“Sir Arthur Evans went to great pains to reconstruct the frescoes, and often he didn’t have much to work with. He had to guess what the originals might have looked like,” Griffin said.
“These are amazing!” Cassie exclaimed as she went from one image to another. The Minoans obviously loved nature. It was evident in the birds, flowers, monkeys, and dolphins. All in brightly-colored motion.
“This doesn’t look like any classical art I’ve ever seen,” the pythia commented. The men in many of the frescoes were depicted wearing loincloths while the women wore dresses with open bodices, exposing their breasts. “These Minoans weren’t shy, were they?”
Xenia laughed. “That is true. They had a very frank attitude about the human body and did not consider it a source of shame.”
“It isn’t merely the mode of dress that distinguishes them from other ancient societies,” Griffin observed. “When one thinks of Babylonian, Egyptian, or even Greek art, the style is angular, geometric, static. Here the style is fluid and graceful. Almost alive.” He paused to contemplate a picture of a blue bird at rest amidst flowers. “The difference in style is also reflected in a difference in subject matter.”
He stood next to Cassie. “Look carefully and tell me what you don’t see in these images. I’ll give you a hint. Think about the typical Greek pottery that you would find in museums. What scenes do they depict?”
Cassie paused to consider. “Usually some warrior stabbing another warrior with a sword.” She recalled Griffin’s earlier comment about the non-defensive location of the palace. The answer came to her more quickly this time. “I’ll go out on a limb and say that Minoan art doesn’t show a lot of violence?”
“No warfare, no struggle, no weapons of any kind,” the scrivener affirmed. “All of the images you see at Knossos speak of the benevolence of nature and of human beings living in harmony with that benevolence.”
“Well, what about this one?” Cassie walked over to a fresco of what looked like a bull fight. “Here’s a man gripping a bull by the horns, while another man is jumping over the bull’s back, and a third man is standing behind. Isn’t that violent?”
Both Xenia and Griffin started laughing simultaneously.
“The man, as you call him, who is gripping the bull’s horns is actually a woman,” the young man said.
“How can you know that? Her chest looks pretty flat.”
“Based on the color of the skin,” Griffin explained. “Like the Egyptians, the Minoans distinguished between the sexes in their artwork by depicting women with white skins and men with reddish brown. We also know that bull-leaping was a sport in which both sexes participated.”
“Then why is she gripping the horns?” Cassie was still mystified. “Is she trying to break the bull’s neck? Did the man who’s positioned over the bull’s back get tossed?”
“Your assumptions show how much you have been influenced by overlord values,” Xenia remarked, still smiling. “The people in the picture are demonstrating their acrobatic skills. When the woman grasps the bull’s horns, he will instinctively lower his head and try to toss her. She will use the momentum to spring over the animal’s back and land behind him. The man depicted above the bull is doing a somersault, and he will alight where the second woman is standing. She may be in position to catch him.”
Cassie was impressed. “Not even an Olympic gymnast would have the nerve to try a stunt like that. It looks incredibly dangerous.”
“No doubt it was,” agreed Griffin. “Bull-leaping was practiced in ancient Anatolia and India long before the Minoans settled here. To this day a variation of it is still performed in the Basque region of France. In terms of a test of courage, it seems much more sporting than bullfighting.”
“That is a hideous blood sport begun in Spain by the Romans.” Xenia’s voice was filled with disgust. “A small army of men on horseback torturing an animal for hours by stabbing him repeatedly until he is weak enough to be dispatched by a matador with a sword. You see the difference in the world view. Bull-leaping shows the unity of human and nature. Bullfighting shows the overlord desire to subdue and destroy nature.”
Griffin tactfully tried to soothe her. “Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that bullfighting is rapidly falling out of favor with the public. It’s even been formally outlawed in many places.”
“The sooner, the better,” Xenia growled. “Come, let us move on. We have more areas to search.”
The trove keeper marched out of the fresco room.
It had just been an impression when she’d first met her, but now Cassie was sure that she didn’t want to be on Xenia’s bad side. It was a good thing no bullfighters were likely to cross her path today. Griffin suggested they give the trove keeper a few minutes head start to allow her to cool down.
After waiting a discrete interval, they caught up with her in a chamber that was called the throne room. When she saw them wander in, Xenia calmly moved on to a new topic. “This is quite incorrectly called the king’s throne room because of that chair.” She pointed to a carved alabaster seat fitted into the wall.
“Sir Arthur based his assumptions on the fact that the chair is centrally located ergo it must be a throne,” Griffin added. “And where you have a throne—"
“You automatically must have a king,” Cassie completed the thought. “If you were raised with overlord values.” She laughed. “Am I catching on?” She turned to Xenia. “What do you think this room was actually used for?”
“It is very likely a room where the high priestess would have conducted rituals. You see the basin there.” She pointed to a huge stone bowl on the floor. “That
