Tylissos. 1600 – 1450 BC These two bronze figurines of male worshippers were purchased from a villager in Tylissos in the early 20th century, shortly before Iosif Hatzidakis began his excavations there. They are exceptional examples of Neopalatial bronzework, cast in a mould and preserved almost intact. They represent two men of different ages: a …

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Knossos, “Temple Repositories”. 1600-1500 BC Among the most important exhibits of the Museum are the two famous statuettes known as the “Snake Goddesses”, iconic symbols of the Minoan civilisation and exquisite examples of Minoan miniature sculpture. They belong to a group of objects that includes pieces of six or seven similar figurines, believed to depict …

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Zakros. 1500-1450 BC This stone vessel in the shape of a bull’s head from Zakros is similar to the one from the Little Palace of Knossos. Both vessels are rhyta, ritual vessels used for making libations. The liquid was poured into a hole in the back of the neck and ran out of a hole …

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Hagia Triada, Royal Villa. 1500 – 1450 BC Oxhide copper ingots, also known as “talents”, are standardised rectangular slabs of cast copper, with concave sides and protruding corners, a shape that resembles the stretched hide of an ox. This is how copper was transported as a commodity during the New Palace period, when Crete systematically …

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Palaikastro. 1500 – 1450 BC The flask from Palaikastro is one of the most iconic vases of the Marine Style and a masterpiece of the Minoan potter’s art during the New Palace period, around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. It is decorated with large octopuses which are depicted frontally but appear to be …

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Hagia Triada, Royal Villa. 1500 – 1450 BC The Harvester Vase from the Royal Villa of Hagia Triada in the Mesara is a vessel of black steatite which takes its name from the relief scene on its upper half. The vase was made in three pieces, of which the upper part of the body and …

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Hagia Triada, Royal Villa. 1600-1500 BC Large pithoi, like this example from Hagia Triada, were the main type of storage jar for agricultural produce used by the palatial communities of Minoan Crete. They are usually decorated with relief bands, and have handles under the rim and above the base for ease of transport and to …

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Tylissos. 1500 – 1450 BC This enormous cauldron was found together with other large vessels in a storage space in House A in Tylissos, by a villager digging for construction material from the Minoan building. This find led to the excavation of Tylissos by Iosif Hatzidakis in the early 20th century. The cauldron is made …

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Palace of Knossos. 1600 – 1500 BC This ivory figurine, a masterpiece of Minoan miniature art, represents a male figure executing an acrobatic leap in the air. It is part of the only three-dimensional depiction of bull-leaping from the Palace of Knossos known to date. It was found together with at least two other ivory …

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Palace of Knossos. 1450 – 1400 BC This fresco is the best preserved of at least four paintings depicting the same subject, which were found in the East Wing of the Palace of Knossos and adorned a room on the upper floor. Their theme is bull-leaping, an acrobatic sport involving bulls. Most scholars believe that …

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