The Minoans had many objects that they understood to be divine; their presence on an object or in a picture indicated a religious context or setting. Three of the most important of these were labrydes, horns of consecration, and
8.4 Horns of Consecration, Knossos (Courtesy of Tobia Worth)
Baetyls. A labrys (sing.) is a double-headed axe. How it came to be a sacred symbol is still in debate, although some suggest that it was because of its use as a sacrificial weapon. This image appears in several media and sizes in a wide variety of religious contexts on Crete. The Arkalokhori cave sanctuary produced dozens of fine labrydes in gold, silver, and copper/bronze sheet metal—all obviously too delicate for practical uses. Images of labrydes appear on art ranging from gold signets (see Image 8.3) to pottery.
Real (i. e., functional) labrydes have come to light in caves, shrines, villas, and palaces. The palace of Knossos, with its elaborate and confusing architecture (see chapter 9), was specifically known as the Palace of the Double Axe, leading to the modern word labyrinth. Artistic representations offer only a few clues as to the use of these objects (assuming they had a specific use). There are no portrayals of anyone killing anything with a double axe. There are, however, images of either goddesses or priestesses holding aloft labrydes in either hand, or of labrydes standing upright during rituals, with the Haghia Triadha Sarcophagus being an excellent example (see Images 8.6 and 8.7). The fact that labrydes were erected in Minoan shrines is supported by the presence of stone bases with holes for axe shafts found in a number of sacred sites, as well as by depictions of labrydes on Knossian frescoes (Davaras 1976, 72-74).
Horns of consecration are U-shaped images (see Image 8.4) that began to appear in Minoan iconography in the Middle Minoan period. The U shape is understood by scholars to be a stylized rendering of a bull's head with horns, thus the name horns of consecration. Another possible origin is that they represent a valley between two mountains, an image from Egypt. Although horns of consecration started out as smallish images on vases and altars, by the Late Bronze Age, they existed in three types: monumental, medium decorative, and miniature. The only monumental examples come from the palace of Knossos and its related peak sanctuary at Mt. Jouktas. Medium horns of consecration (10 cm to 1 m high) come from palaces and mansions in central and eastern Crete. In general, no more than two examples come from any given context; usually only one is found. Miniature examples appear in vase paintings and in glyptic representations. Even in the glyptic art, their presence tended to be associated with architecture, suggesting that some of the miniature versions depict the monumental ones.
Horns of consecration briefly went out of use when the Mycenaeans first took over Crete (see chapter 4). But by the Late Minoan III period, they were back in use. Medium ceramic examples with sockets for labrydes have appeared at the Villa Ariadne near Knossos and the shrine at Haghia Triadha. By the end of the Bronze Age, painted, hollow horns of consecration were common votive offerings in open-air and cave sanctuaries. What their ultimate origin and meaning were remains uncertain, but it is clear that from the Middle Minoan period onward, horns of consecration marked out sacred space (D'Agata 1992, passim).
A baetyl is a nonrepresentational depiction of a deity, usually a stone. The word comes from the Semitic languages and means "house of God" (beth = house, el = god). Several pieces of Minoan glyptic art suggest that such images played a role in Minoan worship. In some instances, worshippers, often nude, appear to be embracing baetyls, while birds or butterflies (perhaps manifestations of the deity) float nearby. A possible baetyl is located in the west court of the palace at Mallia, where the baetyl may have served in rites of epiphany (appearance of the deity to humans).
World History
