“I think it very likely that an inscription of this importance would have been placed in one of the ceremonial areas. Not in the underground storage rooms or the artisan’s workshops. We won’t have to cover the entire complex—just the central court, the corridors, and the main chambers.”
“But do you not think that strange markings such as these would have been catalogued already if they had been found?” Xenia persisted.
Griffin smiled knowingly. “Ah, but you see that’s the genius of the code. Look closely at these hieroglyphics. They are all common Minoan artistic motifs. The hourglass, spirals, meanders, dots, flowers, birds, fish, and so on. An archaeologist who viewed them would consider them nothing more than decoration. It’s the arrangement of images that provides the meaning.” The scrivener quickly sketched several symbols in succession. “For example, if I draw these symbols in this particular order, I’ve just spelled the word potnia.”
“And that means?” Cassie prompted.
“Potnia is a Greek word which means ‘lady’ or ‘mistress,’” Xenia explained. “In this context, it would mean ‘the goddess’ much as Catholics would use the expression ‘Our Lady’ to speak of the Virgin Mary.”
The pythia studied the composite image Griffin had created. “So, we need to start by looking for this combination of symbols?”
“Actually, you should look for this symbol first.” Griffin drew a picture of a flower. “It’s a lily and the sacred flower of the Minoan goddess. Look at the photograph with three lines of code displayed on it. The top line is written in Linear B and says, ‘To find the Bones of the Mother.’ If you look at either end of the inscription, you will see a lily. I would assume that the lily is the symbol we should associate with that message. It acts like a directional arrow to get our attention. ‘Look here’ is what it seems to say. ‘Pay attention. The symbols that follow will be about the Bones of the Mother.’”
“Got it,” Cassie said. “Find the lily.”
Griffin looked around the table to see if there were any other questions. Tentatively he asked, “Shall we get started?”
The trove keeper stood up, retrieving her keys from her purse. “Come, we will take my car.”
***
Xenia maneuvered her small Citroen through the narrow city streets and out into the countryside. Apparently, Griffin’s ordeal of being seated in a confined space wasn’t over. As if being crumpled in coach wasn’t bad enough, he insisted on folding himself in half so that Cassie could sit in the front seat of the car. It took nearly an hour to reach the site. As they motored down into a valley surrounded by green rolling hills, they were confronted with a sprawling multi-level hodgepodge of exposed stairways, two-story chambers, heaped stones, and reconstructed pillars. After parking the car, they walked up a winding path toward the entrance. The palace had collapsed in many places exposing underground vaults and massive storage urns to the sky.
“This place is enormous!” Cassie exclaimed in dismay.
“Yes, it is,” Griffin agreed, “but not to worry. We aren’t going to search all of it. The palace complex takes up approximately six acres of land and consists of over one thousand interlocking chambers. Parts of the original structure were five stories high. Calling it a palace is really a misnomer since it had a very different function than housing royalty. There are artisans’ workshops and food processing areas that contain grain mills and wine presses. It served as a central storage facility for the region and was very likely the religious and administrative center as well. At its height, Knossos and its surrounding countryside had a population of several thousand people.”
“You know a great deal about the history of this place,” Xenia noted approvingly.
“It’s what he does,” Cassie confided. “He knows everything about everything.”
“Hardly,” Griffin protested. “I’m sure to get at least a few of the details wrong. I’ve only been here once before as a child.”
“I think you are doing a good job. Please continue,” the Greek woman said.
“As you wish,” he conceded. “For Cassie’s benefit, we’ll have a short history lesson first. The site was originally excavated by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900. Like Heinrich Schliemann who was convinced that Troy really existed, Sir Arthur believed the fantastic stories of classical writers. They said that a great civilization had once flourished on the island of Crete. He set about proving it and unearthed the treasures of a culture which was unlike anything else in the ancient world. Even though Greece and Rome owe most of their cultural advancement to what came before in Minoa, it’s still quite distinct.”
“What makes it so different?” Cassie challenged.
“A great many things,” Xenia said. “You will see as we walk along.”
“Let’s talk about where Knossos is situated for a start,” suggested Griffin.
Cassie studied her surroundings in surprise. “It doesn’t look all that different from pictures I’ve seen of other ancient ruins.”
“Location, location, location,” Griffin hinted.
Cassie raised an eyebrow. “It seems like a great location to me. Rolling hills, lots of greenery. A photographer would love this place.”
They were standing in the middle of an area that was called the central court.
“Let’s pause here for a moment,” Griffin suggested. “Try to look at the location from an overlord perspective. Tactically speaking, this location is terrible if you’re trying to fend off an invading army. It’s in a middle of a valley, exposed on all sides. There are no battlements, no fortifications, no moat. Nothing.”
“Then why build here?” Cassie asked perplexed.
“Because the Minoans were not a people in love with war,” Xenia said softly. “They were in love with life. When this location was first chosen, the people who lived here had nothing to fear from invaders. They lived in a peaceful land, and this place was built as a tribute to the goddess they worshipped. Look here.”
She drew Cassie over
