Greece - Korina Miller [370]
Other frescoes include the lovely, restored Prince of the Lilies, along with two frescoes for the New Palace period – the priestess archaeologists have dubbed La Parisienne, and the Saffron Gatherer.
Also from Knossos are Linear A and B tablets (the latter have been translated as household or business accounts), an ivory statue of a bull leaper, and some exquisite gold seals.
From the Middle Minoan period, the most striking piece is the 20cm black-stone Bull’s Head, a libation vessel. The bull’s fine head of curls sprouts golden horns, and features extremely lifelike painted crystal eyes. Other fascinating contemporaneous exhibits include the tiny, glazed colour reliefs of Minoan houses from Knossos, called the town mosaic. Finds from a Knossos shrine include fine figurines of a bare-breasted snake goddess.
Among the treasures of Minoan jewellery is the beautiful gold bee pendant from Malia, depicting two bees dropping honey into a comb.
From Phaestos, the most prized find is the fascinating Phaestos Disk, a 16cm circular clay tablet inscribed with (still undeciphered) pictographic symbols.
Also displayed is the elaborate Kamares pottery, named after the sacred cave of Kamares where it was discovered; a superbly decorated vase from Phaestos with white sculpted flowers is here, too.
Finds from Zakros include the gorgeous crystal rhyton vase, discovered in over 300 fragments and painstakingly repaired, along with vessels decorated with floral and marine designs.
The most famous of Minoan sarcophagi, and one of Minoan art’s greatest achievements, is the sarcophagus of Agia Triada, painted with floral and abstract designs and ritual scenes. Other significant Agia Triada finds include the Harvester Vase, of which only the top part remains, depicting young farm workers returning from olive picking. Another, the Boxer Vase shows Minoans indulging in two of their favourite pastimes – wrestling and bull-grappling. The Chieftain Cup depicts a more cryptic scene: a chief holding a staff and three men carrying animal skins.
Finds from Minoan cemeteries include two small clay models of groups of figures, found in a tholos (tomb shaped like a beehive). One depicts four male dancers in a circle, arms around one another’s shoulders, possibly participants in a funerary ritual. The other shows two groups of three figures in a room flanked by two columns, with two large seated figures being offered libations by a smaller figure. Whether the large figures represent gods or departed mortals is unclear.
More insight into the inscrutable lifestyle of the Minoans can be gleaned from another exhibit, the elaborate gaming board decorated with ivory, crystal, glass, gold and silver, from Knossos’ New Palace period.
HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF CRETE
The engrossing Historical Museum ( 2810 283219; www.historical-museum.gr; Sofokli Venizelou; admission €5; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat summer, 9am-3pm Mon-Sat winter) contains exhibits from Crete’s Byzantine, Venetian and Turkish periods, displaying plans, charts, photographs, ceramics and maps. The 1st floor houses the only El Greco paintings in Crete – View of Mt Sinai and the Monastery of St Catherine (1570) and the tiny Baptism of Christ. Other rooms contain 13th- and 14th-century fresco fragments, coins, jewellery, liturgical ornaments and vestments, plus medieval pottery.
Highlights upstairs include the reconstructed library of author Nikos Kazantzakis, a Battle of Crete section and an outstanding folklore collection.
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Established by the University of Crete, the child-friendly Natural History Museum ( 2810 282740; www.nhmc.uoc.gr; Leoforos Venizelou; admission €3, adult accompanying child free; 10am-7pm Tue-Sun), in a restored former electricity building on the waterfront, has interactive appeal with a discovery centre for kids, complete with labs and excavation projects. Apart from the broader evolution of humankind, it explores the flora and fauna of Crete, the island’s ecosystem and habitats, and its caves, coastline and mountains, plus Minoan life.
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