After more than a century of research on Bronze Age religion and architecture, a gap still exists between archaeologically recognizable religious buildings and the rich iconographical world of images of the neopalatial (and post-neopalatial) period. Notwithstanding systematic attempts by Rutkowski, Nörling and, more recently, Alušik, on the one hand, the identification in the archaeological remains of well attested iconographies, such as the Tripartite Shrine, is debated, and, on the other hand, the few archaeologically detectable types of neopalatial shrines (such as the bench sanctuary) do not occur on seals, frescoes and stone vases. In this article, following previous contributions by Krattenmaker and Schoep, a survey of the existing corpus of images of religious architecture has been made (around 70 items). It shows an inner consistency allowing us to distinguish seven basic types of structures, to be interpreted as altars (Type A1), small tree enclosures (Types A2–3), sacred gate (Type A4), temenos (large tree enclosure, Type B1), tripartite shrine (Type B2) and stepped platform (Type B3). With the exception of altars, all these structures seem to be connected with the epiphany cycle, in its manifold manifestations. They represent therefore not a mirror of the standard cult places and religious practices of LM II–III Crete, but a very selective repertoire of palatial rituals, aiming at reinforcing, on behalf of the clients, their participation in an elite ideology or their connection with a prestigious past. However, the many existing variants of Tripartite Shrines and stepped platforms, no one being equal to the other, do not support the idea of one single (Knossian) building serving as a prototype. Even if it existed, we have to imagine the existence of local variants, built more often than not in perishable material, which were probably set up purposely on special occasions, and leading in this way to the creation of a basic ideal model which craftsmen could freely modify.
Minoan Religious Architecture: Representation and Reality,
Militello P.
2020-01-01
Abstract
After more than a century of research on Bronze Age religion and architecture, a gap still exists between archaeologically recognizable religious buildings and the rich iconographical world of images of the neopalatial (and post-neopalatial) period. Notwithstanding systematic attempts by Rutkowski, Nörling and, more recently, Alušik, on the one hand, the identification in the archaeological remains of well attested iconographies, such as the Tripartite Shrine, is debated, and, on the other hand, the few archaeologically detectable types of neopalatial shrines (such as the bench sanctuary) do not occur on seals, frescoes and stone vases. In this article, following previous contributions by Krattenmaker and Schoep, a survey of the existing corpus of images of religious architecture has been made (around 70 items). It shows an inner consistency allowing us to distinguish seven basic types of structures, to be interpreted as altars (Type A1), small tree enclosures (Types A2–3), sacred gate (Type A4), temenos (large tree enclosure, Type B1), tripartite shrine (Type B2) and stepped platform (Type B3). With the exception of altars, all these structures seem to be connected with the epiphany cycle, in its manifold manifestations. They represent therefore not a mirror of the standard cult places and religious practices of LM II–III Crete, but a very selective repertoire of palatial rituals, aiming at reinforcing, on behalf of the clients, their participation in an elite ideology or their connection with a prestigious past. However, the many existing variants of Tripartite Shrines and stepped platforms, no one being equal to the other, do not support the idea of one single (Knossian) building serving as a prototype. Even if it existed, we have to imagine the existence of local variants, built more often than not in perishable material, which were probably set up purposely on special occasions, and leading in this way to the creation of a basic ideal model which craftsmen could freely modify.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
