In Search of the Labyrinth: The Cultural Legacy of Minoan Crete (New Directions in Classics)

Shortlisted for the European Association of Archaeologies 2023 book prizeIn Search of the Labyrinth explores the enduring cultural legacy of Minoan Crete by offering an overview of Minoan archaeology and modern responses to it in literature, the visual and performing arts, and other cultural practices. The focus is on the twentieth century, and on responses that involve a clear engagement with the material culture of Minoan Crete, not just with mythological narratives in Classical sources, as illustrated by the works of novelists, poets, avant-garde artists, couturiers, musicians, philosophers, architects, film directors, and even psychoanalysts – from Sigmund Freud and Marcel Proust to D.H. Lawrence, Cecil Day-Lewis, Oswald Spengler, Nikos Kazantzakis, Robert Graves, André Gide, Mary Renault, Christa Wolf, Don DeLillo, Rhea Galanaki, Léon Bakst, Marc Chagall, Mariano Fortuny, Robert Wise, Martin Heidegger, Karl Lagerfeld, and Harrison Birtwistle, among many others. The volume also explores the fascination with things Minoan in antiquity and in the present millennium: from Minoan-inspired motifs decorating pottery of the Greek Early Iron Age, to uses of the Minoans in twenty-first-century music, poetry, fashion, and other media. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgements 1 Introduction: Desperately Seeking Ariadne – the Cultural Legacy of Minoan Crete1 2 Sons of Europa: From Medical Remedies for Constipation to Bestiality, Sexually Transmitted Death, and the Dawn of the ‘Minoan Age’ (from Antiquity to the Mid-Nineteenth Century) Ancient responses to Minoan Crete From Arab to Ottoman: Responses to Minoan material culture c. 824–1860, and the dawn of the ‘Minoan Age’ 3 Rediscovering European Origins: Ariadne as the Great Mother Goddess (Mid-Nineteenth Century–First World War) The Schliemann factor From the tomb of Agamemnon to the palace of Minos ‘Little Evans – son of John Evans the Great’ and the road to Knossos45 From the Palace of Minos to the Palace of Ariadne: Κρητική Πολιτεία (Cretan State) (1898–1913) and the Heroic Age of Cretan excavations All aboard! The Minoans in the late Belle Époque Cretomania in the late Belle Époque: The Minoans in modern cultural practices c. 1900–1918 – Neo-Minoans from Crete to Paris and beyond Conclusions: The romance and triumph of Minoan Crete, the decadence of Mycenaean Greece 4 Minoans and the World Wars (c. 1915–49): The Aryan Revenge Crete from the Kritiki Politeia to the Second World War and its aftermath From pan-Minoan Aegean to ‘Minoans go home!’ – the return of the Aryans and the decline and fall of the Minoan Empire Cretomania amidst World and Civil Wars: The Minoans in modern cultural practices c. 1918–1949 – from decadence to hope for the future Conclusions: The Minoans in an age of extremes and catastrophes 5 The Minoans in the Cold War and Swinging Sixties: From the End of the Greek Civil War to the End of the Colonels’ Dictatorship (c. 1949–74) Crete: From civil war to military junta and tourist boom New discoveries: From the decipherment of Linear B to volcanic catastrophes Minoan archaeological-historical narratives in a Cold War and post-colonial world: From culture-historical to processual approaches Cretomania in the Cold War: The Minoans in modern cultural practices c. 1949–1974 – from ‘The mother strikes back’ to the Minoans as Trojans Conclusions: The Minoans in the Cold War and swinging sixties 6 Minoan Paradises Lost and Regained: From Cannibalism to Postmodernism (c. 1975–99) Greece and Crete from the fall of the Junta to the new millennium Crete of the hundred palaces, human sacrifi ce, and cannibalism: Archaeological discoveries on Crete and elsewhere (c. 1975–1999) Minoans in archaeological narratives of the last quarter of the twentieth century: From priest-kings to Buddhism and matriarchal theocracies Cretomania in a postmodern world: The Minoans in modern cultural practices c. 1975–1999 – from New Age Minoans to postmodern critiques of Greek history Conclusions: The Minoans in postmodern times – between paradises lost and regained 7 Minoan Cultural Legacies: Every Age Has the Minoans It Deserves and Desires Every age has the Minoans it deserves and desires Into the new millennium: Minoans inpost-post modern and post-humanist times4 Notes Bibliography Index "In Search of the Labyrinth explores the enduring cultural legacy of Minoan Crete by offering an overview of Minoan archaeology and modern responses to it in literature, the visual and performing arts, and other cultural practices. The focus is on the twentieth century, and on responses that involve a clear engagement with the material culture of Minoan Crete, not just with mythological narratives in Classical sources, as illustrated by the works of novelists, poets, avant-garde artists, couturiers, musicians, philosophers, architects, film directors, and even psychoanalysts - from Sigmund Freud and Marcel Proust to D.H. Lawrence, Cecil Day-Lewis, Oswald Spengler, Nikos Kazantzakis, Robert Graves, André Gide, Mary Renault, Christa Wolf, Don DeLillo, Rhea Galanaki, Léon Bakst, Marc Chagall, Mariano Fortuny, Robert Wise, Martin Heidegger, Karl Lagerfeld, and Harrison Birtwistle, among many others. The volume also explores the fascination with things Minoan in antiquity and in the present millennium: from Minoan-inspired motifs decorating pottery of the Greek Early Iron Age, to uses of the Minoans in twenty-first-century music, poetry, fashion, and other media"-- Provided by publisher Introduction: desperately seeking Ariadne- the cultural legacy of Minoan Crete -- Sons of Europa: from medical remedies for constipation to bestiality, sexually transmitted death, and the dawn of the Minoan Age (from antiquity to mid-19th c.) -- Rediscovering European origins: Ariadne as the Great Mother Goddess (mid-19th century-World War I) -- Minoans and World Wars (c. 1915-1949): the Aryan revenge -- The Minoans in the Cold War, swinging sixties, and natural disasters: from the end of the Greek civil war to the end of the Colonels' dictatorship (c. 1949-1974) -- Minoan paradises lost and regained: from cannibalism to postmodernism (c. 1975-1999) -- Minoan cultural legacies: every age has the Minoans it deserves and desires