DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.811#0250
THEATRAL SPORTS IN HONOUR OF GODDESS 207
cycle of performances that mark a professional acrobatic class. The
attire is still the same as those of the Cow-boys proper, of both sexes, but
the feats here—such as the turning of a back-somersault over the neck of
a coursing bull—are primarily designed for show. The stationing of other
figures to catch the leaping performers
suggests, moreover, an enclosure of
somewhat limited dimensions, and im-
plies elaborate artificial arrangements.
It is evident that the greatMinoan
Goddess herself, as the impersonation
of the spirit of the race, shared the
delight of her worshippers in these
sensational Corridas. In the ' Minia-
ture' fresco, described above, her Pillar
shrine is set in the middle of the Grand
Stands occupied by the crowds of
spectators—like the Royal Box at a
Court Theatre.
Fig. 141. Miniature Fragment from ,-., ., , f , ,
'Ivory Deposit ■ showing Part of Shrine _ 0f the character of the spectacle
with Frieze of Double Axes and Bull's itself, not included among the remains
Neck in Field below, (a) q{^ fresc0) W£ obta;n an jnsjght frQm
the 'Miniature' fragments from the 'Ramp House' at Mycenae, which
include both ladies seated in ' boxes' and parts of a scene from the bull-ring.
Moreover, the superposed pillars seen in the ' Temple Fresco', and which
elsewhere supply the theatral idea, are constantly coupled in the small
reliefs of steatite 'rhytons' as well as in signet-types with similar bull-grappling
scenes, though it is clear that the same arena also served for such sports
as boxing and wrestling.
In the ' Deposit of Ivories ', to be described below, the association of a
shrine with performances of the 'bull-ring' is again clearly featured—the
sanctuary in that case connecting itself with the cult of the Double Axes.
The fragment reproduced in Fig. 141 shows the chequer-work common in
architectural facades combined with a band, broken by round and oval com-
partments, in which the symbolic weapon of the chief Minoan divinity is de-
picted respectively in its single and its double-edged form. In the field
below is a yellow object with traces of dark stripes, the outline of which runs
up diagonally, and in which we must recognize part of the raised neck of
a charging bull. It is against a white ground, with what appears to be the
capital of a column to the left. This representation is supplemented by
Theatral
sports in
honour of
Goddess.
' Minia-
ture'
repre-
senta-
tions
asso-
ciated
with
shrines :
Ivory De-
posit.
cycle of performances that mark a professional acrobatic class. The
attire is still the same as those of the Cow-boys proper, of both sexes, but
the feats here—such as the turning of a back-somersault over the neck of
a coursing bull—are primarily designed for show. The stationing of other
figures to catch the leaping performers
suggests, moreover, an enclosure of
somewhat limited dimensions, and im-
plies elaborate artificial arrangements.
It is evident that the greatMinoan
Goddess herself, as the impersonation
of the spirit of the race, shared the
delight of her worshippers in these
sensational Corridas. In the ' Minia-
ture' fresco, described above, her Pillar
shrine is set in the middle of the Grand
Stands occupied by the crowds of
spectators—like the Royal Box at a
Court Theatre.
Fig. 141. Miniature Fragment from ,-., ., , f , ,
'Ivory Deposit ■ showing Part of Shrine _ 0f the character of the spectacle
with Frieze of Double Axes and Bull's itself, not included among the remains
Neck in Field below, (a) q{^ fresc0) W£ obta;n an jnsjght frQm
the 'Miniature' fragments from the 'Ramp House' at Mycenae, which
include both ladies seated in ' boxes' and parts of a scene from the bull-ring.
Moreover, the superposed pillars seen in the ' Temple Fresco', and which
elsewhere supply the theatral idea, are constantly coupled in the small
reliefs of steatite 'rhytons' as well as in signet-types with similar bull-grappling
scenes, though it is clear that the same arena also served for such sports
as boxing and wrestling.
In the ' Deposit of Ivories ', to be described below, the association of a
shrine with performances of the 'bull-ring' is again clearly featured—the
sanctuary in that case connecting itself with the cult of the Double Axes.
The fragment reproduced in Fig. 141 shows the chequer-work common in
architectural facades combined with a band, broken by round and oval com-
partments, in which the symbolic weapon of the chief Minoan divinity is de-
picted respectively in its single and its double-edged form. In the field
below is a yellow object with traces of dark stripes, the outline of which runs
up diagonally, and in which we must recognize part of the raised neck of
a charging bull. It is against a white ground, with what appears to be the
capital of a column to the left. This representation is supplemented by
Theatral
sports in
honour of
Goddess.
' Minia-
ture'
repre-
senta-
tions
asso-
ciated
with
shrines :
Ivory De-
posit.