Creta Capta: Late Minoan II Knossos in Mycenaean History

<p>The Late Minoan (LM) II period at Knossos, c. 1470-1420 BC, represented a pivotal point in the history of the Aegean Bronze Age, but the full extent to which it shaped the following centuries has yet to be fully appreciated or studied. During this period, Mycenaeans from the mainland gained control of the palace of Knossos, an administrative centre hitherto unparalleled in their world. From the necessity of maintaining political control over an often hostile island, these Mycenaean dynasts were thrust into new roles, rulers of a palatial administration for the first time. Thus LM II Knossos can be viewed in its neglected aspect as a period of Mycenaean history, and the foundational phenomenon of the florescent Late Helladic III period – the birth of the Mycenaean palaces – can be placed within its proper historical context. The first Mycenaean experiment in palatial administration at LM II Knossos provided the model followed shortly after by the mainland polities, who in following this path to power dominated the Aegean for the next 200 years.</p>

Creta Capta: Late Minoan II Knossos in Mycenaean History

<p>The Late Minoan (LM) II period at Knossos, c. 1470-1420 BC, represented a pivotal point in the history of the Aegean Bronze Age, but the full extent to which it shaped the following centuries has yet to be fully appreciated or studied. During this period, Mycenaeans from the mainland gained control of the palace of Knossos, an administrative centre hitherto unparalleled in their world. From the necessity of maintaining political control over an often hostile island, these Mycenaean dynasts were thrust into new roles, rulers of a palatial administration for the first time. Thus LM II Knossos can be viewed in its neglected aspect as a period of Mycenaean history, and the foundational phenomenon of the florescent Late Helladic III period – the birth of the Mycenaean palaces – can be placed within its proper historical context. The first Mycenaean experiment in palatial administration at LM II Knossos provided the model followed shortly after by the mainland polities, who in following this path to power dominated the Aegean for the next 200 years.</p>

Η Μαγεία του πλοίου και της θάλασσας στη Μινωική Κρήτη: προκαταρκτικές παρατηρήσεις

From the simply designed fish at the stern of Cycladic ships to the majestic “baroque” compositions of the 17th - 18th century and the wood carvings of modern times, the prow is connected, firmly in time, with a multitude of magical religious beliefs. At the same time, the presence of the oculus in the bow does not seem to have a purely decorative character, as the magica and abominable properties of the eye are known. Animal-shaped emblematic bows and sterns as well as written oculi seem to be associated with the supernatural and magical properties of ships over time, echoing beliefs whose origins are lost in the depths of time and are intertwined with the “animation” of the ship as a living organism with its own biography. The article attempts to detect the above parameters in the cultures of the Aegean Bronze Age and especially in Minoan Crete