Crete-Discover the Unknown Crete

Which deities were
worshipped at the
peak sanctuaries is
still unknown, but
sacred figures -
especially female -
are often
identifiable
engraved on seals
or painted on
pottery and clay
sarcophagi
For the Minoans nature was sacred and
had no need of manipulation. Many plant
symbols appear on their seals and in their
painting: olive trees, fig trees, palms, oaks,
pillars
crowned with
treetops,
flowers, fruit
and scattered
leaves, and
water was
present too:
the waves of
the sea on
which there
sailed the
boats with
their sacrificial
altars.
Many of the
discoveries made relating to these peak
sanctuaries are owed to the French scholar,
and tireless traveller, Paul Faure who, in the
mid twentieth century scoured the
mountains and grottos of Crete on foot in
search of the traces of the civilian and
religious life of the Minoans. Many
archaeologists have used Faure's travel
notes and books as the basis of in-depth
studies of the sites that he indicated.
Figurines in the
shape of bulls were
a symbol of
strength,
independence and
fertility
The reconstruction
of the peak
sanctuary of
Petsofas
includes a fairly
large temenos
built into the
rocks
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