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AEGAEUM 39Annales liégeoises et PASPiennes d’archéologie égéenne

METAPHYSISRITUAL, MYTH AND SYMBOLISM

IN THE AEGEAN BRONZE AGE

Proceedings of the 15th International Aegean Conference, Vienna, Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology,

Aegean and Anatolia Department, Austrian Academy of Sciences and Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna,

22-25 April 2014

Edited by Eva ALRAM-STERN, Fritz BLAKOLMER, Sigrid DEGER-JALKOTZY, Robert LAFFINEUR and Jörg WEILHARTNER

PEETERSLEUVEN - LIEGE

2016

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CONTENTS Obituaries ix Preface xiii Abbreviations xv KEYNOTE LECTURE Nanno MARINATOS

Myth, Ritual, Symbolism and the Solar Goddess in Thera 3

A. FIGURINES

Eva ALRAM-STERN Men with Caps: Chalcolithic Figurines from Aegina-Kolonna and their Ritual Use 15

Florence GAIGNEROT-DRIESSEN

The Lady of the House: Trying to Define the Meaning and Role of Ritual Figures with Upraised Arms in Late Minoan III Crete 21

Reinhard JUNG and Marco PACCIARELLI

A Minoan Statuette from Punta di Zambrone in Southern Calabria (Italy) 29

Melissa VETTERS All the Same yet not Identical? Mycenaean Terracotta Figurines in Context 37

Eleni KONSOLAKI-YANNOPOULOU

The Symbolic Significance of the Terracottas from the Mycenaean Sanctuary at Ayios Konstantinos, Methana 49 B. HYBRID AND MYTHICAL CREATURES

Fritz BLAKOLMER

Hierarchy and Symbolism of Animals and Mythical Creatures in the Aegean Bronze Age: A Statistical and Contextual Approach 61

Karen Polinger FOSTER Animal Hybrids, Masks, and Masques in Aegean Ritual 69

Maria ANASTASIADOU Wings, Heads, Tails: Small Puzzles at LM I Zakros 77 C. SYMBOLISM

Janice L. CROWLEY

In the Air Here or from the World Beyond? Enigmatic Symbols of the Late Bronze Age Aegean 89

Marianna NIKOLAIDOU Materialised Myth and Ritualised Realities: Religious Symbolism on Minoan Pottery 97

Helène WHITTAKER Horns and Axes 109

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iv CONTENTS

Olga KRZYSZKOWSKA Warding off Evil: Apotropaic Practice and Imagery in Minoan Crete 115

Emilia BANOU and Brent DAVIS The Symbolism of the Scorpion in Minoan Religion: A Cosmological Approach on the Basis of Votive Offerings from the Peak Sanctuary at Ayios Yeoryios Sto Vouno, Kythera 123

Nancy R. THOMAS “Hair Stars” and “Sun Disks” on Bulls and Lions. A Reality Check on Movements of Aegean Symbolic Motifs to Egypt, with Special Reference to the Palace at Malkata 129

Malcolm H. WIENER Aegean Warfare at the Opening of the Late Bronze Age in Image and Reality 139 D. SPACE / LANDSCAPE

Santo PRIVITERA The Tomb, the House, and the Double Axes: Late Minoan IIIA2 Hagia Triada as a Ritual and ‘Mythical’ Place 149

Sam CROOKS, Caroline J. TULLY and Louise A. HITCHCOCK Numinous Tree and Stone: Re-Animating the Minoan Landscape 157

Barbara MONTECCHI The Labyrinth: Building, Myth, and Symbol 165

Birgitta EDER Ideology in Space: Mycenaean Symbols in Action 175

Lyvia MORGAN The Transformative Power of Mural Art: Ritual Space, Symbolism, and the Mythic Imagination 187 E. FUNERALS

Luca GIRELLA Aspects of Ritual and Changes in Funerary Practices Between MM II and LM I on Crete 201

Anna Lucia D’AGATA and Sara DE ANGELIS Funerals of Late Minoan III Crete: Ritual Acts, Special Vessels and Political Affiliations in the 14th and 13th Centuries BC 213

Ann-Louise SCHALLIN The Liminal Zone – The Evidence from the Late Bronze Age Dendra Cemetery 223

Mary K. DABNEY Mycenaean Funerary Processions as Shared Ritual Experiences 229

Michael LINDBLOM and Gunnel EKROTH Heroes, Ancestors or Just any Old Bones? Contextualizing the Consecration of Human Remains from the Mycenaean Shaft Graves at Lerna in the Argolid 235 F. RELIGION / DEITIES

Jeffrey S. SOLES Hero, Goddess, Priestess: New Evidence for Minoan Religion and Social Organization 247

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CONTENTS v

Ute GÜNKEL-MASCHEK Establishing the Minoan ‘Enthroned Goddess’ in the Neopalatial Period: Images, Architecture, and Elitist Ambition 255

Veronika DUBCOVÁ Divine Power from Abroad. Some New Thoughts about the Foreign Influences on the Aegean Bronze Age Religious Iconography 263

Cynthia W. SHELMERDINE Poseidon, pa-ki-ja-na and Horse-Taming Nestor 275

Irene SERRANO LAGUNA di-u-ja 285 G. SANCTUARIES

Mercourios GEORGIADIS Metaphysical Beliefs and Leska 295

Wolf-Dietrich NIEMEIER Ritual in the Mycenaean Sanctuary at Abai (Kalapodi) 303

Olga PSYCHOYOS and Yannis KARATZIKOS The Mycenaean Sanctuary at Prophitis Ilias on Mount Arachnaio within the Religious Context of the 2nd Millennium B.C. 311 H. RITUALS / OFFERINGS

Barbara HOREJS and Alfred GALIK Hunting the Beast. A Reconstructed Ritual in an EBA Metal Production Centre in Western Anatolia 323

Philip P. BETANCOURT, Thomas M. BROGAN and Vili APOSTOLAKOU Rituals at Pefka 329

Alessandro SANAVIA and Judith WEINGARTEN The Transformation of Tritons: Some Decorated Middle Minoan Triton Shells and an Anatolian Counterpart 335

Artemis KARNAVA On Sacred Vocabulary and Religious Dedications: The Minoan ‘Libation Formula’ 345

Monica NILSSON Minoan Stairs as Ritual Scenes. The Monumental Staircases of Phaistos “66” and Knossos “Theatral Area” under the Magnifying Glass 357

Bernice R. JONES A New Reading of the Fresco Program and the Ritual in Xeste 3, Thera 365

Andreas G. VLACHOPOULOS Images of Physis or Perceptions of Metaphysis? Some Thoughts on the Iconography of the Xeste 3 Building at Akrotiri, Thera 375

Fanouria DAKORONIA Sacrifice on Board 387

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vi CONTENTS

Jörg WEILHARTNER Textual Evidence for Burnt Animal Sacrifice and Other Rituals Involving the Use of Fire in Mycenaean Greece 393

Chrysanthi GALLOU Mycenaean Skulls: “ἀμενηνά κάρηνα” or Social Actors in Late Helladic Metaphysics and Society? 405

Assaf YASUR-LANDAU The Baetyl and the Stele: Contact and Tradition in Levantine and Aegean Cult 415 I. MYTH / HEROES / ANCESTORS

Magda PIENIĄŻEK and Carolyn C. ASLAN Heroic Past, Memory and Ritual at Troy 423

John G. YOUNGER Identifying Myth in Minoan Art 433

Joanne M.A. MURPHY The Power of the Ancestors at Pylos 439

Elisabetta BORGNA and Andreas G. VORDOS Construction of Memory and the Making of a Ritual Landscape: the Role of Gods and Ancestors at the Trapeza of Aigion, Achaea, at the LBA-EIA Transition 447

Anne P. CHAPIN Mycenaean Mythologies in the Making: the Frescoes of Pylos Hall 64 and the Mycenae Megaron 459 J. METAPHYSIS

Robert B. KOEHL The Ambiguity of the Minoan Mind 469

Thomas G. PALAIMA The Metaphysical Mind in Mycenaean Times and in Homer 479

Alan PEATFIELD A Metaphysical History of Minoan Religion 485 POSTERS

Eva ALRAM-STERN A New Mycenaean Female Figure from Kynos, Locris 497

Katrin BERNHARDT Absent Mycenaeans? On Mycenaean Figurines and their Imitations on Crete in LM IIIA–IIIB 501

Tina BOLOTI

A “Knot”-Bearing (?) Minoan Genius from Pylos. Contribution to the Cloth/Clothing Offering Imagery of the Aegean Late Bronze Age 505

Dora CONSTANTINIDIS Proximity Analysis of Metaphysical Aegean Ritual Spaces During the Bronze Age 511

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CONTENTS vii

Stefanos GIMATZIDIS The Tree of Life: The Materiality of a Ritual Symbol in Space and Time 515

Louise A. HITCHCOCK, Aren M. MAEIR and Amit DAGAN Entangling Aegean Ritual in Philistine Culture 519

Petros KOUNOUKLAS Griffin at Kynos. How, Why, and When? 527

Tobias KRAPF Symbolic Value and Magical Power: Examples of Prehistoric Objects Reused in Later Contexts in Euboea 531

Susan LUPACK pu-ro, pa-ki-ja-ne, and the Worship of an Ancestral Wana x 537

Madelaine MILLER The Boat – A Sacred Border-Crosser in Between Land and the Sea 543

Sylvie MÜLLER CELKA Caring for the Dead in Minoan Crete: a Reassessment of the Evidence from Anemospilia 547

Marcia NUGENT

Portals to the Other: Stepping through a Botanic Door 557

Marco PIETROVITO Beyond the Earthly Shell: the Minoan Pitcher Bearers. Anthropomorphic Rhyta of the Pre- and Protopalatial Periods (Differentiating the Sacred from the Divine) 563

Jörg RAMBACH Early Helladic Romanos/Messenia: Filling a Well 567

Caroline THURSTON New Approaches to Mycenaean Figurines in LH IIIC 571

Michaela ZAVADIL Souvenirs from Afar – Star Disk Pendants Reconsidered 575 ENDNOTE

Joseph MARAN Towards an Anthropology of Religion in Minoan and Mycenaean Greece 581 TO CONCLUDE …

Thomas G. PALAIMA WI Fc 2014: When is an Inscribed Cigar Just a Cigar? 595

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A “KNOT”-BEARING (?) MINOAN GENIUS FROM PYLOS. CONTRIBUTION TO THE CLOTH/CLOTHING OFFERING

IMAGERY OF THE AEGEAN LATE BRONZE AGE “In the interpretation of early religious iconography ‘Cherchez le monstre’ can be a useful first step” C. RENFREW, The Archaeology of Cult. The Sanctuary

at Phylakopi (1985) 24. The fresco fragment 40 H ne from Pylos

The LH IIIB fresco fragment 40 H ne from the palace at Pylos (Pl. CXLVIa), ascribed by M. Lang to “a woman standing left”,1 was soon after its publication attributed by M. Gill to a “Minoan Genius”.2 Indeed, apart from the white colour all over the frontal part of its body, echoing the female nature of its Egyptian prototype the hippopotamian goddess Taweret,3 the “hand” – paw to be more precise – of the represented being is nearly identical to those of the Genii, carrying a pole on their shoulders from Tsountas’ and Mylonas’ excavations in the Cult Centre at Mycenae4 (Pl. CXLVIb-c).

The most decisive criterion, though, in Gill’s interpretation relates to the back of the figure, which finds parallels only in the characteristic dorsal appendage of the Genii, as depicted in various forms of art (seal and ivory glyptic, bronze and stone vases)5 – if considered a female garment, it would cover only the back of the supposed woman leaving naked her frontal part, an option totally inconsistent with the Aegean Bronze Age iconography. Unlike the decorated versions of the dorsal appendages, among which are polychrome examples, e.g. those from the Cult Centre at Mycenae, the dorsal appendage on the Pylian example is plain, monochrome pink in fact, with a wavy black-bordered double line (red and white respectively), running vertically all along the preserved height of the creature. The pair of Genii on the LM IA chlorite triton from Malia provides its closest parallel (Pl. CXLVId); their dorsal appendage is also plain and similarly divided from the frontal part by a double undulating vertical line.6

Acknowledgements: Many thanks are due to J. Cutler who read my English text and provided useful

advice. This paper, as part of my PhD research, has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and Greek national funds through the Research Funding Program: Heraclitus II.

1 M.L. LANG, The Palace of Nestor at Pylos in Western Messenia, Vol. II, The Frescoes (1969) 79. 2 M.A.V. GILL, “Apropos the Minoan ‘Genius’”, AJA 74 (1970) 404-406. 3 J. WEINGARTEN, The Transformation of Egyptian Taweret into the Minoan Genius. A Study in Cultural

Transmission in the Middle Bronze Age (1991). 4 Chr. TSOUNTAS, “ ”, ArchEph (1887) 160-162, pl. 10.1; I. KRITSELI-

PROVIDI, (1982) 21-23, fig. 2, pl. ; G.E. MYLONAS, (1983) 237, fig. 198; S.A. IMMERWAHR, Aegean Painting in the Bronze Age (1990) 192,

My No 8. 5 . .V. GILL, “The Minoan Genius”, AM 79 (1964) 1-21, where approximately 60 representations are

catalogued, increased to nearly 80 in P. REHAK, “The ‘Genius’ in Late Bronze Age Glyptic: the Later Evolution of an Aegean Cult Figure”, in W. MÜLLER (ed.), Sceaux minoens et mycéniens (1995) 215-231, esp. 230-231 (appendix). See also more recently M. BENZI, “Minoan Genius on a LH III Pictorial Sherd from Phylakopi, Melos? Some Remarks on Religious and Ceremonial Scenes on Mycenaean Pictorial Pottery”, Pasiphae 3 (2009) 9-26.

6 Cl. BAURAIN, “Pour une autre interprétation des génies minoens”, in P. DARCQUE and J.-Cl. POURSAT (eds), L’iconographie minoenne. Actes de la Table Ronde d’Athènes (21-22 avril 1983) (1985) 102-110, fig. 1. It should be noted that the double undulating vertical line is a common iconographic element in several representations of the Genii.

Tina BOLOTI 506

Despite their disagreement as far as the nature of the figure is concerned, Lang and Gill were unanimous in arguing that it carries a piece of cloth/clothing, a “yellow skirt” according to the former7 and a “knot- or cuirass” according to the latter;8 both interpretations were adopted by S. Immerwahr, who referred to it as “a sacral knot, or a flounced skirt”.9 Nevertheless, a divergent approach has been proposed by Kritseli-Providi on the occasion of the publication of the Genii fragments from Mylonas’ excavations at the Cult Centre of Mycenae.10 Without disputing the “daemonic nature” of the Pylian figure, she argued instead that the aforementioned “knot” or “skirt” constitutes, in fact, the fragmentary trunk of a palm tree; therefore, the yellow band, rising up obliquely above the Genius’ paw, should be considered as a frond.11

Although the combination of Genii with palm trees is not uncommon in Aegean iconography,12 this option gives rise to reasonable objections in the case of the Pylian fresco fragment 40 H ne: a. Placing it correctly in the upright position, so that the Genius stands vertically on the ground, the supposed trunk leans abnormally towards it, as if it would be ready to fall b. Its internal decoration, with vertical and diagonal markings, is without parallel in the related iconography13 and c. Judging by the morphology of the palm tree, the oblique yellow band above the paw of the figure could not have been a frond. All these objections would be overruled ipso facto, if we accept the identification of the object as a garment or a “sacred knot”.

“Sacred dress” or “sacred knot”?

The ambiguity concerning the distinction between the “sacred dress” and the “sacred knot” in

Aegean Bronze Age iconography arises here once again.14 The Pylian fresco fragment is far from being illuminating on this issue – a good discriminating factor, apart from the characteristic loop of the knot, would be the size of the object, but, since it is only partially preserved, we cannot be certain.

The proposed reconstruction(s)

In order to outline the thematic character of the scene to which the fresco fragment 40 H ne

once belonged and to proceed to a proposed reconstruction of the depicted Genius, it is indispensable to refer to the related iconography, especially that of LM I seal glyptic.

The identification of the oblique yellow band rising up above the paw of the Genius, which might be considered either as an integral element of the skirt or knot or as part of a separate object, undoubtedly plays a crucial role in the reconstruction proposed here.15

If integrated into the depicted article the yellow band might constitute a strap by which the cloth/clothing would be suspended, in accordance with the evidence provided by both the sealing 7 LANG (supra n. 1) 79. 8 GILL (supra n. 2) 404. 9 IMMERWAHR (supra n. 4) 196, Py No. 2. 10 KRITSELI-PROVIDI (supra n. 4). 11 KRITSELI-PROVIDI (supra n. 4) 26-27, fig. 4. Note also that in GILL (supra n. 2) 404 it has been argued

cautiously that the yellow artifact might have been a gold vessel; however, this interpretation does not seem reasonable, due to the morphology of the object and its disproportionate size in comparison with the Genius.

12 REHAK (supra n. 5) 217-219. 13 Cf. the decoration of the palm tree trunks e.g. on the steatite mould from Mycenae or the ivory plaque

from Thebes in REHAK (supra n. 5) 218-219, figs. 1 and 2 respectively. 14 For this ambiguity see e.g. the descriptions of the lentoid seals CMS II.3, no. 8 and CMS II.3, no. 145,

from Knossos and Malia respectively. See also G.S. KORRES, “ ”, in

, 1976, 2, (1981) 659-688. For a recent iconographic investigation of the “sacral knot” see J. CROWLEY, “Prestige Clothing in the Bronze Age Aegean”, in KOSMOS, 231-239.

15 The drawing of the Genius was created by the painter N. Sepentzoglou according to my instructions.

A “KNOT”-BEARING (?) MINOAN GENIUS FROM PYLOS 507

CMS II.6, no. 26 from Hagia Triada and the signet ring CMS VI, no. 364 in the Ashmolean Museum; on the first, a garment seems to be suspended by straps at the edge of a bow-like object, while, on the second, “sacred knots” are suspended by straps on both sides of a column.16 Nevertheless, if the Pylian Genius carried this skirt or knot it wouldn’t necessarily use an additional strap, as indicated, at least, by similar human activities represented in frescoes17 and especially in the characteristic seal and sealing examples CMS II.3, no. 8, CMS II.7, no. 7 and CMS V, Suppl. 3, no. 394 (Pl. CXLVIIa-c). Therefore, in the proposed reconstruction, the Genius holds the article with its right, lost paw, touching simultaneously the lower part of it with its left, bent paw (Pl. CXLVIId).

So, as a reductio ad absurdum, it seems most reasonable to assume that the yellow band constitutes a separate object, a rod in all probability, judging by its elongated, narrow shape. Although simple rods are often held by processional figures,18 in the case of the Pylian fresco fragment I postulate that it would have been combined with a double axe, a symbol carried often in rituals either separately19 or in conjunction with a “sacred dres” or knot by one20 or two different21 figures respectively. In fact, the carrying of a couple of objects by the same figure is also not unusual in Mycenaean iconography, with the most characteristic example being the fresco fragment 103 from the Tirynthian female procession, where a figurine and a piece of cloth are held by the same hand (Pl. CXLVIIe).22 As a consequence, in my reconstruction proposal, the Pylian Genius 40 H ne carries, in addition to a skirt or knot, a double axe with its left bent arm (Pl. CXLVIId).23

The “Minoan Genius” – “sacred dress and/or knot” connection

Although without parallel so far in Aegean iconography, is a knot- or skirt-bearing Genius

consistent with rituals related to this kind of symbolic offering? From MM II onwards, when Genii appear in the Minoan seal glyptic, “primarily connected to

fertility, moisture, and probably cleansing”,24 they are engaged mainly in two different types of human activities: in libation i.e. vegetation rituals, carrying the characteristic libation jug,25 or in hunting scenes, usually carrying hunted – presumed to be sacrificial – animals.26 Despite their enhancement in Late Bronze Age iconography and their involvement in broader narrative scenes, Genii preserved their

16 For the practice of suspending symbolic objects by loops/straps cf. C. VERLINDEN, “Nouvelle

interprétation du décor incisé sur une double hache en bronze supposée provenir de Voros”, in DARCQUE and POURSAT eds (supra n. 6) 135-149, where, among the incised motifs, “sacral knots” or “garments” are included.

17 Chr. DOUMAS, (1992) 146, fig. 109. 18 The related evidence is provided mostly by the seal glyptic iconography, see for example CMS II.6, no. 9;

CMS II.6, no. 11. 19 See CMS II.6, no. 10. 20 See CMS II.3, no. 8; CMS V, Suppl. 3, no. 394. 21 See CMS II.7, no. 7. 22 Chr. BOULOTIS, “Zur Deutung des Freskofragmentes Nr. 103 aus der Tirynther Frauenprozession”,

ArchKorrBl 9 (1979) 65, fig. 1. 23 The combination of these two articles of high symbolic value is firmly embedded in Minoan and

Mycenaean religious beliefs and the related cult praxis, as indicated, besides the aforementioned seal glyptic examples, also by the Vapheio signet ring CMS I, no. 219 and CMS XI, no. 259 from Argos.

24 REHAK (supra n. 5) 215. 25 The function of the Genius as libation bearer continues uninterrupted from the Middle to the Late

Bronze Age, e.g. CMS II.5, nos. 321 and 322; CMS I, nos. 231 and 232; CMS XI, no. 35. For a later representation, from a LH IIIB context, see the steatite mould from Mycenae in REHAK (supra n. 5) 218-219, fig. 1.

26 For a brief discussion of the iconographic topoi of the genius as carrier of animals and as a hunter see REHAK (supra n. 5) 219-223. See also N. MARINATOS, Minoan Sacrificial Ritual. Cult Practice and

Symbolism (1986) 45-48, fig. 30-32.

Tina BOLOTI 508

“iconographic identity” almost intact until the end of the 13th century B.C;27 they actually constituted, along with sphinxes and griffins, the main daemonic/supernatural creatures in the 2nd millennium B.C. Aegean, with wide distribution and popularity.

Taking into consideration a. that Genii adopted the role of divine mediators and servants at least from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age onwards, 28 and b. the established and social-religious significance of cloth and/or clothing offertory rituals in the Aegean,29 it would not be surprising if the former were believed to participate in the latter. Their “incorporation into Mycenaean cult at major palatial centers”,30 as indicated by the Pylian fresco fragment 40 H ne and its counterparts from the Cult Centre at Mycenae, and the fact that Genii were usually rendered as a group (often in processions), especially in the mainland,31 allows us to consider the Genius under examination as part of a broader composition, most probably of processional character. Through this prism, the final goal of the Pylian Genius, carrying a “sacred knot” or dress and a double axe, easily could have been a female divinity like e.g. the seated one, depicted on the signet ring CMS I no. 179 from Tiryns, or the standing one, shown on the sealing CMS I no. 379 from the Pylos palace. Would this have been the “goddess of Nature”, whose realm included vegetation, animals and consequently hunting activities, in which Genii participated as well? Plausibly. The appearance of “sacred knot/-s” as a complementary motif in seal glyptic animal scenes32 might have the value of a symbolic ritual indicator in which cloth offering would have been combined with hunting and animal sacrifices. The re-examination of the scene on the Vapheio signet ring CMS I, no. 219, where vegetation performances coexist with sacred symbols, among which are a knot and a double axe, significantly supports this hypothesis; and even more so since it has been assumed that the depicted ritual would have been performed in honour of or under the supervision of a female divinity.

The proposed reconstruction seems to be additionally sustained by a fragmentary fresco from the West House outside the acropolis at Mycenae, on which two animals (apparently caprids) and an oblong garment are partially preserved. The fresco, published by I. Tournavitou, “depicts an unusual, if not unique combination of pictorial elements the ultimate significance of which lies in the symbolic value of their interaction: a large, heraldically disposed animal in the centre, flanked by another animal on the left, raised on its hind legs”.33 Nevertheless, contra Tournavitou’s interpretation, the dress discerned on the right of the first animal does not belong to “a partly preserved figure, probably female” given its narrow size, extremely narrow compared to the legs of the animals, and the lack of

27 A broad outline of the iconographic evolution of the Genii in the Late Bronze Age has been presented in

REHAK (supra n. 5). 28 According to REHAK (supra n. 5) 223 “The evidence suggests that the genius comes to be associated with

female figures in LM IA-B” while “its connection with male figures occurs somewhat later, probably beginning in LM II/LH IIB”.

29 The earliest, implicit evidence for the offering of clothing to a divinity in the Aegean is provided by the MM III pair of faience miniature robes from the Knossian Temple Repositories. For a thorough examination of this issue see T. BOLOTI, “

”, 3 (2009) 44-71. A related, extended chapter is included in my PhD thesis under preparation, concerning the role of cloth and/or clothing in Late Bronze Age Aegean rituals.

30 REHAK (supra n. 5) 215. 31 E.g. the frescoes from the Cult Centre at Mycenae (see supra n. 4), the golden signet ring CMS I, no. 179

from Tiryns and the ivory plaque from Thebes (see S. SYMEONOGLOU, Kadmeia I. Mycenaean finds from

Thebes, Greece. Excavation at 14 Oedipus st. [1973] 48-52, pl. 73; J.-Cl. POURSAT, Les ivoires mycéniens. Essai

sur la formation d’un art mycénien [1977]) 58, pl. V.1) etc. 32 See for example CMS I, no. 54; CMS VI, no. 313; CMS VII, no. 125, as well as an ivory plaque from

Grave Circle B at Mycenae where a hunted bull and a sacred knot are combined with a dagger, in G.E. MYLONAS, (1972) pl. 11 .

33 I. TOURNAVITOU, “Fresco Decoration and Politics in a Mycenaean Palatial Centre: The Case of the West House at Mycenae”, in KOSMOS, 727, pl. CLXIXb.

A “KNOT”-BEARING (?) MINOAN GENIUS FROM PYLOS 509

anatomical elements in conjunction with it, indicative of a body, as Chr. Boulotis recently argued.34 Therefore, the oblong dress would be more convincingly interpreted as a piece of cloth (“sacred knot?”) just-offered by the animal, possibly to a female divinity, seated in all probability, judging by the hint of a white platform (?) at the bottom-right edge of the fragment.

In conclusion, if the interpretative approach proposed here is correct, then the Pylian fragment 40 H ne and the fresco from Mycenae illustrate, mutatis mutandis, converging religious beliefs, in which the hunter-Genius and the hunted “sacred” animals are both involved in offertory rituals in honour of the “goddess of Nature”, including “sacred knots” or garments.

Tina BOLOTI

34 Chr. BOULOTIS, “ :

”, 105 (2013) 145, fig. 20.

Tina BOLOTI 510

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Pl. CXLVIa The fresco fragment 40 H ne from Pylos, after LANG (supra n. 1) pl. C. Pl. CXLVIb Fresco fragment with Genii from Tsountas’ excavations at Mycenae, after MYLONAS (supra n.

4). Pl. CXLVIc Fresco fragment with Genii from Mylonas’ excavations at Mycenae, after KRITSELI-

PROVIDI (supra n. 4). Pl. CXLVId The LM IA chlorite triton from Malia, drawing after BAURAIN (supra n. 6). Pl. CXLVIIa-c The seal CMS II.3, no. 8 from Knossos (a) and the sealings CMS II.7, no. 7 (b) - CMS V, Suppl.

3, no. 394 (c), from Zakros and Akrotiri respectively. Pl. CXLVIId Reconstruction proposal of the fresco fragment 40 H ne from Pylos by T. Boloti. Drawing: N.

Sepentzoglou. Pl. CXLVIIe The fresco fragment 103 from Tiryns. Reconstruction proposal by Chr. Boulotis, after

BOULOTIS (supra n. 22).

CXLVI

a

b

c

d

CXLVII

b a

c

d e