Comments on a Popular Model of Minoan Religion

Abstract

The theory that worship of a great goddess dominated Minoan religion to such an extent that it can be described in almost monotheistic terms remains commonplace in accounts of Minoan civilization. The intellectual basesof this theory are questioned, and alternative approaches are suggested.

The Minoan ‘Palace-Temple’ Reconsidered

“…Evans' claim of a monotheistic belief system is so unusual in the context of the Bronze Age that it needs some explanation. Dickinson (1994b), and recently also Morris (2006) and Gere (2009), evoked Evans' socio-cultural and personal background to explain his vision of Minoan religion as based upon a single female fertility-goddess. Today, although a case can be made for a polytheistic pantheon with male and female deities, some of which survive in the Linear B tablets (Marinatos 1993), a monotheistic belief system still finds acceptance in some quarters (Gesell 1983;Driessen 2001).…”

“…This was triggered by the decipherment of Linear B in 1952 and the insights this brought into the economy of the LM III Minoan and the Mycenaean Schoep © The Fund for Mediterranean Archaeology/Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2010 palaces (Finley 1957: 135) and is reflected in the general convention now to omit mention of the original '-Temple' component and refer solely to the court buildings and the institution they housed as 'palaces'. The dominance of the Palace-Temple model can be measured in its central position in didactic handbooks or syntheses (Dickinson 1994a; Manning 2008;Treuil et al 2008: 229) and other more popularizing treatments of Minoan Archaeology (Warren 1975;1985;Pelon 1997;Runnels and Murray 2001;Betancourt 2007), which together, through the dialectical relationship between specialist and more popular media (Moser 2001), play a profound role in the formation of public opinion. A notable exception is a recent handbook by Preziosi and Hitchcock (2000), which (refreshingly) draws attention to the uncertainties surrounding the Palace-Temple model, noting that: 'There is no solid evidence that these [the Palaces] were the residences-permanent or temporary-of queens, kings, or priests, or other political or religious functionaries' (Preziosi and Hitchcock 2000: 64); and 'The fact of the matter is that we do not know for certain just how the great central building compounds were actually used' (Preziosi and Hitchcock 2000: 89).…”

Iron Age Mortuary Practices and Material Culture at the Inland Cemetery of Tsikalario on Naxos: Differentiation and Connectivity

“…This LBA clay model discovered in the cemetery of Kamilari depicts two pairs of large seated figures, usually interpreted as goddesses or honoured deceased, receiving offerings from smaller standing figures: Rutkowski 1981, 40, pl. 6:1; Dickinson 1994, 8; Xagorari 1996, 18, pl. 17.…”