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Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine

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Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine

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Overview

Ancient Minoan culture has been typically viewed as an ancestor of classical Greek civilization, but this book shows that Minoan Crete was on the periphery of a powerfully dynamic cultural interchange with its neighbors. Rather than viewing Crete as the autochthonous ancestor of Greece's glory, Nanno Marinatos considers ancient Crete in the context of its powerful competitors to the east and south.

Analyzing the symbols of the Minoan theocratic system and their similarities to those of Syria, Anatolia, and Egypt, Marinatos unlocks many Minoan visual riddles and establishes what she calls a "cultural koine," or standard set of cultural assumptions, that circulated throughout the Near East and the eastern Mediterranean at the time Minoan civilization reached its peak. With more than one hundred and fifty illustrations, Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess delivers a comprehensive reading of Minoan art as a system of thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252033926
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	05/13/2010
Edition description:	1st Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Nanno Marinatos is a professor of classics at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Preface ix

1 Introduction 1

2 The King and Queen in Art 12

3 The King and Queen as High Priests 32

4 Thrones of Gods-Thrones of Kings 50

5 The House of God 66

6 Who Sees the Gods Face to Face? 78

7 Minoan Prophecy and Royal Power 86

8 The Cosmic Mountain as a Frontier 103

9 The Double Axe, the Ankh, and the Ox Head 114

10 The Rosette, Half-Rosette, and "Incurved Altar" 131

11 Minoan Afterlife Beliefs 140

12 The Solar Goddess of Kingship 151

13 The Storm God 167

14 Translating the Gods of the Religious Koine 186

15 Conclusions: A Tribute to Sir Arthur Evans 193

Notes 197

Bibliography 225

Figures and Credits 247

Index 255

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Editorial Reviews

"An exhilarating book, breezily written with a hands-on approach to the material."—Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections

"A well-written and richly informed work, which forcefully reasserts the validity of the ways eminent scholars, going back to the early work of Sir Arthur Evans more than a century ago, thought. In many ways it is a tour de force of scholarship, embodying new insights and illuminating points of detail."—Times Literary Supplement, Colin Renfrew

"A multifaceted, innovative work that freshly interprets many aspects of the Minoan religious symbol system. Without a doubt, this book will stimulate extensive scholarly discussion."—Thomas Staubli, coauthor of Body Symbolism in the Bible

"A radical and provocative view of Minoan art, religion, and society. Marinatos provides new readings of numerous Minoan artifacts, offering solutions to many puzzles and placing the imagery within a semantic system of sacral kingship and cosmology."—Kenneth D. S. Lapatin, author of Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History

From the Publisher

Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine

Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine

Hardcover(1st Edition)

Hardcover(1st Edition)

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Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

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Customer Reviews