But the great discovery within the area was that of
the Temple Repositories. As the eastern side of the palace gave
evidence of having been the domestic quarter, so the west-central
part showed traces of having had a special religious significance
in the palace life. Religion, indeed, seems to have bulked very
largely in the economy of the House of Minos, which is what might
have been expected when one remembers the closeness of the relations
between Zeus and Minos as depicted in the legends, and realizes
that very probably the Kings of Knossos were Priest-Kings, and
perhaps even incarnations of the Bull-god.
Near the west-central part of the palace the Double Axe sign occurred
very frequently, and other evidences seemed to suggest that somewhere
in this vicinity there must have been a sanctuary of some sort.
This season's explorations confirmed the suggestion, for, near
the Pillar Room at the west side of the Central Court, there were
discovered two large cists, which had been used for the storage of
objects connected with the palace cult. The cist which was first
opened was closely packed, to a depth of 1.10 metres, with vases; and
below these there was a deposit of fragments and complete examples of
faience, including the figures of a Snake Goddess and her votaresses,
votive robes and girdles, cups and vases with painted designs, and
reliefs of cows and calves, wild goats and kids.
Pages:
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126