Poppy Goddess, Crete Watercolor © Sage Starwalker. All rights reserved. after the sketch in Marija Gimbutas' book, The Language of the Goddess

Goddesses, Places of Worship, Rituals, Temples, Sacred Objects

"The most apparent characteristic of Minoan religion was that it was polytheistic and matriarchal, that is, a goddess religion; the gods were all female, not a single male god has been identified until later periods." Potnia

"Male figures identifiable as divinities are rare and are often represented on a smaller scale than female figures, not necessarily deities themselves, in the same scene." Minoan Religion

Goddesses

• "...female goddesses dominated the cults in the Minoan religion. The evidence of this is that most mainland palaces have paintings of processions in which people bring gifts to a goddess. On Thera, frescoes show girls picking saffron crocus and offering it in baskets to a seated goddess. Clay statues of goddesses, often with upraised arms and attributes such as horns of consecration, doves, snakes, or poppies have been found in Crete." (The Minoan and Mycenean Civilizations)
• "The predominance of goddesses (or of the Great Goddess) is attested to by the dominant role played by priestesses in religious ceremonies and the presence of women in ritual contexts. Women far outnumber priests and male attendants, for example, in the paintings on the four sides of the Aghia Triadha sarcophagus." (Women in Minoan Culture)
• Neolithic Era: "The simple, relatively primitive figurines suggest that they worshipped a female fertility goddess." (Knossos)
  
• Britomartis (Vritomartis) -- "Sweet Maid/Virgin," goddess of mountains and hunting, a forerunner of Potnia Theron (Mistress of Animals) and Artemis, with whom She was identified
• Diktynna (Dictinna)-- "Sweet Maid/Virgin" of Crete, "Goddess of the Nets," goddess of mountains, shores, ports, mountain mother associated with Mt. Dikte
• Aphaea (Aphaia) -- "Sweet Maid/Virgin," protector of the island of Aegina; identified with Athena and Artemis
• Cretan Snake Goddess -- Bronze Age: often depicted with snakes and double axes (it is the people of this era who are referred to as Minoans, after Sir Arthur Evans)
• Eileithyia (Eilithia)-- goddess of childbirth; "...the Eileithyia cave or the “fairy-cave”, as the peasants call it, is located at the slope of the hill [Amnisos, see below]. This cave is one of the most ancient religious places. The cave is consecrated to Eileithyia, matron of birth and daughter of Hera. It has beautiful natural columns, lakes, and stalactites." (The Ancient Cities of Crete)
• Pasiphae -- "she who shines" -- daughter of the sun and the moon; represented in her human form, by the Priestess-Queen of Crete, mother of Ariadne and Phaedra
• Europa -- moon goddess
• Ariadne -- "very holy," Cretan princess; goddess of the Labyrinth
• Artemis (see below) -- Some speculate that Artemis had her origins in the "Minoan" civilization, though the Minoan goddess of animals and wildlife had wings, and the Greek Artemis did not.
• Rhea -- an indigenous Minoan goddess of the caves and of Mt. Dicte and Mt. Ida (Cretan mountains); though known as a Greek goddess, Her original seat of worship was in Crete; according to Greek mythology, She was daughter of Gaia, mother of Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus (whom she bore on the island of Crete); She was strongly associated with Cybele.
  "In historic times the resemblances between Rhea and the Asiatic Great Mother, Phrygian Cybele, were so noticeable that the Greeks accounted for them by regarding the latter as only their own Rhea, who had deserted her original home in Crete and fled to the mountain wilds of Asia Minor to escape the persecution of Kronos (Strabo 469, 12). The reverse view was also held (Virgil, Aen. iii. in), and it is probably true that a stock of Asiatic origin formed part of the primitive population of Crete and brought with them the worship of the Asiatic Great Mother, who became the Cretan Rhea." (Wikipedia)
• Athena -- "A-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja (Mistress Athena) is referred to in the Knossos Linear B text V 2, cited by John Chadwick (Chadwick 1976; p. 88). This is the Mycenaean attempt to translate the name of the Minoan goddess, A-ta-no-dju-wa-ja. This name means Sun Goddess -- the prefix atano is related to Luwian astanus = sun, and the final part is the Minoan spelling of what we know from Greek as Diwia (Mycenaean di-u-ja or di-wi-ja). The Mycenaeans even kept the Minoan word order at this early time; by the time of Homer, the name was Hellenized further, to Potni= Athenaie." (Minoan Origins of Athena)

Places of Worship

• caves
• mountain peaks
• domestic shrines
• palaces / temples / administrative centers (or perhaps "special sections" of palaces)
• Palaces -- "The hard truth is that one century after Sir Arthur Evans declared that he had found the Palace of Minos, we still do not know what he really found at Knossos. There is still no evidence for monarchy, let alone the legendary King Minos, until the appearance of the title wanax, identified as the Homeric term for 'great king,'in the Mycenaean Greek archives, written in the Linear B script of 1450 to 1300 BC, five hundred years after Knossos was built and when no new palaces were being erected." (Return to the Labyrinth)
  • See the quoted material on palaces and the sacred environment of Crete (from the above source) on my Minoan Traditions page for more information about the nature of the "palaces" of Minoan Culture.
    
  • The study of the archaeological remains indicates that the palaces had two main functions: economic and religious. The connection between religion and economy is made clear by "the physical proximity of the magazines and workshops to shrines. For example all the palaces have magazines in their west wing, which is also, by general admission, the major cult area of the palaces. The connection between religion and economy suggests that the system was theocratic, namely since the economy and administration was controlled by the priesthood. Such systems were well known in the Orient, Egypt and Mesopotamia, although they are more difficult for us to grasp." (Source: Minoan Palaces)
  • "Crete had 4 major palace cities -- Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia and Zakro. {They are] a long way from a mud hut dwelling...we might associate with the Bronze Age." (Isle of Crete)
  • "In Minoan times, the palaces were not only the royal residence but also served as the administrative and religious center for the entire district.
  • "Minoan temples were generally L-shaped and housed priestesses, families, storerooms, and craftsmen. The Temple of Knossos was built of cedar and covered 24,000sq yards and was 4 stories tall. It had 60+ rooms, including the center court where men (sic) would jump over bulls."
    Wikipedia
  • "Knossos" --
    • The Palace of King Minos aka "Knossos" is built on the hill of "Kefala" next to the river "Kairatos," which is also the name of that river's god. [Notice the discrepancy between Crete as an all-goddess culture until later times and the existence of a river "god" associated with its major settlement. Notice also that most other ancient world cultures associated rivers with goddesses. Is the use of "god" here generic or an instance of patriarchal filtering?]
      • "Knossos" is derived from "Kairatos." Kairatos is one of two names for the river. The other name, and I'd guess the older, is Amnisos. Who do we find living at the source of the river Amnisos? [Note: The river source is usually the sacred place in a watershed.] We find at the source of the river Amnisos characters we're familiar with -- the Nymphs. The Amnisos Nymphs are Naiades (Naiads), one of six major types of Nymph. Naiades are Nymphs of rivers and streams. And we're especially familiar with these because they are the famous woodland companions of Artemis, chosen specifically by Her when Zeus "granted" the rare freedoms She had, as a goddess in Zeus' pantheon. With Her freedom, Artemis chose a life in the woods with women only for companions, sacred space, free of men, marriage, and indoor living.
    • "Knossos" is a word derived from Karaitos, the river on which Knossos was settled. The first human population to settle on Crete, as far as the archaeological record indicates, chose this spot to establish their Cretan home. (Neolithic -- 6,000 to 3,000 BCE -- one of the oldest Neolithic settlements in Europe.) With their choice of the entire island, the matrilinear and matricentric people who settled Crete chose Amnisos/Kairatos because of its location and resources:

      • the river for fresh water, fish and (probably) transportation
      • a large forest and plains for game and grains and timber; indeed, it produced the "Cephalonian Pine," a tree that supplied the beams and the columns for the construction of the Palace.
      • an elevated spot for perspective
      • a bay for sea food and sea travel (a well protected bay, one difficult to get into making their settlement easy to defend)
  • An important "pre-"Palace existed on the site by 3000 BC. The first (Bronze Age) palace was built around 2000 BC, and became a large, thriving, city. After a couple of cycles of destruction and reconstruction over the next few hundred years, this temple community complex included the Palace of Knossos, The Minoan Houses, the "Little Palace", the "Royal Villa", the villa "Dionysos" with famous Roman mosaics, the "South House" (the Royal Temple-Tomb) and the "Caravanserai." On the same site a new Palace was built, more elaborate than the previous, only to be severely damaged from an earthquake one hundred years latter.

    Minoan culture ends as it is peaking, when the eruption of Santorini in 1450 BC destroyed the temple complex again. It was restored once more, but by now it is a Mycenaean civilization and an Achaean sovereign is in charge until at least 1380 BC. (Other city states in Crete were destroyed in this transition, which probably was a result of both the volcanic eruption and also invasion).
  • After its final destruction the palace was not used again except for the "temple of Rhea" in later historical times.
    Knossos survived through the historical times as a great city-state until the early Byzantine period. Its final decline came during the Middle Ages when it declined in status and activity to an unimportant small village with the name "Makrys Toihos."
    The Palace of King Minos
  • Constructed on a largely man-made hill, Knossos is the largest, most solidly-built and impressive of the island's Minoan palaces. It had a total area of 22,000 square metres (26,312 square yards = 236,008 square feet, which is equivalent to the floor space in a large, sprawling or sky-scraping office building); and sustained a population of between 80,000 and 100,000 people.
  • At Knossos, the ruins of the Minoan capital comprised the palace of King Minos, the houses of the state officials and priests which surrounded it (the Small Palace, Royal Villa, Caravanserai, the House of the Frescoes, etc.), the dwellings of the ordinary citizens and cemeteries. The palace was an intricate structural complex, built around a central core (or courtyard) from which the various apartments extended. This multi-story grouping which occupied an area of 21,000 square meters (with stairways, light shafts, corridors, balconies, windows and colored columns supporting the roof), contained not only the official quarters such as the Throne Room, the Royal Suites of the King and Queen and sacred places of worship, but also the Treasury, artists' workshops, food stores, the arsenal and a theater. Excellent frescoes contributed towards the interior decoration of these buildings."
    Archaeological Sites of the Greek Islands
    "The most remarkable finds were the murals that decorated the plastered walls. These sophisticated, colorful paintings portrayed a high civilization who lived in luxury. Their costumes did not resemble any previously known ancient civilization. The women's costumes featured puffed sleeves, narrow waists and flounced skirts.... The centerpiece of the palace was the so-called Throne Room.... Other parts of this extremely large palace include spacious apartments with running water in terra-cotta pipes, flush toilets; long halls with storerooms containing huge ceramic jars used to store grain; a huge ampitheater with tiers of stone steps seating 200, and religious shrines. The palace is about 130 meters on a side and could well have served as the source of the myth of the Labyrinth." Wikipedia
    
  • So how large is a palace of 22,000 (22 thousand) square meters? For comparison:
    • Potala Palace (Buddhist, Tibet, 90 thousand square meters)
      In 641, after marrying Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo decided to build a grand palace to accommodate her and let his descendants remember the event. However, the original palace was destroyed due to a lightening strike and succeeding warfare during Landama's reign. In seventeenth century under the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Potala was rebuilt. The Thirteenth Dalai Lama expanded it to today's scale. The monastery-like palace, reclining against and capping Red Hill, was the religious and political center of old Tibet and the winter palace of Dalai Lamas. The palace is more than 117 meters (384 feet) in height and 360 (1180 feet) in width, occupying a building space of 90 thousand square meters. Potala is composed of White Palace and Red palace. The former is for secular use while the later is for religious. (Tibet City Guide)
    • The White House (Secular, USA, 55 thousand square feet -- building only) (The White )House
    • Vatican Museum (Roman Catholic, Vatican City, Italy, 42 thousand square meters) The Vatican City Tour)
    • Buckingham Palace (Monarchic, UK, approximately the same size as Knossos, 22 thousand square meters)
      The remains of the palace itself covered five and a half acres and were as large as Buckingham Palace. The palace was originally built in 2000 BC. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1700 BC after a massive earthquake and again rebuilt and modified in 1500 BC after a devastating fire. At its most modern, the palace provided drainage sumps, luxurious bathrooms, ventilation systems, ground-water conduits, and waste chutes. (Knossos)
      "Knossos was as big as Buckingham Palace, with 800 rooms covering 6.5 acres...." (Phaistos, Crete)
    • The Manor of Landlord (and Warlord) Liou Wencai (Secular, China, 21 thousand square meters)
      In Dayi County, northwest of Chengdu, with about 180 rooms. (Belief Investment Company)
      
    • Great Temple of Petra (Nabatean, Jordan, , 7.5 thousand square meters)
      "The available archaeological, architectural, and artistic evidence shows that the vast Petra Great Temple complex (comprising 7560 square meters) was in use for about five centuries, from the 1st Century BC to the early 5th Century AD. The temple was entered from the colonnaded main street of Petra through a propylaeum (monumental entryway), which led into the Lower Temenos (sacred area), onto the monumental Grand Stairway leading up to the Upper Temenos (the sacred enclosure for the temple), and finally the Great Temple itself. Several other internal stairways connected the various levels of the complex." (Petra Great Temple)
    • The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Roman > Greek > Anatolian), Turkey/Asia Minor, 6.3 thousand square meters)
      "In Ephesus, Artemis was considered as one and the same as Cybele, the goddess from whom the land of Anatolia is said to have been born. She is depicted as a multi breasted figure with many facets, and bears the model of a temple on her head, in the form of a crown. This triple-storeyed crown indicates that she is the protector of cities, while the crescent on her forehead indicates that she is the moon goddess. The breasts, at the same time, link her to the fertility cult. Artemis also bore the symbol of the bee, the emblem of Ephesus, which indicates that she is a unique product of Anatolian mythology. The ruined Artemision contained a total of 127 columns, the 36 façade columns being decorated with reliefs. It was 115 meters long, 55 meters wide and 18 meters high.
      The earliest traces of the Artemision building date to the 7th century B.C. The original temple was destroyed by the Cimmerians, and was re-built during the 6th century B.C Destroyed once more during the reign of the mad king Herostratos in the year 356 B.C, Ephesus began to rebuild its cult center on an even grander scale after that date.
      The new temple of Artemis measured 105 meters by 55 meters, and was 25 meters in height, covering an area 6000 square meters in all. (The temenos was extended to include an inhabitated area around the temple as part of the sacred compound. This sacred area was preserved through the rule of several different kings and governors, was expanded and finally abolished by the emperor Augustus. In 263 AD., the temple was sacked and destroyed during the invasion of the Goths." (Inside Ephesus)
      
    • Oval Arena, The Roman Colosseum (Secular, Italy, 2.7 thousand square meters)
      "It is an enormous structure, even to modern eyes: 617 feet (188 meters) long, 1,730 feet (527 meters) in circumference, 164 feet (50 meters) high. In ancient times it had 80 arched entrances and could seat at least 50,000 people. The oval arena was 29,000 square feet (2,700 square meters)." (A New Kind of Stage Fright at the Colosseum)
  • And population of 80,000 to 100,000 -- how large is that? Compare from 2000 US census, cities over 100,000)
    

    Burbank CA 100,316 Berkeley, CA 102,743 Pueblo, CO 102,121 Waterbury, CT 107,271 Cape Coral, FL 102,286 Athens, GA 101,489

    Joliet, IL 106,221 Gary, IN 102,746 Southbend, IN 107,789 Cambridge, MA 101,355 Lowell, MA 105,167 Erie, PA 103,717 Clarksville, TN 103,455

    Carrollton, TX 109,576 Provo, UT 105,166 Portsmouth, VA 100,565 Bellevue, WA 109,569 or 106,400 Wichita Falls, TX 104,197 Green Bay, WI 102,316

Rituals

• Some were ecstatic dances with fermented beverages that almost certainly had a poppy derivative in them.
• "...we do know from existing artwork that priestesses and priests back to dynastic Egypt, if not earlier, wore the pelts of large cats such as cheetahs and leopards." (Ancient Figures, Timeless Dancers)
• Minoan Goddesses are associated with fertility and childbirth and with a cult of the trees, a sort of forest worship, as well as femented poppy/honey drinks and "orgiastic dances, similar to Artemis with her nymphs in the forest." (Artemis)
• Offerings -- A pot of honey, spices such as fennel and coriander, and jugs of oil; saffron crocus; also wool, cheese, barley, and wine (possibly) (The Mistress)
  Other offerings include figurines, animal models, double axes, weapons, and pottery (Minoan Places of Worship and Religion)

Temples

• found on the Greek Islands and Greek Mainland
• more priestesses than priests
• evidence of a pillar cult
• The temples of Diktynna were "were said to be guarded by vicious dogs stronger than bears." (Wikipedia)
  

Sacred Objects and Symbols

• butterflies
• the double axe (labrys, made from soft metals so not an implement of agriculture or of war)
• altars
• clay and faience figures
• votives
• altars and altar objects, including offering tables, vessels (rhytons) containing offerings