Cretan Sanctuaries and Cults: Continuity and Change from Late Minoan IIIC to the Archaic Period (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World)

813 Pages·2005·5.97 MB·English

by  Mieke Prent

Cretan Sanctuaries and Cults
Religions in the
Graeco-Roman World
Editors
H.S. Versnel
D. Frankfurter
J. Hahn
VOLUME 154
Cretan Sanctuaries and Cults
Continuity and Change from
Late Minoan IIIC to the Archaic Period
by
Mieke Prent
BRILL
LEIDEN BOSTON
•
2005
This series Religions in the Graeco-Roman World presents a forum for studies in the social and cul-
tural function of religions in the Greek and the Roman world, dealing with pagan religions both in
their own right and in their interaction with and influence on Christianity and Judaism during a
lengthy period of fundamental change. Special attention will be given to the religious history of regions
and cities which illustrate the practical workings of these processes. Enquiries regarding the submission of
works for publication in the series may be directed to Professor H.S. Versnel, Herenweg 88, 2361 EV
Warmond, The Netherlands, [email protected].
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Prent, Mieke.
Cretan sanctuaries and cults : continuity and change from Late Minoan IIIC to the
Archaic period / by Mieke Prent.
p. cm. — (Religions in the Graeco-Roman world, ISSN 0927-7633 ; v. 154)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 90-04-14236-3 (alk. paper)
1. Crete (Greece)—Religion. 2. Shrines—Greece—Crete. 3. Crete (Greece)—
Antiquities. I. Title. II. Series.
BL793.C7P74 2005
292.3'5'09318—dc22
2004062546
ISSN 0927–7633
ISBN 90 04 14236 3
© Copyright 2005 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
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printed in the netherlands
contents v
For Stuart
vi contents
contents vii
CONTENTS
Preface .................................................................................... xi
List of Tables and Illustrations ................................................ xiii
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1. Background to the Inquiry, Subject and Aim................... 1
2. The Identification of Sanctuaries in the Archaeological
Record, Definitions and Terminology................................ 12
3. Votives.................................................................................... 26
4. Chronology and Abbreviations............................................ 33
CHAPTER TWO
HISTORY OF RESEARCH
1. Early Scholarship and the Discovery of Minoan
Civilisation ............................................................................. 37
2. Arthur Evans and the Early 20th-Century Rise of
Minoan Crete: Unity and Continuity................................. 53
3. Subsequent Scholarship and Critique................................. 84
CHAPTER THREE
SANCTUARIES AND CULTS OF THE LATE MINOAN
IIIC-SUBMINOAN PERIOD
1. Introduction........................................................................... 103
2. Catalogue A (part one): LM IIIC-SM Urban and
Suburban Sanctuaries........................................................... 126
3. Catalogue A (part two): LM IIIC-SM Extra-Urban
Sanctuaries............................................................................. 154
4. Principal Types of LM IIIC-SM Cult Equipment and
Votives.................................................................................... 174
viii contents
Terracotta figures of ‘Goddesses with Upraised
Arms’ and associated objects..................................... 181
Terracotta animal figures and associated objects ....... 184
5. The Freestanding Bench Sanctuary and Other
LM IIIC-SM Urban Cult Places......................................... 188
6. LM IIIC-SM Extra-Urban Sanctuaries: Caves and
Open-Air Cult Places ........................................................... 200
CHAPTER FOUR
SANCTUARIES AND CULTS
OF THE PROTOGEOMETRIC, GEOMETRIC
AND ORIENTALIZING PERIODS
1. Introduction........................................................................... 211
The formation and organisation of the Cretan poleis 218
External relations and outward orientation................. 226
Concluding remarks ....................................................... 242
2. Catalogue B (part one): PG-O Urban and Suburban
Sanctuaries............................................................................. 244
3. Catalogue B (part two): PG-O Extra-Urban Sanctuaries 311
4. Principal Types of PG-O Cult Equipment and Votives 353
Sources and models for interpretation......................... 354
Metal cult equipment and votives ................................ 367
Shields and small ‘discs’............................................. 368
Cauldrons and associated stands .............................. 377
Armour......................................................................... 383
Anthropomorphic figurines........................................ 388
Zoomorphic figurines................................................. 392
Personal objects and jewellery .................................. 397
Terracotta cult equipment and votives........................ 399
Wheelmade anthropomorphic figures...................... 399
Wheelmade zoomorphic figures................................ 403
Mouldmade plaques and figurines............................ 405
Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines.......... 418
Ceramic vessels and lids ............................................ 419
Concluding remarks ....................................................... 420
5. The Waning of the Bench Sanctuary and the Image of
the ‘Goddess with Upraised Arms’..................................... 424
contents ix
6. Hearth Temples: Prytaneia, Andreia and Rituals of
Communal Dining................................................................ 441
7. The Rise of the Suburban Sanctuaries: Rituals of
Integration and the Articulation of Social Roles .............. 476
Major community sanctuaries at conspicuous
locations ........................................................................... 477
Smaller suburban sanctuaries in the countryside
surrounding the settlements........................................... 503
8. Sanctuaries at the Ruins of Bronze Age Monuments ...... 508
Knossos ............................................................................ 514
Phaistos and Ayia Triada .............................................. 519
Kommos........................................................................... 523
Amnisos............................................................................ 527
Palaikastro........................................................................ 532
Concluding remarks ....................................................... 550
9. Extra-Urban Cave and Open-Air Sanctuaries:
Continuation of Cult and the Rise of Cult Places of
Interregional Importance ..................................................... 554
Old extra-urban sanctuaries with modest votive
assemblages...................................................................... 557
Extra-urban sanctuaries with (inter-)regional
functions........................................................................... 559
Interregional sanctuaries outside Crete: Olympia
and Delphi................................................................... 562
The Idaean cave and Syme: location, setting and
sanctuary organisation................................................ 565
The Idaean cave and Syme: elite participation
and character of the cult ........................................... 576
The Tsoutsouros cave................................................ 604
Extra-urban sanctuaries with (sub-)regional functions 606
Patsos............................................................................ 606
Psychro......................................................................... 608
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS:
CONTINUITY AND CHANGE
The LM IIIC-SM period (c. 1200 to 970 BC)........................ 614
The PG, G and O periods (c. 970-600 BC)............................ 623
x contents
Bibliography ............................................................................... 655
Tables.......................................................................................... 700
Maps and Illustrations............................................................... 709
Index .......................................................................................... 711