Minoan female on swing 1500-1450 BCE

February 16, 2020

Minoan female on swing 1500-1450 BCE

"In relating the matter of the Rhegians and Tarentines, however, I digress from the main thread of my history. The Praesians say that when Crete was left desolate, it was populated especially by Greeks, among other peoples. Then, in the third generation after Minos, the events surrounding the Trojan War, in which the Cretans bore themselves as bravely as any in the cause of Menelaus, took place.

After this, when they returned from Troy, they and their flocks and herds were afflicted by famine and pestilence, until Crete was once more left desolate. Then came a third influx of Cretans, and it is they who, with those that were left, now dwell there. It was this that the priestess bade them remember, and so prevented them from aiding the Greeks as they were previously inclined. "

-Herodotus, The Histories: Book 7, Chapter 171.1-2

The "SWING"
Clay model of a female figure swinging on a string between two columns. On the columns are seated birds, the attendants of the goddess, as they appear in epiphany scenes.
This is an image of the descent of the goddess, known from scenes on gold rings.
Crete, Hagia Triada,
LM I A - LM I B, 1500 - 1450 BC
Crete, Iraklion, AMI.