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Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe (Illustrated)
PREFACE
This volume deals with the myths and legends connected with the ancient civilization of Crete, and also with the rise and growth of the civilization itself, while consideration is given to various fascinating and important problems that arise in the course of investigating pre-Hellenic habits of thought and habits of life, which are found to have exercised a marked influence in the early history of Europe. In the first two chapters the story of European civilization is carried back to remote Palæolithic times, the view having been urged, notably by Mosso, that a connection existed between the civilization of the artistic cave-dwellers in France and Spain, and that of the Island of Minos. It is shown that these civilizations were not, however, contemporary, but separated by thousands of years, and that in accounting for close resemblances the modern dogma of independent evolution is put to a severe test. The data summarized in the Introduction emphasize the need for caution in attempting to solve a complex problem by the application of a hypothesis which may account for some resemblances but fails to explain away the marked differences that existed even between contemporary civilizations of the Neolithic, Copper, and Bronze Ages.
To enable the reader to become familiar with the geological, ethnological, and archæological evidence regarding the earliest traces and progressive activities of man in Europe, who laid the foundations of subsequent civilizations, a popular narrative is given in the first chapter, the scientific data being cast in the form of a legend following the manner of Hesiod's account of the Mythical Ages of the World in the Work and Days, and of that of the Indian sage Markandeya's story of the "Yugas" in the Máhabhárata, and of Tuan MacCarell's narrative of his experiences in the various Irish Ages. Footnotes provide the necessary references.
Consideration is also given, in dealing with Cretan origins, to Schliemann's hypothesis regarding the "Lost Atlantis", and the connection he believed existed between the Mexican, early European, and Nilotic civilizations. It is brought out that the historical elements in Plato's legend are susceptible of a different explanation.
Cretan civilization has not yet been rendered articulate, for its script remains a mystery, but of late years a flood of light has been thrown upon it by the archæologists, among whom Sir Arthur Evans is pre-eminent. We can examine the remains of the palace of Minos; tread the footworn stones of the streets of little towns; examine pottery and frame a history of it; gaze on frescoes depicting scenes of everyday life in ancient Crete, on seal engravings which show us what manner of ships were built and navigated by mariners who ruled the Mediterranean Sea long before the Phœnician period, what deities were worshipped and what ceremonies were performed; we can study a painted sarcophagus which throws light on funerary customs and conceptions of the Otherworld, and stone vases which afford glimpses of boxers, bull-baiters, soldiers, and processions; and we can also examine the jewellery, weapons, and implements of the ancient folk. With the aid of these and other data we are enabled to reconstruct in outline the island civilization and study its growth over a period embraced by many centuries. It has even been found possible to arrange a system of Cretan chronology) approximate dates being fixed with the aid of artifacts, evidently imported from Egypt, and of Cretan artifacts found in the Nilotic area and elsewhere. The idea of the "Hellenic miracle" no longer obtains. It is undoubted that Crete was the forerunner of Greece, and that the Hellenes owed a debt to Cretan civilization the importance of which was not realized even by the native historians of ancient Greece.
This volume deals with the myths and legends connected with the ancient civilization of Crete, and also with the rise and growth of the civilization itself, while consideration is given to various fascinating and important problems that arise in the course of investigating pre-Hellenic habits of thought and habits of life, which are found to have exercised a marked influence in the early history of Europe. In the first two chapters the story of European civilization is carried back to remote Palæolithic times, the view having been urged, notably by Mosso, that a connection existed between the civilization of the artistic cave-dwellers in France and Spain, and that of the Island of Minos. It is shown that these civilizations were not, however, contemporary, but separated by thousands of years, and that in accounting for close resemblances the modern dogma of independent evolution is put to a severe test. The data summarized in the Introduction emphasize the need for caution in attempting to solve a complex problem by the application of a hypothesis which may account for some resemblances but fails to explain away the marked differences that existed even between contemporary civilizations of the Neolithic, Copper, and Bronze Ages.
To enable the reader to become familiar with the geological, ethnological, and archæological evidence regarding the earliest traces and progressive activities of man in Europe, who laid the foundations of subsequent civilizations, a popular narrative is given in the first chapter, the scientific data being cast in the form of a legend following the manner of Hesiod's account of the Mythical Ages of the World in the Work and Days, and of that of the Indian sage Markandeya's story of the "Yugas" in the Máhabhárata, and of Tuan MacCarell's narrative of his experiences in the various Irish Ages. Footnotes provide the necessary references.
Consideration is also given, in dealing with Cretan origins, to Schliemann's hypothesis regarding the "Lost Atlantis", and the connection he believed existed between the Mexican, early European, and Nilotic civilizations. It is brought out that the historical elements in Plato's legend are susceptible of a different explanation.
Cretan civilization has not yet been rendered articulate, for its script remains a mystery, but of late years a flood of light has been thrown upon it by the archæologists, among whom Sir Arthur Evans is pre-eminent. We can examine the remains of the palace of Minos; tread the footworn stones of the streets of little towns; examine pottery and frame a history of it; gaze on frescoes depicting scenes of everyday life in ancient Crete, on seal engravings which show us what manner of ships were built and navigated by mariners who ruled the Mediterranean Sea long before the Phœnician period, what deities were worshipped and what ceremonies were performed; we can study a painted sarcophagus which throws light on funerary customs and conceptions of the Otherworld, and stone vases which afford glimpses of boxers, bull-baiters, soldiers, and processions; and we can also examine the jewellery, weapons, and implements of the ancient folk. With the aid of these and other data we are enabled to reconstruct in outline the island civilization and study its growth over a period embraced by many centuries. It has even been found possible to arrange a system of Cretan chronology) approximate dates being fixed with the aid of artifacts, evidently imported from Egypt, and of Cretan artifacts found in the Nilotic area and elsewhere. The idea of the "Hellenic miracle" no longer obtains. It is undoubted that Crete was the forerunner of Greece, and that the Hellenes owed a debt to Cretan civilization the importance of which was not realized even by the native historians of ancient Greece.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1917
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About the author
Donald A. Mackenzie
128 books13 followersDonald Alexander Mackenzie was a Scottish journalist and folklorist and a prolific writer on religion, mythology and anthropology in the early 20th century.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 28, 2024
An absolutely worthless book - I do not think I have seen a book which will be picked up solely for its title and which fails to deliver upon that which its title promises so hard.
Although this book is called "Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe", it is actually about just about anything but that: it is about paleolithic and neolithic migrations, it is about the story of Schliemann finding Troy and the Mycenaean palaces and Sir Arthur Evans rediscovering the Minoan civilization, it is about British folklore very occasionally and even more rarely certain Grecian myths tied with goddesses like Demeter and Rhea, it is about the trade relations between Knossos and bronze age Troy: In short, if you were looking for some amusingly outdated scholarship into what Minoan religion and mythology was like - the title is bold, for the one thing everyone knows about the Minoans is that we don't know their myths, gods, etc, Linear A remains undeciphered to this day - then you are sure to not get it here, let alone if you were looking for something actually good.
What actually is here, though, is unfortunately also worthless, which is where the very harsh rating comes from, along with a stern warning for anyone wishing to pick this book up: the scholarship here is a bunch of outdated thoughts and opinions based on racialist diffusionism, a theory no longer upheld by anyone. We here take Herodotus at his full word when he says everything came from Egypt, and of course we have the classic Victorian, early 20th century view of race wars and migrations of bloodthirsty barbarians from the north being the main movers of change.
Needless to say, this book is beyond outdated in what it actually talks about: a lay person reading it will only be more confused about the actual facts rather than informed, and someone who is up to par with these things will gain absolutely nothing except maybe some amusement at Mackenzie's confidence in stating absolute nonsense about migrations from Minoan Crete to Britain and the mind of "savages".
It is in the field of religion that this book actually hits its lowest: the same outdated, beyond tired even when this book was written take that previous, pre-Indo-European peoples were monotheistic matriarchal goddess worshippers, that this goddess was fickle and promiscuous (a "wanton" like Ishtar, as Mackenzie puts it) and that later boogies like the Lamia, the Cailleach, etc are all remnants of this early, terrible goddess to whom child sacrifices had to be paid for, the same bullshit that Robert Graves tries to sell you on and which has been shown as incorrect by actual scholars moving forward time and time again, since as early as the 20s with M.P. Nilsson even.
Overall, I picked this up because I wanted a giggle out of outdated mythology - I was disappointed. If you want a book on Minoan myth and religion, or an overview of finds, you will be even more so, serious student or lay person. There is no reason for anyone to pick this book up, unless you are just really into old timey racialist diffusionist theories.
Although this book is called "Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe", it is actually about just about anything but that: it is about paleolithic and neolithic migrations, it is about the story of Schliemann finding Troy and the Mycenaean palaces and Sir Arthur Evans rediscovering the Minoan civilization, it is about British folklore very occasionally and even more rarely certain Grecian myths tied with goddesses like Demeter and Rhea, it is about the trade relations between Knossos and bronze age Troy: In short, if you were looking for some amusingly outdated scholarship into what Minoan religion and mythology was like - the title is bold, for the one thing everyone knows about the Minoans is that we don't know their myths, gods, etc, Linear A remains undeciphered to this day - then you are sure to not get it here, let alone if you were looking for something actually good.
What actually is here, though, is unfortunately also worthless, which is where the very harsh rating comes from, along with a stern warning for anyone wishing to pick this book up: the scholarship here is a bunch of outdated thoughts and opinions based on racialist diffusionism, a theory no longer upheld by anyone. We here take Herodotus at his full word when he says everything came from Egypt, and of course we have the classic Victorian, early 20th century view of race wars and migrations of bloodthirsty barbarians from the north being the main movers of change.
Needless to say, this book is beyond outdated in what it actually talks about: a lay person reading it will only be more confused about the actual facts rather than informed, and someone who is up to par with these things will gain absolutely nothing except maybe some amusement at Mackenzie's confidence in stating absolute nonsense about migrations from Minoan Crete to Britain and the mind of "savages".
It is in the field of religion that this book actually hits its lowest: the same outdated, beyond tired even when this book was written take that previous, pre-Indo-European peoples were monotheistic matriarchal goddess worshippers, that this goddess was fickle and promiscuous (a "wanton" like Ishtar, as Mackenzie puts it) and that later boogies like the Lamia, the Cailleach, etc are all remnants of this early, terrible goddess to whom child sacrifices had to be paid for, the same bullshit that Robert Graves tries to sell you on and which has been shown as incorrect by actual scholars moving forward time and time again, since as early as the 20s with M.P. Nilsson even.
Overall, I picked this up because I wanted a giggle out of outdated mythology - I was disappointed. If you want a book on Minoan myth and religion, or an overview of finds, you will be even more so, serious student or lay person. There is no reason for anyone to pick this book up, unless you are just really into old timey racialist diffusionist theories.
April 29, 2020
I have the most gorgeous edition of this book in hardback, gifted to me by my sister. The contents make for a generally good read but the book doesn't focus on Crete nearly as much as it perhaps should. Large paragraphs are dedicated to drawing comparisons with British and Scottish folklore, which while interesting, belies a desire for the author to more strongly link the Minoan civilisation to early British civilisation. Repetition is the book's other downfall. The explorations regarding Crete are insightful though, particularly links with Troy. The book, being pre 1920 even, refers to 'savages' once or twice but hey, it's a product of its time I guess.
March 1, 2020
The bits about actual Crete, they discovery of Troy/Knossos and origins of ancient Greek culture are fascinating - but the casual racism of native peoples is so disrespectful with a modern ethos. I'm trying to judge as a product of its time (early 1900s).
September 14, 2023
This was a good book but a bit dry and avademic less info on their versions of the deities and more on the context of pre hellenic crete
November 12, 2015
Despite the fact that Crete is featured prominently in the title of this work, it is, at best, only tangentially mentioned in the text. What's there is insightful, but you really have to dig to find it.
Moreover, there seems to be no specific thesis for this work. It spans topics ranging from burial rituals to architecture to artwork to mythology, and from the Egyptians to Babylonians to the Norse to the English.
Further, the digital version of this book has some truly dreadful formatting issues, including entire missing pages of text.
Moreover, there seems to be no specific thesis for this work. It spans topics ranging from burial rituals to architecture to artwork to mythology, and from the Egyptians to Babylonians to the Norse to the English.
Further, the digital version of this book has some truly dreadful formatting issues, including entire missing pages of text.
May 26, 2014
Read it when I was in primary school
So obsessed with Greek mythologies
So obsessed with Greek mythologies
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews