Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Clay objects : Standing male figurine on base [Π3405]

Standing male figurine on base

Π3405

Clay

Mended and restored.

Height: 17.4 cm.

Petsophas

Peak Sanctuary

Middle Bronze Age. Protopalatial period, Middle Minoan Ι - II period.:

1900 - 1700 BC:

Gallery:

Case:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Middle Bronze Age - Late Prepalatial-Protopalatial period (2200-1700 BC). From small communities to towns

Peak sanctuaries

Description

Standing male figurine on a base, arms bent with hands on the chest in a characteristic gesture. The face is coarsely rendered by pinching the wet clay with the fingers. The hair and some details of the clothing, such as the loincloth and the end of the knotted belt, are applied. The rest of the belt was either never made or not preserved. On the contrary, the dagger in the belt is rendered in detail, with the hilt and the two rivets securing it. The figurine was painted reddish-brown. Figurines of this type were very common votive offerings at the “peak sanctuaries”, meaning sanctuaries founded on hills and mountains that were active during the Protopalatial and Neopalatial periods. One such sanctuary stood on the hill of Petsophas in East Crete, where this figurine comes from. Figurines of men and women, and animals such as sheep, oxen, weasels and birds, were placed in cracks in the rocks of the hill, as offerings by Minoans seeking the help and protection of the gods for themselves and their animals. There were also models of human arms and legs, some of them clearly diseased, presumably offerings made by sick people in search of healing and relief.

Bibliography:

Myres, J.L. "Excavations at Palaikastro II. The sanctuary-site of Petsofa." Annual of the British School at Athens 9 (1902/3): 356-387. Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki, Ν. Το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου. Athens, 2005, 93. Rutkowski, Β. Petsophas. A Cretan Peak Sanctuary. Warsaw, 1991, 60.

Author:

E. S.

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