DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1066#0162
CRETE, FORERUNNER OF GREECE
in respect of the numbers of columns across the
front, the direction of the principal axis, and the
presence of hearth in the former and of light-well
in the latter, as befits northern and southern types ;
but the resemblances between them are also sig-
nificant. Whether these are due to coincidence,
to the kinship between Pelasgians and Minoans,
or to an idea transmitted from Crete, is a question
that must await further investigation on the main-
land. The most cursory comparison of plans will
convince one that the palaces of Knossos and
Phaestos are far more highly evolved, more
rambling and intricate in a style we call Oriental,
than any building as yet found in Greece. The
mainland palaces bear the stamp of greater sim-
plicity of life, and possibly a stronger instinct for
proportion, order, and symmetry, an instinct
which may be an Achsean contribution.
Towards the close of the Second Late Minoan
period, the Achaaans, probably strengthened by a
new influx of their tribe, became paramount on
the mainland. Fired by success, they were ready
to respond to any call, and in Crete may have
assisted the demos to overthrow the dynasty of
King Minos. Mercenaries and free-hooters have
small scruple about which side they take in a
quarrel, and do not hesitate to overturn what
their fathers set up. After a brief revival, imme-
diately following the overthrow of the capital, the
provincial towns of Crete were abandoned, because
their maritime position exposed them to the attacks
of sea-rovers. " The Isles were restless, disturbed
among themselves at one and the same time,"
reads the well-known inscription of Rameses III.
14S
in respect of the numbers of columns across the
front, the direction of the principal axis, and the
presence of hearth in the former and of light-well
in the latter, as befits northern and southern types ;
but the resemblances between them are also sig-
nificant. Whether these are due to coincidence,
to the kinship between Pelasgians and Minoans,
or to an idea transmitted from Crete, is a question
that must await further investigation on the main-
land. The most cursory comparison of plans will
convince one that the palaces of Knossos and
Phaestos are far more highly evolved, more
rambling and intricate in a style we call Oriental,
than any building as yet found in Greece. The
mainland palaces bear the stamp of greater sim-
plicity of life, and possibly a stronger instinct for
proportion, order, and symmetry, an instinct
which may be an Achsean contribution.
Towards the close of the Second Late Minoan
period, the Achaaans, probably strengthened by a
new influx of their tribe, became paramount on
the mainland. Fired by success, they were ready
to respond to any call, and in Crete may have
assisted the demos to overthrow the dynasty of
King Minos. Mercenaries and free-hooters have
small scruple about which side they take in a
quarrel, and do not hesitate to overturn what
their fathers set up. After a brief revival, imme-
diately following the overthrow of the capital, the
provincial towns of Crete were abandoned, because
their maritime position exposed them to the attacks
of sea-rovers. " The Isles were restless, disturbed
among themselves at one and the same time,"
reads the well-known inscription of Rameses III.
14S