Throne Room, Knossos
Throne Room at Knossos | |
---|---|
Location | Knossos |
Area | Crete, Greece |
Formed | 15th century BC/ 1899-1955 |
Built for | Ceremonial and religious purposes |
The Throne Room was a chamber built for ceremonial purposes during the 15th century BC inside the palatial complex of Knossos, Crete, in Greece. It is found at the heart of the Bronze Age palace of Knossos, one of the main centers of the Minoan civilization and is considered the oldest throne room in Europe.[1][2]
Environment
The throne room was unearthed in 1900 by
Purpose
Initially, Evans believed that this area was designed to serve a religious purpose,[2] while he claimed that this was the priest-king's seat and that the presence of the griffins confirmed that this king was somehow beyond mortal realms.[4] He also identified the stone throne as the seat of the mythical king of Crete, Minos, evidently applied Greek mythology. On the other hand, archaeologists Helga Reusch and Friedriech Matz suggested that the throne room was a sanctuary of a female divinity and that a priestess who sat there was her impersonator.[5] The stone benches around the walls suggest a sitting council or perhaps a court, while a sunken area, called by Evans a "lustral basin", partially partitioned off at one side, was used for ritual bathing. In view of the civil and religious powers held by the king, there can be little argument against the notion that proceedings of an official character began with sacred ceremonials.[6]
According to various views, the throne itself may have actually had more religious than political significance, functioning in the re-enactment of epiphany rituals involving a High Priestess, as suggested by the iconography of griffins, palms, and altars in the wall-paintings. More recently, it has been suggested that the room was only used at dawn at certain times of the year for specific ceremonies.[7]
Mycenaean influence
Various archaeologists claim that the room and its furniture most likely date to the time of the
See also
References
- ^ a b c Runnels & Murray 2001, p. 92.
- ^ a b c Marinatos 2010, p. 50.
- ^ a b McEnroe 2010, p. 122.
- ^ Budin 2004, p. 178.
- ^ Marinatos 2010, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Hooper 1978, pp. 30–31.
- ^ a b Driessen 2003, pp. 57–61.
- ^ Cunliffe 2001, p. 227.
Sources
- Budin, Stephanie Lynn (2004). The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-814-3.
- Cunliffe, Barry (2001). The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-285441-4.
- Driessen, Jan (2003). "The Court Compounds of Minoan Crete: Royal Palaces or Ceremonial Centers?". Athena Review. 3 (3). Université Catholique de Louvain: 57–61.
- Hooper, Finley (1978) [1967]. Greek Realities: Life and Thought in Ancient Greece. Detroit, Illinois: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1597-2.
- Marinatos, Nanno (2010). Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03392-6.
- McEnroe, John C. (2010). Architecture of Minoan Crete: Constructing Identity in the Aegean Bronze Age. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-72193-7.
- Runnels, Curtis Neil; Murray, Priscilla (2001). Greece before History: An Archaeological Companion and Guide. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4050-0.