Horns of Consecration

Horns of Consecration

"Horns of Consecration" is an expression coined by Sir Arthur Evans to describe the symbol, ubiquitous in Minoan civilization, that represents the horns of the sacred bull. [Horns of consecration are juxtaposed with bulls in many configurations on Late Minoan IIIA2 "larnakes" illustrated by L. Vance Watrous, "The Origin and Iconography of the Late Minoan Painted Larnax" "Hesperia" 6.3 (July 1991), pp 285-307).] The much-photographed poros limestone horns of consecration on the East Propyleia at Knossos ("illustration, right") are restorations, but horns of consecration in stone or clay were placed on the roofs of buildings in Neopalatial Crete, or on tombs or shrines, probably as signs of sanctity of the structure. [Geraldine C. Gesell, "Town, Palace, and House Cult in Minoan Crete" (SIMA, Göthenburg) 1985, p. 62.] The symbol also appears on Minoan seals, [An example is the seal illustrated by Evans, "The Palace of Knossos", "BSA" 7 (1900/01), fig. 9 and as fig. 1 in Karl Kerenyi, "Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life" (Princeton) 1976, and by Joseph Campbell, "Occidental Mythology: The Masks of God" (1964) 1970, fig. 12..] often accompanied by double axes and bucrania, which are part of the iconography of Minoan bull sacrifice. Horns of consecration are among the cultic images painted on the Minoan coffins called "larnakes", sometimes in isolation; they may have flowers between the horns, or the labrys. [Watrous 1991, "passim".]

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Aegean civilizations — The Bronze Age civilizations that arose and flourished с 3000–1000 BC in the region bordering the Aegean Sea. They included Crete, the Cyclades, the Greek mainland south from Thessaly, including the Peloponnese, and Macedonia, Thrace, and western …   Universalium

  • Minoan civilization — Map of Minoan Crete History of Greece …   Wikipedia

  • Minoan religion — Snake Goddess or a priestess performing a ritual The religion of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization was a type of polytheism within the larger group of religions of the Ancient Near East. As a prehistoric religion, interpretation of possible cult …   Wikipedia

  • art and architecture, Anatolian — Introduction       the art and architecture of ancient Anatolian civilizations.       Anatolia is the name that is currently applied to the whole Asian territory of modern Turkey. Its western half is a broad peninsula connecting the continent of… …   Universalium

  • Kamilari — is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan cemetery.GeographyThe Minoan tholos tomb is on a low hill 1.9 kilometers southwest of Hagia Triada.ArchaeologyEast of the tomb were five rooms, probably added during Middle Minoan IIIA, and an area… …   Wikipedia

  • Armeni (archaeological site) — Armeni is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan cemetery on Crete.GeographyThe cemetery is eight kilometers south of the modern town of Rethymnon.ArchaeologyArmeni has been under excavation since 1969 by Yiannis Tzedakis. Over 200 chamber… …   Wikipedia

  • Archanes — (Αρχάνες, also Arkhanes, Arhanes, Godart Olivier abbreviation: ARKH) is a municipality in the Heraklion Prefecture, Crete, Greece. Population 4,548 (2001). It is also the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan settlement in central Crete. [J.… …   Wikipedia

  • bull cult —       prehistoric religious practice that originated in the eastern Aegean Sea and extended from the Indus Valley of Pakistan to the Danube River in eastern Europe. The bull god s symbol was the phallus, and in the east the bull often was… …   Universalium

  • Посвятительные рога —     (англ. horns of consecration, нем. Kulthörner), или «рога посвящения», религиозный символ минойцев, в основе которого лежат бычьи рога (рис. 127). Часто венчают стены и гробницы в Кноссе и других местах.          Рис. 127. «Посвятительные… …   Археологический словарь

  • ALTAR — (Heb. מִזְבֵּח, mizbe aḥ, derived from the root zbḥ (זבח), meaning to slaughter (as a sacrifice) ), originally the place where sacrificial slaughter was performed (e.g., the sacrifice of Isaac in Gen. 22). According to biblical law however,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”