This book sets out to explore the ancient sites, the beautiful finds and the dramatic landscape of Minoan and later Crete. Although there are many published books and internet sites devoted to Crete and its ancient civilisation, this is a very special concise and detailed guide to all the archaeological sites, that shows exactly what is there, how to get to it, what finds were made, and where they can now be seen. It explores the pre-Minoan, Minoan and post-Minoan civilisation and culture of these Goddess-celebrating people, revealed in their artefacts, iconography, motifs, ideas, themes and finds. Crete is not simply an amazing land that consists of a large number of prehistoric ruins and a collection of fine objects to admire, but, as the book shows, the spirit of the Goddess that was so central to these people runs through the very fabric of the land itself, and is palpable today to anyone who visits the island with an open mind and an open heart. The book includes full details of sites, museums, directions and maps, and has over 160 colour photographs and illustrations. Nearly every individual site is pictured, as well as many of the finds. Carefully placed boxes of concise information are placed throughout the text, giving an insight into the world of the Minoan people, including their use of caves, palace-temple sites, domestic shrines, sacred mountains, peak sanctuaries and dwelling places. The meaning of many of their buildings, such as pillar crypts and lustral basins, is revealed, and the significance of their sacred objects, such as the kernos and the baetyl, is explored. In addition, the beautiful finds and frescos in the Museums are all profusely illustrated. This book is an indispensible guide to a great and unique civilisation who venerated and loved the Goddess throughout its lifetime.

An illustrated guide to Minoan images and symbols

Not only is one of the most famous pieces of ancient Greek art-the celebrated gold and ivory statuette of the Snake Goddess-almost certainly modern, but Minoan civilization as it has been popularly imagined is largely an invention of the early twentieth century. This is Kenneth Lapatin's startling conclusion in Mysteries of the Snake Goddess-a brilliant investigation into the true origins of the celebrated Bronze Age artifact, and into the fascinating world of archaeologists, adventurers, and artisans that converged in Crete at the turn of the twentieth century. Including characters from Sir Arthur Evans, legendary excavator of the Palace of Minos at Knossos, who was driven to discover a sophisticated early European civilization to rival that of the Orient, to his principal restorer Swiss painter Emil Gillieron, who out of handfuls of fragments fashioned a picture of Minoan life that conformed to contemporary taste, this is a riveting tale of archeological discovery.

In this newly revised and updated second edition of Labrys and Horns, you'll find the pantheon, rituals, symbols and practices of Modern Minoan Paganism. MMP is a revivalist tradition that connects the deities of ancient Crete with modern Pagans in a living spiritual practice. With a pantheon headed by a triplicity of mother goddesses who embody the three sacred realms of land, sky, and sea, MMP calls us to remember a time when women were valued as equals to men, when the Great Mothers took care of all their children, and when the sacred touched every person every day of their lives. Minoan spirituality is so relevant to our times, when we're doing our best to move forward and away from inequality and oppression. This book can help you build relationships with the Minoan gods and goddesses and bring their blessings into your life, and from there, into the larger world.

The goddess is the most potent and persistent feature in the archaeological records of the ancient world. In this volume the author resurrects the world of goddess-worshipping, earth-centred cultures, bringing ancient matriarchal society to life.

Before Sir Arthur Evans, the principal object of Greek prehistoric archaeology was the reconstruction of history in relation to myth. European travellers to Greece viewed its picturesque ruins as the gateway to mythical times, while Heinrich Schliemann, at the end of the nineteenth century, allegedly uncovered at Troy and Mycenae the legendary cities of the Homeric epics. It was Evans who, in his controversial excavations at Knossos, steered Aegean archaeology away from Homer towards the broader Mediterranean world. Yet in so doing he is thought to have done his own inventing, recreating the Cretan Labyrinth via the Bronze Age myth of the Minotaur. Nanno Marinatos challenges the entrenched idea that Evans was nothing more than a flamboyant researcher who turned speculation into history. She argues that Evans was an excellent archaeologist, one who used scientific observation and classification. Evans's combination of anthropology, comparative religion and analysis of cultic artefacts enabled him to develop a bold new method which Sir James Frazer called 'mental anthropology'. It was this approach that led him to propose remarkable ideas about Minoan religion, theories that are now being vindicated as startling new evidence comes to light. Examining the frescoes from Akrotiri, on Santorini, that are gradually being restored, the author suggests that Evans's hypothesis of one unified goddess of nature is the best explanation of what they signify. Evans was in 1901 ahead of his time in viewing comparable Minoan scenes as a blend of ritual action and mythic imagination. Nanno Marinatos is a leading authority on Minoan religion. In this latest book she combines history, archaeology and myth to bold and original effect, offering a wholly new appraisal of Evans and the significance of his work. Sir Arthur Evans and Minoan Crete will be essential reading for all students of Minoan civilization, as well as an irresistible companion for travellers to Crete.