Cultural Identity in Minoan Crete
Cultural Identity in Minoan Crete
£105.00
GBPNeopalatial Crete - the 'Golden Age' of the Minoan Civilization - possessed palaces, exquisite artefacts, and iconography with pre-eminent females. While lacking in fortifications, ritual symbolism cloaked the island, an elaborate bureaucracy logged transactions, and massive storage areas enabled the redistribution of goods. We cannot read the Linear A script, but the libation formulae suggest an island-wide koine. Within this cultural identity, there is considerable variation in how the Minoan elites organized themselves and others on an intra-site and regional basis. This book explores and celebrates this rich, diverse and dynamic culture through analyses of important sites, as well as Minoan administration, writing, economy and ritual. Key themes include the role of Knossos in wider Minoan culture and politics, the variable modes of centralization and power relations detectable across the island, and the role of ritual and cult in defining and articulating elite control.
- A comprehensive treatment of one of the world's richest archaeological periods, it brings together a large body of work into a coherent, even treatment of an extremely well-explored area
- Combines a vast array of data with ideas drawn from further afield, enabled by chronological focus on the Neopalatial period, appealing to those who appreciate in-depth analyses with theoretical insights
- Creates a coherent narrative, while organized in a logical and accessible fashion, catering to those who want to understand the period as a whole, but also those who may want to focus on particular themes
Product details
September 2017Adobe eBook Reader
9781108195560
0 pages
68 b/w illus. 1 map 2 tables
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. The background to Neopalatial Crete
- 3. Elite architecture and artefacts
- 4. Palaces and their context
- 5. Other settlements and regional groupings
- 6. The ritual landscape and extra-urban sanctuaries
- 7. Literacy, administration and communication
- 8. The economy
- 9. Who were the Minoans? Self-representation and others in 'Minoan' identity
- 10. Conclusion.
