DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16205#0019
M1N0ANS AND MYCENAEANS
A T the cost of repetition, it has seemed advisable to outline the excavation evidence before
/\ venturing a possible interpretation of its main features in terms of Cretan vicissitudes, and
/ \ embarking on the yet more perilous attempt to discover the racial and other connections
JL X. that existed between Crete and the islands and coasts of the Aegean in prehistoric times.
The following statements are made for the purpose of laying before the reader a working hypothesis.
The changes that have been noted in art probably reflect political changes at which one may be
allowed to guess. Crete in the early Bronze Age seems to have had many centres developing inde-
pendently. Dr. Evans considers that the entire prehistoric civilization of Crete
REVIEW: THE between the Neolithic epoch and Greek colonization in the Geometric period pre-
MINOAN STATE sentsthe idea of a state centralized and dynastic,1 but I can find no proof of this in
the first and last stages. There is no evidence of a preponderating Knossian
influence throughout the island in the days when the exquisite seals of the "tholos" at Aghia Triadha
were engraved and the brilliantly mottled pottery of Vasiliki was fashioned, superior to any ware of
equal age that has yet been found in the Aegean. Each district created for itself, instead of there being
a common style and even a close interchange of products as in later times. But when the substantial
earlier palaces of Phaestos and Knossos were erected, these places must already have been pre-eminent.
Neither tradition, discovery, nor probability leads one to suppose that many such wealthy capitals co-
existed in the island. The first palace at Knossos was destroyed at the close of the Second Middle Minoan
Period;2 the first palace at Phaestos continued in use much later, for "certain vases which at Knossos
characterize the stratum of the first period of the second palace, at Phaestos are found, on the contrary,
buried beneath the original pavement of the later palace. Therefore, the construction of this palace
seems less ancient than the construction of the second Knossian palace."3 Can this mean that of two
rival dynasties, that of Phaestos gained the upper hand, established itself at Knossos and there built
the second palace? Class A of Linear Script, which appears at Knossos in this early stratum of the
second palace (M. M. 111 L. M. I.) is the one used at Aghia Triadha, Gournia, and Palaikastro.4 This
seems to indicate a close and probably friendly connection between the dynasty that employed this
script and the country towns. Throughout the Middle Minoan Period and the First Late Minoan,
Crete remained sufficient unto itself politically, importing and exporting at will,5 but free from foreign
entanglements, like Athens of the sixth and early fifth centuries, before the dream of overlordship en-
tered into the state. It was an era of centralization without expansion.
1 "On qualifie ici de minoen le cours entier de la grande Civilisation prehistorique de la Crete—donnant I'idde d'un
e"tat centralise et dynastique—entre la Culture Neolithique et la Colonisation grecque de 1'Epoque Ge"ometrique." Sys-
teme de Classification des Epoques successives de la Civilisation Minoenne. Supra, p. 2, note 29.
2 Evans, B. S. A., XI, 1904-5, p. 16.
3 Pernier, Mon., Ant., XIV, 1904, p. 460 ff.
4 Supra, p. 4, note 51.
5 During the 1st Late Minoan period, there was close connection between Crete and^Melos. The Flying-fish fresco
in the 2d City at Phylakopi is in the Knossian style of painting (Evans, B. S. A., IX, 1902-3, p. 51: Mackenzie, Phylakopi,
p. 261). The 'bird jugs'in the Temple Repositories of Knossos were imported from Melos (Evans, lot. lit., p. 50, fig. 26).
Minoan linear characters—in one case, even.it would appear a Minoan personal name—are incised on the contemporary
Melian ware (Evans, loc cit., p. 51). For other evidence, see Mackenzie, loc. cii.
" The Later Palace at Phaestos has been described at length by Dr. Luigi Pernier in two noteworthy articles {Mon.
Ant. XII, 1902, and XIV, 1904) with plans and a series of remarkably fine plates which are reproductions of Dr. Pernier's
own photographs. No other pre-Hellenic palace is so imposing to-day as that of Phaestos. Cf. Mackenzie's two articles on
Cretan Palaces and the Aegean Civilisation, B. S. A. XI, 1904-5, pp. 181-223, XII, 1905-6, pp. 216-258 and Dorpfeld's
Kretische, mykenische und homerische Palaste, Atb. Mitt. XXX, 1905, p. 257 ff. Dorpfeld's Plate X is an attempt to define
the earlier and later elements in the palace at Phaestos.
' Supra, end of note 56, p. 4.
8 The three most important discussions of this subject which have appeared are Noack's Homerische Palaste, 1903,
Dorpfeld's Kretische, mykenische u. homerische Palaste, Ath. Mitt. XXX, 1905, p. 257 ff. PI. X.Mackenzie's Cretan Palaces
I. B. S. A. XI, 1904-5, p. 181 ff., Pis. V-VII, and Cretan Palaces II, B. S. A. XII, 1905-6 p. 216 ff. Dr. Mackenzie's
articles have the special value of being the work of a veteran Cretan excavator, and his accuracy of observation is proverbial.
In the writer's opinion, there can be little doubt that his chief contentions are correct; namely, that the Later Palaces at
Phaestos and Knossos are as characteristically Cretan or Minoan as the Earlier, and that the 'Mycenaean' megara are not
essentially different from the Cretan. The writer would wish to revisit Phaestos, however, before accepting finally his
interpretation of the apartments at the head of the Grand Stairway, for his " light-well," 69' (B. S. A. XI, p. 188 ff.),
stems to be unduly large for its function and in comparison with other known light-wells, and it appears to sin against
architectural unity by forming an anti-climax to the "State-entrance." Possibly it may have been like the Central Hall
at Gournia, an atrium, something like the atrium Tuscanicum of Vitruvius (VI, iii, 1), partly open, partly covered,
transverse beams supporting the roof or galleries (injra, p. 26). In his second article, Dr. Mackenzie discusses many prob-
lems, not architectural, and gives sanction to several opinions expressed in the chapter of which this note forms a part,
but the article was received too late to help form the writer's views—the Annual dated 1905-6 appeared in 1907—and
they therefore stand entirely independent of this valuable contribution to our science. This is true also in respect of
new books by Professor Burrows, The Discoveries in Crete, and Professor Mosso, The Palaces oj Crete and their Builders.
9 Evans, B. S. A., IX, 1902-3, p. 53.
lu The writer prefers this reading of the word svvli.ipo^ (iv intensive, ^/vs-fresh, strong, wpa season), Ameis, Anhang,
Od. x 19, and t 179, to the one followed by Butcher and Lang. See translation at the head of this chapter.
11 Evans, B. S. A., XI, 1904-5, p. 14.
Another swing of the pendulum introduced the Palace Period, and brought Cretan civilization
to full maturity. The royal residence at Knossos, having suffered considerable damage from fire,
was remodelled on more splendid lines with gorgeous decorations, and the Later Palace at Phaestos
was constructed also in a grandiose style, partly out of what remained of the old, partly afresh on a
higher level.8 At about the time that these changes took place, Gournia, Zakro, and Palaikastro were
devastated and remained unoccupied until after the fall of Knossos.7 Class A of the Linear Script
fell into disuse; Class B, the system in which the royal records of the Palace Period are inscribed, has
not yet been found in the provincial towns of Crete. These facts point to the complete triumph of a
Knossian dynasty, hostile to the smaller communities. There is too much continuity in architecture,8
ceramics, and other arts, too close a connection between Classes A and B of the Linear Script" for one
to imagine that this dynasty introduced a foreign civilization; but it may have received foreign assist-
ance in gaining the mastery, and may even have been of foreign origin for a change of rulers alone has
little effect on the culture of any land, especially if the new rulers are not endowed with a higher civiliza-
tion than the old. This new dynasty is represented in legend by the person of King Minos, who over-
came his brothers Sarpedon and Rhadamanthus in competition for the sovereignty. He seems to have
established a strong central government and a sea power that put down piracy and enlarged the sphere
of Cretan influence, until it embraced the Cyclades and the shores of Greece. His ambitious course in-
vited attack from within and without and led ultimately to the downfall of the monarchy. The era of
centralization ended. Crete disintegrated and became the land of ninety or one hundred cities which
Homer knew. "Among these cities," says Odysseus, "is the mighty city Knossos wherein stalwart
Minos ruled."1" Such words apply rather to a city whose precedence depends on past grandeur than to
a seat of present authority. Palaces and villas were broken up into smaller dwellings, even the Royal
Tomb at Isopata, between Knossos and the sea, became a common sepulchre;11 thesmaller Minoan towns
revived for a time in the Third Late Minoan Period,12 but were finally abandoned for upland sites less
exposed to the descents of sea-rovers. The light of Europe's first torch-bearer was extinguished.15
We turn now to questions which are of vital importance to students of Western culture. Who
were the creators of Minoan civilization? In what relation did they stand to the Mycenaeans? Are we
able to discover any influence of their culture on contemporary Europe, and any reaction of Europe
upon Crete? Can we detect in classical Greece any survival of Minoan achievement, or was that achieve-
ment utterly effaced at the close of the Bronze Age?
12 The Reoccupation phenomena at Gournia differ from those at Knossos, for the Gournia houses which were inhab-
ited in the 3d Late Minoan period are well constructed and their contents, although in artistic merit far inferior to the
earlier finds, bespeak as great prosperity as prevailed in the Town Period (L. M. [.). For these reasons I have thought
that the reoccupation of the provincial sites signified a temporary improvement in rural conditions.
13 Probably many of the coast-dwelling Cretans were driven abroad. "A remnant of the country of Caphtor"
settled in Palestine and became known as Philistines (Jeremiah XLVII, 4). The identification of Caphtor with Crete,
although not fully established (W. M. Miiller, Egyptological Researches, p. 16), is extremely probable. "This was cer-
tainly the Jewish tradition; David's Philistine body guard were called Kereihim, which is translated Kpf(Ts: in two pas-
sages of the LXX,Zeph. 11, 5 and Ez. XXV, 16" (Hall, Oldest Civilisation oj Greece, p. 135). Philistines as represented
on Egyptian monuments {e.g., the Ramesseum, twelfth century B.C.) have a decidedly Minoan physiognomy. Cf. the head
given by Hall, op. cit., p. 133, fig. 41, with heads on the Warriors or Harvesters vase from Aghia Triadha, Mon. Ant. XIII,
1903, Pis. I—III. Furthermore, Caphtor seems to be the land called Kejtiu by the Egyptians, which we have found reason
to identify with Crete {supra, note 83, p. 5).
Although the presence of Cretan artists in Egypt during the reign of Amenophis IV seems assured {supra, note 92,
p. 6), Cretans are not represented on Egyptian monuments later than the time of Thothmes III, unless the beardless
"foreigners" and certain other figures of decorative sculpture at Tell el Amarna (Petrie, Tell el Amarna, PI. X I) are Cretans.
If so, they appear in humble guise, not as in Theban tombs of the first half of the fifteenth century. The reason is not far to seek.
The Keftian state ceased to exist about 1450 B. C; it could no longer send envoys and presents to Egyptian officials. Mi-
noan art remained in vogue and was imitated and diffused chiefly through the medium of Phoenicians, who succeeded to the
merchant marine of the Mediterranean. In the tomb of Amenemheb, general of Amenophis III, Minoan objects appear
in the hands of bearded Phoenicians (Virey, Le Tomheau d'Amenemheb, Mem. d. I. Miss. Archeol. Franc, au Caire,V, p. 224
ff., 3 Pis., opp. p. 244; cf. W. M. Miiller, Mitt. Vorderasiatische Gesells., 1904, p. 39 ff., PI. 5) and the same is the case in the
tomb of Stnyet {supra, note 66, p.6). Even in the tomb of Menkheperransenb, son of Rekhmara {supra, note 66 p. 6), Phoeni-
cians are once or twice the bearers of Minoan gifts, but in earlier tombs they never appear in this role. A very pictur-
esque representation of this Phoenician trade in Minoan wares existed until lately in a Theban tomb {temp. Amenophis III,
Daressy, Rev. Arch., XXVII, 1895, p. 286 ff., Pis. XIV, XV). Hall {Oldest Civilisation of Greece, p. 170) tells us, "The
Phoenician ships which took part in this trade are mentioned in an Egyptian inscription as ' Keftiu' " ships (Brugsch, Egypt
Under the Pharaohs, I, p. 336), i. e., ships which go to Keftiu, like British' East Indiamen.'" The mantle of the Keftians fell
on the shoulders of the Phoenicians, and this explains many things, among others the fact that Keftiu was used in Ptolemaic
times to translate tI>oivt-/.rl (Hall, op. cit., p. 161). The name A"«///«disappears from Egyptian monuments at the close of the
reign of Thothmes III, c. 1450 B. C., except on stereotyped lists of nations. In place of it we have mention of individual
tribes of the Great Green Sea and of the coast-lands bordering upon it, piratical warriors, ravaging the Delta, "fighting to
fill their bellies daily," allying with Libyans, Egyptians, or Hittites for pay. These mercenaries, whose tribal names suggest
interesting connections with Asia Minor and Greece (Hall, Oldest Civilisation of Greece, p. 117 ff.; B. S. A., VIII, 1901-2,
p. 175 ff.; W. M. Miiller, Asien u. Europa, p. 369 ff.), are included under the general name of Hanebu,or, in the time of Mer-
enptah, of Mehtnehu. 'all the northerners.' To the Egyptians, these peoples were an abomination for more than two hun-
dred years, but among certain of these freebooters the seed of Hellenism was germinating and the greatest epic of the world
was born of their roving, fighting life.
7
A T the cost of repetition, it has seemed advisable to outline the excavation evidence before
/\ venturing a possible interpretation of its main features in terms of Cretan vicissitudes, and
/ \ embarking on the yet more perilous attempt to discover the racial and other connections
JL X. that existed between Crete and the islands and coasts of the Aegean in prehistoric times.
The following statements are made for the purpose of laying before the reader a working hypothesis.
The changes that have been noted in art probably reflect political changes at which one may be
allowed to guess. Crete in the early Bronze Age seems to have had many centres developing inde-
pendently. Dr. Evans considers that the entire prehistoric civilization of Crete
REVIEW: THE between the Neolithic epoch and Greek colonization in the Geometric period pre-
MINOAN STATE sentsthe idea of a state centralized and dynastic,1 but I can find no proof of this in
the first and last stages. There is no evidence of a preponderating Knossian
influence throughout the island in the days when the exquisite seals of the "tholos" at Aghia Triadha
were engraved and the brilliantly mottled pottery of Vasiliki was fashioned, superior to any ware of
equal age that has yet been found in the Aegean. Each district created for itself, instead of there being
a common style and even a close interchange of products as in later times. But when the substantial
earlier palaces of Phaestos and Knossos were erected, these places must already have been pre-eminent.
Neither tradition, discovery, nor probability leads one to suppose that many such wealthy capitals co-
existed in the island. The first palace at Knossos was destroyed at the close of the Second Middle Minoan
Period;2 the first palace at Phaestos continued in use much later, for "certain vases which at Knossos
characterize the stratum of the first period of the second palace, at Phaestos are found, on the contrary,
buried beneath the original pavement of the later palace. Therefore, the construction of this palace
seems less ancient than the construction of the second Knossian palace."3 Can this mean that of two
rival dynasties, that of Phaestos gained the upper hand, established itself at Knossos and there built
the second palace? Class A of Linear Script, which appears at Knossos in this early stratum of the
second palace (M. M. 111 L. M. I.) is the one used at Aghia Triadha, Gournia, and Palaikastro.4 This
seems to indicate a close and probably friendly connection between the dynasty that employed this
script and the country towns. Throughout the Middle Minoan Period and the First Late Minoan,
Crete remained sufficient unto itself politically, importing and exporting at will,5 but free from foreign
entanglements, like Athens of the sixth and early fifth centuries, before the dream of overlordship en-
tered into the state. It was an era of centralization without expansion.
1 "On qualifie ici de minoen le cours entier de la grande Civilisation prehistorique de la Crete—donnant I'idde d'un
e"tat centralise et dynastique—entre la Culture Neolithique et la Colonisation grecque de 1'Epoque Ge"ometrique." Sys-
teme de Classification des Epoques successives de la Civilisation Minoenne. Supra, p. 2, note 29.
2 Evans, B. S. A., XI, 1904-5, p. 16.
3 Pernier, Mon., Ant., XIV, 1904, p. 460 ff.
4 Supra, p. 4, note 51.
5 During the 1st Late Minoan period, there was close connection between Crete and^Melos. The Flying-fish fresco
in the 2d City at Phylakopi is in the Knossian style of painting (Evans, B. S. A., IX, 1902-3, p. 51: Mackenzie, Phylakopi,
p. 261). The 'bird jugs'in the Temple Repositories of Knossos were imported from Melos (Evans, lot. lit., p. 50, fig. 26).
Minoan linear characters—in one case, even.it would appear a Minoan personal name—are incised on the contemporary
Melian ware (Evans, loc cit., p. 51). For other evidence, see Mackenzie, loc. cii.
" The Later Palace at Phaestos has been described at length by Dr. Luigi Pernier in two noteworthy articles {Mon.
Ant. XII, 1902, and XIV, 1904) with plans and a series of remarkably fine plates which are reproductions of Dr. Pernier's
own photographs. No other pre-Hellenic palace is so imposing to-day as that of Phaestos. Cf. Mackenzie's two articles on
Cretan Palaces and the Aegean Civilisation, B. S. A. XI, 1904-5, pp. 181-223, XII, 1905-6, pp. 216-258 and Dorpfeld's
Kretische, mykenische und homerische Palaste, Atb. Mitt. XXX, 1905, p. 257 ff. Dorpfeld's Plate X is an attempt to define
the earlier and later elements in the palace at Phaestos.
' Supra, end of note 56, p. 4.
8 The three most important discussions of this subject which have appeared are Noack's Homerische Palaste, 1903,
Dorpfeld's Kretische, mykenische u. homerische Palaste, Ath. Mitt. XXX, 1905, p. 257 ff. PI. X.Mackenzie's Cretan Palaces
I. B. S. A. XI, 1904-5, p. 181 ff., Pis. V-VII, and Cretan Palaces II, B. S. A. XII, 1905-6 p. 216 ff. Dr. Mackenzie's
articles have the special value of being the work of a veteran Cretan excavator, and his accuracy of observation is proverbial.
In the writer's opinion, there can be little doubt that his chief contentions are correct; namely, that the Later Palaces at
Phaestos and Knossos are as characteristically Cretan or Minoan as the Earlier, and that the 'Mycenaean' megara are not
essentially different from the Cretan. The writer would wish to revisit Phaestos, however, before accepting finally his
interpretation of the apartments at the head of the Grand Stairway, for his " light-well," 69' (B. S. A. XI, p. 188 ff.),
stems to be unduly large for its function and in comparison with other known light-wells, and it appears to sin against
architectural unity by forming an anti-climax to the "State-entrance." Possibly it may have been like the Central Hall
at Gournia, an atrium, something like the atrium Tuscanicum of Vitruvius (VI, iii, 1), partly open, partly covered,
transverse beams supporting the roof or galleries (injra, p. 26). In his second article, Dr. Mackenzie discusses many prob-
lems, not architectural, and gives sanction to several opinions expressed in the chapter of which this note forms a part,
but the article was received too late to help form the writer's views—the Annual dated 1905-6 appeared in 1907—and
they therefore stand entirely independent of this valuable contribution to our science. This is true also in respect of
new books by Professor Burrows, The Discoveries in Crete, and Professor Mosso, The Palaces oj Crete and their Builders.
9 Evans, B. S. A., IX, 1902-3, p. 53.
lu The writer prefers this reading of the word svvli.ipo^ (iv intensive, ^/vs-fresh, strong, wpa season), Ameis, Anhang,
Od. x 19, and t 179, to the one followed by Butcher and Lang. See translation at the head of this chapter.
11 Evans, B. S. A., XI, 1904-5, p. 14.
Another swing of the pendulum introduced the Palace Period, and brought Cretan civilization
to full maturity. The royal residence at Knossos, having suffered considerable damage from fire,
was remodelled on more splendid lines with gorgeous decorations, and the Later Palace at Phaestos
was constructed also in a grandiose style, partly out of what remained of the old, partly afresh on a
higher level.8 At about the time that these changes took place, Gournia, Zakro, and Palaikastro were
devastated and remained unoccupied until after the fall of Knossos.7 Class A of the Linear Script
fell into disuse; Class B, the system in which the royal records of the Palace Period are inscribed, has
not yet been found in the provincial towns of Crete. These facts point to the complete triumph of a
Knossian dynasty, hostile to the smaller communities. There is too much continuity in architecture,8
ceramics, and other arts, too close a connection between Classes A and B of the Linear Script" for one
to imagine that this dynasty introduced a foreign civilization; but it may have received foreign assist-
ance in gaining the mastery, and may even have been of foreign origin for a change of rulers alone has
little effect on the culture of any land, especially if the new rulers are not endowed with a higher civiliza-
tion than the old. This new dynasty is represented in legend by the person of King Minos, who over-
came his brothers Sarpedon and Rhadamanthus in competition for the sovereignty. He seems to have
established a strong central government and a sea power that put down piracy and enlarged the sphere
of Cretan influence, until it embraced the Cyclades and the shores of Greece. His ambitious course in-
vited attack from within and without and led ultimately to the downfall of the monarchy. The era of
centralization ended. Crete disintegrated and became the land of ninety or one hundred cities which
Homer knew. "Among these cities," says Odysseus, "is the mighty city Knossos wherein stalwart
Minos ruled."1" Such words apply rather to a city whose precedence depends on past grandeur than to
a seat of present authority. Palaces and villas were broken up into smaller dwellings, even the Royal
Tomb at Isopata, between Knossos and the sea, became a common sepulchre;11 thesmaller Minoan towns
revived for a time in the Third Late Minoan Period,12 but were finally abandoned for upland sites less
exposed to the descents of sea-rovers. The light of Europe's first torch-bearer was extinguished.15
We turn now to questions which are of vital importance to students of Western culture. Who
were the creators of Minoan civilization? In what relation did they stand to the Mycenaeans? Are we
able to discover any influence of their culture on contemporary Europe, and any reaction of Europe
upon Crete? Can we detect in classical Greece any survival of Minoan achievement, or was that achieve-
ment utterly effaced at the close of the Bronze Age?
12 The Reoccupation phenomena at Gournia differ from those at Knossos, for the Gournia houses which were inhab-
ited in the 3d Late Minoan period are well constructed and their contents, although in artistic merit far inferior to the
earlier finds, bespeak as great prosperity as prevailed in the Town Period (L. M. [.). For these reasons I have thought
that the reoccupation of the provincial sites signified a temporary improvement in rural conditions.
13 Probably many of the coast-dwelling Cretans were driven abroad. "A remnant of the country of Caphtor"
settled in Palestine and became known as Philistines (Jeremiah XLVII, 4). The identification of Caphtor with Crete,
although not fully established (W. M. Miiller, Egyptological Researches, p. 16), is extremely probable. "This was cer-
tainly the Jewish tradition; David's Philistine body guard were called Kereihim, which is translated Kpf(Ts: in two pas-
sages of the LXX,Zeph. 11, 5 and Ez. XXV, 16" (Hall, Oldest Civilisation oj Greece, p. 135). Philistines as represented
on Egyptian monuments {e.g., the Ramesseum, twelfth century B.C.) have a decidedly Minoan physiognomy. Cf. the head
given by Hall, op. cit., p. 133, fig. 41, with heads on the Warriors or Harvesters vase from Aghia Triadha, Mon. Ant. XIII,
1903, Pis. I—III. Furthermore, Caphtor seems to be the land called Kejtiu by the Egyptians, which we have found reason
to identify with Crete {supra, note 83, p. 5).
Although the presence of Cretan artists in Egypt during the reign of Amenophis IV seems assured {supra, note 92,
p. 6), Cretans are not represented on Egyptian monuments later than the time of Thothmes III, unless the beardless
"foreigners" and certain other figures of decorative sculpture at Tell el Amarna (Petrie, Tell el Amarna, PI. X I) are Cretans.
If so, they appear in humble guise, not as in Theban tombs of the first half of the fifteenth century. The reason is not far to seek.
The Keftian state ceased to exist about 1450 B. C; it could no longer send envoys and presents to Egyptian officials. Mi-
noan art remained in vogue and was imitated and diffused chiefly through the medium of Phoenicians, who succeeded to the
merchant marine of the Mediterranean. In the tomb of Amenemheb, general of Amenophis III, Minoan objects appear
in the hands of bearded Phoenicians (Virey, Le Tomheau d'Amenemheb, Mem. d. I. Miss. Archeol. Franc, au Caire,V, p. 224
ff., 3 Pis., opp. p. 244; cf. W. M. Miiller, Mitt. Vorderasiatische Gesells., 1904, p. 39 ff., PI. 5) and the same is the case in the
tomb of Stnyet {supra, note 66, p.6). Even in the tomb of Menkheperransenb, son of Rekhmara {supra, note 66 p. 6), Phoeni-
cians are once or twice the bearers of Minoan gifts, but in earlier tombs they never appear in this role. A very pictur-
esque representation of this Phoenician trade in Minoan wares existed until lately in a Theban tomb {temp. Amenophis III,
Daressy, Rev. Arch., XXVII, 1895, p. 286 ff., Pis. XIV, XV). Hall {Oldest Civilisation of Greece, p. 170) tells us, "The
Phoenician ships which took part in this trade are mentioned in an Egyptian inscription as ' Keftiu' " ships (Brugsch, Egypt
Under the Pharaohs, I, p. 336), i. e., ships which go to Keftiu, like British' East Indiamen.'" The mantle of the Keftians fell
on the shoulders of the Phoenicians, and this explains many things, among others the fact that Keftiu was used in Ptolemaic
times to translate tI>oivt-/.rl (Hall, op. cit., p. 161). The name A"«///«disappears from Egyptian monuments at the close of the
reign of Thothmes III, c. 1450 B. C., except on stereotyped lists of nations. In place of it we have mention of individual
tribes of the Great Green Sea and of the coast-lands bordering upon it, piratical warriors, ravaging the Delta, "fighting to
fill their bellies daily," allying with Libyans, Egyptians, or Hittites for pay. These mercenaries, whose tribal names suggest
interesting connections with Asia Minor and Greece (Hall, Oldest Civilisation of Greece, p. 117 ff.; B. S. A., VIII, 1901-2,
p. 175 ff.; W. M. Miiller, Asien u. Europa, p. 369 ff.), are included under the general name of Hanebu,or, in the time of Mer-
enptah, of Mehtnehu. 'all the northerners.' To the Egyptians, these peoples were an abomination for more than two hun-
dred years, but among certain of these freebooters the seed of Hellenism was germinating and the greatest epic of the world
was born of their roving, fighting life.
7