Narrative Cycles on the Hagia Triada Sarcophagus - Wendy Walgate

pieces and parts of a female figurine. These items, which were of Cretan origin, may have beenceremonial or part of the grave goods of the deceased. 5Although the scenes on the HTS do not specifically depict mourning processions orprothesis scenes as on Mycenaean larnakes, the presence of bones in a tomb-like structure withgrave goods suggest that the HTS was an object associated with burial. The imagery on thesurface might therefore reflect natural and supernatural scenes associated with Minoan beliefsabout death. The relatively sophisticated fresco painting technique and use of limestone in theconstruction of the HTS may link it to a wealthier, perhaps prominent level of society. 6Unlike Egyptian sarcophagi, Minoan larnakes usually had a series of holes drilled in thebottom, perhaps to allow bodily fluids to drain off or the tissues to desiccate. While thepainstaking mummification of Egyptian dead suggests a belief in a type of physical resurrectionin their afterlife, Minoan culture is thought to have minimized the importance of the physicalbody. After decomposition, Minoan bones were apparently removed either to one side of thesarcophagus, onto the floor of the tomb itself, or simply accumulated into another larnax whichthen served as ossuary. 7Literal Reading of Direction - Chart 1Since the North and East sides of the HTS were found facing the door of the tombstructure, Long labels the north side the “front”. This face is the one most frequently illustratedin other studies of the HTS. Long’s usage of compass points to name the sides is adopted for thepurpose of this essay, rather than the potentially hierarchical “front” and “back” labels. In thewriter’s view, the use of the “front” as the more “popular” illustration of the HTS reinforces an5 Long, Ayia 14.6 Fragments from stone sarcophagi were found at Kefallenia and Cyprus. Long, Ayia 16.7 Long, Ayia 18.3