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The Destruction Of Knossos: The Rise And Fall Of Minoan Crete
Few civilizations in the history of the Western world have exercised a more potent fascination than that of the Minoans. When Sir Arthur Evans, following in the footsteps of the literal-minded discoverer of Troy and Mycense, Heinrich Schliemann, first laid bare to the Cretan sun the great halls and courts of the Palace of Knossos, he was not only underlining the importance of mythology but initiating what was virtually a separate of strain of archaeology. Preconceived notions of the development of classical Greece could never be the same with this vital linking between the civilizations of Minoan Crete and mainland Mycenae. And so a pattern, based on the interpretation of the Linear B script and of the superb art and architecture now revealed, and still relying to a great extent on a knowledge of comparative mythology, emerged. Around 1700 B.C. occurred the first destruction of the palaces of Knossos, Phaistos, and Mallia, only to be succeeded by the great age of ancient Crete, contemporary with the slow rise to prosperity of the Mycenaeans. Then came the terrible volcanic explosion of Thera, or modern Santorini, causing widespread damage to the increasingly decadent Minoans and allowing a perfect opportunity for the warlike Mycenaens to gain control of the weakened island. But even this event did not mark the final eclipse--that would not be until the Dorian hordes, precursors of the Iron Age, swept down and engulfed both the Mycenaens and the Minoans. H.E.L. Mellersh, in a vivid combination of history, mythology, and first-hand knowledge of the relevant sites, has set the story on Minoan Crete against a scrupulously delineated historical background, and shown its influence on Greece, Asia Minor, and the eastern Mediterranean. The glorious civilization of Knossos and it tragic death-pangs are conveyed with authenticity and with a fine breadth of vision.
205 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 3, 2021
Meandering and unfocussed look at the Minoan empire from mythic entries to Evan's uncovering of Knossos. Fascinating final chapters covering the Greek dark age from the fall of the bronze age empires to the beginning of the classic period does little to rescue this from confusion.
February 4, 2017
The Destruction of Knossos by HEL Mellersh is primarily interesting as a sociological/anthropological study in changing assumptions and attitudes over the last 50 years.
For example, when praising the Mycenaeans, who conquered the Minoans, as a superior Aryan race, the author characterizes them as "horsey" people.
Horsey people are indisputably a different and recognizable kind of people, now and always throughout the ages. They are self-confident, they do not seek to be over-intelligent but they do seek to be active and forceful and heroic.
Later in defending the Minoans...
One other find of this period shows a man with a dagger...there is therefore no need to impute effeminateness to the Minoan.
Later, explaining why Minoan cultural influence continued after the Mycenaeans took control.
[Mycenaeans] were, it is repeated, a horsey and warlike people. In any age the hunting squire or army general is not likely to have bee a connoisseur of the arts. This is not to say, however, that the squire's or the general's lady would not be interested in fashion...
In explaining the classical Greek period that evolved almost a thousand years later, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is invoked.
And whence came...this power of intellectualism?...In the first place, Greek, like its cousin Latin, is a highly inflected language...
In support of this book, between these social anachronisms, there are many interesting facts and details about the culture around the Aegean Sea during the millennium prior the classical Greek period.
For some interesting details check out: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/0...
For example, when praising the Mycenaeans, who conquered the Minoans, as a superior Aryan race, the author characterizes them as "horsey" people.
Horsey people are indisputably a different and recognizable kind of people, now and always throughout the ages. They are self-confident, they do not seek to be over-intelligent but they do seek to be active and forceful and heroic.
Later in defending the Minoans...
One other find of this period shows a man with a dagger...there is therefore no need to impute effeminateness to the Minoan.
Later, explaining why Minoan cultural influence continued after the Mycenaeans took control.
[Mycenaeans] were, it is repeated, a horsey and warlike people. In any age the hunting squire or army general is not likely to have bee a connoisseur of the arts. This is not to say, however, that the squire's or the general's lady would not be interested in fashion...
In explaining the classical Greek period that evolved almost a thousand years later, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is invoked.
And whence came...this power of intellectualism?...In the first place, Greek, like its cousin Latin, is a highly inflected language...
In support of this book, between these social anachronisms, there are many interesting facts and details about the culture around the Aegean Sea during the millennium prior the classical Greek period.
For some interesting details check out: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/0...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews