One of the problems with understanding the culture in Ancient Crete is that we are limited to archaeological discoveries. We have not deciphered Linear A and so the writings, that might explain unknowns about this civilization cannot be read. That means that many facts, about their diet for example – did they have cheese? -, about their political structure – was there a King or was it a theocracy-, or about whether this society was an empire or a loose confederation of city states, are unknown.
We know there were colonies spread out over the Aegean. Akrotiri, buried in ash and currently being excavated, is one. But were they just colonies or independent city states?
On Crete, other cities besides Knossos, arguably the largest and best known, were wealthy and powerful. Gortyna was one and it is thought there was conflict between the two cities. That seems to imply equally powerful city states – but we don’t know.
I’ve read arguments on both sides of the debate and both seem equally plausible to me.
I’ve been asked why I chose such a long ago era to write mysteries about. After all, it is the Victorian era that is so popular now.
Well, I am fascinated by the ancient past. In some ways, the past is all around us. A large Roman mosaic was just discovered in Eastern Turkey by a man gardening on his property. Roman ruins have been discovered in Italy, Greece, Great Britain, France and more.
In other ways, the ancient past is an undiscovered country. There is much we don’t know. Although they were human beings like us, so many aspects of ancient cultures are strange, odd, sometimes downright offensive to modern eyes.
Ancient Crete
Differences between Ancient Crete and our current culture go far deeper than clothing of technology. It is believed the Minoans were matrilineal, maybe even a matriarchy. Some of the archeologists I read had real problems with that. It is certainly true that women were powerful.
The Minoans worshipped a Supreme Goddess, although there were Gods in their pantheon.
And some of their sports/rituals seem absurdly dangerous to us. The bull leaping, in which teenagers run at a charging bull, grab the horns, and flip over, is something that would not be allowed today. I cannot imagine a parent nowadays who would allow this.
Some archaeologists have even suggested the Ancient Minoans practiced human sacrifice (of children no less) under certain exigent circumstances.
These differences are what make this society so fascinating. It shows the breadth of human culture and belief.
The other factor that I find captivating is the cultural line that stretches from Ancient Crete to Greece and then to the entire Western civilization. (Greece is commonly honored as the cradle of democracy.) Certainly, the mainland Greeks who became Classical Greece, adopted Minoan Gods, art, and language. Although Linear A has not been deciphered, Linear B has and it is an early form of Greek.
So here it is. This ancient culture, so very different from our own and with so much still unknown about it, influenced the course of Western Civilization right down to modern times.
What are the Horns of Consecration? I mention them over and over in my mysteries. (In the shadow of the Bull and On the Horns of Death)
The horns, a symbolic representation of the horns of the sacred bull, were everywhere in Minoan Crete. They ranged in size from smaller ones that edged walkways and stairs to larger ones.
A still intact horns of consecration
As I’ve discussed, one of the features of his culture was the bull leaping which, in my opinion, probably bridged sport and religion.
One of the challenges of writing historical fiction, especially historical fiction that takes place as long ago as Bronze Age Crete, is the difficulty of sorting through the various myths – and the various iterations of the myths. I’ve already discussed the conflation of Zeus and Dionysus in that they share an origin story. When the tribes of mainland Greece swept over Crete after the Santorini volcanic eruption, they adopted much of the Cretan culture. Then they adapted what they’d taken to suit themselves.
Since we are familiar with the Classical Greek myths, so familiar in some case we have internalized them, we think of them as the ‘correct’ stories. Dionysus’s origin story, which became Zeus’s, is one such.
The outlines of Zeus’s story are this. Since it was predicted that one of Cronus’ children would kill him and take his position, he swallowed all of his children as soon as they were born. To protect Zeus, his mother Rhea wrapped a stone in a swaddling cloth (which Cronus swallowed) and the baby was hidden in a cave in Mt. Ida.
In the Cretan myth, it is Dionysus that is hidden in the cave. Each was described as suckled by either a nanny goat or a sow. To hide the baby’s cries, Kouretes made noise.
Who are the Kouretes? If you google the name, they are described as crested, armored warriors who clash their shields together so Cronus can’t hear the baby crying.
But this is not the whole story. According to an earlier myth, the Curetes were the first inhabitants of the Greek island of Crete. They were mythical creatures, specifically legendary benign deities who lived prior to the Minoans. According to an early Greek myth, the Kouretes were not born. They sprang out of the earth of Crete when the infant Zeus wept and his tears fell on the ground.
In this version, they made a hanging cradle for Zeus so he was not of the Earth, the sky, or the sea. He was therefore well protected from Cronus.
Because these are myths, and all things are possible, the Kouretes are supposed to have invented hunting, the first bow, dance, and even the Olympic Games.
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, usually for many years. Seven or nine seem to be the usual numbers. It was necessary for the families to perform the proper rituals to prevent disaster.
Fertility – both of people and livestock, was important for the health of the community. One reason for this is the danger associated with childbirth. One estimate I read of maternal death in childbirth was put at between 40 and 50%. Infant mortality was as high, and of course of those who survived birth, a large percentage did not make it to their fifth birthday. But I digress.
In Martis’ case, the spirit of her sister Arge is helpful. The question is this, is the spirit Martis sees truly a ghost of is it the voice of Martis’s subconscious? The reader has to decide.
I chose Arge because, in this way, Martis can have help figuring out what she’s seen and heard without involving someone who might be a suspect.
