I 94. A 'Snake Room' of Domestic Cult; ' Snake Tubes', their
Origin and Survival.
Room in private house for Domestic Snake Cult; Utensils deposited in
large jar; Miniature < Milk Jugs' as in Temple Tomb; Bowls for offerings
as in 'Spring Chamber ; Cylindrical vessels with cups attached—for snakes to
drink from ; Analogous ritual 'tubes' of sanctuaries at Gournia, &c.—with
rustic figures of Snake Goddess ; Theory that the 'tubes' were for chtkonic
libations invented ad hoc ; Real origin of ' snake tubes' from Minoan drain
sections—two varieties of these adapted; Looped class of' tubes' thus explained—
cording of pipe sections ; Simpler class, without loops, the earlier ; Early type
at Kumasa; Common Ring Snake a haunter of drains—still abounds on
site of 'Knossos ; Inference from origins—ritual ' snake tubes' not libation
vessels; Tripod snake table—Lithuanian parallel; Snake cauldron (?) of
seal-impression; Tripod hearth with ashes inside; Ritual transportation
of ashes—Russian custom ; Snakes as spirits of the household,' Snake house
guardian among Greeks; Household snake in Macedonian village—-fed by
British officers ; Ritual vessel of honeycomb shape with feeding snake; Cretan
snake attacks wild honeycomb for grubs.; Other snake vessels from domestic,
shrine; Honey in food offerings to snakes—sacred snake of Erechthaon ';
Triple Cups of Diklaean Libation Table—? one for /juMxp^toi' ; Snake table
in Egypt; Knossian ' Snake Room' contrasted with primitive sanctuaries at
Gournia, &c.; 'Snake Room' cult purely domestic—the Shrines show further
religious evolution; Snake attributes in Palace Shrines, of terrifying nature;
Chronology of 'Snake-tube' sanctuaries; Knossian 'snake room' relics
assigned to L.M. II; Rustic clay idols of sanctuaries—cylindrical base
derived from belt-shaped M.M. /a skirt; Survivals of old Snake cult m
Sub-Miuoau and Geometrical times; Rhodiau ' Snake tube' of Geometrical
date ; ' Snake tube' assimilated to cult of Cyprian Goddess—becomes a dove-cot.
Repository of Objects belonging to Domestic Snake Cult in Room
of Private House at Knossos-
Room in Amongst the numerous discoveries of 1 q ^0 nothing was more interesting
Private r • 1 qp 1
House for than the contents of a repository in a small chamber of a private House <
snakf'0 little South-West of the ' South-West Treasury House'. It opened on to
cult- a passage-way which was however only partially preserved.
By the entrance of the little room stood a large jar which, as no
infrequently was the case with larger vessels, had survived a change in
Origin and Survival.
Room in private house for Domestic Snake Cult; Utensils deposited in
large jar; Miniature < Milk Jugs' as in Temple Tomb; Bowls for offerings
as in 'Spring Chamber ; Cylindrical vessels with cups attached—for snakes to
drink from ; Analogous ritual 'tubes' of sanctuaries at Gournia, &c.—with
rustic figures of Snake Goddess ; Theory that the 'tubes' were for chtkonic
libations invented ad hoc ; Real origin of ' snake tubes' from Minoan drain
sections—two varieties of these adapted; Looped class of' tubes' thus explained—
cording of pipe sections ; Simpler class, without loops, the earlier ; Early type
at Kumasa; Common Ring Snake a haunter of drains—still abounds on
site of 'Knossos ; Inference from origins—ritual ' snake tubes' not libation
vessels; Tripod snake table—Lithuanian parallel; Snake cauldron (?) of
seal-impression; Tripod hearth with ashes inside; Ritual transportation
of ashes—Russian custom ; Snakes as spirits of the household,' Snake house
guardian among Greeks; Household snake in Macedonian village—-fed by
British officers ; Ritual vessel of honeycomb shape with feeding snake; Cretan
snake attacks wild honeycomb for grubs.; Other snake vessels from domestic,
shrine; Honey in food offerings to snakes—sacred snake of Erechthaon ';
Triple Cups of Diklaean Libation Table—? one for /juMxp^toi' ; Snake table
in Egypt; Knossian ' Snake Room' contrasted with primitive sanctuaries at
Gournia, &c.; 'Snake Room' cult purely domestic—the Shrines show further
religious evolution; Snake attributes in Palace Shrines, of terrifying nature;
Chronology of 'Snake-tube' sanctuaries; Knossian 'snake room' relics
assigned to L.M. II; Rustic clay idols of sanctuaries—cylindrical base
derived from belt-shaped M.M. /a skirt; Survivals of old Snake cult m
Sub-Miuoau and Geometrical times; Rhodiau ' Snake tube' of Geometrical
date ; ' Snake tube' assimilated to cult of Cyprian Goddess—becomes a dove-cot.
Repository of Objects belonging to Domestic Snake Cult in Room
of Private House at Knossos-
Room in Amongst the numerous discoveries of 1 q ^0 nothing was more interesting
Private r • 1 qp 1
House for than the contents of a repository in a small chamber of a private House <
snakf'0 little South-West of the ' South-West Treasury House'. It opened on to
cult- a passage-way which was however only partially preserved.
By the entrance of the little room stood a large jar which, as no
infrequently was the case with larger vessels, had survived a change in