Minoans by
J. Lesley Fitton, in the “Peoples
of the Past” series, published by The British Museum Press
2002; ISBN 0-7141 2140-1; Demy 8v0; Hardback; pp 224 including
index; line drawings and b/w photos throughout + 8 pages of colour
photos; Price £29.99.
Contents:
- Chronological Chart
- Map of Crete
- Introduction
- Chapter One: Geography, Landscape and Chronology
- Chapter Two: Crete Before the Palaces
- Chapter Three: Protopalatial Crete
- Chapter Four: Neopalatial Crete
- Chapter Five: From the Final Palace Period to the end of Minoan
Civilization
- Chapter Six: The Mythological Legacy and the Reception of Minoan
Crete
'Minoans', by J. Lesley Fitton is a fine book, intelligently written
and beautifully illustrated. As a thorough history of the Minoans,
one can read it from cover to cover, or pick it up and dip into to
it at one's leisure. ‘Minoans’, however, is not without
it faults. These will be discussed at length later in this review,
but first, it's worth reminding ourselves, just who the "Minoans" were
and equally importantly, whom they were not. At the turn of the 20th
century, when Arthur Evans began to excavate the site of Knossos,
he coined the phrase “Minoan”, after the mythical King
(or more likely dynasty) 'Minos'. As a subject of Queen Victoria,
Evans was a "Victorian"; the people of 'Minos' would therefore
become "Minoan". It’s an awful term, but one that
I am afraid we are stuck with. For those of you that have visited
the sites of Phalasarna and Polyrrhenia in the West of the island,
you may be disappointed to learn that there is no mention of either
site other than in the introduction. This is because neither of these
sites is considered old enough to be "Minoan”. Gortyna
in the centre of the island was inhabited during both Neolithic and
Minoan times, but is far better known for its classical and Roman
period. It is mentioned in passing in the book, and doesn’t
even merit an inclusion in the index. There are dozens of other sites
such as those mentioned above, which just don't fit the time-lines
encompassed by the term "Minoan". We can, for the most
part, take "Minoan" to mean Cretan, though from around
the mid 15th century BC they were probably under the external influence
of the mainland Greek, Mycenaeans. This is not a book on the general
archaeology of Crete, but one on a specific period of Cretan history.
The period known as the Bronze Age (c3200-1050 BC). The 'Minoans'
were Bronze Age Cretans.
The book is divided into six chapters. The first of these, places
the Minoans in context of their landscape and surroundings. This
chapter is an excellent appetiser for what is to come. Various aspects
of Minoan life are touched upon, such as animal husbandry, agriculture,
and materials used for building and crafts, before we get to the
prickly issue of chronology. The eruption of the Thera (Santorini)
volcano is the benchmark used by scientists and archaeologists to
date artefacts. We can be almost certain as to whether a piece of
pottery was made before or after the eruption. The period concerned
is known in the trade as 'Late Minoan IA' (LM IA - a little more
on this dating system below). The pottery style continued for a further
30 or so years after the eruption. Scientists and archaeologists
are pretty certain as to the date of the Thera eruption, but they
disagree with each other over when that was. The scientific date
(known as “high chronology”) based on exact dating methods
such as dendrochronology ("the counting of tree rings")
is 1628 BC. The archaeologists' date (known as "low chronology")
is fully 100 years later, at between 1530 and 1520 BC. This conundrum
is superbly explained by the author. The scientists argument is a
compelling one, but Ms Fitton “tentatively” chooses the
archaeologists later date, and in my view, she is correct to do so.
As yet, we just do not have enough information to allow us to overrule
100 years of archaeological theories; besides, if scientists were
always correct, bees would be incapable of flight!
Before we look at what are the main four chapters of the book, we
need to understand a little about the dating system used within.
Arthur Evans used a parallel system of dating to that of the Egyptian
dynasties. In place of the 'old', 'middle' and 'new' kingdoms of
the Egyptians, we have 'Early Minoan' (EM c3200-2100 BC), 'Middle
Minoan' (MM c2100-1600 BC) and 'Late Minoan' (LM c1600 –1100
BC). Remember these dates. It may help you to understand the frequent
use of Evans' system within the book, though I only wish it were
that simple. I have been an amateur archaeologist for a quarter of
a century and still have problems with the following: Within each
of these periods we have subdivisions: I, II and III; Most Middle
Minoan (MM) and Late Minoan (LM) dates have further subdivisions:
A, B, or C, and within two of these subdivisions we have a further
division: 1 and 2. So, the hugely important period known as LM IA
(mentioned in the paragraph above) is after the MM III period and
before that of LM IB. In terms of 'low chronology' this period covers
pretty much the whole of the 16th century BC. I explain this for
a reason. The book is veritably riddled with these abbreviations.
Hardly a page goes by without an EM III, a MM IB or a LM IIIA2 being
mentioned. Despite an excellent chronological table at the front,
this can be thoroughly confusing and it's a major flaw of an otherwise
wholly accessible book. The author uses a completely different dating
system for dividing the book into periods of history (see below),
which is far easier to understand, but we always come back to Evans'
dating system when more specific dates are required, and they are
required, often.
The four historical chapters are excellent, though they do have
the feel of a textbook at times. The contents at the front of the
book tells you on which page each chapter starts, but gives you no
other detail. This is an editorial fault, and makes the book difficult
to browse. Below I have copied the chapter titles (adding the dates
covered within) and for chapter three, I've included the sort of
information that, in my view, should have been found in the main
contents list at the front of the book:
Chapter Two: ‘Crete Before the Palaces’ (c3200-1950
BC)
Chapter Three: ‘Protopalatial Crete’ (c1950-1700 BC)
The First Palaces and their Towns: Knossos, Knossos Town, Phaistos,
Phaistos Town, Mallia, Mallia Town, Quartier Mu, Zakros and Petras;
Protopalatial ‘States’: Knossos State, Phaistos State,
Mallia State; Writing in Protopalatial Crete; Protopalatial Arts
and Crafts; Foreign Relations; Protopalatial Religion; Anemospilia:
Human sacrifice in a Minoan Shrine and the end of Protopalatial Crete.
(See below). The People. (See below).
Chapter Four: ‘Neopalatial Crete’ (c1700-1450 BC)
Chapter Five: ‘From the Final Palace Period to the end of
Minoan Civilization’ (c1450-1200 BC, though the book does mention
artefacts as late as the tenth century BC).
Ms Fitton’s enthusiasm is best shown in pieces such as the
one on the Anemospilia discovery. Here the author puts on her Ruth
Rendell hat, and a fascinating dilemma is superbly retold. On the
Northern slopes of Mt Juktas, just North of Archanes - the 'summer
palace' of Knossos - Yannis and Efi Sakellerakis discovered evidence
of the previously unthinkable! Four people were found; one on an
'alter' had clearly been sacrificed. Two others (probably a male
'priest' and a female 'priestess') were found in the room, which,
it is safe to assume, collapsed due to the very reason for the sacrifice:
an earthquake (this earthquake could have been island-wide, and possibly
the one that destroyed the protopalatial palaces). The "priest" we
are told was wearing a ring made of iron; "...the earliest use
of naturally occurring iron in the Aegean...the only Minoan or Mycenaean
ring that been found in position on the owners finger". The
remains of the fourth skeleton found, were not well enough preserved
to indicate sex or age, or indeed, what she/he was doing there in
the first place. The "priest" was 1.78 metres tall (5'
10"), well above average; the "priestess" 1.45 (4'
9") well below average. So what was the “average height?
Well, under the heading ‘The People’ Ms Fitton tells
us that the average height of the Minoans was 1.67 metres (5' 5 and
3/4"), for men, and 1.55 metres (5' 1") for women. It's
attention to details such as these that make the book a thoroughly
interesting read.
As you'd expect, the palaces at Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia, Zakros
and that of Petras (only recently elevated to 'palace' status) get
the most attention, along with Aghia Triadha. This book's not all
palaces and "royal villas", though. Sites such as those
at Palaikastro (this site too, may well be elevated to 'palace' status
soon), Vasiliki, Gournia, Mochlos, Myrtos-Fournou Korifi, and the
ports of Amnisos and Kommos, get their fair share of coverage, as
do plenty of other sites. There is a splendid piece on the the island
of Santorini (Thera), in the ‘Neopalatial' chapter. The magnificent
frescoes found there; its proximity to Crete (96Km or 60 miles to
its North), and of course the eruption (previously mentioned). The
Cretan frescoes also get their own airing in the 'Neopalatial' chapter.
The religions of the Minoans are well catered for (though necessarily
vague), as are such topics as 'burial customs'. Foreign trade is
a recurring theme in the four historical chapters; these are well
researched and very readable. The Minoans links with Egypt are especially
interesting. It would seem likely that the Egyptian called the Minoans
'Keftiu', and possible that this was also the name by which the Minoans
called themselves. Tantalising stuff. The various scripts of the
Cretans are thoroughly looked into. The 'hieroglyphic' system of
writing, features in the chapter on 'Protopalatial Crete'. The, as
yet, undeciphered language of Linear A is featured in both the 'Protopalatial'
and 'Neopalatial' chapters, and both Linears A & B get their
mention in the ‘Final Palace’ chapter. These three systems
of writing are discussed intelligently, with the similarities between
the latter two getting particular attention. There is little doubt
that Linear A and B were both Cretan scripts, but it would appear
that the Mycenaeans managed to use some of the syllabic values of
Linear A, and put them to use for their own language; that of Greek
in Linear B. This may seem strange, but just how many different languages
use the Roman alphabet? 'Linear A' is almost certainly not Greek,
though it has to be remembered that this was said about 'Linear B',
until 1952, when Michael Ventris deciphered it...as Greek.
This leads me to my second major criticism of the book. Think of
three items you'd most closely associate with the 'Minoans'. Hands
up if you thought of one of the many wall-paintings (frescoes) of
Knossos or Santorini; hands up if you conjured up an image of the
snake goddess, or of a bull's head. Hands up if you thought of the ‘Phaistos
disk’? Yes, the Phaistos disk. That round clay tablet, upon
which 45 different signs appear, a total of 242 times on its two
sides. That indecipherable, uniquely Cretan enigma, dating back to
the 17th century BC. Pride of place in the Heraklion archaeological
museum’s protopalatial-period room. The Phaistos disk. The
Phaistos disk is not mentioned in this book. Not a word. There are
numerous passages and mentions of Phaistos, a number on 'writing
and scripts', and still more on Cretan artefacts. This is an oversight
of Homeric proportions. This book is aimed at a wide audience. No
special knowledge of Bronze Age Crete is needed, just an interest
in such things. I find it incredible that an artefact of such importance
and fame could be thoroughly neglected, and suspect that that its
absence here is due to an awful oversight.
The book concludes with a chapter entitled 'The Mythological Legacy
and the Reception of Minoan Crete'. The Mythology part is very enjoyable.
Most of the main characters appear, as you'd expect: Zeus, Minos,
Pasiphae, Ariadne, Daedalus, Icarus, Theseus, Dionysus. A couple
of notable exclusions are Aegeus (the father of Theseus) and Herakles.
Aegeus threw himself off a cliff into the sea (the Aegean is named
after him) erroneously believing his son had not survived his wrestling-match
with the Minotaur. Herakles (Hercules to some of you) is not mentioned
either; his seventh task was to rid the island of the minotaur's
father, the somewhat miffed white bull, whom was rampaging over the
island at the time. As the author points out, most of our understanding
of the island's mythology comes down to us from Greek myth, written
far after the time that the Minoans were around. The part on reception,
concerns the people that have been spiritually moved by the island's
mythology, and include the authors Nikos Kazantzakis, Henry Miller,
Evelyn Waugh and Lawrence Durrell. Miller's 'Colossus of Marousi',
Kazantzakis' 'Report to Greco' are quoted, as is Waugh's 'Labels:
A Mediterranean Journey''; thankfully we are spared extracts from
Lawrence Durrell's truly dreadful novel, 'The Dark Labyrinth'.
Before we leave this book I would like to add that the indigenous
peoples of Crete didn't just disappear. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
are covered in the mythology section. The Odyssey (book 19) makes
mention of the eteo-cretans (true-Cretans), whom at the time the
poem is set (probably 12thC BC), are one of five peoples comprising
Crete's population. This date of course makes these eteo-cretans
'Minoan', as we are still in the Bronze Age. However, Herodotus uses
the same term in his 'Histories' (Book 7), and Strabo alludes to
eteo-cretans frequently in his 'Geographies'. The 'eteocretans' lived
on, with a language of their own (inscriptions found at Praisos in
the East of the island are written in Greek script but are not in
the Greek language) to at least Hellenistic times (4th C BC) and
possibly later.
In conclusion: Firstly some minor quibbles: A better listing of
what is contained within each chapter would have been nice; also
a glossary for easy reference to terms used throughout the book wouldn't
have gone amiss The superb pictures in the centre of the book should
tie-in better with the text; for example, there is a piece on the
'Ayia Triadha Sarcophagus' on pages 192-193, but no indication that
there is a picture of it on 'plate eight', or vice-versa. The bibliography
is very poor and highly esoteric. The four volume 'Corpus of Mycenaean
Inscriptions from Knossos' is mentioned (these retail at around £700.00
for the set), but not John Chadwick's extremely readable 'Decipherment
of Linear B' (Cambridge U.P. £10,95) or Andrew Robinson's recent
biography of Michael Ventris, 'The Man Who Deciphered Linear B' (Thames
and Hudson £12.95). As I say, these are mere quibbles. It is
impossible to please all the people all the time with a book of this
nature, but I was mostly pleased, most of the time with 'Minoans'.
I would say that this is a clear book, intelligently written, and
on the whole, thoroughly enjoyable. A great deal of thought has gone
into 'Minoans' and, with the exception of the truant Phaistos disk,
the author has done a marvellous job in introducing Bronze Age Crete
and its people to a wider audience. I would recommend 'Minoans' by
J Lesley Fitton to the expert, the student and newcomers to the wonderful
world of Cretan Bronze Age history.
Stelios Jackson 21/12/03
Lesley Fitton is an Assistant Keeper in the Department of Greek
and Roman antiquities in the British Museum, where she specialises
in the Greek Bronze Age.
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