Last week I showed you a photo of a Minoan (Cretan) fresco at Tell el-Dab'a. Did you realise that was in Egypt? Let's think about that for a second. Why is it there? Those of us who study Ancient History are aware of Greek cities all around the Mediterranean by the time Rome came along, … Continue reading The unknown Magna Graecia and a problem with archaeology
One of the first things you'll see if you study (or google) the Minoans is the "bull-leaping" fresco. You'll see a guy somersaulting over a charging bull. Pretty neat. And, you would have thought, pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, academics have decided to debate the otherwise rather straightforward explanation and it is this phenomenon I'd like to … Continue reading Minoan bull-leaping—fact or fiction? (And does it really matter?)
That's what most people think of when they hear the name. Good old Theseus slaying the dastardly Minotaur in the labyrinth of Knossos. But how much of this actually squares up with history itself? The people of the Bronze Age who inhabited Knossos are called the Minoans, at least by us. Did they have magical … Continue reading Ariadne, like, that princess in the maze with the Minotaur, right?
Daniel Agnew 