The Heraklion Museum

Trip Start Sep 07, 2008

148

Trip End Dec 09, 2008

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Flag of Greece Heraklion, Greece
Saturday, September 27, 2008

After we departed Knossos, we went to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. We were disappointed that only two rooms were open; the rest was closed for renovation. This is the second museum we have largely missed out on. The Acropolis Museum is also closed as they are in the process of moving from their old building to a brand new building.

The "King with Lily Crown" is a very famous fresco found at the palace of Knossos, and is an iconic symbol of Minoan archaeology. Unfortunately, Indy told us, the fresco has been reconstructed from the fragments incorrectly. The figure depicted is clearly male, yet no male would wear that lily crown. The crown probably doesn't belong on this part of the fresco. And the torso is facing the wrong way, and the fist should be raised high. It seems this is not a king, it is actually a boxer.

King with Lily Crown or Minoan boxing boy?

This figurine depicts either a Minoan goddess or a priestess of that goddess holding snakes. The Minoan texts refer to "Potnia," which is probably not the name of the goddess because it just means "Our Lady" in the Minoan language. Similar to the notion that "Lord" is really not the name of the God worshipped by today's monotheists. We do not know if the Minoans conceptualized Potnia as one goddess with several aspects or multiple goddesses. In later centuries, Potnia was associated with Demeter and Persephone in Greek religion. What's amazing is that I vividly remember seeing a photograph of this exact figurine in a book when I was in fifth grade. I cannot believe I am looking at the original object.

Indy showed us the famous "Agia Triada Sarcophagus," dated to 1300 BCE. When it was first found in the bad old days of sloppy archaeology, it was covered in a crusty material and the researchers couldn't tell that it was anything special, so they left it in a pile of rocks at the excavation site. The archaeologists had a drunken party one night, and a digger stepped out to relieve himself. The urine ate through the crust covering the sarcophagus and revealed the painted design with the original colors underneath, a priceless find.

Sarcophagus means "burial chest," so it would have been sealed on the top and it has holes in the bottom to let the fluids of the decomposing body flow out, lest the lid would blow. On one side, the sarcophagus depicts the sacrifice of a bull on an altar surrounded by a procession of priestesses. On the other side, the priestesses pour the blood of the bull between two double axes, symbols of the Minoan gods. Almost all of the ancient Greek sculptures and buildings were brightly painted, but very few traces of the original colors remain. That this painted design has survived with so much clarity and depth of color is astounding, and it holds keys to our knowledge about religion in ancient Crete. Makes me want to go pee on a pile of rocks and see what I can uncover.