Anemospilia
Encyclopedia
Anemospilia is the archaeological site
of an ancient Minoan
temple on Crete
.
. Modern Heraklion
can be seen from the site. The site is in the country side near Arkhanes, about 7 kilometers from Knossos
on the Island of Crete. It was on a hillside facing north towards the palace complexes of Knossos. Various factors made archaeologists conclude that it was a temple. The site is in the countryside, Anemospilia means 'caves of the wind'. It is in the foot hills of Mount Juktas, the legendary birthplace of Zeus.
Finds excavated from Anemospilia are at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
The temple is set out with three chambers and one annex that leads into them, each chamber has something somewhat unusual about them inside it.
(Greek
for statue), would have been life-sized and predominantly made of wood, and the ash on the ground suggests that it was burned when the temple was. At the base of the altar were found the remains of more than 400 pottery vessels. Close to the Xoanon there was a mound, a piece of hillside rock, a symbol of the earth, which, along with the sea and the sky, the Minoans considered to be the eternal elements of the world. The sacred stone had been an important part in rituals, for over it libations were poured to the deity.
The other skeleton was that of a male, he was aged in his late thirties, and about 180 cm tall, and powerfully built, he was lying on his back with his hands covering his face, as if to protect it. The tall man had a ring made of iron and silver on the little finger of his left hand and on his wrist was an engraved seal of “exceptional artistic merit”, this would have obviously been very valuable. His legs were broken and his body was found near the centre of the room next to a platform, at the base of the platform was a trough.
On top of the platform another body was found. This was a body of an 18 year old male; he was found in the foetal position, lying on his right side. Amongst the bones was found an ornately engraved knife, it was 40 cm long and weighing more than 400g. Each side of the blade had an incised rendering of an animal head, the snout and tusks of a boar, ears like butterfly wings and slanted eyes like a fox. His legs were forced back so that his heels were almost touching his thigh, indicating that they were tied there. His jaw was closed; this is unusual because the jaw usually sags open after death. After a laboratory examination, it was revealed that the bones on the left side of his body were white, and the bones on the right side were black. It is a well known forensic fact that when a body with its blood supply intact is burned, the bones turn black. If the blood is drained before burning, the bones will be white. This shows that the priest and priestess were only half way through the ceremony when the body caught fire.
. The priest and townsfolk would have noticed the increased activity of Mount Thera, and decided that to please the gods, they must perform a human sacrifice, and this also tells us why the victim was somewhat young, because an older sacrifice would not have been as pleasing to the gods as a younger one. The fact that the temple was burned shows that during the ceremony, an earthquake struck and knocked candles over, making the wooden walls catch alight, the blood from the body was half drained, and so when the body caught fire, half of the bones turned black, and the other half turned white.
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
of an ancient Minoan
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
temple on Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
Geography
The temple is located on the northern end of Mount JuktasMount Juktas
A mountain in north-central Crete, Mount Juktas was an important religious site for the Minoan Civilization. Located a few kilometers from the palaces of Knossos and Fourni and the "megaron" at Vathypetro, Mount Juktas was the site of an important peak sanctuary in the Minoan world...
. Modern Heraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
can be seen from the site. The site is in the country side near Arkhanes, about 7 kilometers from Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
on the Island of Crete. It was on a hillside facing north towards the palace complexes of Knossos. Various factors made archaeologists conclude that it was a temple. The site is in the countryside, Anemospilia means 'caves of the wind'. It is in the foot hills of Mount Juktas, the legendary birthplace of Zeus.
Archaeology
Anemospilia was first excavated in 1979 by J. Sakellarakis. The temple was destroyed by a volcanic eruption from Thera and the resulting earthquakes. The temple was found in a ruined state with stone walls only reaching hip height. Traces of ash and charcoal were found on the ground, and from this, one can postulate that the building was burnt down.Finds excavated from Anemospilia are at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
The temple is set out with three chambers and one annex that leads into them, each chamber has something somewhat unusual about them inside it.
East chamber
In the east chamber, ruins of a stepped alter were found on the Southside of the room, and on it were many offerings. There were the remains of many vessels of pottery (pithoi) found on the floor, and traces of milk, honey, grains, and peas were found in the bottom of the jars. When the pottery vessels were reconstructed, the scene carved into some of the pottery shows a religious ritual.Annex
In the annex, a body was found, whose bones were so smashed, especially the pelvic bones, that it was impossible for anyone to identify the gender of the body, showing that the corpse had a boulder or rock dropped onto it, around the body were fragments of smashed pottery. The position of the body indicates that the person was running from the central chamber at the time of death.Central chamber
In the central chamber, an altar of the south side of the room was found, made from the hewn rock of the sacred hillside. On it stood a pair of clay feet that had been the idol's base, as well as bits of burnt wood. The idol, or XoanonXoanon
A xoanon was an Archaic wooden cult image of Ancient Greece. Classical Greeks associated such cult objects, whether aniconic or effigy, with the legendary Daedalus. Many such cult images were preserved into historical times, though none have survived to the modern day, except where their image...
(Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
for statue), would have been life-sized and predominantly made of wood, and the ash on the ground suggests that it was burned when the temple was. At the base of the altar were found the remains of more than 400 pottery vessels. Close to the Xoanon there was a mound, a piece of hillside rock, a symbol of the earth, which, along with the sea and the sky, the Minoans considered to be the eternal elements of the world. The sacred stone had been an important part in rituals, for over it libations were poured to the deity.
Western chamber
In the western chamber, two skeletons were found on the floor, one in the south west corner of the room This body was of a 28 year old female, because the average life expectancy in ancient civilisations was around 55, she would have been a middle aged woman. And because the Minoan women had an almost equal station in life in those days, she would have almost certainly been a high priestess of some sort.The other skeleton was that of a male, he was aged in his late thirties, and about 180 cm tall, and powerfully built, he was lying on his back with his hands covering his face, as if to protect it. The tall man had a ring made of iron and silver on the little finger of his left hand and on his wrist was an engraved seal of “exceptional artistic merit”, this would have obviously been very valuable. His legs were broken and his body was found near the centre of the room next to a platform, at the base of the platform was a trough.
On top of the platform another body was found. This was a body of an 18 year old male; he was found in the foetal position, lying on his right side. Amongst the bones was found an ornately engraved knife, it was 40 cm long and weighing more than 400g. Each side of the blade had an incised rendering of an animal head, the snout and tusks of a boar, ears like butterfly wings and slanted eyes like a fox. His legs were forced back so that his heels were almost touching his thigh, indicating that they were tied there. His jaw was closed; this is unusual because the jaw usually sags open after death. After a laboratory examination, it was revealed that the bones on the left side of his body were white, and the bones on the right side were black. It is a well known forensic fact that when a body with its blood supply intact is burned, the bones turn black. If the blood is drained before burning, the bones will be white. This shows that the priest and priestess were only half way through the ceremony when the body caught fire.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the reason for the dead man on the altar was probably for human sacrificeHuman sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
. The priest and townsfolk would have noticed the increased activity of Mount Thera, and decided that to please the gods, they must perform a human sacrifice, and this also tells us why the victim was somewhat young, because an older sacrifice would not have been as pleasing to the gods as a younger one. The fact that the temple was burned shows that during the ceremony, an earthquake struck and knocked candles over, making the wooden walls catch alight, the blood from the body was half drained, and so when the body caught fire, half of the bones turned black, and the other half turned white.
Further reading
- Sakellarakis, J. and E. Crete, Archanes ISBN 960-213-234-5 (Guidebook)
- Myers, J. W., Myers, E. E. and Cadogan, G. "Archanes-Anemospilia" The Aerial Atlas of Ancient Crete ISBN 978-0520073821
External links
- http://www.uk.digiserve.com/mentor/minoan/anemospilia.htm