The Secret of the Labyrinth is Perfect Order

Below you see the oldest datable representation of the classical labyrinth. It was recovered from the Mycenaean palace of Pylos, which perished 1200 BCE (from Wikipedia).

The Labyrinth is associated with concepts like getting lost, confusion, disorientation. At closer look, however, it is the result of the strict application of simple rules from a well-defined starting point.

By moving your mouse over the ten number fields at the bottom of the image you see how this works.

1. You start with a cross, four corners and four dots. This creates a regular structure with 16 "loose ends". (Stage 1)
2. You connect the top-middle end with the end left to it (if you use the right neighbor, your labyrinth will be mirror-inverted) (Stage 2)
3. One by one you connect the next loose end to the left with the one to the right, until no loose end is left. (Stages 3 to 9)

This labyrinth - the mother of all labyrinths, which can be drawn with straight lines (as in this example) or with rounded lines - has several interesting features. You cannot get lost. There are no wrong turns. It may be confusing, but it leads you safely to the center. It is totally determined. You turn 1x right, 4x left, 6x right, 8x left, 5x right, 2x left, 4x right, 6x left, and you reach the center.

There has been a lot of speculation what this pattern really meant. It has something of a complicted rhythm and can be seen as a dance, or a song.

To me it seems symptomatic for a culture that enjoyed the richness and variation of life and tried to understand the rules and regularities from which it was built.

Thera is the source of the most stunning Minoan images. Thanks to the murderous pumice, which covered the complete island at around 1700BC, everthing that survived the heat was airtight packed and perfectly conserved.

Perhaps the most stunning image from that site is the lady with the dragonfly necklace. She seems to be a goddess, or at least an authority of some kind, because other figures in the same room worship her.

I used this image for the cover of my book, but in order to sense the original beauty I spent some time "restoring" the image. Move your mouse over the image and see the effect.

And then notice the two necklaces - one with dragonflies, the other with ducks of varying colors, the big earrings, the crocus tattoo on her cheek, the transparent multi-colored open blouse with crocus and other motifs, her sophisticated hairdo with pearls along her long braid, her reddened ears (seemingly a particular form of make-up).

[Update Oct 19, 2011] What I started six years ago on this forum, finally has come to completion: I have published my Minoan story as a Kindle e-book:
Pillar Island. A Minoan Novella

For all of you who like historical novels, enjoy!

A Bronze Age Game Board

Deep in the rubble, the excavators of the Minoan palace at Knossos found this large and exquisite game board, made with bronze and ivory inlays, complete with four pawns.

This is another one-off. Nothing comparable has ever been found, nobody has a clue what game was played and what significance it has.

Prompted by a trivia question by swinging Anna I have posted a short note on the Minoan Snake Goddess in the Island Trivia thread.

In that post I mentioned some famous forgeries of Snake Goddesses. Interesting to see that one of those shows up at AW, in the form of maja Nestor's avatar.

This figure found in Palaikastro is another one of those absolutely unique Minoan objects from LM I Crete. Today it is the main object in the local museum.

It is composed of stone and ivory, was partly covered with gold and may have had clothing.

The super-realistic details of muscles, veins and arteries on hands and feet have no parallel at the time of its creation around 1500BC.

(See here for more details)

Golden Bees of Chrysolakkos

The famous bee pendent from Chrysolakkos is a unique object in several ways: It is extremely old (1950 - 1700 BC), perfect in its filigree and granulation technique, and just beautiful. And it sheds a light on the use of honey in that time that we otherwise wouldn't have.

Just compare it to the loads of modern copies of the bee pendent that are offered in tourist shops in Crete today and you will apprechiate the masterly achievement by this ancient goldsmith.

A few days ago I received a response from Dr. Eva Panagiotakopulu. She has published an article in Antiquity '97 on silk production in Thera. One 5 cm moth cocoon found below the ash of the Thera eruption indicates that those people indeed produced silk in 1700BC. Eva confirmed that this is still a valid statement. (There is an interesting post here at AW mentioning this fact from Caileadair Etana)

Verena has almost completed her second novel, which will center around the diskos as well.

And - coincidence - a third author by the name of Torsten Timm has informed me today that he has published a book on the diskos. His thesis: The diskos letters are a beautified version of Linear-A (see here).

Filling a small hole in the tephra layer covering Akrotiri reveiled a beautiful small wooden table. Amazingly neither the style nor the technology resembles anything known up to this point.

All images ©2005/2006 by the author.