Bringing the age of the Minotaur to life

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Henry Matthews was enthralled by a visit to newly refitted Herakleion Archaeological Museum

Ancient Cretan culture springs to life in the Herakleion Archaeological Museum, finally reopened in May 2014 after a seven-year closure. Once again, the public can enjoy the rich evidence, in art and material culture, of the earliest advanced civilization in Europe, named Minoan after the legendary king Minos. As we moved through the sequence from the Neolithic, to the Minoan and the Roman eras, we were thrilled by the subtle and sophisticated installation of the dazzling collection. Combining daylight and state-of the art spotlights, the brilliantly conceived displays made it easy to view the thousands of artefacts and sustained our interest for several hours.

Lucid explanations, in English as well as Greek, clarify the historical context of each section of the museum’s inventory. They deal chronologically with the successive periods and with such themes as ‘Metal working: Cutting edge technology and status objects’; ‘International commercial and cultural influences’; ‘Necessities and minor pleasures of daily life’; ‘Athletes and acrobats’; ‘Music’; ‘Minoan religion’, and ‘Mycenaean rule after the collapse of Minoan power’. The decision not to label each work individually, though at times frustrating, liberates us to be immersed in the full sweep of aesthetic achievement in ancient Crete.

Works of art from as early as the Neolithic era in the third millennium BC reveal a sophisticated sense of design that appears intrinsically Cretan. We see Minoan art flowering during the Bronze Age and reaching a peak around 1700 BC when the great palaces, most spectacularly at Knossos, were rebuilt. Utilitarian goods, objects for religious ritual and symbols of royal power combine with the famous frescoes to convey a rich picture of life in the palaces.

Cretan potters experimented freely with the interplay of volume and surface.  Some pots, showing remarkable restraint, present highly refined versions of traditional forms ornamented only with lines, while others revel in exuberant pattern making. Whether entirely abstract or figurative, many possess a daring asymmetry. Kemares ware, produced by skilled craftsmen between 1900 and 1700 BC, is astonishing. According to a label:

The original and elaborate new shapes are combined with impressive decoration of white and red, purple or orange on black, forming inexhaustible combinations of motifs. Spirals and whorls, rosettes and tassels, petals and shoots, swirl, radiate and circle across the vessels, making each one unique.  

Compared with other Eastern Mediterranean societies, the Minoans appear as a pleasure-loving people; their decorative pottery and frescoes depicting elegantly dressed women and abundant flowers convey the notion of a hedonistic life for the elite. For all the tangible evidence of life in the Cretan palaces, mysteries remain. We know that the Palace of Knossos was more than a royal residence; it functioned as the administrative and economic centre of the island while subsidiary palaces, occupied by lesser rulers, controlled other districts. The lack of fortifications makes it clear that the Minoan navy protected the island from external attack, and that regional leaders lived in peace with each other. The supreme power of a king, as embodied in the well-known legends of Minos, is easy to accept. Nonetheless, in the absence of written chronicles, we know nothing of the antecedents or successors of Minos. The finally deciphered Linear B writing revealed storehouse inventories but, alas, not human actions or desires.  

Religion was vitally important in Minoan Crete, but its practice remains obscure. A powerful Neolithic mother goddess figure in the first room, bearing some similarity to Anatolian goddesses, dates to 5000–4000 BC. Several millennia later the Minoans worshipped a great Goddess, a protector of nature, with song, dance and animal sacrifice. A symbol of her worship, the labrys or double-headed axe, may have been associated with the ritual sacrifice of bulls. We learn from an information sheet about the goddess’ Epiphany cycle, which also involved her male consort, but we still wonder whether the powerful figure generally known as the snake goddess was actually a goddess or only a priestess.  

Theseus and the Minotaur haunt the Museum. Ancient legends tell us that Minos compelled the Athenians to sacrifice seven men and seven maidens each year to the Minotaur, and that Theseus, son of the king of Athens, offered himself as one of the victims. With the help of Minos’ daughter Ariadne, he slew the Minotaur, and escaped with her. A fresco and several carvings discovered at Knossos depict a dangerous sport performed by daring athletes who grasped the horns of bulls and leapt over them. Were they the young people sent from Athens?    Fragments of a fresco, give credence to the controversial restoration by Sir Arthur Evans: they show the characteristic columns tapering towards the ground, and swelling at the top into rounded capitals. In the reconstruction, motifs resembling stylized bulls’ horns, also on the site, crown the tops of walls. Scenes of life in the palace also help us to visualize this unique culture.

While the museum reveals the nature of Cretan civilization far more vividly than it did 20 years ago, the palace of Knossos seems disappointing. In response to the huge crowds, movement through the partially reconstructed ruins is restricted and some spaces that were open are now inaccessible. I suggest going to the museum one day and reaching the palace as soon as it opens the next morning. Together they offer a vivid experience. Frequent buses leave from a stop in the square opposite the museum.