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Why is Martis so young?

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One of the questions I’ve been asked consistently is why Martis is so young. Martis is a fifteen year old-aspiring bull leaper, When her sister dies at the altar on her wedding day, and Martis is told by her sister’s spirit that she was murdered, Martis takes on the responsibility of investigating.

Isn’t a fifteen year old too young? We would certainly think so. But the average lifespan then, and through most of human history, was only about forty.

This is a somewhat misleading statistic since the average lifespan was brought down by maternal death during childbirth. Illness and accidents, and of course war injuries, account for significant mortality. Still, a few of the bodies disinterred from graves, even from this time, indicate some people survived to their sixties or even their seventies. But that was not common.

All of life’s milestones were earlier. Women married in their teens and were grandmothers in their thirties. Many of the seasoned warriors described in the Iliad were barely in their twenties.

The other factor is that any bull leaper would have to be young: fast, agile and strong. Even now, with all the benefits modern health has to offer, sports figures in their forties are a rarity. I make a point of emphasizing that most of the bull leapers age out of the sport by their late teens. At fifteen, Martis is already facing the end of her career as a bull-dancer.

Food in Ancient Crete

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What did they eat in Ancient Crete? Archaeologists struggle with determining the food eaten by ancient peoples. The remains of bones – meat or fish – provides a clue. But what else do they eat?

We know the Minoan civilization already had the olive tree and were pressing oil. Grapes were harvested and fermented into wine long before the beginnings of the so-called Minoan society. What else? Since they had flocks of sheep and goats, and bones with cut marks have been discovered we are pretty sure they ate goat, lamb and mutton. What about beef? Well, they had bulls (for the bull leaping) so maybe they ate beef.

What about cheese? They would have had milk, goat and sheep milk at least. Although there are theories, I haven’t found a definitive answer on cheese.

Vegetables and grains are tougher. We know they grew herbs, at least for medical and religious uses. Maybe they used them to season their food. The remains of grains have been found in bowls excavated at digs. But did these ancient peoples eat bread? Ancient Egypt had bread from about the fourth century B.C.E. Did they eat it earlier? Maybe. Since the ties between Crete and Egypt were strong, I assume that the Minoan culture also had some form of bread, maybe a flat bread. They certainly had beer and beer and bread were usually companions. Even in the Middle Ages, the bread makers and the brewers were part of the same guild. I took a calculated guess and had my characters in In the Shadow of the Bull eat flatbread.

No potatoes, no squash and no corn – these are from the New World and wouldn’t make it to Europe for another thousand years.

Currently reading

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I missed a week of posting since I was on vacation. I even missed any celebration on the Publication Day of my new book, In the Shadow of the Bull.

Through out the week, I read a book titled Woman’s Lore: 4000 years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi, as part of my research for the next couple of books in my Ancient Crete series.

Even for the general reader, this is an interesting discussion of the treatment of women, and the goddesses women appealed to for help with pregnancy and childbirth, and how men co-opted them and turned them into sirens and succubi.

Another nonfiction title I read was Gardening can be Murder, a discussion of gardens, poisons and more in mystery fiction. For me, the most interesting and helpful section is a list of mystery authors and their books. I will definitely use that for my future reading.

I also read several fiction titles. The first was Hide Away by Jason Pinter. I met him at a Severn House dinner. I plan to read the books written by my fellow Severn authors.

I really enjoyed this book and have already ordered the second. Rachel Marin and her children are hiding under assumed names. Rachel’s husband Brad was murdered by a serial killer who is still out there. When the disgraced mayor of the little town in Murdered, Rachel calls the police and ends up involved (and accused) of the murder. A conspiracy is unmasked and Rachel almost gets killed by the murderer. A connection with a cop hints at a romance.

I also read book eight of the Deanna Raybourn series with the intrepid butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell.

In this one, the brother of Veronica’s love interest tells her he is afraid he is going to be murdered. He proactively invites everyone who was present at a long ago party. Sure enough, there is a murder. At the same time, Veronica, who is on the outs with her Lord, has to figure out a way to woo him back.

Funny, lots of fun, and with a twisty mystery. A+.

Finally, I went back to book one of the Samuel Craddock series, A Killing at Cotton Hill, by Terry Shames. I love this series. Craddock is an appealing character and the mysteries (I’ve read two so far) are great. But the best thing is the style. The books are amusingly written in a down home way. One of my favorite lines from this one: he couldn’t investigate his way out of an outhouse with two doors. A+

Currently Reading

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Another busy week. I finished only one book, the second in the Sophie Burgoyne series.

Rumors of smuggling at Lady Holme reach Sophie’s ears. Since the Lord and Lady of Lady Holme are planning a large riding party, they need four additional maids. Sophie, Flora, Ada, and Fern a young girl with a photographic memory, are employed as those maids.



Within days of their arrival, Richard Smythe is murdered and now the hunt is on to find the murderer. There are several possibles. The Inspector investigating this case arrests Dr. Beaton but Sophie does not believe he is the guilty man.

The murder, and Lord Hazlet’s 39 year house arrest, are entangled in the smuggling. References are made to a mysterious consortium, in operation for several hundred years.

The mystery is twisty, although the identity of the murderer is soon discovered. I found the beginning a little confusing as the young women all choose different names. But the book is charming and fun and I will definitely read the next in the series.

Willies and spirits

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Why did I make one of my most important characters in In the Shadow of the Bull a spirit, a ghost if you will?

After Arge dies, poisoned as she stands at the altar on her wedding day, she returns as a spirit to ask Martis for help in identifying the killer.

Willies, spirits of young girls who were murdered before they married or had children, were a common feature of ancient myth. Sometimes they were good, sometimes not, but almost every myth includes the haunting of the family by these willies. It was necessary to perform the proper rituals to prevent disaster. The importance of young women living long enough to bear children is certainly striking, but I digress.

In Martis’ case, Arge is helpful – and also the voice of Martis’s subconscious. In this way, Martis can have help figuring out what she’s seen and heard without involving someone who might be a suspect.

Santorini andAkrotiri

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The volcano underneath Santorini is not extinct. It has continued to erupt and spew lava.

The small volcanic island off Santorini’s coast is made up of the cooled lava coming from beneath the ocean.

We hiked up to the top of this island, and it was really hot too. Since it is being added to, this little piece continues to grow.

When the volcano exploded in approximately 1450 B.C.E., it spread ash as Far East as Turkey. Archaeologists discovered a city on Santorini that had been buried in ash. Akrotiri is currently being excavated. Unlike Pompeii where entombed bodies have been discovered, no bodies have been found. So far, anyway. It is thought that they had enough warning to escape.

Thera/ Santorini

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What led to the end of the Minoan culture? As you might expect, there are several theories. War? Invasion? Natural Disaster? The current favorite is a combination of the final two.

The Mediterranean basin has, in a sense, its own small ring of fire. Because the African tectonic plate is colliding with the western portion of the Eurasian plate, the area is subject to earthquakes and to volcanoes. Two famous volcanoes are situated in Italy: Vesuvius and Etna. Both have erupted more than once during human history. Think Pompeii.

Next to Crete is a small island named Thera but now called Thera. In ancient times, it was a small circular island with a caldera in the center. Santorini now looks quite different, more like a comma with another piece a short distance away. Thera is the site of a volcano which blew in approximately 1450 B.C.E. It blew out the center of the island, depositing ash as far away as Turkey and causing a tsunami that, it is theorized, swamped the boats of the Minoan Navy. (This is where the second part – invasion – comes in. The Cretan society would have been seriously damaged and in disarray after such a catastrophe and would have been easy pickings for the early Mainland Greeks.)

This volcano is still active. It is under the ocean but continues to erupt, sending lava to the surface. The small piece separated from the larger island? It is now growing as the lava pushed up from below cools and is added to the baby island. Walking on the black volcanic stone is a strange feeling.

A cataclysm of such magnitude would not be easily forgotten. In fact it has been suggested, by Velikovsky and others, that this explosion was the germ of the Atlantis tale. Plato wrote about Atlantis and Velikovsky suggested the dimensions from Atlantis fit Crete if divided by 100.

Currently Reading

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I finished The Secrets of Hartwood Hall.

This reminded me of the romantic suspense that was popular a number of years ago. With that said, the ending was quite different than it would have been in one of those books. I did not guess the mystery at all. It was fun, although I thought it was longer than it needed to be.

I also read Murder under a Red Moon by Harini Nagenra.

This is her second book (after the Bangalore Detectives Club ) and I really hope she continues with this series. Kaveri is a great character and this mystery is even better than the last. The setting (India in the 1920s) is very well drawn and she adds a dose of social commentary. In this one, she includes a few recipes, and not a common curry either. Truly excellent.

Labyrinths

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The word labyrinth is from Bronze Age Crete. Labrys refers to the double-headed axe used in religious rituals. It definitely was not a tool. Labyrinth did not refer to a maze. (Perhaps to a place of labors?)

The labyrinth in Knossos was made famous in the Theseus and Minotaur myth. To recap, Athens was required to send fourteen kids (seven girls and seven boys) to Crete to be consumed by the bull-headed monster the Minotaur. The monster is confined to a maze underneath the city so that neither he, nor the tributes, can escape. Theseus, the son of the Athens’ King, is included in one of the tributes. Ariadne, King Minos’ daughter, falls in love with Theseus and gives him a ball of string and a sword. Theseus successfully kills the Minotaur and uses the string to find his, and the other captives, out of the maze.

Was there a maze under Knossos? It is true that Crete is a nation of mountains and caves. Perhaps there was, exactly as the myth describes, and through the years the earthquakes and of course the volcanic explosion of Thera on Santorini has erased it.

Another theory posits that the interlocking rooms of the palace in Knossos, which comprised workshops, storage rooms, meeting rooms as well as apartments, was the original labyrinth.

Current excavations, however, have turned up a floor mosaic of a maze, as well as a fragment of pottery decorated with a maze. So, mazes were important to this society.

This is not unlikely, Mazes have been found in other long ago societies. A maze carved into rock has been found near Tintagel, Cornwall and spirals carved into rock at Newgrange. One author makes the claim that Glastonbury Tor is a maze.

Why Mazes? Were they a metaphor for birth and renewal? A quest to reach the center as a symbol of finding enlightenment? Or did the mazes in Ancient Crete have some religious purpose we don’t yet know?

On thing we can be sure of: a Minotaur did not sit at the center to eat the tributes for Athens.

Status of women in Bronze Age Crete

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One of the topics that came up regularly in my research concerned the status of women. Was this a matriarchal society that worshipped a Goddess? Did the women enjoy high status?

Here is what we know. The murals and the seals portray many women and on the seals the female figure is several times larger than the male figure.

As one might expect, scholars differed on the question. Some of the early archaeologists assert that women could not have had such high status because, well, they were women. How then to explain the prevalence of women in the murals? How to explain the large female figure in the seals?

One explanation is that this culture worshipped a Goddess, along with other Gods such as Poseidon and Dionysus. But the worship of a feminine Goddess did not translate into high status for women in general.

The discussion continues today with the disagreement over the gender of the bull leapers. A famous mosaic depicts both white and red figures jumping over the bull. Some scholars posit that the white figures were female, following the Egyptian fashion of painting male and female figures different colors. This theory is supported by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur in which seven girls and seven boys are sent to Knossos from Athens as tribute.

In my opinion, and based on the evidence offered by the mosaics, the seals and the myth ( the mainland Greeks tried to portray the Minoans in as negative light as possible), I believe women enjoyed a high status in this culture. Goddess worship is almost universally accepted.

Right or wrong, that is how I envision this culture in my mystery, In the Shadow of the Bull.