2. Ch.4 Minos and the Heroes of Homer (Aegean, Mycenaean Art) 1. Define vocabulary on handout. 2. Identify: Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean 3. List 3 stylistic characteristics of the Early Bronze Age statuettes from the Cyclades and state 2 ideas regarding their purpose. 4. List 4 characteristics of the of the palace at Knossos. 5. In what way did the shape of a Minoan column differ from that of other columns? 6. List two types of subjects the Minoans liked to paint and give 4 adjectives that describe their style. 7. Which characteristics of Minoan ceramic decoration are apparent in The Octopus Jar ? (fig.4-12)? 8. Describe the structure of a beehive tomb.

3. The gorgeous Kamares-ware pottery dates to this period and the style is named after the cave of Kamares where it was first discovered. Kamares-ware is exquisitely made pottery with polychrome motifs of rosettes, spirals and hatching vibrantly painted on a shiny black background, and was produced in a variety of vase shapes . Kamares Pitcher, 1800-1700 B.C.E. Kamares Amphora, 1800-1700 B.C.E.

7. HOW THE MINOANS PORTRAYED PEOPLE IN ART: Men were painted in a darker flesh tone than women. All had a perky nose Small wasp waist Elongated body THE BULL The primary Minoan religious symbols were the double-headed ax (Greek word "Labrys") and the bull. Unfortunately, not much is known about Minoan religion. The Toreador Fresco features a bull thought to be a special animal to them. The human figures in the fresco are animated and performing various feats and activities that lend the impression of a dangerous but fun game. There may exist some sort of religious connection. The composition is well-balanced and beautifully graceful curves. Bulls' horns were found on all Minoan altars. Frescoes and artifacts of bulls, wild, charging, being captured, destroying fields and walls were found throughout the Palace. The bull was obviously a powerful and revered creature. And what of the fresco of the bull somersaulting acrobats? A fantasy? Western American steer wrestlers, as the English called them, we call them cowboys, were asked if such somersaults were possible. "No way," was their response. "You could never lift yourself over the head of a charging bull by grabbing its horns." Procession Fresco , Knossos, c. 1500 B.C. detail. The Toreador Fresco , c. 1500 B.C. (Late Minoan I) La Parisienne , Knossos, c. 1500 B.C. detail.

10. On the nearby island of Santorini... The first known European landscape was done. The fresco showed rolling hills and plants. This piece of art predates the Roman landscapes by 1,500 years. The Springtime Fresco , Room 2, Knossos, c. 1500 B.C Nature scene with rolling hills, graceful lilies, and darting swallows….lovely landscape for pure decoration.

12. The so-called “Flotilla Fresco,” dated to about 1550 BC,1 consists of a series of scenes of large, medium-sized, and small manned ships passing by three coastal villages, showing the rocky coastal topography, as well as small harbors in which boats are moored or pulled up onto the beach. Casual arrangement of figures unlike those we saw in Mesopotamian repetitive scenes. Definitely more attentive to depicting nature and more active and “free” looking. Young Fisherman , c. 1500 B.C. Santorini A painting of a young fisherman and his catch is another indication of the Minoan artists’ keen attention to natural appearances. This is important, because it foreshadows the later Greek interest in the male nude as their main subject in art. It also emphasizes the importance of the sea in their daily lives.

13. Dynamic Swirling Organic Playful Rhythmic Decorative Colorful Marine life as dominant motif Characteristic Qualities of Minoan Art The Octopus Jar , Palaikastro, c. 1500 B.C. The marine style of pottery developed with flowing elements including stylized octopuses and seaweed. Surviving examples include ridged cups, small, round spouted jars, and large storage jars (pithoi), on which combinations of abstract curvilinear designs and stylized plant and marine motifs are painted in white and tones of red, orange, and yellow on black grounds. The pottery of this period is characterized by an exuberant joy in nature; the motifs are more naturalistic and there is a greater sense of movement. There is no three-dimensional illusionism, rather the impact of the painting comes from the shapes of the motifs and their relationship to the vessel's shape and contours. The marine elements, like the octopus (cuttlefish), work well because their shapes are simple, irregular and sinuous, and thus allow a ready transition to two dimensional form. The marine style is also characterized by horror vacui (a need to fill every available space with some ornamentation).

14. Snake Goddess , faience figurine, c. 1600 B.C. Two famous faience Snake Goddesses from Knossos belong to the New-Palace period (about 1600 BCE). Besides the ritual function, they are among the best examples of the Minoan art with its dominant features - naturalism and grace. They are presented as the ladies of the palace court, dressed in the typical Minoan clothes with a long skirt (flounced, or with an apron) and a tight open bodice. The snakes crawl around the body of one the goddesses and appear in each hand of the other. These statuettes are interpreted sometimes as the goddess and her votary, the mother goddess and her daughter, or the human attendants of goddess, as well as the women personified the goddess . Since the figurine is only found in houses and in small shrines in the palaces, we believe that she is some sort of domestic goddess or goddess of the house (a kind of guardian angel–in many regions of the world, including Greece, the household snake is worshipped and fed as a domestic guardian angel). But the household goddess also seems to have taken the form of a small bird, for numerous shrines are oriented around a dove-like figure. Most scholars believe that the principle female goddesses of Greek religions, such as Hera, Artemis, and so on, ultimately derive from the Minoan goddesses. Since we have only ruins and remains from Minoan culture, we can only guess at their religious practices. We have no scriptures, no prayers, no books of ritual; all we have are objects and fragments all of which only hint at a rich and complex religious life and symbolic system behind their broken exteriors. 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

20. Inlaid dagger blades from Shaft Graves (royal tombs), Mycenae, c. 1600-1500 B.C. Some of the daggers are inlaid with figured scenes rendered by means of "painting" in a variety of differently colored pure metals and their alloys. These scenes include both hunting episodes and scenes of nature (familiar from Minoan art and possibly influenced by Mesopotamia). The costume are Cretan and the spirited movement of hunters and animals are characteristically Minoan. Funeral mask , from Shaft Graves (royal tombs), Mycenae, c. 1500 B.C. American businessman turned amateur archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann dug at Mycenae, where he found further rich remains, including a set of funeral masks in a circle of graves within the citadel walls ("Grave circle A"). Repousse’ mask (beaten gold) attached to the faces of mummified individuals/princes. The Vaphio Cups , 1500 B.C.E., gold with repousse’ decoration, 3 ½ “ high A pair of gold cups of Minoan workmanship, probably dating from c.1500–1400 B.C. Shaped like teacups and about 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm) high, they were formed by fastening together two plates of gold, the inner one smooth, the outer in low-relief repoussé. The designs represent a bull hunt; on one the bulls are grazing, on the other they are captured in nets. Found in a grave at Vaphio in Laconia, the cups are preserved in Athens. The Vaphio Cups , from tholos tomb in Laconia, c. 1500 B.C.

22. Mycenaean Paintings