 33 (2): 209-230.
• Wallach, J. R. 2002. « The Platonic Academy and Democracy. » Polis (Exeter), 19 (1-2): 7-27
• Watts, E. 2007. « Creating the Academy: Historical Discourse and the Shape of Community in the Old Academy. » The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 127: 106–122.
• Wycherley, R. 1961. « Peripatos: The Athenian Philosophical Scene–I. » Greece & Rome, 8(2), 152-163.
• Wycherley, R. 1962. Peripatos: The Athenian Philosophical Scene–II. Greece & Rome, 9(1), 2-21.
• Zhmud, Leonid. 2006. « Science in the Platonic Academy.: In The Origin of the History of Science in Classical Antiquity. By Leonid Zhmud, 82–116. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Platonic Academy.

Platonic Academy.

•  « Academy« . Collier’s New Encyclopedia. 1921.
• The Academy, entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Directions to the archaeological site of Plato’s Academy, other useful information, and some photos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonic_Academy

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Fresco from the bronze age at Akrotiri, Santorini

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The boxing boys fresco is one of many well preserved frescoes from the island of Thera

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The Mask of Agamemnon is a gold funeral mask discovered at the ancient Greek site of Mycenae. The mask, displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, has been described by Cathy Gere as the « Mona Lisa of prehistory ».^[1]

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The Antikythera Ephebe

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Mycenean gold cups from Grave IV and V

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The bronze statue of Zeus or Poseidon, the Artemision Bronze in room 15

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Attic vase depicting Chimera

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

So-called Artemision jockey. Bronze, ca. 140 BC. Recovered from the sea near Cape Artemision in Euboea.

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Gold elliptical funeral diadems from Shaft Grave III (Grave Circle A, Mycenae)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The Ninnion Tablet, dated to approximately 370 BC, is a red clay tablet depicting the ancient GreekEleusinian Mysteries (religious rites connected to Greek mythology).

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Bust of a statue belonging to a group representing Theseus and the Minotaur, erected on a fountain in Athens near St Demetrios Katéphoris in Plaka. It is a Roman copy of the famous, lost statuary group attibuted to Myron erected on the acropolis that represented Theseus fighting the Minotaur

 

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The Mycenaean Warrior Vase, found by Heinrich Schliemann on the acropolis of Mycenae,

 

National Archaeological Museum

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

 

Location within Athens
Established	1829
Location	Patission Street, Athens, Greece
Type	National museum
Public transit access	Victoria station    Omonoia station
Website	www.namuseum.gr

The National Archaeological Museum(Greek: Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο) in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from Greek antiquity worldwide.^[1] It is situated in the Exarcheia area in central Athens between Epirus Street, Bouboulinas Street and Tositsas Street while its entrance is on the Patission Street adjacent to the historical building of the Athens Polytechnicuniversity.

History

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The Museum in 1893

The first national archaeological museum in Greece was established by the governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias in Aigina in 1829. Subsequently, the archaeological collection was relocated to a number of exhibition places until 1858, when an international architectural competition was announced for the location and the architectural design of the new museum.^[2]

The current location was proposed and the construction of the museum’s building began in 1866 and was completed in 1889 using funds from the Greek Government, the Greek Archaeological Society and the society of Mycenae. Major benefactors were Eleni Tositsa who donated the land for the building of the museum, and Demetrios and Nikolaos Vernardakis from Saint Petersburg who donated a large amount for the completion of the museum.

The initial name for the museum was The Central Museum. It was renamed to its current name in 1881 by Prime Minister of Greece Charilaos Trikoupis. In 1887 the important archaeologist Valerios Stais became the museum’s curator.

During World War II the museum was closed and the antiquities were sealed in special protective boxes and buried, in order to avoid their destruction and looting. In 1945 exhibits were again displayed under the direction of Christos Karouzos. The south wing of the museum houses the Epigraphic Museum with the richest collection of inscriptions in the world. The inscriptions museum expanded between 1953 and 1960 with the architectural designs of Patroklos Karantinos.^[3]

The building

The museum has an imposing neo-classical design which was very popular in Europe at the time and is in accordance with the classical style artifacts that it houses. The initial plan was conceived by the architect Ludwig Lange and it was later modified by Panagis Kalkos who was the main architect, Armodios Vlachos and Ernst Ziller. At the front of the museum there is a large neo-classic design garden which is decorated with sculptures.^[2]

Expansions and renovations

Giacobbe Giusti, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The Antikythera Ephebe

The building has undergone many expansions. Most important were the construction of a new east wing in the early 20th century based on the plans of Anastasios Metaxasand the construction of a two-storeyed building, designed by George Nomikos, during 1932–1939.^[2] These expansions were necessary to accommodate the rapidly growing collection of artifacts. The most recent refurbishment of the museum took more than 1.5 years to complete, during which the museum remained completely closed. It reopened in July 2004, in time for the Athens Olympics and it included an aesthetic and technical upgrade of the building, installation of a modern air-conditioning system, reorganisation of the museum’s collection and repair of the damage caused by the 1999 earthquake. The Minoan frescoes rooms opened to the public in 2005.^[4] On May 2008 the Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis inaugurated the much anticipated collection of Egyptian antiquities and the collection of Eleni and Antonis Stathatos.^[5] Today, there is a renewed discussion regarding the need to further expand the museum to adjacent areas. A new plan has been made for a subterranean expansion at the front of the museum.

Collections

The museum’s collections are organised in sections:^[6]

Collections
Section	Rooms	Sample inventories
Prehistoric Collection (Neolithic, Cycladic, Mycenaean)	3-6 and 48[7]	The Mask of Agamemnon, a gold funeral mask, dated 1550–1500 BC Gold elliptical funeral diadems from Shaft Grave III (Grave Circle A, Mycenae) Mycenean gold cups from Grave IV and V
Sculptures Collection	7-34	The bronze statue of Zeus or Poseidon, the Artemision Bronze in room 15 Varvakeios Athena, replica of Athena Parthenos Statue of Asklepius. Roman copy (c.160 AD), from a 4th-century BC Greek original Marble table support adorned by a group including Dionysos, Panand a Satyr, 170-180 AD
Vase and Minor Objects Collection (Including Stathatos and Vlastos-Serpieris collections)	42[8]and 49-56[9]	Attic vase depicting Chimera Bronze pitchers
Santorini Collection	48	Fresco from the bronze age at Akrotiri, Santorini The boxing boys fresco is one of many well preserved frescoes from the island of Thera Fresco with landscape in spring time at Akrotiri
Metallurgy Collection	36-39	The Antikythera mechanism(main fragment) in room 38 The philosopher’s head from the Antikythera wreck Bronze pitcher
Egyptian and Near EasternAntiquities Collection	40-41	Egyptian funerary mask
Epigraphical Museum	1, 9 & 11	The oldest attic epigraphy, 8th century BC Boustrophédon, in room 11 Detail of a part of the sacred law of the Acropolis and the Hékatompédon, 485/4 BC Honorific decree, 313–312 BC.

Prehistoric collection

The prehistoric collection displays objects from the Neolithic era (6800–3000 BC), Early and Mid-Bronze age (3000–2000 BC and 2000 to 1700 BC respectively), objects classified as Cycladic and Mycenaean art.

Neolithic era and early and mid-Bronze age collection

There are ceramic finds from various important Neolithic sites such as Dimini and Sesclo from middle Helladic ceramics from Boeotia, Attica and Phthiotis. Some objects from Heinrich Schliemann excavations in Troy are also on display.

Cycladic art collection

Cycladic collection features the famous marble figurines from the Aegean islands of Delos and Keros including the Lutist. These mysterious human representations, which resemble modern art and inspired many artists such as Henry Moore,^[10] came from the 3rd millennium BC old cemeteries of Aegean islands along with bronze tools and containers.

Mycenean art collection

Mycenean civilization is represented by stone, bronze and ceramic pots, figurines, ivory, glass and faience objects, golden seals and rings from the vaulted tombs in Mycenae and other locations in the Peloponnese (Tiryns and Dendra in Argolis, Pylos in Messinia and Vaphio in Lakonia). Of great interest are the two golden cups from Vafeio showing a scene of the capture of a bull.

Heinrich Schliemann finds

Mycenean collection includes also the magnificent 19th-century finds of Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae from the Grave Circle A and the earlier Grave Circle B. Most notable are the golden funerary masks which covered the faces of deceased Mycenean nobles. Among them, the most famous is the one that was named erroneously as the mask of Agamemnon. There are also finds from the citadel of Mycenae including relief stelae, golden containers, glass, alabaster and amber tools and jewels. Other features include an ivory carving of two goddesses with a child, a painted limestone head of a goddess and the famous warrior’s vase dating from the 12th century.

Egyptian Art collection

The Egyptian collection dates back to the last twenty years of the 19th century. Notable is the donation of the Egyptian government which in 1893 offered nine mummies of the era of the Pharaohs. However, the Egyptian collection is mainly by two donors, Ioannis Dimitriou (in 1880) and of Alexandros Rostovic (in 1904). In total the collection includes more than 6000 artifacts, 1100 of which are available presently for the public. The collection is considered to be one of the best collections of Egyptian art in the world. The exhibition features rare statues, tools, jewels, mummies, a wooden body tag for a mummy, a stunning bronze statue of a princess, intact bird eggs and a 3000-year-old loaf of bread with a bite-sized chunk missing. The exhibition centrepiece is a bronze statue of the princess-priestess Takushit, dating to around 670 BC. Standing 70 cm high and wearing a gown covered in hieroglyphs, the statue was found south of Alexandria in 1880.^[11]

Stathatos collection

The Stathatos collection is named for the donors and major Greek benefactors Antonis and Eleni Stathatos. The collection features about 1000 objects, mainly jewels as well as metal objects, vases, and pottery from the Middle Bronze Age to post-Byzantine era. Features of special note are the Hellenistic period golden jewels from Karpenissi and Thessaly.

Artists and artifacts

Some of the ancient artists whose work is presented in the museum are Myron, Scopas, Euthymides, Lydos, Agoracritus, Agasias, Pan Painter, Wedding Painter, Meleager Painter, Cimon of Cleonae, Nessos Painter, Damophon, Aison (vase painter), Analatos Painter, Polygnotos (vase painter), Hermonax.

Collections include sculpture work, Loutrophoros, amphora, Hydria, Skyphos, Krater, Pelike, and lekythos vessels, Stele, frescoes, jewellery, weapons, tools, coins, toys and other ancient items.

Artifacts derive from archaeological excavations in Santorini, Mycenae, Tiryns, Dodona, Vaphio, Rhamnous, Lycosura, Aegean islands, Delos, the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina, the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia in Sparta, Pylos, Thebes, Athens, Vari Cave, the Antikythera wreck and from various other places in Greece.^[2]

The museum houses the archaic terracota statuette daidala that inspired the designers of the 2004 Athens Olympics maskots Athena and Phevos.

New exhibits

Two of the newest exhibits of the museum include a 4th-century BC golden funerary wreath and a 6th-century BC marble statue of a woman, which were returned as stolen artifacts to Greece in 2007 by the Getty Museum in California, after a 10-year-long legal dispute between the Getty Center and the Greek Government.^[12] One year earlier, the Los Angeles foundation agreed to return a 4th-century BC tombstonefrom near Greek Thebes and a 6th-century BC votive relief from the island of Thassos.^[13]

Museum highlights

Antikythera mechanism Bronze Statuette of Athletic Spartan Girl Nestor’s Cup Mask of Agamemnon Dipylon inscription Poseidon of Cape Artemision Antikythera Ephebe Diadumenos Marathon Boy Lemnos stela Collection of Kouros and Kore (sculpture) Kroisos Kouros Sounion Kouros

Aphrodite of Cnidus Pitsa panels Daidala Ninnion Tablet Theseus Ring Wall frescoes from Tiryns and Santorini Capitoline Venus Poseidon of Milos Rhyton in the shape of a bull head Jockey of Artemision Mycenean Warrior Vase

Library of archaeology

The museum houses a 118-year-old library of archeology with rare ancient art, science and philosophy books and publications. The library has some 20,000 volumes, including rare editions dating to the 17th century.^[14] The bibliography covers archaeology, history, arts, ancient religions and ancient Greek philosophy, as well as Ancient Greek and Latin literature. Of particular value are the diaries of various excavations including those of Heinrich Schliemann. The collection of archaeology books is the richest of its kind in Greece. The Library has been recently renovated with funds from the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation. Its renovation was completed on 26 May 2008 and is now named after Alexander Onassis.^[15]

Museum activities

• Conservation laboratories
• Photographic archive and chemistry laboratories
• Organises temporary exhibitions in the museum and abroad
• Hosts a large number of archaeology related lectures in its lecture-hall annually

Visitors’ information

The museum is accessible by the Athens metro. The nearest stations are Viktoria station and Omonia station. The museum houses a gift shop with artifact replicas and a café in the sculpture garden. The museum is fully wheelchair accessible. There are also facilities and guides for hearing-impaired visitors.

• Ancient Greek sculpture
• Ancient Greek technology and innovation
• Art in Ancient Greece
• Gorgon
• Greek Terracotta Figurines
• Kouros
• List of museums in Greece
• List of museums with major collections of Greek and Roman antiquities
• Pottery of ancient Greece
• Typology of Greek Vase Shapes
• Valerios Stais

References

1. Jump up^ « Ministry of Culture and Sports | National Archaeological Museum ». odysseus.culture.gr. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d The National Archaeological Museum (2000) Euangelia Kypraiou Archaeological Receipts Fund Direction of Publications, Athens Greece
3. Jump up^ « Ministry of Culture and Sports | Epigraphic Museum ». odysseus.culture.gr. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
4. Jump up^ ekathimerini.com | National Archaeological Museum Archived 2007-11-09 at the Wayback Machine.
5. Jump up^ Egyptian antiquities exhibition
6. Jump up^ Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (2002) Nikolaos Kaltsas Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum, California, USA
7. Jump up^ The Prehistoric Collection, National Archaeological Museum
8. Jump up^ Stathatos Collection, National Archaeological Museum
9. Jump up^ The Vase and Minor Objects Collection, National Archaeological Museum
10. Jump up^ Early cycladic sculpture: its aesthetics and its influences on Henry Moore and Constantin Brâncuși DEB Lercher – 1979 – State University of New York at Binghamton
11. Jump up^ Priceless ancient Egyptian relics go on display^{[dead link]}
12. Jump up^ « BBC NEWS – Europe – Ancient wreath returns to Greece ». Retrieved 21 November2015.
13. Jump up^ CBC.ca Arts – Greece closes net on antiquities smuggling
14. Jump up^ « Rare tomes… – News – ekathimerini.com ». Retrieved 21 November 2015.
15. Jump up^ « This Week – News – ekathimerini.com ». Retrieved 21 November 2015.

National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

• National Archaeological Museum of Athens Official website
• Review of The National Archaeological Museum in Athens at UNRV.com
• Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Αθηνών – Archaeological Museum Of Athens Unofficial page on Facebook
• High-resolution 360° Panoramas of Archaeological Museum | Art Atlas

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Archaeological_Museum,_Athens

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Golden cup from a LH IIA Mycenaean grave at Vapheio, one of a pair known as the « Vapheio Cups« . This cup is believed to be of Minoan manufacture while its twin is thought to be Mycenaean. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Fresco of children boxing, recovered from the island of Santorini

 

Minoan civilization

Period	Bronze Age Europe
Dates	c. 2600 – c. 1100 BC
Major sites	Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros
Preceded by	Cycladic culture
Followed by	Mycenaean Greece

Ancient history
Preceded by prehistory
Ancient Near East
Sumer · Egypt · Elam · Akkad Babylonia · Canaan Hittite Empire · Crete · Syro-Hittite states Neo-Assyrian Empire · Urartu ·
Classical antiquity
Greece · Persia Hellenism · Rome · Africa · Late Antiquity
East Asia
China · Korea · Japan
South Asia
Indus Valley Civilization · Vedic India ·Maha Janapadas Mauryan India · Chola India Satavahana India · Gupta India
Mesoamerica
Andes
See also
History of the world · Ancient maritime history Protohistory · Axial Age · Iron Age Historiography · Ancient literature Ancient warfare · Cradle of civilization
Followed by the Middle Ages
v t e

Bronze Age v t e

↑ Chalcolithic

Near East (c. 3300–1200 BC) Anatolia, Caucasus, Elam, Egypt, Levant, Mesopotamia, Sistan, Canaan Late Bronze Age collapse South Asia (c. 3300–1200 BC) Indus Valley Civilization Bronze Age South Asia Ochre Coloured Pottery Cemetery H Europe (c. 3200–600 BC) Aegean (Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean),Caucasus, Catacomb culture, Srubna culture, Beaker culture, Unetice culture, Tumulus culture, Urnfield culture, Hallstatt culture, Apennine culture, Canegrate culture, Golasecca culture, Atlantic Bronze Age, Bronze Age Britain, Nordic Bronze Age East Asia (c. 2000–300 BC) Erlitou, Erligang, Gojoseon, Jomon, Majiayao, Mumun, Qijia, Siwa, Wucheng, Xindian, Yueshi

arsenical bronze writing literature sword chariot

↓Iron Age

The Minoan civilization was an Aegean Bronze Age civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean islands which flourished from about 2600 to 1100 BC. It preceded the Mycenaean civilization of Ancient Greece.^[1] The civilization was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Arthur Evans. It has been described as the earliest of its kind in Europe,^[2] with historian Will Durantcalling the Minoans « the first link in the European chain ».^[3]

The term « Minoan », which refers to the mythical King Minos, originally described in the pottery of the period. Minos was associated in Greek mythology with the labyrinth and the Minotaur, which Evans identified with the site at Knossos (the largest Minoan site). According to Homer, Crete once had 90 cities.^[4]

The Minoan period saw trade between Crete and Aegean and Mediterranean settlements, particularly the Near East. Through their traders and artists, the Minoan cultural influence reached beyond Crete to the Cyclades, Egypt‘s Old Kingdom, copper-bearing Cyprus, Canaan and the Levantine coast, and Anatolia. Some of its best art is preserved in the city of Akrotiri on the island of Santorini, which was destroyed by the Thera eruption.

Although the Minoan language and writing systems (Linear A) remain undeciphered, and are the subject of academic dispute, they apparently conveyed a language entirely different from the later Greek. The reason for the end of the Minoan period (around 1400 BC) is unclear; theories include Mycenaean invasions from mainland Greece and a volcanic eruption of Thera.

Etymology

The term « Minoan » refers to the mythical King Minos of Knossos. Its origin is debated, but it is commonly attributed to archeologist Arthur Evans (1851–1941).^[5]Minos was associated in Greek mythology with the labyrinth, which Evans identified with the site at Knossos.

However, Karl Hoeck had already used the title Das Minoische Kreta in 1825 for volume two of his Kreta; this appears to be the first known use of the word « Minoan » to mean « ancient Cretan ».

Evans probably read Hoeck’s book, and continued using the term in his writings and findings:^[6] « To this early civilization of Crete as a whole I have proposed—and the suggestion has been generally adopted by the archaeologists of this and other countries—to apply the name ‘Minoan’. »^[7] Evans said that he applied it, not invented it.

Hoeck, with no idea that the archaeological Crete had existed, had in mind the Crete of mythology. Although Evans’ 1931 claim that the term was « unminted » before he used it was called a « brazen suggestion » by Karadimas and Momigliano,^[6] he coined its archaeological meaning.

Chronology and history

Minoan chronology, Minoan pottery, and Dating the Thera eruption

Minoan chronology

2500–2400 BC[8]	EMI	Prepalatial
2300–2100 BC	EMII
2100–2000 BC	EMIII
2000–1900 BC	MMIA
1900–1850 BC	MMIB	Protopalatial (Old Palace Period)
1850–? BC	MMIIA
?–1750 BC	MMIIB	Neopalatial (New Palace Period)
1700/1750–1600 BC	MMIIIA
1600–1550 BC	MMIIIB
1550–1500 BC	LMIA
1500–1450 BC	LMIB	Postpalatial (at Knossos; Final Palace Period)
1450–1400 BC	LMII
1400–1300 BC	LMIIIA
1300–1200 BC	LMIIIB

Instead of dating the Minoan period, archaeologists use two systems of relative chronology. The first, created by Evans and modified by later archaeologists, is based on pottery styles and imported Egyptian artifacts (which can be correlated with the chronology of Ancient Egypt). Evans’ system divides the Minoan period into three major eras: early (EM), middle (MM) and late (LM). These eras are subdivided—for example, Early Minoan I, II and III (EMI, EMII, EMIII).

Another dating system, proposed by Greek archaeologist Nicolas Platon, is based on the development of architectural complexes known as « palaces » at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Kato Zakros. Platon divides the Minoan period into pre-, proto-, neo- and post-palatial sub-periods. The relationship between the systems in the table includes approximate calendar dates from Warren and Hankey (1989).

The Thera eruption occurred during a mature phase of the LM IA period. Efforts to establish the volcanic eruption’s date have been controversial. Radiocarbon datinghas indicated a date in the late 17th century BC;^[9][10] this conflicts with estimates by archaeologists, who synchronize the eruption with conventional Egyptian chronology for a date of 1525–1500 BC.^[11][12][13]

Overview

History of Crete

Although stone-tool evidence exists that hominins may have reached Crete as early as 130,000 years ago, evidence for the first anatomically-modern human presence dates to 10,000–12,000 YBP.^[14][15] The oldest evidence of modern human habitation on Crete are pre-ceramic Neolithic farming-community remains which date to about 7000 BC.^[16] A comparative study of DNA haplogroups of modern Cretan men showed that a male founder group, from Anatolia or the Levant, is shared with the Greeks.^[17] The Neolithic population lived in open villages. Fishermen’s huts were found on the shores, and the fertile Mesara Plain was used for agriculture.^[18]

Early Minoan

The Early Bronze Age (3500 to 2600 BC) has been described as indicating a « promise of greatness »^[19] in light of later developments on the island. The Bronze Age began on Crete around 2700 BC.^[20] In the late third millennium BC, several locations on the island developed into centers of commerce and handiwork; this enabled the upper classes to exercise leadership and expand their influence. It is likely that the original hierarchies of the local elites were replaced by monarchies, a precondition for the palaces.^[21]

Middle Minoan

At the end of the MMII period (1700 BC) there was a large disturbance on Crete—probably an earthquake, but possibly an invasion from Anatolia.^[22] The palaces at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Kato Zakros were destroyed.

At the beginning of the neopalatial period the population increased again,^[23] the palaces were rebuilt on a larger scale and new settlements were built across the island. This period (the 17th and 16th centuries BC, MM III-Neopalatial) was the apex of Minoan civilization. After around 1700 BC, material culture on the Greek mainland reached a new high due to Minoan influence.^[21]

Late Minoan

Another natural catastrophe occurred around 1600 BC, possibly an eruption of the Thera volcano. The Minoans rebuilt the palaces with several major differences in function.^[24][21][25]

Around 1450 BC, Minoan culture reached a turning point due to a natural catastrophe (possibly an earthquake). Although another eruption of the Thera volcano has been linked to this downfall, its dating and implications are disputed. Several important palaces, in locations such as Mallia, Tylissos, Phaistos and Hagia Triada, and the living quarters of Knossos were destroyed. The palace in Knossos seems to have remained largely intact, resulting in its dynasty’s ability to spread its influence over large parts of Crete until it was overrun by the Mycenaean Greeks.^[21]

Foreign influence

The influence of Minoan civilization is seen in Minoan handicrafts on the Greek mainland. The shaft graves of Mycenae had several Cretan imports (such as a bull’s-head rhyton), which suggests a prominent role for Minoan symbolism. Connections between Egypt and Crete are prominent; Minoan ceramics are found in Egyptian cities, and the Minoans imported items (particularly papyrus) and architectural and artistic ideas from Egypt. Egyptian hieroglyphs were models for Minoan pictographic writing, from which the Linear A and Linear B writing systems developed.^[18]Archaeologist Hermann Bengtson has also found a Minoan influence in Canaaniteartifacts.

Minoan palace sites were occupied by the Mycenaeans (who adapted Linear A Minoan script for their own language) around 1420–1375 BC.^[26][21] Their language, a form of Greek, was written in Linear B. The Mycenaeans tended to adapt (rather than supplant) Minoan culture, religion and art,^[27] continuing the Minoan economic system and bureaucracy.^[21]

During LMIIIA (1400–1300 BC), Amenhotep III noted k-f-t-w (Kaftor) as one of the « Secret Lands of the North of Asia » at Kom el-Hatan.^[28] Also mentioned are Cretan cities (such as Amnisos, Phaistos, Kydonia and Knossos) and toponymsreconstructed as in the Cyclades or the Greek mainland. If the values of these Egyptian names are accurate, the pharaoh did not value LMIII Knossos more than other states in the region.^[29]

After about a century of partial recovery, most Cretan cities and palaces declined during the 13th century BC (LHIIIB-LMIIIB). The last Linear A archives date to LMIIIA, contemporary with LHIIIA.

Knossos remained an administrative center until 1200 BC. The last Minoan site was the defensive mountain site of Karfi, a refuge which had vestiges of Minoan civilization nearly into the Iron Age.^[30]

Geography

Knossos

Gortyn

Clickable map of Greece, with major Minoan sites

Crete is a mountainous island with natural harbors. There are signs of earthquake damage at many Minoan sites, and clear signs of land uplifting and submersion of coastal sites due to tectonic processes along its coast.^[31]

According to Homer, Crete had 90 cities.^[4] Judging by the palace sites, the island was probably divided into at least eight political units at the height of the Minoan period. The north is thought to have been governed from Knossos, the south from Phaistos, the central-eastern region from Malia, the eastern tip from Kato Zakros and the west from Chania. Smaller palaces have been found elsewhere on the island.

Major Minoan archaeological sites include:

• Palaces:
  • Knossos – the largest^[32] Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete; was purchased for excavations by Evans on March 16, 1900.
  • Phaistos – the second-largest^[32] palatial building on the island, excavated by the Italian school shortly after Knossos
  • Malia – the subject of French excavations, a palatial center which provides a look into the proto-palatial period
  • Kato Zakros – palatial site excavated by Greek archaeologists in the far east of the island, also known as « Zakro » in archaeological literature
  • Galatas – confirmed as a palatial site during the early 1990s
• Agia Triada – administrative center near Phaistos
• Gournia – town site excavated in the first quarter of the 20th century
• Pyrgos – early Minoan site in southern Crete
• Vasiliki – early eastern Minoan site which gives its name to distinctive ceramic ware
• Fournou Korfi – southern site
• Pseira – island town with ritual sites
• Mount Juktas – the greatest Minoan peak sanctuary, associated with the palace of Knossos^[33]
• Arkalochori – site of the Arkalochori Axe
• Karfi – refuge site, one of the last Minoan sites
• Akrotiri – settlement on the island of Santorini (Thera), near the site of the Thera Eruption
• Zominthos – mountainous city in the northern foothills of Mount Ida

Settlements

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Minoan fresco, showing a fleet and settlement

See also: Historical urban community sizes and List of largest cities throughout history

Knossos had an estimated population of 1,300 to 2,000 in 2500 BC, 18,000 in 2000 BC, 20,000 to 100,000 in 1600 BC and 30,000 in 1360 BC. Gortyn was also a noted Minoan settlement.^[34][35][36]

Beyond Crete

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Minoan copper ingot

The Minoans were traders, and their cultural contacts reached Egypt’s Old Kingdom, copper-containing Cyprus, Canaan and the Levantine coast and Anatolia. In late 2009 Minoan-style frescoes and other artifacts were discovered during excavations of the Canaanite palace at Tel Kabri, Israel, leading archaeologists to conclude that the Minoan influence was the strongest on the Canaanite city-state. These are the only Minoan artifacts which have been found in Israel.^[37]

Minoan techniques and ceramic styles had varying degrees of influence on Helladic Greece. Along with Santorini, Minoan settlements are found^[38] at Kastri on Cythera, an island near the Greek mainland influenced by the Minoans from the mid-third millennium BC (EMII) to its Mycenaean occupation in the 13th century.^[39][40][41]Minoan strata replaced a mainland-derived early Bronze Age culture, the earliest Minoan settlement outside Crete.^[42]

The Cyclades were in the Minoan cultural orbit, and (closer to Crete) the islands of Karpathos, Saria and Kasos also contained middle-Bronze Age (MMI-II) Minoan colonies or settlements of Minoan traders. Most were abandoned in LMI, but Karpathos recovered and continued its Minoan culture until the end of the Bronze Age.^[43] Other supposed Minoan colonies, such as that hypothesized by Adolf Furtwängler on Aegina, were later dismissed by scholars.^[44] However, there was a Minoan colony at Ialysos on Rhodes.^[45]

Minoan cultural influence indicates an orbit extending through the Cyclades to Egypt and Cyprus. Fifteenth-century BC paintings in Thebes, Egypt depict Minoan-appearing individuals bearing gifts. Inscriptions describing them as coming from keftiu (« islands in the middle of the sea ») may refer to gift-bringing merchants or officials from Crete.^[46]

Some locations on Crete indicate that the Minoans were an « outward-looking » society.^[47] The neo-palatial site of Kato Zakros is located within 100 meters of the modern shoreline in a bay. Its large number of workshops and wealth of site materials indicate a possible entrepôt for trade. Such activities are seen in artistic representations of the sea, including the « Flotilla » fresco in room five of the West House at Akrotiri.^{[citation needed]}

Agriculture and cuisine

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

The partially-restored « campstool fresco » from Knossos

See also: Cretan cuisine

The Minoans raised cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, and grew wheat, barley, vetch and chickpeas. They also cultivated grapes, figs and olives, and grew poppies for seed and (perhaps) opium. The Minoans also domesticated bees.^[48]

Crops, including lettuce, celery, asparagus and carrots, grew wild on Crete. Pear, quince, and olive trees were also native. Date palmtrees and cats (for hunting) were imported from Egypt.^[49] The Minoans adopted pomegranates from the Near East, but not lemons and oranges.

They may have practiced polyculture,^[50] and their varied, healthy diet resulted in a population increase. Polyculture theoretically maintains soil fertility and protects against losses due to crop failure. Linear B tablets indicate the importance of orchards (figs, olives and grapes) in processing crops for « secondary products ».^[51]Olive oil in Cretan (or Mediterranean) cuisine is comparable to butter in northern European cuisine.^[52] The process of fermenting wine from grapes was probably a factor of the « Palace » economies; wine would have been a trade commodity and an item of domestic consumption.^[53] Farmers used wooden plows, bound with leather to wooden handles and pulled by pairs of donkeys or oxen.

Seafood was also important in Cretan cuisine. The prevalence of edible molluscs in site material^[54] and artistic representations of marine fish and animals (including the distinctive LM IIIC « Octopus » stirrup jar), indicate appreciation (and occasional use) of fish by the economy. However, scholars believe that these resources were not as significant as grain, olives and animal produce. « Fishing was one of the major activities…but there is as yet no evidence for the way in which they organized their fishing. »^[55] An intensification of agricultural activity is indicated by the construction of terraces and dams at Pseira in the Late Minoan period.

Cretan cuisine included wild game; Cretans ate wild deer and boar and meat from livestock. Wild game is now extinct on Crete.^[56]

Not all plants and flora were purely functional, and arts depict scenes of lily-gathering in green spaces. The fresco known as the Sacred Grove at Knossos depicts women facing left, flanked by trees. Some scholars have suggested that it is a harvest festival, or ceremony, to honor the fertility of the soil. Artistic depictions of farming scenes also appear on the Second Palace Period « Harvester Vase » (an egg-shaped rhyton), on which 27 men led by another carry hoes. This demonstrates the importance of farming as an artistic motif.

The discovery of storage areas in the palace compounds has prompted debate. At the second « palace » at Phaistos, rooms on the west side of the structure have been identified as a storage area. Jars, jugs and vessels have been recovered in the area, indicating the complex’s possible role as a re-distribution center for agricultural produce. At larger sites such as Knossos, there is evidence of craft specialization (workshops). The palace at Kato Zakro indicates that workshops were integrated into palace structure. The Minoan palatial system may have developed through economic intensification, where an agricultural surplus could support a population of administrators, craftsmen and religious practitioners. The number of sleeping rooms in the palaces indicates that they could have supported a sizable population which was removed from manual labor.

Tools

Tools, originally made of wood or bone, were bound to handles with leather straps. During the Bronze Age, they were made of bronze with wooden handles. Due to its round hole, the tool head would spin on the handle. The Minoans developed oval-shaped holes in their tools to fit oval-shaped handles, which prevented spinning.^[48]Tools included double adzes, double- and single-bladed axes, axe-adzes, sickles and chisels.

Society and culture

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

The « saffron-gatherers »

The Minoans were primarily a mercantilepeople who engaged in overseas trade. After 1700 BC, their culture indicates a high degree of organization. Minoan-manufactured goods suggest a network of trade with mainland Greece (notably Mycenae), Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and westward as far as the Iberian peninsula. Minoan religion apparently focused on female deities, with women officiants.^[57] While historians and archaeologists have long been skeptical of an outright matriarchy, the predominance of female figures in authoritative roles over male ones seems to indicate that Minoan society was matriarchal, and among the most well-supported examples known.^[58]

Saffron trade

A fresco of saffron-gatherers at Santorini is well-known. The Minoan trade in saffron, the stigma of a naturally-mutated crocus which originated in the Aegean basin, has left few material remains. According to Evans, the saffron (a sizable Minoan industry) was used for dye.^[59] Other archaeologists emphasize durable trade items: ceramics, copper, tin, gold and silver.^[59] The saffron may have had a religious significance.^[60]The saffron trade, which predated Minoan civilization, was comparable in value to that of frankincense or black pepper.

Fashion

Minoan men wore loincloths and kilts. Women wore robes with short sleeves and layered, flounced skirts. The robes were open to the navel, exposing their breasts.^[61]Women could also wear a strapless, fitted bodice, and clothing patterns had symmetrical, geometric designs.

Language and writing

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

One side of the Phaistos Disc

Main article: Minoan language

Knowledge of the spoken and written language of the Minoans is scant due to the small number of records found. Clay tablets, dating to around 3000 BC, were found with Aegean scripts.^[62] Clay tablets were apparently in use around 3000 BC or earlier. Two clay cups from Knossos had remnants of ink, and inkwells similar to animal-shaped Mesopotamian inkstands have been found.^[63] The Eteocretan language, written with a Euboean-derived alphabet after the Greek Dark Ages, is believed to be a descendant of Minoan; however, there is not enough source material in either language to allow a firm conclusion.

The earliest dated writings found on Crete are Cretan hieroglyphs. It is unknown whether the language is Minoan, and its origin is debated. Although the hieroglyphs are often associated with the Egyptians, they also indicate a relationship to Mesopotamian writings.^[63] They came into use during MMI, and were used at the same time as Linear A (18th century BC; MM II). The hieroglyphs disappeared during the 17th century BC (MM III).

Linear A served as the foundation for Linear B, which recorded the earliest attestedform of the Greek language: Mycenaean Greek. Although Linear B was deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952, the earlier scripts remain a mystery. Nearly all the tablets, written in the Linear B script, seem to be inventories of goods or resources. Others are inscriptions on religious objects associated with a cult. Because most of the inscriptions are economic records rather than dedicatory inscriptions, the translation of Minoan remains a challenge. Unless Eteocretan is its descendant, the Minoan language may have become extinct during the Greek Dark Ages (a period of economic and sociopolitical collapse).^[64]

Religion

Minoan religion

The smaller of two Minoan snake goddess figurines

The Minoans seem to have primarily worshiped a Great Goddess, and their society has been described as matriarchal.^{[65][66][67][68][69][70]} Some scholars see in the Minoan Goddess a female divine solar figure.^[71][72] Some evidence of male gods exists, but depictions of Minoan goddesses vastly outnumber those of gods.^[73] Although some depictions of women may be images of worshipers and priestesses officiating at religious ceremonies (as opposed to deities), goddesses seem to include a mother goddess of fertility, a goddess of animals and female protectors of cities, the household, the harvest and the underworld. They are often represented by serpents, birds, poppies or an animal on the head.

According to Nanno Marinatos, « The hierarchy and relationship of gods within the pantheon is difficult to decode from the images alone. »^[74] Marinatos disagrees with earlier descriptions of Minoan religion as primitive, saying that it « was the religion of a sophisticated and urbanized palatial culture with a complex social hierarchy. It was not dominated by fertility any more than any religion of the past or present has been, and it addressed gender identity, rites of passage, and death. It is reasonable to assume that both the organization and the rituals, even the mythology, resembled the religions of Near Eastern palatial civilizations. »^[74] It even seems that the later Greek pantheon would synthesize the Minoan female deity and Hittite goddess from the Near East.^[75]

Symbolism

Minoan horn-topped altars, which Arthur Evans called Horns of Consecration, are represented in seal impressions and have been found as far afield as Cyprus. Minoan sacred symbols include the bull (and its horns of consecration), the labrys(double-headed axe), the pillar, the serpent, the sun-disc and the tree.

The Bull Leaper, from Knossos (Heraklion Archaeological Museum)

Haralampos V. Harissis and Anastasios V. Harissis posit a different interpretation of these symbols, saying that they were based on apiculturerather than religion.^[76] A major festival was exemplified in bull-leaping, represented in the frescoes of Knossos^[77] and inscribed in miniature seals.^[78]

Burial practices

Similar to other Bronze Age archaeological finds, burial remains constitute much of the material and archaeological evidence for the period. By the end of the Second Palace Period, Minoan burial was dominated by two forms: circular tombs (tholoi) in southern Crete and house tombs in the north and the east. However, much Minoan mortuary practice does not conform to this pattern. Burialwas more popular than cremation.^[79] Individual burial was the rule, except for the Chrysolakkos complex in Malia. Here, a number of buildings form a complex in the center of Mallia’s burial area and may have been the focus for burial rituals or a crypt for a notable family.^{[citation needed]} Evidence of possible human sacrifice by the Minoans has been found at three sites: at Anemospilia, in a MMII building near Mt. Juktas considered a temple; an EMII sanctuary complex at Fournou Korifi in south-central Crete, and in an LMIB building known as the North House in Knossos(explanation of abbreviations).

Architecture

Restored model of a Minoan house found in Archanes

Minoan cities were connected by roads paved with blocks cut with bronze saws. Streets were drained, and water and sewagefacilities were available to the upper class through clay pipes.^[80]

Minoan buildings often had flat, tiled roofs; plaster, wood or flagstone floors, and stood two to three stories high. Lower walls were typically constructed of stone and rubble, and the upper walls of mudbrick. Ceiling timbers held up the roofs.

Construction materials for villas and palaces varied, and included sandstone, gypsumand limestone. Building techniques also varied, with some palaces using ashlarmasonry and others roughly-hewn, megalithic blocks.

Palaces

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Storage jars at Knossos

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Ruins of the palace at Knossos

Palaces (anaktora) are the best-known Minoan building types excavated on Crete. They are monumental buildings with administrativepurposes, as evidenced by large archivesunearthed by archaeologists. Each palace excavated to date has unique features, but they also share aspects which set them apart from other structures. Palaces are often multi-story, with interior and exterior staircases, lightwells, massive columns, storage areas and courtyards.

The first palaces were constructed at the end of the Early Minoan period in the third millennium BC at Malia. Although it was formerly believed that the foundation of the first palaces was synchronous and dated to the Middle Minoan period (around 2000 BC, the date of the first palace at Knossos), scholars now think that the palaces were built over a longer period in response to local developments. The main older palaces are Knossos, Malia and Phaistos. Elements of the Middle Minoan palaces (at Knossos, Phaistos and Malia, for example) have precedents in Early Minoan construction styles.^[81] These include an indented western court and special treatment of the western façade. One example is the House on the Hill at Vasiliki, dated to the Early Minoan II period.^[82] The palaces were centers of government, administrative offices, shrines, workshops and storage spaces.^{[83][self-published source][84]}

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Bull-Leaping Fresco found at Knossos

The Middle Minoan palaces are characteristically aligned with their surrounding topography. The MM palace of Phaistos appears to align with Mount Idaand Knossos is aligned with Mount Juktas,^[85] both on a north-south axis. Scholars suggest that the alignment was related to the mountains’ ritual significance; a number of peak sanctuaries (spaces for public ritual) have been excavated, including one at Petsofas. These sites have yielded clusters of clay figurines and evidence of animal sacrifice.

Late palaces are characterized by multi-story buildings with west facades of sandstone ashlar masonry; Knossos is the best-known example. Other building conventions included storage areas, north-south orientation, a pillar room and a western court. Architecture during the First Palace Period is identified by a square-within-a-square style; Second Palace Period construction has more internal divisions and corridors.^[86] Furthermore, the palace of Knossos was not just a regular palace that the Minoans built. The Palace of Knossos was the biggest palace that the Minoan people had ever constructed. The palace is about 150 meters across and it spreads over an area of some 20,000 square meters, with its original upper levels possibly having a thousand chambers. The palace is connected to the mythological story of The Bull of Minos, since it is in this palace where it was written that the labyrinth existed. Focusing on the architectural aspects of the Palace of Knossos, it was a combination of foundations that depended on the aspects of its walls for; the dimensions of the rooms, staircases, porticos, and chambers. The palace was designed in such a fashion that the structure was laid out to surround the central court of the Minoans. Aesthetically speaking, the pillars along with the stone paved northern entrance gave the palace a look and feel that was unique to the Palace of Knossos. The space surrounding the court was covered with rooms and hallways, some of which were stacked on top of the lower levels of the palace being linked through multiple ramps and staircases.^[87] Others were built into a hill, as described by the site’s excavator Arthur John Evans, « …The palace of Knossos is the most extensive and occupies several hills. »^[88] On the east side of the court there was a grand staircase passing through the many levels of the palace, added for the royal residents. On the west side of the court, the throne room, a modest room with a ceiling some two meters high,^[34] can be found along with the frescoes that were decorating the walls of the hallways and storage rooms.

Plumbing

During the Minoan Era extensive waterways were built in order to protect the growing population. These system had two primary functions, first providing and distributing water, and secondly relocating sewage and stormwater.^[89] One of the defining aspects of the Minoan Era was the architectural feats of their waste management. The Minoans used technologies such as wells, cisterns, and aqueducts to manage their water supplies. Structural aspects of their buildings even played a part. Flat roofs and plentiful open courtyards were used for collecting water to be stored in cisterns.^[90] Significantly, the Minoans had water treatments devices. One such device seems to have been a porous clay pipe through which water was allowed to flow until clean.

Columns

Columns at Knossos

One of the most notable Minoan contributions to architecture is their inverted column, wider at the top than the base (unlike most Greek columns, which are wider at the bottom to give an impression of height). The columns were made of wood (not stone) and were generally painted red. Mounted on a simple stone base, they were topped with a pillow-like, round capital.^[91][92]

Villas

A number of compounds known as « villas » have been excavated on Crete. These structures share features of neopalatial palaces: a conspicuous western facade, storage facilities and a three-part Minoan Hall.^[93] These features may indicate a similar role or that the structures were artistic imitations, suggesting that their occupants were familiar with palatial culture. The villas were often richly decorated, as evidenced by the frescos of Haghia Triadha Villa A.

Art

 Minoan art

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Fresco from the Palace of Minos at Knossos

The largest collection of Minoan art is in the museum at Heraklion, near Knossos, on the northern coast of Crete. Minoan art and other remnants of material culture, especially the sequence of ceramic styles, have been used by archaeologists to define the three phases of Minoan culture (EM, MM, LM).

Since wood and textiles have decomposed, the best-preserved (and most instructive) surviving examples of Minoan art are its pottery, palace architecture (with frescos which include landscapes), stone carvings and intricately-carved seal stones.

Frescoes were the primary art form of Minoan culture.^{[citation needed]} They include many depictions of people, with sexes distinguished by color; the men’s skin is reddish-brown, and the women’s white.^[94] Several frescoes at Knossos and Santorini survive. In contrast to Egyptian frescoes, Crete had true frescoes. Probably the most famous fresco is the bull-leaping fresco.^[95]

Pottery

 Minoan pottery

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Marine style Minoan decorated jug, 1575–1500 BC (Brooklyn Museum)

A variety of wares were produced in Crete. Early Minoan ceramics were characterized by patterns of spirals, triangles, curved lines, crosses, fish bones, and beak-spouts. During the Middle Minoan period, naturalistic designs (such as fish, squid, birds and lilies) were common. In the Late Minoan period, flowers and animals were still characteristic but more variety existed.

The palace style of the region around Knossos is characterized by geometric simplicity and monochromatic painting. Late Minoan art resembles that of Mycenae. Minoan knowledge of the sea was continued by the Mycenaeans in their frequent use of marine forms as artistic motifs. The so-called « marine style », perhaps inspired by frescoes, has the entire surface of a pot covered with sea creatures, octopus, fish and dolphins, against a background of rocks, seaweed and sponges.

Jewelry

The Minoans created elaborate metalwork with imported gold and copper.^[96] Bead necklaces, bracelets and hair ornaments appear in the frescoes,^[97] and many labrys pins survive. The Minoans apparently mastered faience and granulation, as indicated by a gold bee pendant. Minoan metalworking included intense, precise temperature, to bond gold to itself without burning it.^{[citation needed]}

Metal vessels

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Golden cup from a LH IIA Mycenaean grave at Vapheio, one of a pair known as the « Vapheio Cups« . This cup is believed to be of Minoan manufacture while its twin is thought to be Mycenaean. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Metal vessels were produced in Crete from at least as early as EM II (c. 2500) in the Prepalatial period through to LM IA (c. 1450) in the Postpalatial period and perhaps as late as LM IIIB/C (c. 1200),^[98] although it is likely that many of the vessels from these later periods were heirlooms from earlier periods.^[99] The earliest were probably made exclusively from precious metals, but from the Protopalatial period (MM IB – MM IIA) they were also produced in arsenical bronze and, subsequently, tin bronze.^[100] The archaeological record suggests that mostly cup-type forms were created in precious metals,^[101] but the corpus of bronze vessels was diverse, including cauldrons, pans, hydrias, bowls, pitchers, basins, cups, ladles and lamps.^[102] The Minoan metal vessel tradition influenced that of the Mycenaean culture on mainland Greece, and they are often regarded as the same tradition.^[103]Many precious metal vessels found on mainland Greece exhibit Minoan characteristics, and it is thought that these were either imported from Crete or made on the mainland by Minoan metalsmiths working for Mycenaean patrons or by Mycenaean smiths who had trained under Minoan masters.^[104]

Warfare and the « Minoan peace »

According to Arthur Evans, a « Minoan peace » (Pax Minoica) existed; there was little internal armed conflict in Minoan Crete until the Mycenaean period.^[105] However, it is difficult to draw hard-and-fast conclusions from the evidence^[106] and Evans’ idealistic view has been questioned.^[107]

No evidence has been found of a Minoan army or the Minoan domination of peoples beyond Crete, and few signs of warfare appear in Minoan art: « Although a few archaeologists see war scenes in a few pieces of Minoan art, others interpret even these scenes as festivals, sacred dance, or sports events » (Studebaker, 2004, p. 27). Although armed warriors are depicted as stabbed in the throat with swords, the violence may be part of a ritual or blood sport.^{[citation needed]}

On mainland Greece during the shaft-grave era at Mycenae, there is little evidence for major Mycenaean fortifications; the citadels follow the destruction of nearly all neopalatial Cretan sites. Warfare by other contemporaries of the ancient Minoans, such as the Egyptians and the Hittites, is well-documented.

Skepticism and weaponry

Giacobbe Giusti, Minoan civilization

Fresco of children boxing, recovered from the island of Santorini

Despite finding ruined watchtowers and fortification walls,^[108] Evans said that there was little evidence of ancient Minoan fortifications. According to Stylianos Alexiou (in Kretologia 8), a number of sites (especially early and middle Minoan sites such as Aghia Photia) are built on hilltops or otherwise fortified.^{[full citation needed]} Lucia Nixon wrote, « We may have been over-influenced by the lack of what we might think of as solid fortifications to assess the archaeological evidence properly. As in so many other instances, we may not have been looking for evidence in the right places, and therefore we may not end with a correct assessment of the Minoans and their ability to avoid war. »^[109]

Chester Starr said in « Minoan Flower Lovers » (Hagg-Marinatos, eds. Minoan Thalassocracy) that since Shang China and the Maya had unfortified centers and engaged in frontier struggles, a lack of fortifications alone does not prove that the Minoans were a peaceful civilization unparalleled in history.^{[full citation needed]} In 1998, when Minoan archaeologists met in a Belgian conference to discuss the possibility that the Pax Minoica was outdated, evidence of Minoan war was still scanty. According to Jan Driessen, the Minoans frequently depicted « weapons » in their art in a ritual context:

The construction of fortified sites is often assumed to reflect a threat of warfare, but such fortified centres were multifunctional; they were also often the embodiment or material expression of the central places of the territories at the same time as being monuments glorifying and merging leading power.^[110]

Stella Chryssoulaki’s work on small outposts (or guardhouses) in eastern Crete indicates a possible defensive system; type A (high-quality) Minoan swords were found in the palaces of Mallia and Zarkos (see Sanders, AJA 65, 67, Hoeckmann, JRGZM 27, or Rehak and Younger, AJA 102).^{[full citation needed]} Keith Branigan estimated that 95 percent of Minoan « weapons » had hafting (hilts or handles) which would have prevented their use as such.^[111] However, tests of replicas indicated that the weapons could cut flesh down to the bone (and score the bone’s surface) without damaging the weapons themselves.^[112] According to Paul Rehak, Minoan figure-eight shields could not have been used for fighting or hunting, since they were too cumbersome.^[113] Although Cheryl Floyd concluded that Minoan « weapons » were tools used for mundane tasks such as meat processing,^[114] Middle Minoan « rapiersnearly three feet in length » have been found.^[115]

About Minoan warfare, Branigan concluded:

The quantity of weaponry, the impressive fortifications, and the aggressive looking long-boats all suggested an era of intensified hostilities. But on closer inspection there are grounds for thinking that all three key elements are bound up as much with status statements, display, and fashion as with aggression;… Warfare such as there was in the southern Aegean early Bronze Age was either personalized and perhaps ritualized (in Crete) or small-scale, intermittent and essentially an economic activity (in the Cyclades and the Argolid/Attica).^[116]

Archaeologist Olga Krzyszkowska agreed: « The stark fact is that for the prehistoric Aegean we have no direct evidence for war and warfare per se. »^[117]

Collapse

Between 1935 and 1939, Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos posited the Minoan eruption theory. An eruption on the island of Thera (present-day Santorini), about 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Crete, occurred during the LM IA period (1550 – 1500 BC). One of the largest volcanic explosions in recorded history, it ejected about 60 to 100 cubic kilometres (14 to 24 cu mi) of material and was measured at 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index.^{[118][119][120]} The eruption devastated the nearby Minoan settlement at Akrotiri on Santorini, which was entombed in a layer of pumice.^[121]Although it is believed to have severely affected the Minoan culture of Crete, the extent of its effects has been debated. Early theories proposed that volcanic ash from Thera choked off plant life on the eastern half of Crete, starving the local population;^[122] however, more-thorough field examinations have determined that no more than 5 millimetres (0.20 in) of ash fell anywhere on Crete.^[123] Based on archaeological evidence, studies indicate that a massive tsunami generated by the Thera eruption devastated the coast of Crete and destroyed many Minoan settlements.^{[124][125][126]} Although the LM IIIA (late Minoan) period is characterized by affluence (wealthy tombs, burials and art) and ubiquitous Knossian ceramic styles,^[127] by LM IIIB Knossos’ wealth and importance as a regional center apparently declined.

Significant remains have been found above the late Minoan I-era Thera ash layer, implying that the Thera eruption did not cause the immediate collapse of Minoan civilization.^[128] The Minoans were a sea power, however, and the Thera eruption probably caused significant economic hardship. Whether this was enough to trigger a Minoan downfall is debated. Mycenaean Greece conquered the Minoans during the late Minoan II period, and Mycenaean weaponry has been found in burials on Crete soon after the eruption.^[129]

Many archaeologists believe that the eruption triggered a crisis, making the Minoans vulnerable to conquest by the Mycenaeans.^[124] According to Sinclair Hood, the Minoans were most likely conquered by an invading force. Although the civilization’s collapse was aided by the Thera eruption, its ultimate end came from conquest. Archaeological evidence suggests that the island was destroyed by fire, with the palace at Knossos receiving less damage than other sites on Crete. Since natural disasters are not selective, the uneven destruction was probably caused by invaders who would have seen the usefulness of preserving a palace like Knossos for their own use.^[130] Several authors have noted evidence that Minoan civilization had exceeded its environmental carrying capacity, with archaeological recovery at Knossos indicating deforestation in the region near the civilization’s later stages.^[131][132]

Genetic studies

A genetic study published in the journal Nature in August 2017 concluded that the Minoans were genetically closely related with the Mycenaean Greeks. Their genomes were similar though not identical. The same study also stated that at least three-quarters of DNA of both the Minoans and the Myceneans came from the first Neolithic-era farmers that lived in Western Anatolia and the Aegean Sea.^[133]

A 2013 mtDNA genetic study was conducted by a research team that analyzed some DNA from ancient Minoan skeletons that were sealed in a cave in Crete’s Lassithi Plateau between 3,700 and 4,400 years ago, as well as other Greek, Anatolian, western and northern European samples, and North African and Egyptian samples.^[134][135] They then compared the skeletal mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on through the maternal line, with that found in a sample of 135 modern and ancient populations from around Europe and Africa. The researchers found that the Minoan skeletons were genetically very similar to modern-day Europeans — and especially close to modern-day Cretans, particularly those from the Lassithi Plateau. They were also genetically similar to Neolithic Europeans, but distinct from Egyptian or Libyan populations.^[136] « We now know that the founders of the first advanced European civilization were European, » said study co-author George Stamatoyannopoulos, a human geneticist at the University of Washington. « They were very similar to Neolithic Europeans and very similar to present day-Cretans. »^[135]

Other genetic studies have also found that the ancient Minoans exhibited many Middle Eastern maternal genetic lineages, from populations in contemporary Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, and that « the female [Minoan genetic] component is influenced by Asia and the Middle East as well as Europe. »^{[137][138][139]} Additionally, the study carried out by Stamatoyannopoulos’s team did not analyze paternal DNA, and acknowledged that previous research found Middle Eastern genetic influences for both the ancient Minoans paternal and maternal lineages.^[134]

See also

Minoan civilization.

• Atlantis
• Caucasus
• Hyksos
• Minoa
• Philistines
• Sacred caves of Crete

Notes

1. Jump up^ « Ancient Crete – Classics – Oxford Bibliographies ».
2. Jump up^ Sakoulas, Thomas. « History of Minoan Crete ».
3. Jump up^ Durant, Will (1939). « The Life of Greece ». The Story of Civilization. II. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 21. ISBN 9781451647587.
4. ^ Jump up to:^a b Homer, Odyssey xix.
5. Jump up^ John Bennet, « Minoan civilization », Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed., p. 985.
6. ^ Jump up to:^a b Karadimas, Nektarios; Momigliano, Nicoletta (2004). « On the Term ‘Minoan’ before Evans’s Work in Crete (1894) » (PDF). Studi micenei ed egeo-anatolici. Roma: Edizione del ‘Ateneo. 46 (2): 243–258.
7. Jump up^ Evans 1921, p. 1.
8. Jump up^ R W Hutchinson (1965). Prehistoric Crete. Pelican.
9. Jump up^ Manning, Sturt W; Ramsey, CB; Kutschera, W; Higham, T; Kromer, B; Steier, P; Wild, EM (2006). « Chronology for the Aegean Late Bronze Age 1700–1400 BC ». Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. 312 (5773): 565–569. Bibcode:2006Sci…312..565M. doi:10.1126/science.1125682. PMID 16645092. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
10. Jump up^ Friedrich, Walter L; Kromer, B; Friedrich, M; Heinemeier, J; Pfeiffer, T; Talamo, S (2006). « Santorini Eruption Radiocarbon Dated to 1627–1600 B.C ». Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. 312 (5773): 548. doi:10.1126/science.1125087. PMID 16645088. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
11. Jump up^ « Chronology ». Thera Foundation. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
12. Jump up^ Balter, M (2006). « New Carbon Dates Support Revised History of Ancient Mediterranean ». Science. 312 (5773): 508–509. doi:10.1126/science.312.5773.508. PMID 16645054.
13. Jump up^ Warren PM (2006). Czerny E, Hein I, Hunger H, Melman D, Schwab A, eds. Timelines: Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149). Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: Peeters. pp. 2: 305–321. ISBN 90-429-1730-X.
14. Jump up^ Wilford, J.N., « On Crete, New Evidence of Very Ancient Mariners », The New York Times, Feb 2010
15. Jump up^ Bowner, B., « Hominids Went Out of Africa on Rafts », Wired, Jan 2010
16. Jump up^ Broodbank, C.; Strasser, T. (1991). « Migrant farmers and the Neolithic colonisation of Crete ». Antiquity. 65 (247): 233–245. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00079680.
17. Jump up^ R.J. King, S.S. Ozcan et al., « Differential Y-chromosome Anatolian influences on the Greek and Cretan Neolithic » Archived 2009-03-05 at the Wayback Machine.
18. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hermann Bengtson: Griechische Geschichte, C.H. Beck, München, 2002. 9th Edition. ISBN 340602503X. pp.8–15
19. Jump up^ Hermann Kinder & Werner Hilgemann, Anchor Atlas of World History, (Anchor Press: New York, 1974) p. 33.
20. Jump up^ Carl Roebuck, The World of Ancient Times (Charles Scribner’s Sons: New York, 1966) p. 101.
21. ^ Jump up to:^{a b c d e f} Karl-Wilhelm Welwei: Die Griechische Frühzeit, C.H. Beck, München, 2002. ISBN 3406479855. pp.12–18
22. Jump up^ Beck, Roger B.; Linda Black; Larry S. Krieger; Phillip C. Naylor; Dahia Ibo Shabaka (1999). World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. ISBN 0-395-87274-X.
23. Jump up^ All estimates have been revised downward by Todd Whitelaw, “Estimating the Population of Neopalatial Knossos,” in G. Cadogan, E. Hatzaki, and A. Vasilakis (eds.), Knossos: Palace, City, State (British School at Athens Studies 12) (London 2004); at Moschlos in eastern Crete, the population expansion was at the end of the Neoplalatial period (Jeffrey S. Soles and Davaras, Moschlos IA 2002: Preface p. xvii).
24. Jump up^ McEnroe, John C. (1 May 2010). « Architecture of Minoan Crete: Constructing Identity in the Aegean Bronze Age ». University of Texas Press – via Google Books.
25. Jump up^ (Driesson, Jan, and MacDonald, Colin F. 2000)
26. Jump up^ Carl Roebuck, The World of Ancient Times p. 77.
27. Jump up^ Roebuck, p. 107.
28. Jump up^ Kozloff, Arielle P. (20 February 2012). « Amenhotep III: Egypt’s Radiant Pharaoh ». Cambridge University Press – via Google Books.
29. Jump up^ « Minos ». Universidad de Salamanca. 1 January 1999 – via Google Books.
30. Jump up^ BBC « The Minoan Civilisation of Crete »: « The later Minoan towns are in more and more inaccessible places, the last one being at Karfi, high in the Dikti Mountains. From that time onward, there are no traces of the Minoans ».
31. Jump up^ For instance, the uplift as much as 9 metres in western Crete linked with the earthquake of 365 is discussed in L. Stathis, C. Stiros, « The 8.5+ magnitude, AD365 earthquake in Crete: Coastal uplift, topography changes, archaeological and Ihistorical signature, » Quaternary International (23 May 2009).
32. ^ Jump up to:^a b « Thera and the Aegean World III ». Archived from the original on 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
33. Jump up^ Donald W. Jones (1999) Peak Sanctuaries and Sacred Caves in Minoan Crete ISBN 91-7081-153-9
34. ^ Jump up to:^a b « The Knossos Labyrinth ».
35. Jump up^ « Minoan Life in Bronze Age Crete ».
36. Jump up^ « Atlantis Destroyed ».
37. Jump up^ « Remains of Minoan fresco found at Tel Kabri »; « Remains Of Minoan-Style Painting Discovered During Excavations of Canaanite Palace », ScienceDaily, 7 December 2009
38. Jump up^ Best, Jan G. P.; Vries, Nanny M. W. de (1 January 1980). « Interaction and Acculturation in the Mediterranean: Proceedings of the Second International Congress of Mediterranean Pre- and Protohistory, Amsterdam, 19–23 November 1980 ». John Benjamins Publishing – via Google Books.
39. Jump up^ « The Minoans ».
40. Jump up^ Hägg and Marinatos 1984; Hardy (ed.) 1984; Broadbank 2004
41. Jump up^ Branigan, Keith (1 January 1981). « Minoan Colonialism ». The Annual of the British School at Athens. 76: 23–33. doi:10.1017/s0068245400019444. JSTOR 30103026– via JSTOR.
42. Jump up^ J. N. Coldstream and G. L. Huxley, Kythera: Excavations and Studies Conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens (London: Faber & Faber) 1972.
43. Jump up^ E. M. Melas, The Islands of Karpathos, Saros and Kasos in the Neolithic and Bronze Age (Studies in Mediterranean archaeology 68) (Göteburg) 1985.
44. Jump up^ James Penrose Harland, Prehistoric Aigina: A History of the Island in the Bronze Age, ch. V. (Paris) 1925.
45. Jump up^ Arne Furumark, « The settlement at Ialysos and Aegean history c. 1500-1400 B.B. », in Opuscula archaeologica 6 (Lund) 1950;T. Marketou, « New Evidence on the Topography and Site History of Prehistoric Ialysos. » in Soren Dietz and Ioannis Papachristodoulou (eds.), Archaeology in the Dodecanese (1988:28–31).
46. Jump up^ Dickinson, O (1994) Pg. 248
47. Jump up^ Hoffman, Gail L. (1 January 1997). « Imports and Immigrants: Near Eastern Contacts with Iron Age Crete ». University of Michigan Press – via Google Books.
48. ^ Jump up to:^a b Sinclair Hood (1971) « The Minoans; the story of Bronze Age Crete »
49. Jump up^ Sinclair Hood (1971) « The Minoans; the story of Bronze Age Crete » p.87
50. Jump up^ However, Hamilakis raised doubts in 2007 that systematic polyculture was practiced on Crete. (Hamilakis, Y. (2007) Wiley.com
51. Jump up^ Sherratt, A. (1981) Plough and Pastoralism: Aspects of the Secondary Products Revolution
52. Jump up^ Sinclair Hood (1971), The Minoans; The Story of Bronze Age Crete, pp. 86
53. Jump up^ Hamilakis, Y (1999) Food Technologies/Technologies of the Body: The Social Context of Wine and Oil Production and Consumption in Bronze Age Crete [1]
54. Jump up^ Dickinson, O (1994) The Aegean Bronze Age pg. 28)
55. Jump up^ https://books.google.com/books?id=g8eIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA113
56. Jump up^ Sinclair Hood (1971), The Minoans; The Story of Bronze Age Crete, pp. 83
57. Jump up^ Patricia Rosof Family History p.12
58. Jump up^ [2]
59. ^ Jump up to:^a b « Classical Views ». Classical Association of Canada. 1 January 2000 – via Google Books.
60. Jump up^ Nilsson, Martin Persson (1 January 1950). « The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and Its Survival in Greek Religion ». Biblo & Tannen Publishers – via Google Books.
61. Jump up^ « Minoan Dress ».
62. Jump up^ Hood, Sinclair. The Minoans: Crete in the Bronze Age. Thames and Hudson, 1971, pg.114
63. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hood, Sinclair. The Minoans: Crete in the Bronze Age. Thames and Hudson, 1971, pg.111
64. Jump up^ Davis, Simon (1 January 1960). « The Decipherment of the Linear A and Linear B Scripts of the Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece: Inaugural Lecture Delivered 15 April 1959 ». Witwatersrand University Press – via Google Books.
65. Jump up^ Jaqueline Tyrwhitt (1 May 2015). Society and Environment: A Historical Review. Taylor & Francis. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-317-43466-5.
66. Jump up^ Sarah Iles Johnston (2004). Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Harvard University Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-674-01517-3.
67. Jump up^ Bury, J. B.; Meiggs, Russell (1956). A history of Greece to the death of Alexander the Great (3 ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 18.
68. Jump up^ Burn, A. R. (1988). The Pelican history of Greece. Penguin. p. 38.
69. Jump up^ Hammond, N. G. L. (1967). A history of Greece to 322 B. C. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 30.
70. Jump up^ Hood, Sinclair (1967). The home of the heroes: The Aegean before the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 90.
71. Jump up^ Evidence of Minoan Astronomy and Calendrical Practises
72. Jump up^ Marinatos, Nanno. Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine(2013).
73. Jump up^ MacKenzie 1917, p. 59
74. ^ Jump up to:^a b Nanno Marinatos (2004). « Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations ». In Sarah Isles Johnston. Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Harvard University Press. pp. 206–207. ISBN 978-0674015173.
75. Jump up^ [3] Sailors, Cara. “The Function of Mythology and Religion in Ancient Greek Society.” East Tennessee State University, Digital Commons, 2008, dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3471&context=etd.
76. Jump up^ Harissis, Haralampos V.; Harissis, Anastasios V. (2009). Apiculture in the Prehistoric Aegean: Minoan and Mycenaean Symbols Revisited. British Archaeological Reports (S1958). ISBN 978-1-4073-0454-0.
77. Jump up^ In the small courtyard of the east wing of the palace of Knossos.
78. Jump up^ An ivory figure reproduced by Spyridon Marinatos and Max Hirmer, Crete and Mycenae (New York) 1960, fig. 97, also shows the bull dance.
79. Jump up^ Sinclair Hood (1971) The Minoans; The Story of Bronze Age Crete, pp. 140
80. Jump up^ Ian Douglas, Cities: An Environmental History, p. 16, I.B. Tauris: London and New York (2013)
81. Jump up^ D. Preziosi and L.A. Hitchcock Aegean Art and Architecture pg. 48–9, Oxford University Press (1999)
82. Jump up^ Dudley J. Moore (2015). In Search of the Classical World: An Introduction to the Ancient Aegean. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-4438-8145-6.
83. Jump up^ Demetrios Protopsaltis (May 2012). An Encyclopedic Chronology of Greece and Its History. Xlibris Corporation. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4691-3999-9.
84. Jump up^ Marvin Perry (2012). Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume I: To 1789. Cengage Learning. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-133-71418-7.
85. Jump up^ Preziosi, D. & Hitchcock, L.A. (1999) pg. 86
86. Jump up^ Preziosi, D. & Hitchcock, L.A. (1999) Pg. 121
87. Jump up^ Scarre, Christopher; Stefoff, Rebecca (2003). « 4, Knossos Today ». The Palace of Minos at Knossos. New York: Oxford University. ISBN 978-0195142723.
88. Jump up^ Castleden, Rodney (1990). The Knossos Labyrinth : A New View of the ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knossos. London: Routledge.
89. Jump up^ J.B, Rose; A.N, Angelakis (2014). Evolution of Sanitation and Wastewater Technologies through the Centuries. London: IWA Publishing. p. 2.
90. Jump up^ J.B, Rose; A.N, Angelakis (2014). Evolution of Sanitation and Wastewater Technologies Through the Centuries. London: IWA Publishing. p. 5.
91. Jump up^ Benton and DiYanni 1998, p. 67.
92. Jump up^ Bourbon 1998, p 34
93. Jump up^ Letesson, Quentin. « Minoan Halls: A Syntactical Genealogy ». Retrieved 7 April2017.
94. Jump up^ Hood, Sinclair (1985). « The Primitive Aspects of Minoan Artistic Convention ». Bulletin de Correspondence Héllenique. Suppl. 11: 21–26.
95. Jump up^ https://books.google.com/books?id=hR5FBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA139
96. Jump up^ Thomas Sakoulas. « Minoan Art ».
97. Jump up^ « Greek Jewelry – AJU ».
98. Jump up^ Hemingway, Séan (1 January 1996). « Minoan Metalworking in the Postpalatial Period: A Deposit of Metallurgical Debris from Palaikastro ». The Annual of the British School at Athens. 91: 213–252. doi:10.1017/s0068245400016488. JSTOR 30102549.
99. Jump up^ Rehak, Paul (1997). « Aegean Art Before and After the LM IB Cretan Destructions ». In Laffineur, Robert; Betancourt, Philip P. TEXNH. Craftsmen, Craftswomen and Craftsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age / Artisanat et artisans en Égée à l’âge du Bronze: Proceedings of the 6th International Aegean Conference / 6e Rencontre égéenne internationale, Philadelphia, Temple University, 18–21 April 1996. Liège: Université de Liège, Histoire de l’art et archéologie de la Grèce antique. p. 145. ISBN 9781935488118.
100. Jump up^ Clarke, Christina F. (2013). The Manufacture of Minoan Metal Vessels: Theory and Practice. Uppsala: Åströms Förlag. p. 1. ISBN 978-91-7081-249-1.
101. Jump up^ Davis, Ellen N. (1977). The Vapheio Cups and Aegean Gold and Silver Ware. New York: Garland Pub. ISBN 9780824026813.
102. Jump up^ Matthäus, Hartmut (1980). Die Bronzegefässe der kretisch-mykenischen Kultur. München: C.H. Beck. ISBN 9783406040023.
103. Jump up^ Catling, Hector W. (1964). Cypriot Bronzework in the Mycenaean World. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 187.
104. Jump up^ Davis 1977, pp. 328–352
105. Jump up^ Niemeier, W.-B. « Mycenaean Knossos and the Age of Linear B ». Studi micenei ed egeoanatolici. 1982: 275.
106. Jump up^ « Pax Minoica in Aegean – News – ekathimerini.com ».
107. Jump up^ Alexiou wrote of fortifications and acropolises in Minoan Crete, in Kretologia 8 (1979), pp 41–56, and especially in C.G. Starr, « Minoan flower-lovers » in The Minoan Thalassocracy: Myth and Reality R. Hägg and N. Marinatos, eds. (Stockholm) 1994, pp 9–12.
108. Jump up^ Gere, Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism
109. Jump up^ Nixon 1983.
110. Jump up^ Driessen 1999.
111. Jump up^ Branigan 1999, pp. 87–94.
112. Jump up^ Early Aegean Warrior 5000–1450 BC Archived 2014-05-08 at the Wayback Machine. Osprey Publishing, 2013.
113. Jump up^ Rehak 1999.
114. Jump up^ Floyd 1999.
115. Jump up^ Hood, S. The Minoans, 1971. Thames and Hudson Ltd: London
116. Jump up^ Branigan 1999, p. 92.
117. Jump up^ Krzyszkowska 1999.
118. Jump up^ « Santorini eruption much larger than originally believed ». 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
119. Jump up^ McCoy, FW, & Dunn, SE (2002). « Modelling the Climatic Effects of the LBA Eruption of Thera: New Calculations of Tephra Volumes May Suggest a Significantly Larger Eruption than Previously Reported » (PDF). Chapman Conference on Volcanism and the Earth’s Atmosphere. Thera, Greece: American Geographical Union. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
120. Jump up^ Sigurdsson H, Carey, S, Alexandri M, Vougioukalakis G, Croff K, Roman C, Sakellariou D, Anagnostou C, Rousakis G, Ioakim C, Gogou A, Ballas D, Misaridis T, & Nomikou P (2006). « Marine Investigations of Greece’s Santorini or Akrotiri Volcanic Field » (PDF). Eos. 87 (34): 337–348. Bibcode:2006EOSTr..87..337S. doi:10.1029/2006EO340001. Archived from the original (–^{Scholar search}) on June 30, 2007.
121. Jump up^ Vergano, Dan (2006-08-27). « Ye gods! Ancient volcano could have blasted Atlantis myth ». USA Today. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
122. Jump up^ Marinatos, S (1939). « The Volcanic Destruction of Minoan Crete ». Antiquity. 13: 425–439.
123. Jump up^ Callender, G (1999). The Minoans and the Mycenaeans: Aegean Society in the Bronze Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195510283.
124. ^ Jump up to:^a b Antonopoulos, J. (1992). « The great Minoan eruption of Thera volcano and the ensuing tsunami in the Greek Archipelago ». Natural Hazards. 5 (2): 153–168. doi:10.1007/BF00127003.
125. Jump up^ Pareschi, MT, Favalli, M & Boschi, E (2006). « Impact of the Minoan tsunami of Santorini: Simulated scenarios in the eastern Mediterranean ». Geophysical Research Letters. 33 (18): L18607. Bibcode:2006GeoRL..3318607P. doi:10.1029/2006GL027205.
126. Jump up^ LaMoreaux, PE (1995). « Worldwide environmental impacts from the eruption of Thera ». Environmental Geology. 26 (3): 172–181. Bibcode:1995EnGeo..26..172L. doi:10.1007/BF00768739.
127. Jump up^ Dickinson, O (1994) The Aegean Bronze Age pg. 22
128. Jump up^ « Minoan Culture Survived Ancient Volcano, Evidence Shows ». The New York Times. 28 November 1989.
129. Jump up^ Bruce Bowen: Mycenae and Minoan Crete, 2000,
130. Jump up^ Sinclair Hood (1971), The Minoans; The Story of Bronze Age Crete, pp. 58
131. Jump up^ Pendlebury & Evans 2003.
132. Jump up^ C. Michael Hogan, « Knossos fieldnotes », Modern Antiquarian (2007)
133. Jump up^ Katz, Brigit. « DNA Analysis Sheds Light on the Mysterious Origins of the Ancient Greeks ». Smithsonian.
134. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hughey, Jeffrey (2013). « A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete ». Nature Communications. 4: 1861. Bibcode:2013NatCo…4E1861H. doi:10.1038/ncomms2871. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
135. ^ Jump up to:^a b Tia Ghose, LiveScience: “Mysterious Minoans Were European, DNA Finds”, 2013,
136. Jump up^ « Minoans Were European, Genetic Study Reveals – Ancient Civilizations ». LiveScience.com.
137. Jump up^ Wolinsky, Howard (2008). « Our history, our genes. Population genetics lets researchers look back in time at human migrations ». EMBO Reports. 9: 127–9. doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7401164. PMC 2246420 . PMID 18246104.
138. Jump up^ Fernández, E; Pérez-Pérez, A; Gamba, C; Prats, E; Cuesta, P; et al. (2014). « Ancient DNA Analysis of 8000 B.C. Near Eastern Farmers Supports an Early Neolithic Pioneer Maritime Colonization of Mainland Europe through Cyprus and the Aegean Islands ». PLoS Genet. 10 (6): e1004401. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004401.
139. Jump up^ Martinz, L; Mirabal, S; Luiz, JR; Herrera, RJ; et al. (2008). « Middle Eastern and European mtDNA lineages characterize populations from eastern Crete ». Am J Phys Anthropol. 137: 213–23. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20857. PMID 18500747.

Library resources about Minoan Civilization

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References

• Baboula, Evanthia (2000). « ‘Buried’ Metals in Late Minoan Inheritance Customs ». In Pare, C. F. E. Metals Make the World Go Round: The Supply and Circulation of Metals in Bronze Age Europe : Proceedings of a Conference Held at the University of Birmingham in June 1997. Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 70–81. ISBN 9781842170199.
• Benton, Janetta Rebold and DiYanni, Robert. Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities. Volume 1. Prentice Hall. New Jersey, 1998.
• Bourbon, F. Lost Civilizations. Barnes and Noble, Inc. New York, 1998.
• Branigan, Keith, 1970. The Foundations of Palatial Crete.
• Branigan, Keith (1999). « The Nature of Warfare in the Southern Aegean During the Third Millennium BC ». In Laffineur, Robert. Polemos: Le Contexte Guerrier en Egee a L’Age du Bronze. Actes de la 7e Rencontre egeenne internationale Universite de Liège, 1998. Universite de Liège, Histoire de l’art d’archeologie de la Grece antique. pp. 87–94.
• Burkert, Walter, 1985. Greek Religion. J. Raffan, trans. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-36281-0
• Cadogan, Gerald, 1992,  » Ancient and Modern Crete, » in Myers et al., 1992, Aerial Atlas of Ancient Crete.
• Callender, Gae (1999) The Minoans and the Mycenaeans: Aegean Society in the Bronze Age Oxford university press, Victoria 3205, Australia
• Castleden, Rodney (1993). Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete. Routledge. ISBN 0415040701. 041508833X.
• Catling, Hector W. (1964). Cypriot Bronzework in the Mycenaean World. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Clarke, Christina F. (2013). The Manufacture of Minoan Metal Vessels: Theory and Practice. Uppsala: Åströms Förlag. ISBN 978-91-7081-249-1.
• Clarke, Christina (2014). « Minoan Metal Vessel Manufacture: Reconstructing Techniques and Technology with Experimental Archaeology » (PDF). In Scott, Rebecca B.; Braekmans, Dennis; Carremans, Mike; Degryse, Patrick. 39th International Symposium on Archaeometry: 28 May – 1 June 2012 Leuven, Belgium. Leuven: Centre for Archaeological Sciences, KU Leuven. pp. 81–85.
• Crowley, Janice L. (1989). The Aegean and the East: An Investigation into the Transference of Artistic Motifs between the Aegean, Egypt, and the Near East in the Bronze Age. Göteborg: Åström. ISBN 9789186098551.
• Davis, Ellen N. (1977). The Vapheio Cups and Aegean Gold and Silver Ware. New York: Garland Pub. ISBN 9780824026813.
• Dickinson, Oliver (1994; 2005 re-print) The Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge World Archaeology, Cambridge University Press.
• Driessen, Jan (1999). « The Archaeology of Aegean Warfare ». In Laffineur, Robert. Polemos: Le Contexte Guerrier en Egee a L’Age du Bronze. Actes de la 7e Rencontre egeenne internationale Universite de Liège, 1998. Universite de Liège, Histoire de l’art d’archeologie de la Grece antique. pp. 11–20.
• Driessen J., Langohr C. (2014), « Recent developments in the archaeology of Minoan Crete », Pharos, 20: 75–115; doi:10.2143/PHA.20.1.3064537.
• —— (1921). The Palace of Minos: a comparative account of the successive stages of the early Cretan civilization as illustrated by the discoveries at Knossos. Volume I: The Neolithic and Early and Middle Minoan Ages.
• Sir Arthur Evans, 1921–35. The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilization as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos, 4 vols. in 6 (reissued 1964).
• Floyd, Cheryl (1999). « Observations on a Minoan Dagger from Chrysokamino ». In Laffineur, Robert. Polemos: Le Contexte Guerrier en Egee a L’Age du Bronze. Actes de la 7e Rencontre egeenne internationale Universite de Liège, 1998. Universite de Liège, Histoire de l’art d’archeologie de la Grece antique. pp. 433–442.
• Furumark, Arne (1972). Mycenaean Pottery I: Analysis and Classification (Reprint 1941 ed.). Stockholm: Åström. ISBN 9185086045.
• Gates, Charles, 1999. « Why Are There No Scenes of Warfare in Minoan Art? » pp 277–284 In Laffineur, Robert, ed., Polemos: Le Contexte Guerrier en Egee a L’Age du Bronze. Actes de la 7e Rencontre egeenne internationale Universite de Liège, 1998. Universite de Liège, Histoire de l’art d’archeologie de la Grece antique.
• Gere, Cathy. Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism, University of Chicago Press 2009.
• Gesell, G.C. (1983). « The Place of the Goddess in Minoan Society ». In O. Krzyszkowska; L. Nixon. Minoan Society. Bristol.
• Hemingway, Séan (1 January 1996). « Minoan Metalworking in the Postpalatial Period: A Deposit of Metallurgical Debris from Palaikastro ». The Annual of the British School at Athens. 91: 213–252. doi:10.1017/s0068245400016488. JSTOR 30102549.
• Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete, many editions hardcover and softcover
• Goodison, Lucy, and Christine Morris, 1998, « Beyond the Great Mother: The Sacred World of the Minoans, » in Goodison, Lucy, and Christine Morris, eds., Ancient Goddesses: The Myths and the Evidence, London: British Museum Press, pp. 113–132.
• Hägg, R. and N. Marinatos, eds. The Minoan Thalassocracy: Myth and Reality (Stockholm) 1994. A summary of revived points-of-view of a Minoan thalassocracy, especially in LMI..
• Haralampos V. Harissis, Anastasios V. Harissis. Apiculture in the Prehistoric Aegean. Minoan and Mycenaean Symbols Revisited British Archaeological Reports S1958, 2009 ISBN 978-1-4073-0454-0.
• Higgins, Reynold, 1981. Minoan and Mycenaean Art, (revised edition).
• Hogan, C. Michael, 2007. Knossos fieldnotes, Modern Antiquarian
• Hood, Sinclair, 1971, The Minoans: Crete in the Bronze Age. London.
• Hood, Sinclair, 1971. The Minoans: The Story of Bronze Age Crete
• Hughes, Dennis, 1991. Human Sacrifice in Ancient Greece. Routledge: London.
• Hutchinson, Richard W., 1962. Prehistoric Crete(reprinted 1968)
• Kristiansen, Kristiansen & Larsson, Thomas B. (2005) The Rise of Bronze Age Society: Travels, Transmissions and Transformations Cambridge University Press
• Krzyszkowska, Olga (1999). « So Where’s the Loot? The Spoils of War and the Archaeological Record ». In Laffineur, Robert. Polemos: Le Contexte Guerrier en Egee a L’Age du Bronze. Actes de la 7e Rencontre egeenne internationale Universite de Liège, 1998. Université de Liège, Histoire de l’art d’archeologie de la Grece antique. pp. 489–498.
• Lapatin, Kenneth, 2002. Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-306-81328-9
• MacKenzie, Donald A. (1917). Myths of Crete & Pre-Hellenic Europe.
• Manning, S.W., 1995. « An approximate Minoan Bronze Age chronology » in A.B. Knapp, ed., The absolute chronology of the Aegean Early Bronze Age: Archaeology, radiocarbon and history (Appendix 8), in series Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology, Vol. 1 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press) A standard current Minoan chronology.
• Marinatos, Nanno, 1993. Minoan Religion: Ritual, Image, and Symbol. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
• Marinatos, Spyridon, 1960. Crete and Mycenae(originally published in Greek, 1959), photographs by Max Hirmer.
• Marinatos, Spyridon, 1972. « Life and Art in Prehistoric Thera, » in Proceedings of the British Academy, vol 57.
• Matthäus, Hartmut (1980). Die Bronzegefässe der kretisch-mykenischen Kultur. München: C.H. Beck. ISBN 9783406040023.
• Mellersh, H.E.L., 1967. Minoan Crete. New York, G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
• Nixon, L. (1983). « Changing Views of Minoan Society ». In L. Nixon. Minoan society: Proceedings of the Cambridge Colloquium, 1981.
• Papadopoulos, John K., « Inventing the Minoans: Archaeology, Modernity and the Quest for European Identity », Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 18:1:87-149 (June 2005)
• Pedley, John Griffiths. Greek Art and Archaeology. ISBN 0-205-00133-5.
• Pendlebury, J. D. S.; Evans, Arthur (2003). Handbook to the Palace of Minos at Knossos with Its Dependencies(2nd ed.). Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0-7661-3916-6.
• Preziosi, Donald & Hitchcock, Louise A. (1999) Aegean Art and Architecture, Oxford History of Art series, Oxford University Press.
• Preston, Laura (2008). « Late Minoan II to IIIB Crete ». In Shelmerdine, Cynthia W. The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 310–326. doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521814447.014. ISBN 9781139001892.
• Quigley, Carroll, 1961. The Evolution of Civilizations: An Introduction to Historical Analysis, Indianapolis: Liberty Press.
• Rehak, Paul (1997). « Aegean Art Before and After the LM IB Cretan Destructions ». In Laffineur, Robert; Betancourt, Philip P. TEXNH. Craftsmen, Craftswomen and Craftsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age / Artisanat et artisans en Égée à l’âge du Bronze: Proceedings of the 6th International Aegean Conference / 6e Rencontre égéenne internationale, Philadelphia, Temple University, 18–21 April 1996. Liège: Université de Liège, Histoire de l’art et archéologie de la Grèce antique. p. 145. ISBN 9781935488118.
• Rehak, Paul (1999). « The Mycenaean ‘Warrior Goddess’ Revisited ». In Laffineur, Robert. Polemos: Le Contexte Guerrier en Egee a L’Age du Bronze. Actes de la 7e Rencontre egeenne internationale Universite de Liège, 1998. Universite de Liège, Histoire de l’art d’archeologie de la Grece antique. pp. 227–240.
• Sakellarakis, Y. & E. Sapouna-Sakellarakis (1981). « Drama of Death in a Minoan Temple ». National Geographic. 159 (2): 205–222.
• Schoep, Ilse, 2004. « Assessing the role of architecture in conspicuous consumption in the Middle Minoan I-II Periods. » Oxford Journal of Archaeology vol 23/3, pp. 243–269.
• Sherratt, Andrew; Taylor, Timothy (1989). « Metal Vessels in Bronze Age Europe and the Context of Vulchetrun ». In Best, Jan Gijsbert Pieter; De Vries, Manny M. W. Thracians and Mycenaeans: Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Thracology, Rotterdam, 24–26 September 1984. Leiden: Brill Archive. pp. 106–134. ISBN 9789004088641.
• Soles, Jeffrey S., 1992, The Prepalatial Cemeteries at Mochlos and Gournia and the House Tombs of Bronze Age Crete: And the House Tombs of Bronze Age Crete, Published by ASCSA, 1992.
• Soles, Jeffrey S. (2008). Mochlos IIA: Period IV: The Mycenaean Settlement and Cemetery: The Sites. INSTAP Academic Press. ISBN 9781931534239.
• Warren P., Hankey V., 1989. Aegean Bronze Age Chronology (Bristol).
• Watrous, L. Vance (1991), « The origin and iconography of the Late Minoan painted larnax », Hesperia, 60(3): 285–307; JSTOR 148065.
• Willetts, R. F., 1976 (1995 edition). The Civilization of Ancient Crete. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 1-84212-746-2
• Wright, James C. (2004). « A Survey of Evidence for Feasting in Mycenaean Society ». Hesperia. 73 (2): 133–178. doi:10.2972/hesp.2004.73.2.133. JSTOR 4134891.
• Yule, Paul. Early Cretan Seals: A Study of Chronology. Marburger Studien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 4, Mainz 1980 ISBN 3-8053-0490-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_civilization

http://www.giacobbegcom

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

Krater discovered on the acropolis of Mycenae, depicting fully armed warriors, date 1200-1100 BC. Located in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

Euphronios & Euxitheos, Cratère attique à figures rouges, 515-510 B.C., Louvre

 

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

Manner of Lydos, Black-figured column crater depicting swans, ca. 550 BC, Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

 Greece, Attica, circa 460 B.C. Furnishings; Serviceware Red-figure ceramic wtih added red and traces of white William Randolph Hearst Collection (50.8.31) Greek, Roman and Etruscan Art

For the video game, see Krater (video game). For other uses, see Crater (disambiguation).

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

Krater discovered on the acropolis of Mycenae, depicting fully armed warriors, date 1200-1100 BC. Located in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Material	Ceramic
Created	Multiple cultures, originating predominantly in Greece and exported.
Period/culture	A vaseform of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age
Place	Circum-Mediterranean

A krater or crater (Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel ») was a large vase in Ancient Greece, particularly used for watering down wine.

Form and function

Further information: Ancient Greek vase paintingand Pottery of ancient Greece

At a Greek symposium, kraters were placed in the center of the room. They were quite large, so they were not easily portable when filled. Thus, the wine-water mixture would be withdrawn from the krater with other vessels, such as a kyathos (kyathoi), an amphora (amphorae)^[1], or a kylix (kylikes)^[2]. In fact, Homer‘s Odyssey^[3]describes a steward drawing wine from a krater at a banquet and then running to and fro pouring the wine into guests’ drinking cups. The modern Greek word now used for undiluted wine, krasi (κρασί), originates from the krasis (κράσις, i.e. mixing) of wine and water in kraters.^[4] Kraters were glazed on the interior to make the surface of the clay more impervious for holding water, and possibly for aesthetic reasons, since the interior could easily be seen. The exterior of kraters often depicted scenes from Greek life, such as the Attic Late 1 Krater, which was found between 760 and 735 B.C.E.. This object was found among other funeral objects and its exterior depicted a funeral procession to the gravesite.^[5]

Usage

At the beginning of each symposium a symposiarch (συμποσίαρχος), or « lord of the common drink », was elected by the participants. He would then assume control of the wine servants, and thus of the degree of wine dilution and how it changed during the party, and the rate of cup refills. The krater and how it was filled and emptied was thus the centerpiece of the symposiarch’s authority. An astute symposiarch should be able to diagnose the degree of inebriation of his fellow symposiasts and make sure that the symposium progressed smoothly and without drunken excess.

Wine dilution

Drinking ákratos (undiluted) wine was considered a severe faux pas in ancient Greece, enough to characterize the drinker as a drunkard and someone who lacked restraint and principle. Ancient writers prescribed that a mixing ratio of 1:3 (wine to water) was optimal for long conversation, a ratio of 1:2 when fun was to be had, and 1:1 was really only suited for orgiastic revelry, to be indulged in very rarely, if at all. Since such mixtures would produce an unpalatable and watery drink if applied to most wines made in the modern style, this practice of the ancients has led to speculation^{[by whom?]} that ancient wines might have been vinified to a high alcoholic degree and sugar content, e.g. by using dehydrated grapes, and could withstand dilution with water better. Such wines would have also withstood time and the vagaries of transportation much better. Nevertheless, the ancient writers offer scant details of ancient vinification methods, and therefore this theory, though plausible, remains unsupported by evidence.

Forms of kraters

Column krater

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

Manner of Lydos, Black-figured column crater depicting swans, ca. 550 BC, Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens

This form originated in Corinth in the seventh century BCE but was taken over by the Athenians where it is typically black-figure. They ranged in size from 35 centimetres (14 in) to 56 centimetres (22 in) in height and were usually thrown in three pieces: the body/ shoulder area was one, the base another, and the neck/ lip/ rim a third. The handles were pulled separately.^[6]

Calyx krater

Giacobbe Giusti, krater or crater Greek: κρατήρ, kratēr, lit. « mixing vessel »

Euphronios & Euxitheos, Cratère attique à figures rouges, 515-510 B.C., Louvre

These are among the largest of the kraters, supposedly developed by the potter Exekias in black figure though in fact almost always seen in red. The lower body is shaped like the calyx of a flower, and the foot is stepped. The psykter-shaped vase fits inside it so well stylistically that it has been suggested that the two might have often been made as a set. It is always made with two robust upturned handles positioned on opposite sides of the lower body or « cul ».^[7]

Volute krater

This type of krater, defined by volute-shaped handles, was invented in Laconia in the early 6th century BC, then adopted by Attic potters. Its production was carried on by Greeks in Apulia until the end of the 4th century BC. Its shape and method of manufacture are similar to those of the column krater, but the handles are unique: to make each, the potter would have first made two side spirals (« volutes ») as decorative disks, then attached a long thin slab of clay around them both forming a drum with flanged edges. This strip would then have been continued downward until the bottom of the handle where the potter would have cut a U-shaped arch in the clay before attaching the handle to the body of the vase.^[8]

Bell krater

Bell kraters were first made in the early fifth century which meant that it came later than the three other krater types This form of krater looks like an inverted bell with handles that are faced up. Bell kraters are red-figure and not black-figure like the other kraters. ^[9]

• 

  Column

• 

  Calyx

• 

  Volute

• 

  Bell

Metal kraters

According to most scholars ceramic kraters imitated shapes designed initially for metal vessels; these were common in antiquity, but survivals are very rare, as the metal was recyclable. Among the largest and most famous metal kraters in antiquity were one in the possession of the Samian tyrant Polycrates, and another one dedicated by Croesus to the Delphic oracle. There are a few extant Archaic bronze kraters (or often only their handles), almost exclusively of the volute-type. Their main production centres were Sparta, Argos and Corinth, in Peloponnesus. During the Classical period the Volute-type continued to be very popular along with the calyx-type, and beside the Corinthian workshop an Attic one was probably active. Exquisite exemplars of both volute- and calyx-kraters come from Macedonian 4th century BC graves. Among them the gilded Derveni Krater represents an exceptional chef d’œuvre of late Classical metalwork.^[10] The Vix bronze crater, found in a Celtic tomb in central France is the largest known Greek krater, being 1.63 m in height^[11] and over 200 kg in weight. Others were in silver, which were too valuable and tempting to thieves to be buried in graves, and have not survived.

• 

  Vix Krater

• 

  Derveni Krater.

Ornamental stone kraters

Ornamental stone kraters are known from Hellenistic times, the most famous being the Borghese Vaseof Pentelic Marble and the Medici Vase, also of marble. After rediscovery of these pieces, imitations became a staple of garden decoration in the Baroque and Neoclassical periods. The French artist and landscape designer Hubert Robert included the Borghese Vase, both alone and together with other stone kraters, in several of his works.^[12]

References

1. Jump up^ « A Visual Glossary of Greek Pottery ». Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
2. Jump up^ « A Visual Glossary of Greek Pottery ». Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
3. Jump up^ IX.10
4. Jump up^ Entry κράσις at LSJ
5. Jump up^ Neer, Richard (2012). Greek Art and Archaeology: A New History, c. 2500-c.150 BCE. New York: Thames and Hudson. p. 76.
6. Jump up^ Toby Schreiber (1999). Athenian Vase Construction: A Potter’s Analysis. Getty. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-89236-465-7. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
7. Jump up^ Andrew J. Clark; Maya Elston; Mary Louise Hart (2002). Understanding Greek Vases: A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques. Getty. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-89236-599-9. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
8. Jump up^ Toby Schreiber (1999). Athenian Vase Construction: A Potter’s Analysis. Getty. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-89236-465-7. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
9. Jump up^ Jacobsthal, Paul (1934). « The Nekyia Krater in New York ». Metropolitan Museum Studies. 5 (1): 117.
10. Jump up^ Barr-Sharrar B., The Derveni krater: masterpiece of classical Greek metalwork, ASCSA 2008
11. Jump up^ Vix-Musée-du-Pays-Châtillonnais: Trésor-de-Vix
12. Jump up^ Grasselli, Margaret Morgan, Yuriko Jackall, et al., Hubert Robert, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2016.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krater

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, Agora (Athen)

Giacobbe Giusti, Agora (Athen)

Giacobbe Giusti, Agora (Athen)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Agora (Athen)

The Ancient Agora of Classical Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Agoraios Kolonos, also called Market Hill.^[1]The Agora’s initial use was for a commercial, assembly, or residential gathering place. ^[2]

Giacobbe Giusti, Agora (Athen)

View of the ancient agora. The templeof Hephaestus is to the left and the Stoa of Attalos to the right.

Buildings and structures of the classical agora

Plan showing major buildings and structures of the agora of Athens as it was in the 5th century BC

Giacobbe Giusti, Agora (Athen)

Metroon

1. Peristyle Court
2. Mint
3. Enneakrounos
4. South Stoa I and South Stoa II
5. Aiakeion
6. Strategeion
7. Agoraios Kolonos
8. Tholos
9. Agora stone
10. Monument of the Eponymous Heroes
11. Metroon (Old Bouleuterion)
12. New Bouleuterion
13. Temple of Hephaestus(Hephaestion)
14. Temple of Apollo Patroos
15. Stoa of Zeus
16. Altar of the Twelve Gods
17. Stoa Basileios (Royal stoa)
18. Temple of Aphrodite Urania
19. Stoa of Hermes
20. Stoa Poikile
21. Brick Shithouse

Other notable monuments

Giacobbe Giusti, Agora (Athen)

View of Heliaia

The entrance to the Odeon of Agrippa

A number of other notable monuments were added to the agora. Some of these included:

• The Middle stoa which was the most extensive monument built during the 100s B.C.E.^[3]
• A small Roman temple was added in front of the Middle stoa.
• An Altar of Zeus Agoraios was added just to the east of the Monument to the Eponymous Heroes.^[4]
• The Temple of Ares, dedicated to Ares, the god of war, was added in the north half agora, just south of the Altar of the Twelve Gods.^[5]
• The Odeon of Agrippa and accompanying gymnasium were added in the centre of the agora.^[6]
• The substantial Stoa of Attaloswas built along the eastern edge of the agora.^[7]
• A collection of buildings were added to the south-east corner: the East stoa, the Library of Pantainos, the Nymphaeum and a temple.
• The Library of Pantainos was more than just a library, the west and north wings were series of rooms that were used for other purposes other than storing books.  With the construction of the Library of Pantainos, the official entrance into the agora was now between the Library and the Stoa of Attalos. ^[8]
• There is evidence of a Synagogue in the Agora of Athens in the 3rd century.
• A statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian was located near the metroon.^[9]
• The Temple of Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria dated to the 300s B.C.E. and is located near the Temple of Apollo Patroos.^[10]
• The south end of what is believed to be a Basilica has been uncovered near Hadrian Street and is dated to the mid 100s C.E.^[11]
• The Monopteros was located south of the Basilica and also dated to the mid 100s C.E. It had no walls, was a dome supported by columns and was about 8 meters in diameter.^[12]
• The Bema was a speakers platform and was located near the Stoa of Attalos.^[13]

Excavations

The ancient Athenian agora has been excavated by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens since 1931 under the direction of T. Leslie Shear, Sr. They continue to the present day, now under the direction of John McK Camp.[1]

After the initial phase of excavation, in the 1950s the Hellenistic Stoa of Attalos was reconstructed on the east side of the agora, and today it serves as a museum and as storage and office space for the excavation team.[2]

A virtual reconstruction of the Ancient Agora of Athens has been produced through a collaboration of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Foundation of the Hellenic World, which had various output (3d video, VR real-time dom performance, Google Earth 3d models).^[14]

Museum of the Ancient Agora

The museum is housed in the Stoa of Attalos, and its exhibits are connected with the Athenian democracy. The collection of the museum includes clay, bronze and glass objects, sculptures, coins and inscriptions from the 7th to the 5th century BC, as well as pottery of the Byzantine period and the Turkish occupation. The exhibition within the museum contains work of art which describes the private and public life in ancient Athens. In 2012, new sculpture exhibition was added to the museum which includes portraits from Athenian Agora excavation. The new exhibition revolves around portraits of idealized gods, officially honored people of the city, wealthy Roman citizens of the 1st and 2nd century; AD, 3rd-century citizens and finally on work of art from private art schools of late antiquity.^[15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Agora_of_Athens

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

 

View of the Temple of Olympian Zeus in 2016, showing the sixteen surviving columns, one of which is lying on the ground.

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

Likely appearance of the Olympieion in 129 AD from the SE, showing the surviving columns and fragments of the entablature.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus(Greek: Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός, Naos tou Olympiou Dios), also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a monument of Greece and a former colossal temple at the centre of the Greek capital Athens. It was dedicated to OlympianZeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman period the temple -that included 104 colossal columns- was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.

The temple’s glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged during a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD, just about a century after its completion. It was probably never repaired and was reduced to ruins thereafter. In the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, it was extensively quarried for building materials to supply building projects elsewhere in the city. Despite this, a substantial part of the temple remains today, notably sixteen of the original gigantic columns, and it continues to be part of a very important archaeological site of Greece.

Classical and Hellenistic periods

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

Corinthian columns detail

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

The temple as seen from the roof terrace of a nearby hotel, Athens, Greece

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

The temple as seen from the west

Giacobbe Giusti, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

Ruins and a column that collapsed in 1852 from a fierce wind, in the foreground

The temple is located approximately 500 m (1640 feet) south-east of the Acropolis, and about 700 m (2,300 feet) south of the center of Athens, Syntagma Square. Its foundations were laid on the site of an ancient outdoor sanctuary dedicated to Zeus. An earlier temple had stood there, constructed by the tyrant Peisistratus around 550 BC. The building was demolished after the death of Peisistratos and the construction of a colossal new Temple of Olympian Zeus was begun around 520 BC by his sons, Hippias and Hipparchos. They sought to surpass two famous contemporary temples, the Heraion of Samos and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Designed by the architects Antistates, Callaeschrus, Antimachides and Pornius, the Temple of Olympian Zeus was intended to be built of local limestone in the Doric style on a colossal platform measuring 41 m (134.5 feet) by 108 m (353.5 feet). It was to be flanked by a double colonnade of eight columns across the front and back and twenty-one on the flanks, surrounding the cella.

The work was abandoned when the tyranny was overthrown and Hippias was expelled in 510 BC. Only the platform and some elements of the columns had been completed by this point, and the temple remained in this state for 336 years. The temple was left unfinished during the years of Athenian democracy, apparently because the Greeks thought it was hubris to build on such a scale. In the treatise Politics, Aristotle cited the temple as an example of how tyrannies engaged the populace in great works for the state (like a white elephant) and left them no time, energy or means to rebel.^[1]

It was not until 174 BC that the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who presented himself as the earthly embodiment of Zeus, revived the project and placed the Roman architect Decimus Cossutius in charge. The design was changed to have three rows of eight columns across the front and back of the temple and a double row of twenty on the flanks, for a total of 104 columns. The columns would stand 17 m (55.5 feet) high and 2 m (6.5 ft) in diameter. The building material was changed to the expensive but high-quality Pentelic marble and the order was changed from Doric to Corinthian, marking the first time that this order had been used on the exterior of a major temple. However, the project ground to a halt again in 164 BC with the death of Antiochus. The temple was still only half-finished by this stage.

Serious damage was inflicted on the partly built temple by Lucius Cornelius Sulla‘s sack of Athens in 86 BC. While looting the city, Sulla seized some of the incomplete columns and transported them back to Rome, where they were re-used in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. A half-hearted attempt was made to complete the temple during Augustus‘ reign as the first Roman emperor, but it was not until the accession of Hadrian in the 2nd century AD that the project was finally completed around 638 years after it had begun.

In 124-125 AD, when the strongly Philhellene Hadrian visited Athens, a massive building programme was begun that included the completion of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. A walled marble-paved precinct was constructed around the temple, making it a central focus of the ancient city. Cossutius’s design was used with few changes and the temple was formally dedicated by Hadrian in 132, who took the title of « Panhellenios » in commemoration of the occasion.^[2] The temple and the surrounding precinct were adorned with numerous statues depicting Hadrian, the gods and personifications of the Roman provinces. A colossal statue of Hadrian was raised behind the building by the people of Athens in honour of the emperor’s generosity. An equally colossal chryselephantine statue of Zeus occupied the cella of the temple. The statue’s form of construction was unusual, as the use of chryselephantine was by this time regarded as archaic. It has been suggested that Hadrian was deliberately imitating Phidias‘ famous statue of Athena Parthenosin the Parthenon, seeking to draw attention to the temple and himself by doing so.^[3]

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was badly damaged during the Heruliansack of Athens in 267. It is unlikely to have been repaired, given the extent of the damage to the rest of the city. Assuming that it was not abandoned it would certainly have been closed down in 425 by the Christian emperor Theodosius IIwhen he prohibited the worship of the old Roman and Greek gods. Material from the (presumably now ruined) building was incorporated into a basilica constructed nearby during the 5th or 6th century.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Olympian_Zeus,_Athens

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com