DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1159#0008
EXPLORATIONS IN MOCHLOS S
composing of the Homeric poems and probably started in parts of
the Aegean where the ancient Minoan stock had been least affected
by the new influx of foreign blood. We know that one of the prin-
cipal migrations from Crete was towards the coast of Asia Minor,1
and it is perhaps more than a coincidence that one finds in Asia
Minor both the traditional birth-place of the Homeric legends and
the first impulses of artistic regeneration.
In Crete excavations have uncovered the remains of a mighty
civilization whose towns and palaces not only covered the entire
island but spread themselves far and wide through the Aegean, even
reaching to the western Mediterranean and the northern end of
the Adriatic. These discoveries in Crete were begun in 1900 by
the representatives of four nations, England, Italy, the United
States and France. For the first few years the excavators them-
selves were as much amazed as the rest of the world by the objects
revealed on the various sites. Huge palaces came to light at Knossos
andPhaistos, while in the eastern part of Crete several small but
prosperous towns were uncovered which showed that the artistic
standard set by the palace sites was maintained in the lesser settle-
ments. The first question which arose was what name should be
given to this civilization and to the race who produced it. Many
suggestions were made, but by tacit consent it was left for Dr. Arthur
J. Evans as the doyen of Cretan excavators to settle the question.
Dr. Evans was one of the first to realize the probable result of
excavations in Crete as, some years before, he had discovered that
a prehistoric system of writing had been in use among the early inhab-
itants of the island. After some consideration he decided that it
would be reasonable to choose for this civilization the name with
which Crete was most closely connected in early history and legend.
Regarding Minos as a royal title, rather than the name of an indi-
vidual, he suggested that this new civilization should be called
Minoan. It appeared quite possible that more than one ruler bore
the name of Minos and that the appellation was dynastic like that
of Ptolemy in later Egypt. Although this nomenclature met with
a good deal of opposition at the time it was proposed, it has been
accepted by the various Cretan excavators and will be adhered to
in the following account of the Early Minoan cemetery of Mochlos.
Dr. Evans on the cumulative evidence afforded by the various
Cretan sites has drawn up a chronological scheme of the different
periods represented in the development of the Minoan culture.
The entire space of time, about 1500 years, occupied by the Minoan
« Herodotus 1,173.
'■ '': ":-■-,
composing of the Homeric poems and probably started in parts of
the Aegean where the ancient Minoan stock had been least affected
by the new influx of foreign blood. We know that one of the prin-
cipal migrations from Crete was towards the coast of Asia Minor,1
and it is perhaps more than a coincidence that one finds in Asia
Minor both the traditional birth-place of the Homeric legends and
the first impulses of artistic regeneration.
In Crete excavations have uncovered the remains of a mighty
civilization whose towns and palaces not only covered the entire
island but spread themselves far and wide through the Aegean, even
reaching to the western Mediterranean and the northern end of
the Adriatic. These discoveries in Crete were begun in 1900 by
the representatives of four nations, England, Italy, the United
States and France. For the first few years the excavators them-
selves were as much amazed as the rest of the world by the objects
revealed on the various sites. Huge palaces came to light at Knossos
andPhaistos, while in the eastern part of Crete several small but
prosperous towns were uncovered which showed that the artistic
standard set by the palace sites was maintained in the lesser settle-
ments. The first question which arose was what name should be
given to this civilization and to the race who produced it. Many
suggestions were made, but by tacit consent it was left for Dr. Arthur
J. Evans as the doyen of Cretan excavators to settle the question.
Dr. Evans was one of the first to realize the probable result of
excavations in Crete as, some years before, he had discovered that
a prehistoric system of writing had been in use among the early inhab-
itants of the island. After some consideration he decided that it
would be reasonable to choose for this civilization the name with
which Crete was most closely connected in early history and legend.
Regarding Minos as a royal title, rather than the name of an indi-
vidual, he suggested that this new civilization should be called
Minoan. It appeared quite possible that more than one ruler bore
the name of Minos and that the appellation was dynastic like that
of Ptolemy in later Egypt. Although this nomenclature met with
a good deal of opposition at the time it was proposed, it has been
accepted by the various Cretan excavators and will be adhered to
in the following account of the Early Minoan cemetery of Mochlos.
Dr. Evans on the cumulative evidence afforded by the various
Cretan sites has drawn up a chronological scheme of the different
periods represented in the development of the Minoan culture.
The entire space of time, about 1500 years, occupied by the Minoan
« Herodotus 1,173.
'■ '': ":-■-,