Crete 4: Heraklion Archaeological Museum

 The major museum in Crete.

Liquids poured into the top cup poured through those pipes. No one knows why.

Pan on the left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our guide said he disliked a lot of the names archaeologists created for Minoan objects.  "But I approve of the bee pendant.  It's a bee and it's a pendant."

The famous bull-jumping mural from Knossos.

What expression do you see on this youth's face?

 

This statue was on his tomb.

 

 

 

 

The script of the Minoans, Linear A, has never been translated.  Not enough of it found.  Below is a sample of Linear B, the script which appears to have been created when the Myceneans took over Crete and discovered Linear A.  The story of its translating is fascinating - see the book The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Fox.  Don't expect to find great literature in Linear A or B.  Both were used by accountants keeping records, not poets creating literature.
 

Next Stop: Knossos