The Cretan vineyard at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion
The vine and the olive are the main edible plants that define the Mediterranean character of a region at the convergence of Europe, Asia and Africa. It is this sea, the Mediterranean, that brings together the fruits of the coastal land; the sea breeze enhances the unique quality and diversity of both the olives and the grapes.
The management of the vine is therefore a key factor in the construction of the ‘Mediterranean’ identity of the cultures that have developed in this maritime area. In Crete, grape seeds found in layers dating back to around 5000 BC (Knossos) show how early man’s relationship with the vine began. However, it is only during the first centuries of the Bronze Age (3100-2700 BC) that the domestication and systematic cultivation of the vine seems to have been achieved.
Thereafter, the economic and social life of the inhabitants of Crete, both in prehistoric and historical times, was inextricably linked to the vine and wine. Archaeological finds, iconographic representations, written and historical sources document the history of viticulture and its place in the agricultural economy and trade. At the same time, they interpret its long-standing relationship with communities, which is based on the benefits of wine, the well-being, euphoria and communion that it offers to all people, regardless of their social status.
Following the thematic tour «Wine Routes» in the permanent collections of the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, we are given the opportunity to focus through the multitude of exceptional exhibits on those that tell the fascinating story of wine, as it was experienced in formal occasions of social life, in the mystery cult of deities and in everyday times of toil and rest.
The grape and the magical transformation of its juice will accompany joy, soothe sorrow and nourish the bonds that unite us hence to the present day.
Stella Chryssoulaki
Thematic Tour
Gallery Ι (Display Cases 5-6)
Wine vessels in Crete during the 3rd mil. BC
A Conical cup (ht 8 cm) and two jugs (ht 33 cm) with long spout and two eye-like discoid attachments, in imitation of raised bird’s head with open beak, with typical mottled decoration (Vasilike Ware). Vasilike, Kephala’s hill, EM building, 2400 – 2300 BC. A typical sample of wine serving and drinking vessels of the period in Eastern Crete.
Wine production takes on a new dynamic in the middle of the 3rd mil. BC, i.e. during the heyday of the Prepalatial civilization of Crete. It is not only the archaeologically documented evidence of the intensive production of wine in the settlements, in special structures, such as the clay wine presses at Myrtos (Fournou Korifi), but also the tableware, the utensils for drinking wine, especially those for wine serving (jugs) and wine drinking (cups), in all settlements, which show a remarkable refinement, with characteristics that are found in all the later Bronze Age centuries.
In particular, the forms of serving vessels, such as the jug with its high neck and open spout, the ‘teapot’ with its elongated horizontal spout, show the advanced sophistication of the serving vessels for the absolute control of the wine pouring process. The various types of cups (handleless, one-handled, conical, ovoid or hemispherical cups, with or without a foot) show a similar morphological development, indicating a variety in the design of drinking vessels. However, even the mottled decoration of the period, the famous ‘Vasiliki ware’, with its cascading red, brown and dark brown motifs, is thought to reflect the hues of the wine spilling over the walls of the vessel. Both the shapes and the colours of these vessels are associated with the now organised banquets (symposia), which would explain the specialised development of wine drinking vessels in the Prepalatial period, during which it is assumed that wine production was one of the most drastic innovations in the development of Cretan culture.
D.S.
Thematic Tour Plan
2. Gallery ΙΙ (Display Case 20)
Miniature models of wine presses from tombs at Apesokari, Mesara
Clay miniature wine press models. Ht 4 cm (left) and 5 cm (right). Apesokari, Tholos Tomb B, 1900-1700 BC.
The clay miniature models of vessels intended for treading grapes reproduce the shape of functional wine presses, which have been found in various Minoan settlements, such as Vathypetro, Malia, Palaikastro and Zakros. The large wine presses were in the shape of a deep cylindrical tub with a large open spout at the base. They were usually accompanied by a second vase in which the contents ended up through the spout. The vessels were used for winemaking, but could also be used to separate the olive oil. The use of the vessels in both production processes is possible, as wine production takes place at a different time of the year from that of the olive oil.
In Tholos Tomb B at Apesokari in Mesara, four small models of wine presses were found, while another similar was found in the neighbouring Tholos Tomb A. The deposition of wine press models in the Mesara tombs may have been related to the identity of the deceased or to the use of wine in rituals that took place on the occasion of burials or commemorative ceremonies and included group drinking.
Γ.Φ.
Thematic tour plan
3. Gallery ΙΙΙ (Display Case 23)
Clay sealings from Phaistos with libation ritual scene
Fragment of a clay sealing with imprints of a Minoan genius holding a jug for use in rituals. L. 6 cm. Phaistos Palace, c. 1700 BC.
Two fragments of clay sealings (ST 697, ST 714) bear religious representations related to wine. They are part of a large group of sealings from the palace of Phaistos, originally made of unfired clay, used to seal knobs tied with ropes so as to secure chests or storeroom doors. It is believed that the sealings, after opening, were kept in a room as evidence of the unsealing operations and therefore control of the contents of the specific storage areas of the palace. The accumulation of the 6,000 broken sealings in Room 25 coincides in chronological terms with the destruction of most part of the old palace around 1700 BC.
The two sealings in question bear impressions that were made with a metal signet ring (ST 697) or a sealstone (ST 714). Both sealing media depicted the Minoan genius, an imaginary hybrid creature imitating the Egyptian Taweret, the patroness of childbirth and fertility in the form of a hippopotamus, moving forth and holding a special vase, the so-called libation jug. This particular subject is very often depicted in Crete, but also on Mycenaean artifacts from mainland Greece, and illustrates the participation of Minoan genii in rituals probably related to wine or water libations.
G.F.
Thematic tour plan
4. Gallery ΙΙΙ (Display Case 35)
Wine for the elites: symposia at the Palace of Phaistos
Jug, vessel stand and krater in Kamares ware. Phaistos Palace, 1750-1700 BC. The vases were possibly used for conspicuous consumption in symposia of the palatial ruling class.
The impressive vessels found in the Phaistos palace are excellent examples of the so-called Kamares ware, a colourful decorative style that characterises palatial ceramic production during the period of the First Palaces. The painted decoration of these vases shows similarities in the motifs (chequerboard, spirals, schematic representation of rocks), probably because the vases are products of the same workshop, perhaps a custom-made ‘dinner set’ for ostentatious use at banquets and ceremonies of the ruling class of the Phaistos community.
Among the vessels, the large krater with the high foot stands out, which can be interpreted as a vessel for mixing and drinking wine in large quantities. The offering of wine to the deity and the group consumption of wine in banquets seem to have been practices that were central to secular and religious rituals in the communities of prehistoric Crete. One can reasonably imagine the euphoria that prevailed at the banquets of the ruling class (and not only) due to the consumption of wine, a feeling that is exacerbated by the visual stimulus of the decoration of the vessels, with spirals in vivid movement and swirling, and the intensity of the polychromy that enlivens the vessels of the Kamares ware.
In this particular case, the stately ‘dinner set’ of the Phaistos palace rivals the vessels used at the same time in Knossos for similar symposium ceremonies. These luxurious vessels best exemplify the demonstration of power of the palatial ruling class and an attempt at cohesion of the local communities through the magnificent banquets, in an era of competition that would lead to the emergence of Knossos as the first power on the island during the next period of the New Palaces.
I.Ν.
Thematic tour plan
5. Gallery ΙV (Display Cases 42 – 43)
Neopalatial period: From the production to the consumption of wine
Clay Marine Style rhyton. Ht. 32 cm. Zakros, Hogarth’s House Α, c. 1500-1450 BC. It was used during rituals for decanting or filtering wine libations through the outlet hole in its narrow base.
Stirrup jar with decoration in the Special Palatial Tradition. Zakros Palace, c. 1500-1450 BC. A popular type of wine-carrying vessel in the Neopalatial period that had two or three handles, a false and a functional spout that was sealed with clay or by attaching a stopper made of cloth, wood or leather.
Clay cup, in the Alternating Style. Archanes, Tourkogeitonia – Palatial Building, c. 1500-1450 BC. They were used during secular banquets for drinking wine.
Clay cup, in the Marine Style. Archanes, Tourkogeitonia – Palatial Building, c. 1500-1450 BC. They were used during secular banquets for drinking wine.
Clay rhyton of the Special Palatial Tradition. Zakros Palace, Building C, c. 1500-1450 BC. It was used during rituals for decanting or filtering libations containing wine through the outlet hole in its narrow base.
In the palatial building complex of Archanes and in the palace of Zakros, at the height of the Minoan civilization during the Late Minoan I period (1600 – 1450 BC), high quality vases in terms of manufacturing technology and decoration are attested. Many of the vessels were used for storing (temporary or long-term), transporting, decanting, offering and drinking wine. The stirrup jar was a popular type of wine-carrying vessel in the Neopalatial period.
It had two or three handles and a false spout, which counteracted the pressure exerted from the inside, making it difficult to eject the stopper during transport. The functional spout was located next to the neck and was sealed with clay or by attaching a stopper made of cloth, wood or leather. In this way it was possible to transport the wine safely during land and sea journeys.
Clay rhyta – conical, ovoid, piriform or cup-rhyta – were also used as libation vessels for decanting or filtering wine libations through the outlet hole in the bottom.
Cups of various shapes – hemispherical, conical, bell-shaped – were used together with jugs and libation rhyta during secular banquets for drinking wine and for performing rituals involving the offering of libations. The probable aim of these socio-religious events was to validate human authority or to reinforce belief in some metaphysical doctrine or entity of the Minoan religion.
P.S.
Thematic tour plan
6. Gallery V (Display Case 52)
Wine in Linear A
The different variants of the AB 131/ VIN(um) logogram, which probably denoted wine and its products, i.e. must and vinegar.
Clay tablet with Linear A inscription recording wine quantities. Hagia Triada, Royal Villa, Room 59, c. 1450 BC.
Wine is one of the most important agricultural products of the Aegean during the Bronze Age. In Crete, the control of its production and storage from the late 18th to mid-15th century BC was carried out by means of clay bureaucratic tokens, such as roundels and sealings, but also by recording it on Linear A tablets along with cereals, olive oil, olives and figs. Although the script has not been deciphered to date, the AB 131/VIN(um) logogram, i.e. the sign that abbreviated wine, has been identified through the corresponding references in the later Linear B script. It is indicative that it is an abstract linear rendering of the vine on supports and probably developed independently in Crete. The study of the relevant references in correlation with the data from Linear B showed that three different variants of the logogram may have denoted wine, must and vinegar. Other signs probably specified the type of wine, i.e. old or new wine and flavoured wine.
Relevant evidence has been found in Knossos, Archanes, Phaistos, Hagia Triada, Zakros, Pyrgos and Chania. In Hagia Triada in the Messara, large quantities of wine are included in the recapitulative tablets compiled in the Royal Villa and in the Casa del Lebete. Since these lists record more than one products and bear a sign indicating origin in the header, they probably document the collection of wine by various wine producers. On the other hand, a Linear A clay tablet from the Minoan settlement of Archanes (P-N 1673) bears the wine logogram and possibly names, so it is plausible that it refers to the distribution of quantities of wine as part of payments to various recipients.
G.F.
Thematic tour plan
7. Gallery VI
Clay wine-making vessels from Eastern Crete
Clay portable vessel (wine press) and clay basin for the collection of must. Agios Georgios (Tourtoulloi). c. 1500-1450 BC.
The production and trade of the famous Malvasia di Candia and modern Cretan wines did not occur suddenly but were the result of the distilled knowledge of several generations of winemakers. The pioneers among them were the Bronze Age winemakers who, through their activities, left indelible marks on the shaping of the Cretan wine landscape.
Stacks of cups testify to group wine drinking and allude to vivid images of Cretan folk festivals, while valuable evidence of the wine cycle comes from pictorial evidence, wine logograms, palaeobotanical remains, storage jars and clay serving and drinking vessels.
For the Neopalatial period, important evidence for the reconstruction of the wine landscape comes from wine presses, fixed or mobile structures associated with winemaking activities.
To date, clay wine-making vessels, in a number of variations, have been found at more than thirty sites in central and mainly eastern Crete, such as at Vathypetro, Tylissos, Gournia, Zakros and elsewhere. The most characteristic of these are the cylindrical tub with a spout at the lower part for crushing the grapes and the vat for collecting the must at a lower level, in various arrangements. With the exception of the case at Phourni Archanes, most of them were found in urban or rural premises. The depiction of a man treading grapes on a Protopalatial seal from Chrysolakkos at Malia is particularly enlightening as to how these wine presses functioned.
However, the crushing of small quantities of grapes by hand should not be ruled out, nor should the use of open-air wine presses, such as those that still survive today around Cretan villages and constitute a special category with a long history and an important presence in Mediterranean cultural wine landscapes.
Κ.Α.
Thematic tour plan
8. Gallery VIII (Display Case 81)
A shipment of wine with special symbolism
Jug with bird decoration and jar with Linear A inscription on the rim, imported from the Cyclades. Knossos, Temple Repositories, 1650-1500 BC. The vases possibly contained offerings to the Central Palace Sanctuary of Knossos, among which a large quantity of wine mentioned in the inscription.
The so-called “Temple Repositories” of the Knossos Palace are two large crypts where objects of ritual use and equipment of the Central Sanctuary were kept after a destruction of the palace around 1600 BC. Among the objects, along with the Snake Goddesses, the artifacts of various precious materials and the many sealings, are about thirty or so vases, mainly large jugs and amphoras, most of local manufacture, but also several imported ones.
Among the latter is an amphora, imported from Naxos or Kea, with a Linear A inscription engraved on the rim, indicating a large quantity of wine, 3369 litres in total. Of course, the quantity indicated does not in any way correspond to the limited capacity of this particular amphora, but rather refers to the total quantity of cargo that arrived in Knossos with this particular shipment. But how can we explain the shipment of this large quantity of wine, undoubtedly of good quality, from the Cyclades to Crete, a wine-producing region in the Aegean since prehistoric times?
At the beginning of the Neopalatial period, Knossos emerges as the most powerful political and economic centre in the southern Aegean, while Minoan culture begins to influence the life and expression of the Cycladic communities in various ways, i.e. the phenomenon of Minoanisation begins. The shipment of the Cycladic vases that arrive in Knossos, and indeed end up being part of a set of objects of particular symbolism for the palatial society of Knossos, can be interpreted as a gesture that eloquently expresses the spirit of the time. The Cycladic people sent offerings to the central sanctuary of Knossos, in acknowledgement of its importance in the Aegean area. In particular, the offering of wine has a special symbolism, as it indicates the active participation of the Cycladic people in Minoan- type ceremonies, which include libations and the consumption of wine in the context of religious beliefs and ritual practices.
I.Ν.
Thematic tour plan
9. Gallery ΙX (Display Case 94)
An amphora from the land of Canaan in Crete
Clay amphora imported from the Syria-Palestine region for its valuable contents, i.e. wine or resins. Ht 61 cm. Kommos, House X, 1375-1300 BC.
This is one of the many clay amphoras that have been found in the important port of Kommos and were kept in House X. The standardised shape of the socalled Canaanite amphoras, with the pointed body ending in a narrow convex base, facilitated the placement of many such vessels in ship holds. This particular amphora is made of clay from southern Canaan and preserves traces of decoration with red-brown bands. It was probably imported for its valuable contents, namely wine or resins from the Syrian-Palestinian region. The excavators argued that the contents of such vessels were decanted into smaller amphoras of local production for transport to the hinterland of Crete. This is one of the many imported vases containing different products, suggesting the function of Kommos as a transit trade centre on the sea route connecting the eastern Mediterranean with mainland Greece during the period from about 1375 to 1200 BC.
G.F.
Thematic tour plan
10. Gallery XII (Display Case 128)
Symposium vessels and inscribed amphora of the Postpalatial period
Model of a beast of burden (donkey?) carrying two narrow-spouted vessels (jugs?). Ht 10 cm. Phaistos, 1100 – 900 BC. One of the possible ways of land transport of wine in the rugged island.
Large krater, with elaborate painted decoration – the typical banquet vessel for mixing wine with water. Ht 32 cm.Phaistos, 1200 – 1100 BC.
Stirrup jar with a Linear B inscription of a male name (wi-na-jo). Ht 40.3 cm. Knossos, 1300 – 1200 BC. A specific category of inscribed trade vessels for the transport of quality wine, bearing the name of its owner or the provenance of the content.
Flask – small portable container for liquids (also for wine?) with small handles along the periphery of the vessel for tying the rope. Ht 24.5 cm. Knossos, 1300 – 1100 BC. A necessary utensil for soldiers, travelers-pilgrims but also for hunters and shepherds.
During the last centuries of the Bronze Age, a number of clay vessels related to wine, and especially to wine-drinking banquets, testify to interesting divergences and changes in drinking habits.
The strange vase (stirrup jar), with its sealed central stem and two small, opposing handles, but also its oblique spout, is said to imitate ergonomically many features of the goat skin flask, which, as mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, was the main vessel for carrying wine. The stirrup jar prevailed for many centuries in the transport of wine, since its characteristics ensured both safe transport and transfer of wine to other vessels. The inscriptions on the shoulders of the stirrup jars in Linear B script – distant ancestors of the labels on today’s wine bottles with information about the place of production and the owner – are an impressive linguistic testimony adding to the special importance of the vessel.
The equestrian figurine (donkey or mare), which depicts a pack animal transporting two vessels with a fairly large mouth and a handle, is not necessarily associated with the transport of wine: it is more likely that the animal carried the relatively large products of a potter, rather than some vessels filled with liquid contents. A similar method was almost certainly used for the land transport and distribution of wine vessels, either the goat skin flasks or their clay substitutes.
D.S.
Thematic tour plan
11. Gallery XXVII
Relief from Knossos with a female figure sitting on a rock
“ …a seated woman holding in her hands grapes and ears of wheat…”
(Minos A. Kalokairinos 1906)
Marble relief with a female figure holding a cornucopia with grapes. Ht 30 cm. Knossos, 1st-2nd cent. AD.
A woman, perhaps a goddess, seated on a rock, in a posture of sadness or resignation. She has been identified with Demeter, who rests on the Agelastos Petra, searching in vain for Persephone. Or perhaps it is Persephone herself or the beloved Roman goddess Tyche. Roman syncretism, the merging of religions in Rome’s global empire, blurs distinctions and identification is not always easy.
In her left hand she holds a horn of Amalthea, the Roman cornucopia, the preeminent symbol of abundance and good fortune. Indirectly, for the Cretans, it refers to the myth of the birth of Cretan Zeus and the goat Amalthea, his foster mother. Of the fruits, the ones that immediately stand out are the bunch of grapes and the ears of wheat. These, together with the olive, make up the Mediterranean Triad, the basis of the food culture of the Aegean world and the Mediterranean coast.
According to the testimony of Minos Kalokairinos, the relief was found in 1878 when he excavated at Kephala in Knossos. However, he did not take it to his home like most of the finds, whose traces were lost in the massacre of 1898. It was kept by the Ottoman owner of the land as a legal fee, as was then the case under Ottoman law. The Heraklion Educational Society bought the relief for the Museum, where it was inventoried under number 15. The identification of the relief a few decades ago was based on this number and Kalokairinos’ reference to the grape and the ears of wheat.
I.G.
Thematic tour plan
12. Gallery XXVII
Marble sculptures of Dionysus
Sculptures of Dionysus, the god of vines and wine, from Knossos (inv. nos 315 & 410, ht 66 cm and 43 cm) and the village of Plora (inv. no 470, ht 40 cm). Roman period, 2nd cent. AD.
Dionysus, a deity added late to the Olympian pantheon, seems to have originated from the religion of the Thracians or, according to others, the Phrygians in Asia Minor. His primary cult identified him mainly as a god of vegetation. Incorporated at least from the 7th century among the most popular gods of Greek cities, he retained in part his connection with Nature, fertility and orgiastic-type cults, from which he came to be recognized as the patron of viticulture, and by implication of wine.
He is often depicted in art in troupes of ecstatic Maenads dancing alongside inebriated satyrs and himself participating in the events, sometimes to excess. In the years of the Roman Empire, his worship beyond the public temples often found a place in the homes of the nobles, through sculptures of various types and sizes. Crete, known for its wine since Hellenistic times, reoriented its economy during the Roman Empire to the needs of the unquenchable thirst of the West. Viticulture expanded and with it supporting activities, such as the manufacture of amphoras for the transport and, of course, the trade of wine.
The three sculptures in the exhibition undoubtedly come from wealthy villas of Knossos (nos 410 and 315) and the wider area of Gortys (no 470), whose owners are presumed to have been wine producers as well as believers in Dionysus.
In the two busts he is depicted with youthful features, beardless, with the typical ivy wreath, and in the bust no 470 with small horns on his forehead suggesting a satyr, the frequent companion of the god. Sculpture no 315, a quality copy of the original bronze sculpture (330-320 BC), attributed to the school of Praxiteles, depicts him as a venerable figure in full-body rendering, leaning on a (now lost) thyrsus. His attribute as divine patron of the theatre seems imminent.
K.S.
Thematic tour plan
13. Gallery XXIII (Display Case 141)
An impressive woman in a great ceremony
La Parisienne Fresco. Knossos palace, 1400-1350/1300 BC.
“La Parisienne” fresco is part of the larger composition known as the “Camp-Stool Fresco” or “Libation Fresco”, in which men and women are represented in a scene of a ritual symposium. This particular fragment was called “La Parisienne” shortly after its discovery because the young woman’s face, with its white skin, bright red lips, large black eyes, well-formed eyebrows and elaborately combed hair, evoked the highly groomed women of early 20th century Paris, then a centre of fashion, beauty and the arts.
The fresco depicts a banquet scene involving male and female figures seated on folding stools holding up communion cups, presumably containing wine. The sacred knot on the back of the so-called “La Parisienne” indicates a priestly office and marks the ritual nature of the banquet. The same hypothesis is also supported by the long garments with oblique bands of the male figures. Similar scenes of liquid offerings are not absent from Minoan iconography, but this particular composition is the most eloquent surviving evidence of the form of this ritual and the central importance of the offering of wine in the sphere of Minoan secular and religious life..
I.N.
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14. Gallery XV
Storage as a symbol of prestige: the Archaic relief pithoi
Storage pithoi from Lyttos (left) and Phaistos (middle and right), 7th cent. BC. These vessels were of large capacity and were used for storage.
Pithoi were large clay vessels used to store and preserve liquid and solid goods. They are an important testimony to the significance of the storage of agricultural and livestock products and the processing of goods. The storage of wine in pithoi has been confirmed by organic remains found in pithoi in Lemnos, Crete, Lefkada, Kea, Santorini, Attica and elsewhere. It has been estimated that the stocks of goods in storage pithoi in the houses of ancient cities, together with the seasonal products produced in each area, provided sufficient subsistence for five adult members throughout the year. This practice is found until the middle of the 20th century in rural areas of the country and Crete.
The great Archaic pithoi (7th – 6th cent. BC) have bands of relief decoration on their bodies and necks. Their themes include fantastic creatures, animals and geometric shapes, and reflect the greatness of the art of the Archaic period. Large decorated pithoi belonged to the category of luxury vases and were symbols of prestige and status for their owners.
D.M.
Thematic tour plan
15. Gallery XVII (Display Case 165)
Bronze figurine of a cup-bearer from the Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Syme Viannou
Bronze figurine of a man holding a wine cup. Ht 12 cm. Syme sanctuary, 8th cent. BC.
The cup-bearer from Syme is part of a group of bronze votive offerings with special characteristics, which reveal the identity of the votaries. The other figurines depict a shield bearer, men with helmets and musicians with instruments, illustrating the nature of the education of the young people of Crete as described by Strabo. The votaries of the figurines were the adolescents of the aristocratic geni (families) who, after completing their education in the agelae, celebrated their passage from adolescence to adulthood in the sanctuary of Syme.
One of the main privileges of the citizens was their participation in the communal meals that took place in the city’s andreia, public buildings where the rulers of the cities resided and were fed. The wine cup was among the gifts presented to the young citizen by the adult who undertook the final stage of his education, which included a two-month stay in the mountains and a period of hunting. On his return to the town he was the guest of honour at a feast organised by his peers, during which he was presented with gifts, the armour, a formal dress, an ox and the wine cup necessary for communal meals.
Μ.Κ.
Thematic tour plan
16. Gallery XVII (Display Case 168)
Poros statuette of a cup-bearer
Statuette of a goddess or worshiper with a ceremonial wine cup from Gortyna. Ht 16.8 cm. Archaic period, c. 650 BC.
Chalice from the Psychro cave/Diktaean cave. Ht 9 cm. Late Minoan II period, 1500-1400 BC.
The headless statuette from the sanctuary in the acropolis of Gortys represents a rare category of microsculpture for Crete. It depicts a standing female figure on a high base with a long chiton, which barely allows the legs to be seen, and a cloak that is unevenly rendered on the two narrow sides. The left hand, rigid, unnaturally elongated with slender fingers, is attached to the body; the curved right hand holds a characteristic footed cup.
Naif carving renders the left breast bare with the nipple in emphatic detail, leaving no doubt as to the sex of the depicted figure. Remnants of red paint in wide, horizontal bands at the bottom of the garments denoted polychromy and correspondingly in thin stripes alluded to the details of the sandals.
The softness of the material, the rigid, long limbs attached to the body, the large and heavy base for stability and the way the pictorial details were rendered, all clearly indicate a way of carving similar to that in wooden sculptures.
Of particular interest is the cup held by the figure, because the shape did not exist at the time of the sculpture’s manufacture, but reproduces a type of the late Minoan period, such as the cup no P2116 in the opposite showcase 174. This conscious imitation of an old and therefore venerable vase went beyond the everyday use of the vessel for drinking wine, assigning it with a sacredness better suited to its ritual use or to the divine status of its user.
K.S.
Thematic tour plan
17. Gallery XVII (Display Case 181)
Wine for war, worship, the banquet. The cup from Kommos
Clay wine cup with incised decoration. Ht 11.4 cm. Sanctuary of Kommos, 650-600 BC.
The cup from Kommos was uncovered in a temple founded in the 8th century BC on the ruins of the great Minoan port. It was broken near a hearth with animal bones and ashes, a typical sacrificial context. Nearby were also found pieces of a bronze shield, perhaps a votive offering of a warrior.
The black-slipped cup is not just a wine cup, it is a symbol of a new way of life. The shape of this particular cup was the most common and favourite shape for drinking wine at the banquets organised by the archaic Cretan poleis (late 7th-5th century BC). In Crete, the drinking of wine, often from the same cup, and the offering of wine to the gods played a central role in sacred rituals and celebrations.
The cup from Kommos encapsulates three sources of power for the Cretans of the 7th century BC: worship, war, and the ritual banquet. Through these, Cretan communities were transformed into powerful states with free citizens equal before the law, who had the obligation and right to drink and eat together with their peers.
The symbolic power of this seemingly humble vase is reinforced by its figurative decoration that relays heroic episodes from the Iliad. The craftsman engraved on the black surface a scene with the largest number of figures ever represented, as known to date, in the approximately 5000 years of ancient ceramic production in Crete.
I.G.
Thematic tour plan
18. Gallery XIX (Display Case 185)
Kraters for wine – vessels for life and death from the Cemetery of Tekes, Knossos
Bell-shaped kraters from the Tekes cemetery at Knossos, 9th cent. BC. These vessels were used for mixing wine with water.
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The ancient Greeks rarely consumed unmixed wine, “akraton oinon”. The mixing of wine with water was done in large wide-mouthed vessels called kraters, and the word comes from the ancient Greek verb κεράννυμι, meaning to mix. The usual mixing ratio was three parts water to one part wine. Hesiod writes in “Works and Days”, 595-6: “From the everflowing spring which pours down unfouled, thrice pour an offering of water, but make a fourth libation of wine”.
Kraters are usually deep-bodied, with a wide mouth, a heavy base and two handles. Clay vessels of this type have been very popular in all ages. In the Early Iron Age, ovoid bell-kraters appear, decorated in bands and friezes. The vases usually bear the standardised geometric decoration of the period, while some are decorated with representations of humans, gods, mythical creatures and animals.
In many cases, these large vases were also used as urns, as is the case with the specific vases from the cemetery at Tekes, Knossos. The cemetery of the Early Iron Age (11th – 8th cent. BC) is located between Agios Ioannis, Knossos and the archaeological site of Knossos, in a formerly rural area known as Tekes and now Ampelokipi. Excavations carried out over the last 100 years have revealed one of the richest Early Iron Age cemeteries in the Aegean world, with a large number of graves.
D.M.
Thematic tour plan
19. Gallery XX
Mosaic with kantharos from Chersonessos
Part of a mosaic with a kantharos. Chersonessos Port, 2nd cent. AD. The kantharos was one of the main vessels for wine in antiquity.
The mosaic was covering the floor of a corridor of a luxurious house leading to the main dining room with a mosaic composition of birds. It depicts a simple design of a calyx-krater from which ivy shoots emerge. It is made of black stone tesserae on a white background and is simply executed, as would befit the work of an apprentice in a workshop. Its theme is pleasant, foreshadowing the visitor to the house for the upcoming wine drinking, as both the ivy and the krater are elements directly associated with the cultivation of the vine and the consumption of wine respectively.
Found in the area of the port of Chersonessos, it is one of the many mosaics found in the region, unique witnesses to the luxurious buildings along the coast. Chersonessos was the port of the city of Lyttos during the Hellenistic period and was one of the few independent cities until the Roman conquest. During the Roman period it was a rich port with intense commercial activity, which undoubtedly included the shipping of the famous Cretan wine to various Mediterranean ports.
Μ.Κ.
Thematic tour plan
20. Gallery XX (Display Case 199)
The Cups of Lyttos
Kantharοi from Lyttos, third quarter of the 3rd cent. BC. Kantharοi, cups with one or two handles, were typical drinking vessels for wine.
Cups, with one or two handles (kantharoi), were typical drinking vessels used at banquets and symbols of Dionysus. Along with the vases with painted figurative decoration, as early as the end of the 6th cent. BC and during the following centuries, black-slipped vases appeared, which were produced in large numbers. The shapes and gloss of the black surface suggest that they imitated metal prototypes. They were, of course, cheaper than decorated vases. From the first half of the 5th cent. BC, these vases often also bear a type of inconspicuous decoration with incised and impressed motifs.
The production, distribution and consumption of drinking vessels in Greece bear witness to the social history of the ancient Greeks. The vases, elaborately designed and imaginatively decorated, must have played a special role in the life of the ancients and in their drinking habits, while their decoration shows the wealth of their owners. These vases come from the destruction layer of ancient Lyttos, one of the most important ancient Cretan cities, on the northern foothills of Mount Dikte (east of Kastelli). The city, a colony of the Lacedaemonians according to tradition, gained power and eventually found itself in conflict with Knossos, which destroyed it in 220-221 BC.
D.M.
Thematic tour plan
21. Gallery XX (Display Case 202)
Cretan wine and Rhodian amphoras
Wine amphora (ht 72.5 cm) and stamped Rhodian amphora handles. Hagia Pelagia, 3rd – 1st cent. BC. Wine was transported throughout the Mediterranean by means of amphoras with a pointed base.
The first reference to Cretan wine in historical times is found in Homer’s Odyssey. Archaeological remains, including ceramic workshops for the production of trade amphoras on the island, date back to the Hellenistic period (3rd – 1st cent. BC). Among these sites are Knossos, Ierapetra, Mochlos, Trypitos, Falassarna and Agios Nikolaos. Most examples of imported amphoras from Crete come from Rhodes. Rhodian amphoras are easily identifiable because they have square or round stamps on their handles with the symbol of the sun or the rose and the names of the eponymous archon and probably the potter. Cretan amphoras, on the other hand, were usually unstamped or marked with a small stamp containing the initials of the potter’s name. An exception to this rule are the stamped handles found in Alexandria with the ethnic name IERAPYTNIOS, a testimony to the importance of the city in the export trade.
In Roman times (1st – 3rd cent. AD), Cretan wine flourished and Cretan amphoras travelled throughout the Roman territory. It was the sweet Cretan wine that could withstand sea travel, unlike the watery one mentioned by Galen, a white odourless wine vulnerable to transport. A possible means of preserving the wine was added boiled sea water or sea salt in small quantities.
Μ.Κ
Thematic tour plan
22. Gallery XXI (Display Case 212)
Evidence for trade
Stamped handles of wine amphoras from: 1. Rhodos (220-180 BC), 2. Thasos (286-274 BC) 3. Knidos (2nd cent. BC). The first two were found in Agia Pelagia (ancient Apollonia) and the third in an unknown location in Crete
Rhodes. Drachme, 190-170 BC.
Thasos. Stater, late 4th c. BC.
Cnidos. Drachme, 350-320 BC.
Viticulture and wine production in Crete in historical times is attested by written texts and archaeological finds. However, it seems that wine was not widely exported before Roman times. Similarly, examples of the numismatic production of Cretan cities are rarely found in extra-Cretan territories. As a result of this lag, the discovery in excavations on the island of amphoras of imported wine as well as coins minted in city-states or kingdoms of the wider Greek world from Macedonia and Thrace to Egypt and from the Ionian Islands to Syria does not surprise us.
Certainly, foreign coins could have reached Crete in other ways, not always peaceful ones (mercenary salaries, piracy, etc.). But the frequent matching of the origin of coins and stamped wine amphoras documents that some silver coinages of Thassos and much more often Rhodes or Knidos are related to the import of wine of good reputation from these regions.
The name of the eponymous archon (chief magistrate), the month of manufacture or a symbol of the place or a combination of such information on the stamps of the amphoras used to transport the wine were a guarantee of its content, quality and time of production, thus constituting in a way a first form of ‘brand label’. Most characteristic is the case of the stamp on the handle of a vase from Rhodes, where next to ‘επί (άρχοντος) Κλεωνύμου’ there is a relief of the head of the god Helios with a radiating diadem, as is also depicted on the contemporary silver drachmas of the island.
K.S.
Thematic tour plan
23. Gallery XXII
Grapes for the dead. The sarcophagus of POLYVOS
Marble sarcophagus with a relief depiction of grapes on a table. Ht 42 cm. L. 60 cm. Heraklion, 2nd cent. AD.
The Heraklion Museum acquired the sarcophagus of Polyvos at the beginning of the 20th century. It was until then used as a trough of an Ottoman fountain outside the gate of St. George.
The representations adorning its sides relate to the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most glorious festival in honour of the goddess Demeter, which focused on the mystery of life and death.
The cilliba, the typical Roman banquet table, is depicted in the foreground. It is set with fruits among which a juicy bunch of grapes stands out. Beneath the table stands hermetically sealed the sacred vessel of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Cista Mystica, with the “holy things” of the goddess that were kept secret.
The curtain that frames the scene, the skeleton looking straight ahead, the piper, a child, a sundial that measures time, make up a dreamy, transcendent scene between life and death. The fruit of the vine on the laid table, fleshy and bloody, creates a counterweight as an eternal symbol of abundance and life.
About two centuries after the burial of POLYBUS in his luxurious sarcophagus, Christianity prevailed as the official religion and the Eleusinian Mysteries were forbidden. At the end of the 4th century AD, the temple of Demeter in Eleusis was destroyed and the last priests were killed. But the vine and the red sweet wine retained their power in the mystic dinners of the early Christians, as a ‘medicine of immortality and a foretaste of the last days’.
I.G.
Thematic tour plan
General supervision Stella Chryssoulaki, General Director of AMH
Editing Irene Nikolakopoulou, Katerina Athanasaki, Deukalion Manidakis (AMH archaeologists)
Text authors Katerina Athanasaki (Κ.Α.), Irini Galli (Ι.G.), Maria Kyrimi (M.K.), Dimitris Mylonas (D.M.), Irene Nikolakopoulou (I.N.), Kleanthis Sidiropoulos (K.S.), Paraskevi Stamataki (P.S.), Dimitris Sfakianakis (D.S.), Georgia Flouda (G.F.) (AMH archaeologists)
Photographs AMH archive (Deukalion Manidakis, Ioannis Patrikianos, Ioannis Velegrakis, Thanos Kartsoglou)
Online tour Deukalion Manidakis (AMH archaeologist)
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