Seals

Sealstones or rings were often worn on the person, serving as ornaments as well as functional objects, so that the image was transmitted by persons engaging directly and indirectly with the bearer/wearer. Seals as tools, however, were perhaps the most dynamic form of ‘art’ in Crete because, when impressions were made, they were then exported widely across the island, making the image itself highly mobile. Sealings from single specific seals have been found at a variety of sites: for example, Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, nos. 43 from Aghia Triada, 161 from Gournia and 259 from Sklavokampos are all the same.

The earliest scene of violence in Crete is a seal showing fighting with daggers (Hatzi-Vallianou Reference Hatzi-Vallianou1979; Wedde Reference Wedde2000; Papadopoulos Reference Papadopoulos2006) dated to Early Minoan III / Middle Minoan I, and a superficial reading of the image tells us that daggers were considered suitable weapons for interpersonal combat. In Middle Minoan II, figural images are still rare but it can be noted that seals such as Platon, Pini and Salies Reference Platon, Pini and Salies1977, no. 309, for example, illustrate a man standing with a spear held vertically in front of him. This scene becomes increasingly popular in Late Minoan I art, and though the spear in some images may be replaced with a staff, there are many examples where this posture with a spear is adopted by warriors bearing shields and helmets (e.g. Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 276 [Fig. 2]; Platon and Pini Reference Platon and Pini1984, no. 32).Footnote ⁷ Images with a distinct martial component abound in Late Minoan I and include warriors marching with spears and shields (Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, nos. 276 [Fig. 2], 277, 278); combat between a swordsman and a spear/shield-bearing warrior (Kenna Reference Kenna1967, nos. 100, 130 [Fig. 3]); swordsmen fighting (Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 16); a swordsman pursuing an opponent (Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 15 [Fig. 4]); a spearman facing an opponent (Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 17); archers (Betts et al. Reference Betts, Gill, Sürenhagen and Waetzoldt1988, no. 26; Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 21); a boxer (Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 280); a swordsman fighting a rearing lion (Pini Reference Pini1992, no. 135); a warrior marching with a (hunting?) dog (Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 236); a warrior with spear standing with a lion (Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 237 [Fig. 5] and Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 36); and a woman (goddess?) with a sword (Platon and Pini Reference Platon and Pini1984, no. 16). We can see in these themes (particularly Platon and Pini Reference Platon and Pini1984, no. 16; Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 15; Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 236 or Pini Reference Pini1992, no. 135) that scenes with a martial flavour cross-reference with hunting, religious and mythological themes. As Shapland (Reference Shapland2009) has noted, the choice of animals to represent in art was frequently the hunted with the hunter, and while bulls hold a special position, only rarely are other domesticates portrayed.

Fig. 2.

Image from sealing from Knossos depicting marching warriors with figure-of-eight shields and spear held vertically with arm extended horizontally (drawn by Ella Hassett after Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 276).

Fig. 3.

Image from seal of probable Cretan provenance depicting swordsman striking at the neck of an opponent bearing a shield and spear (drawn by Ella Hassett after Kenna Reference Kenna1967, no. 130).

Fig. 4.

Image from sealings from Aghia Triada and Knossos (respectively) depicting a warrior bearing a sword, and a hound, pursuing an opponent (drawn by Ella Hassett after Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 15 and Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 79).

Fig. 5.

Image from sealing of warrior holding spear and accompanied by lion, from Knossos (drawn by Ella Hassett after Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 237).

The diversity of these images alone indicates that isolating scenes as being ‘military images’ is methodologically unsound. Cross-referencing of quite different themes becomes apparent when focusing on the basic components used to construct individual scenes. To take the example of lion imagery, we have creatures with obvious traits that allude to killing, violence, bravery and hunting; all of which are traits that we also expect to find celebrating humans who specialise in such activities (Shapland Reference Shapland2010). In rather obvious juxtapositions we find scenes of a man walking alongside a lion or framed heraldically by lions, but we also have slightly less obvious cross-references in scenes of lions hunting animals, man hunting animals, lions enjoying spoils of hunt, man enjoying spoils of hunt, man as master of lions, man hunting lion, man fighting lion, lion fighting lion, man fighting man (Fig. 6; see also Bloedow Reference Bloedow, Laffineur and Crowley1992). Similarly with hound and bull imagery implicating warriors and bravery, we have warrior walking with hunting hound, hound hunting bull, man hunting bull, man wrestling with bull, man leaping (dominating) bull, man and hound hunting man (Fig. 7). A related pattern is apparent with the relationship between man and ibex as a symbolic game animal (Fig. 8). In several seal images one animal attacks another (e.g. Platon and Pini Reference Platon and Pini1984, no. 344 [Fig. 9]) or a lone prey animal is depicted (e.g. Platon and Pini Reference Platon and Pini1984, no. 337), sometimes with a figure-of-eight shield and/or a spear mysteriously floating in the image (Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 248 [Fig. 10]). These may be seen to draw allusions between animal and human behaviour or concerns, inferentially or directly. Where warfare, hunting, sacrifice, religion or bravery conflate as power within these cross-referential networks is open to question, but it is clear that this complex iconographic grammar, or ‘representational code’ (Chryssoulaki Reference Chryssoulaki, Betancourt, Karageorghis, Laffineur and Niemeier1999b, 111), cannot be pigeonholed into specific areas of activity or meaning such as ‘war’. This may best be illustrated by the example of Fig. 11 from Psychro cave, which depicts a scene where the lower torso is depicted as a leaping human, the upper torso is that of a bull, while a spearhead/arrow and a figure-of-eight shield are both depicted in the arch of the back separating the bull from the human component. This seal draws together in a single image references to bull-leaping, hunting, and warfare.

Fig. 6.

Ratios of activities involving men and lions.

Fig. 7.

Ratios of activities involving man, dog and bull.

Fig. 8.

Ratios of activities involving men and ibexes.

Fig. 9.

Image from seal of probable Cretan provenance depicting a hunting lion with figure-of-eight shield in image (drawn by Ella Hassett after Platon and Pini Reference Platon and Pini1984, no. 344).

Fig. 10.

Image of ibex with floating spear and figure-of-eight shield, from Aghia Triada (drawn by Ella Hassett after Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 248).

Fig. 11.

Image on seal from Psychro cave depicting leaper-bull hybrid with spear/arrowhead and figure-of-eight shield (drawn by Ella Hassett after Hughes-Brock Reference Hughes-Brock2009, no. 298).

We need to also consider that most of the above sorts of scene are concerned with portraying dominance through contest, conquest and control and the symbolic appropriation of power through the natural world (Morgan Reference Morgan and Morris1995, 172). In turn these can relate to any and all forms of power, be they religious, military or governmental. Therefore the isolation of ‘military scenes’ can overlook their religious symbolism, particularly the act of killing making a very direct reference to sacrifice (Morgan Reference Morgan and Morris1995, 177; Peatfield Reference Peatfield1999, 71). Some scenes can convey religious themes using violence, just as we have apparently peaceful scenes of prey animals that may symbolically refer to the violence of the hunt, not blissful nature, through their posture (Shapland pers. comm.; Reference Shapland2010; Loughlin Reference Loughlin and Santillo Frizell2004).

Images of figure-of-eight shields, boar's tusk helmets and double-axesFootnote ⁸ represented in isolation or in religious scenes are common in the glyptic art of Crete, and they also occur on other artistic media (Morris Reference Morris, Hägg and Nordquist1990; Haysom Reference Haysom2010). While the grammar, syntax and context of these weapons and armour evolved beyond a purely martial character, the origins of these symbols in the military sphere illustrates the adoption of attributes related to martial praxis by religious agents (be they deities or worshippers). Haysom (Reference Haysom2010, 51) argues that ‘the a priori privileging of these [religious] spheres in our examination of networks of contextual association is likely to be unrealistic – just because a symbol is religious in one context does not necessarily mean it is religious in all contexts’. Morris (Reference Morris, Hägg and Nordquist1990, 155) considers the shields and helmets to have operated as multivocal symbols ‘whose interlinked spectrum of referents included both warfare and hunting, the protection of man and his territory, and man's interaction with the natural world’. The double-axe, figure-of-eight shield and boar's tusk helmet may be seen as conflations of martial and religious spheres that were equally relevant to both. A broad comparison may be seen in the use of tools and weapons to characterise some later European deities such as Athena, Artemis, Thor or Lugh, none of whom were considered to be ‘war deities’.

Frescoes

Gates (Reference Gates1999, 277) suggests that warfare may not have been considered a suitable theme for fresco art before Late Minoan IIIA and furthermore that ‘there is no correlation between the practice of warfare and the choice of warfare as a pictorial theme’ (Gates Reference Gates1999, 281). It can also be noted that very few frescoes that depict people interacting directly with each other in identifiable themes have been recovered from Crete before Late Minoan IIIA. The lack of images of war is therefore symptomatic of a general trend that relates as much to the accident of preservation as to past choices in the themes we find in fresco art.

The vast majority of figural frescoes surviving from Crete come from the single site of Knossos and almost exclusively from Late Minoan I and Late Minoan IIIA. Even at the other major urban centres such as Mallia or Phaistos, as well as other ‘elite sites’ throughout the island, we have minimal information on the themes they chose to portray in fresco art of any period, largely due to very poor preservation. Random fragments from Late Minoan IIIA Knossos of men throwing spears or running with them have no narrative context and are therefore of limited value in discussing war, but they do tell us that scenes of war may once have existed at Knossos. From the same site, we have images of bull-leaping (Fig. 12) and we can note that the torso of the iconic ‘Priest-King’ from Knossos (Fig. 13) has been convincingly restored as a boxer based on detailed anatomical analysis (Coulomb Reference Coulomb1979), as per Evans’ original interpretation (Evans 1900–1, 15–18) or as holding a staff or spear (Niemeier Reference Niemeier, French and Wardle1988; see Shaw Reference Shaw and Chapin2004 for a discussion of alternative views). The figure-of-eight shields in frescoes from Knossos are evidence that the accoutrements of warriors were at home in that building in Late Minoan III.

Fig. 12.

Bull-leaping fresco from Knossos (courtesy of Heraklion Museum – Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Archaeological Receipts Fund).

Fig. 13.

The ‘Priest-King’ fresco from Knossos, detail of forearm and fist (courtesy of Heraklion Museum – Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Archaeological Receipts Fund).

Stone vessels

Of the 37 relief stone vases discussed by Logue (Reference Logue2004), some 14 fragmentary figural scenes include people, and of these scenes 8 (57%) are considered to display martial imagery. While Logue omits her fig. 13Footnote ⁹ from the ‘martial’ category, it fits there because it depicts a boar's tusk helmet (probably indicating a warrior on now-missing elements of the scene) and another male above this apparently conducting an acrobatic display with a charging ibex, perhaps related to bull-leaping (as in Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 235).

The Chieftain Cup (Fig. 14) from Aghia Triada depicts a tall male holding what is probably a spear facing a shorter male holding a sword aloft, and the latter is followed by three other men carrying what may be bull hides. This object has been the subject of many studies, and here it is noted that the two armed figures are considered to be of elite status. Higgins’ (Reference Higgins1967; see also Koehl Reference Koehl1986; Logue Reference Logue2004) superficial interpretation that it shows the presentation of animal hides to be turned into shields is quite possible, given that the central two characters wield a sword and a spearFootnote ¹⁰ respectively. Deeply encoded meanings aside, the scene has as much militaristic character as it does religious, though it is usually considered in terms of the latter (Logue Reference Logue2004, 159). The posture of the larger figure with a probable spear held in outstretched arm finds many parallels, notably the ‘Mother of the Mountains’ sealing (Gill, Müller and Pini Reference Gill, Müller and Pini2002, no. 256) and the ‘Master Impression’ from Chania (Pini Reference Pini1992, no. 142).Footnote ¹¹ We may see in such scenes a cross-fertilisation of military and religious leadership (or divine symbolism of power), though Younger has suggested that the necklace on the ‘Master’ from Chania indicates he, and by extension the ‘Chieftain’, is mortal and not a deity (Younger Reference Younger, Laffineur and Crowley1992, 262). We also find a parallel for the man with the sword crossing the military/sacral threshold, again including (but not restricted to) women/goddesses (Platon and Pini Reference Platon and Pini1984, no. 16; Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1998, no. 16). The implications of these crossovers for gender relations have been discussed by Nikolaidou and Kokkinidou (Reference Nikolaidou and Kokkinidou1997; see also Kopaka Reference Kopaka1999).

Fig. 14.

The Chieftain Cup from Aghia Triada (courtesy of Heraklion Museum – Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Archaeological Receipts Fund).

For the central characters on the Chieftain Cup to have meaning beyond their possessions, we need to consider them in terms of Treherne's (Reference Treherne1995) ‘warrior's beauty’, whereby warriors cultivated a recognisable aesthetic to assert identity. On the Chieftain Cup, both central figures have clean-shaven faces and elaborate hairstyles, they wear necklaces and bracelets, and they carry weaponry. In glyptic art, we see similar figures engaged in bull-leaping, combat (e.g. Figs. 3 and 4), or posturing with spears and lions (e.g. Fig. 5). Perhaps most important of all, however, is the evidence for body modification through training being specifically highlighted through the use of incision to carefully define the pectoral, abdominal and leg muscles. This idealisation of the male body finds a clear expression in this and related scenes, though we can note that in general males in Middle Minoan III – Late Minoan I art are most often shown topless and exhibiting musculature that is well defined (Preziosi and Hitchcock Reference Preziosi and Hitchcock1999, 117), but not heavy-set, being a physical ideal for combatants reflected in the physique of modern boxers. This emphasis on the male ‘body beautiful’ is at odds with elite iconography in other areas of the Mediterranean in the eighteenth to fifteenth centuries bc. We can also observe that weapons in this scene could only have symbolic value if the images referred to real-world functionality because a sword or spear could only embody power through direct reference to their ability to assert power through violence.

A more explicit vision of the male body as the product of training regimes is on the Boxer Rhyton, also from Aghia Triada. There are four panels with images, three depicting boxing and/or wrestling, one depicting bull-leaping. As with the Chieftain Cup, there is a high degree of detail employed in defining the muscles of the characters, again in the area of the chest and legs, though now also in the arms (Fig. 15). Evely (Reference Evely, Evely, Lemos and Sherratt1996) has drawn attention to the use of helmets in one of the scenes as indicating the potential ferocity of these bouts, and Logue (Reference Logue2004) has suggested that there is an obvious reference in this also to a warrior's equipment. Speaking of the Classical Spartans using boxing as training for war, Philostratos (Gymnastics 9.11.43) stated that ‘boxing gave them practice in parrying blows to the head and training in withstanding the ones that did strike home’. The juxtaposition of bull-leaping and boxing on the Boxer Rhyton indicates a relationship in the symbolic exploitation of both types of event, and may more mundanely indicate a contextual association between the two activities in real life.

Fig. 15.

Detail from the Boxer Rhyton from Aghia Triada (courtesy of Heraklion Museum – Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Archaeological Receipts Fund).

More fragmentary scenes on carved stone vases are discussed in detail by Logue, though here it is noted that they include scenes of boxers from Knossos and a scene of an archer from the same site, typically contextualised as engaged in combat (Logue Reference Logue2004, 160). These fragmentary scenes also hint that the accident of survival of the two quite complete scenes from Aghia Triada should not be taken to suggest that such scenes were unique to that site. Haysom (Reference Haysom2010, 47–8) considers the scaly cloak worn by the leader on the Harvester Vase from this same site to be associated with weapon/warrior imagery on the basis of its contextual association in other images with figure-of-eight shields and double-axes. The possibility of a person characterised by military garb leading a procession of men with well-defined musculature (Fig. 16) carrying agricultural produce is noteworthy when considering the relationship between economic and martial power.

Fig. 16.

Detail of the Harvester Vase from Aghia Triada (courtesy of Heraklion Museum - Ministry of Culture and Tourism - Archaeological Receipts Fund).

Other images

This paper does not provide an exhaustive catalogue of images of violence or war precisely because its purpose is to move away from the limitations of such parameters. However, some additional material warrants mention. Double-axes appear as decorative motifs on Late Minoan I pottery, and we find figure-of-eight shields on Late Minoan IB ‘Alternating Style’ pottery (Rehak and Younger Reference Rehak, Younger and Cullen2001, 438), reflecting the ubiquity of these images on various media. These shields also occur in miniature form as items of jewellery. Two unprovenanced cast double-axes of probable Late Minoan I – Late Minoan III date depict a further figure-of-eight shield and a helmet respectively (Haysom Reference Haysom2010; Evely Reference Evely1993; Mavriyannaki Reference Mavriyannaki1983). The gold hilt furniture of a Type A sword from Mallia is normally interpreted as a leaping acrobat curled around the central perforation (Chapouthier Reference Chapouthier1938). In such a reading, the association between athletic and warrior aspects of elite identity is cross-referenced on an actual weapon. A different reading of the image would see the character as a captive with rope binding his wrists rather than jewellery adorning them (Haysom, pers. comm.). The decoration on his kilt appears to differ from more common ‘Minoan’ forms and short curly hair could well identify him as a subjugated foreigner or captive slave. In either case, given the comparative dearth of figural art in this period it is interesting to note the aggressive undertones of this image, further emphasised by its location on a sword.

Caves

Weapons found in Bronze Age shrines in Crete can be separated into three different categories: functional weapons, cast model weaponsFootnote ¹³ (Fig. 18) and sheet-metal model weaponsFootnote ¹⁴ (Fig. 19). In the case of extra-urban shrines, weapons have been found in most cave shrines: the Idaean cave, the Psychro cave, Arkalochori rock shelter, Phaneromeni cave and at the extra-urban shrine of Kato Syme. Ritual use of the first two cave sites appears to originate in Middle Minoan II and, while it is impossible to separate the chronology of the votive bronze weapons, the evidence from peak sanctuaries would concur with them being Middle Minoan II – Late Minoan I. At Psychro, the deposits include dozens of cast model and sheet-metal model swords,Footnote ¹⁵ spearsFootnote ¹⁶ and double-axes along with functional daggers and spearheads (Boardman Reference Boardman1961; Rutkowski Reference Rutkowski1986, 57; Jones Reference Jones1999, 10). In the Idaean cave at least 41 sword models were recovered (Watrous Reference Watrous1996, 58; Sakellarakis Reference Sakellarakis1984) and ‘several’ such models are known from Phaneromeni cave (Watrous Reference Watrous1996; Jones Reference Jones1999). From a Middle Minoan III – Late Minoan I context at Arkalochori, at least 9 unfinished Type A swordsFootnote ¹⁷ were accompanied by many more cast model swords and sheet-metal models, amounting to more than 50 swords and models (Hazzidakis Reference Hazzidakis1912–13; Rutkowski Reference Rutkowski1986, 58),Footnote ¹⁸ and alongside these there were ‘hundreds’ of bronze, 26 gold and 7 silver double-axes (Watrous Reference Watrous1996, 57; Marinatos Reference Marinatos1935). While the exact numbers and chronology (beyond Middle Minoan II – Late Minoan I) are often uncertain, it is clear that the vast majority of metal votives were in the form of weapons or model weapons in cave sanctuaries. With the value attributed to metals in Bronze Age society, it is important to note the relative importance of weapons when metal was used for votive offerings.

Fig. 18.

Cast model swords from the Psychro cave (Ashmolean Museum; reproduced courtesy of the Keeper and Department of Antiquities).

Fig. 19.

Sheet-metal model weapon from near Modhi peak sanctuary (on site).

Peak sanctuaries

Many of the peak sanctuaries of Crete were excavated as rescue projects or are part of ongoing research initiatives, so that none as yet have been published with comprehensive catalogues of artefacts (Jones Reference Jones1999). We do know, however, that model weapons have been found widely at peak sanctuary sites, although regional discrepancies do occur; they are definitely absent from Atsipadhes (Peatfield pers. comm.) and Traostalos (Jones Reference Jones1999; Kyriakides Reference Kyriakides2005; Briault Reference Briault2007). However, from Jouktas, 35 sheet-metal model swords are known along with a bronze dagger and double-axes (Watrous Reference Watrous1996, 70–1). Models and a real dagger are also known from Petsophas (Davaras Reference Davaras1972, 652; Watrous Reference Watrous1996, 65; Jones Reference Jones1999, 47). Models come from Modhi, Kophinas and Vrysinas (Jones Reference Jones1999, 47–8), model double-axes come from Plagia Ziros (Faure Reference Faure1965; Reference Faure1967) and a cast blade fragment from Karphi may be related to a Middle Minoan shrine there (Watrous Reference Watrous1996, 64).

Weaponry and religion

With this wealth of martial symbolism in different forms of religious sanctuaries across the island, Kilian-Dirlmeier (Reference Kilian-Dirlmeier and Sherratt2000, 830) has suggested that it may be appropriate to consider the existence of a Minoan deity concerned with ‘the production and use of weaponry’. The argument has much merit to it, though another dimension to this symbolism may relate to the belief that votives at shrines were related more directly to the devotee than to a recipient deity (Morris Reference Morris, Laffineur and Hägg2001; Peatfield Reference Peatfield, Laffineur and Hägg2001). The martial imagery may therefore reflect dedications to a deity/deities with martial attributes, but it may also reflect solicitation of divine intervention in relation to the martial activities of the worshippers themselves (Haysom Reference Haysom2010). The deposition of real weapons, unfinished real weapons, cast model weapons and sheet-metal weapons at sanctuaries could in turn reflect different forms of activity with different intentions. In the depiction of what is thought to be a shrine on a seal from Aghia Triada (Müller and Pini Reference Müller and Pini1999, no. 3), we find four daggers/model weapons standing on an altar with their points facing upwards.Footnote ¹⁹ It is clear from the sanctuary evidence that martial and religious symbolism were permeable, and while both had a great many independent manifestations, they also came together through the deposition of weapons in religious or ritual events.

The relationship between the symbolic and functional worlds was clearly complex, and the choice of model weapons more frequently than actual weapons requires consideration. Functional weapons have been found at non-religious sites in Crete (e.g. Knossos, Mallia, Zakros, Mochlos), so it is clear that the models derive their symbolic power from reference to real objects. The process of miniaturisation that characterised ritual assemblages in Cretan religion (Jones Reference Jones1999, 10) appears to be mirrored in the treatment of weapons in the context of cult activities. At peak sanctuaries the models are exclusively miniaturised, but in cave sites both miniature and large-scale models occur. It is noteworthy, however, that it is only the blade of the weapon represented; not only is there no attempt to render model handles, they do not attempt to depict a tang, suggesting that the partial nature of the weapon is being emphasised. Rivet holes occasionally exist, but there is no evidence for hilting on cast models or attempts to make them more representative of functional objects. We can also observe that sheet-metal objects were both easier and cheaper to manufacture (in terms of materials and time). The swords from Arkalochori are an exception as they are true Type A swords, though they were not finished for practical use as they had no hilts. This predominance of model weapons over functional versions indicates that images of weapons were utilised in a structured fashion as part of normal cult practices and that weapons were thus not ad hoc votives of functional possessions made in exceptional circumstances. The rarity of real weapons may relate to their intrinsic value or their unsuitability for the activities surrounding the act of deposition, perhaps supported by the partial nature of models.

Figurines

Possibly the best known category of artefact from peak sanctuaries are the bronze and coroplastic figurines. In terms of those with warrior characteristics, we may cite figurines with daggers at their waists and figurines of boxers in Middle Minoan contexts. The choice of daggers instead of swords is noteworthy because this was a time when new martial art forms were replacing traditional systems associated with dagger combat (Molloy Reference Molloy2010, 424). It remains possible that a dagger was chosen instead of spears or swords because swords were as long as a person's leg and spears the height of a man, and hence either would snap if standing proud of the figurine or distort its definition if plastered to their leg or entire body length.

At Kophinas, a recent re-analysis of figurines by Rethemiotakis (Reference Rethemiotakis2001) has demonstrated that the ‘club-like’ representation of hands on some figurines is not poor artistic execution, but rather is intended to depict boxing gloves. This determination is beyond doubt on the Kophinas figurines as they have straps depicted also, and it is not a stretch therefore to suggest that figurines standing in the same posture from other sites with both fists placed to their chest may also be depicting boxers. While we need not assume that they represent persons about to engage in a bout of boxing, their posture may be intended to preferentially reflect selected aspects of a particular male identity – the warrior. Some also possess daggers at their waists, supporting this contention. We may make a comparison also with the finely detailed Palaikastro Kouros, which is considered to have been a cult statue (MacGillivray, Driessen and Sackett Reference MacGillivray, Driessen and Sackett2000). Here again we have a very carefully detailed fist, and while no gloves are depicted, the sculptor went to considerable lengths to depict the fist as being clenched – index finger covered by thumb on ‘front’ side, not illustrated on the palm side because of the thumb location, the ulnar styloid is emphasised, and the hand extensor tendons and forearm musculature are pronounced (Musgrave Reference Musgrave2000). While a glove is not illustrated, the fist is detailed exactly as it would be formed (loosely clenched, thumb folded safely across the second phalange of the index finger) for preparing to make a punch in modern martial arts practice.Footnote ²⁰ This treatment of the thumb and musculature is also evident in the moulding of the fist of the so-called ‘Priest-King’ relief (Fig. 13; Evans 1900–1; 1928, fig. 508; Musgrave Reference Musgrave2000, 97) from Knossos.

Returning to the figurines of boxers at peak sanctuaries, if we consider their morphology in terms of what Morris (Reference Morris, Laffineur and Hägg2001, 247) calls a ‘living gesture’, we can see that fists raised to the chest are effectively held close to a striking position. The fists are not submissively or respectfully held in a passive position at or behind waist level or held joined together. The occasional inclusion of a dagger increases this symbolism of potential violence (Fig. 20). The image created in itself, or if materialised through a living individual, thus resonates potential aggression on a fundamental level, though the gesture need not be related to aggressive or threatening actions.Footnote ²¹ Taking the real and model weapons along with the dedication of figurines of boxers (some wearing daggers), it is clear that religious locations, and by extension certain religious activities, played a role in the materialisation of warrior identities and practices.

Fig. 20.

Figurine from Petsophas with fists held to chest and dagger at waist (courtesy of Heraklion Museum - Ministry of Culture and Tourism - Archaeological Receipts Fund).

Human sacrifice or healing cult?

At the shrine of Anemospilia around the transition from Middle Minoan II to Middle Minoan III, an individual was found lying on a low platform and the 300 + g ‘knife’ found with the skeleton was in fact a form of slotted spearhead.Footnote ²² Sakellarakis has interpreted this as a possible human sacrifice on the basis of the location of this person and another male and female found in the shrine (Sakellarakis and Sapouna-Sakellaraki Reference Sakellarakis and Sapouna-Sakellaraki1981; Sakellarakis and Sakellaraki Reference Sakellarakis and Sakellaraki1997). The reason this partial freeze-frame image survives is that the building collapsed through an earthquake. The individual on the ‘altar’ had made no attempt to leave, and so we can presume was unconscious or dead as the excavator suggests. There is no evidence, however, to suggest that such injury or death occurred at the shrine, and it may thus have occurred prior to their being brought there. In such circumstances, if we take the association of the weapon and the male lying down, we could suggest that this was an injured warrior seeking healing or a deceased warrior being prepared for a funerary event following a battle. While as speculative in character as this being a human sacrifice, it may be supported by the foetal position of the young male, as this is a natural reflexive position to enter when a person is alive and experiencing intense pain. An alternative suggested by the excavator was that his posture is because he was trussed for sacrifice. The possibility of this being a warrior on the basis of the spear and mortal injury would have particular resonance at the end of Middle Minoan II, when increased conflict is attested (Schoep Reference Schoep2006, 58).

Religion, war and society

The view that religion was the dominant manifestation of power in Minoan society is widely held (Adams Reference Adams2004b), and, in the case of warriors, Logue (Reference Logue2004, 152; after Earle Reference Earle1997, 106) argues that ‘in order to keep the military loyal, a ruling elite must also be able to bind them with “economic and ideological fetters”. The most secure “ideological fetter” that appears to have been used is control of religion and religious ritual.’ The complication with this otherwise likely scenario is that, when the military are members of the elite, they are amongst those who design control mechanisms. Thus having military behaviour permeating some aspects of religion and vice versa, a co-dependence emerges that can be variably manipulated by different elements of the elite group. This could be as simple as warriors requiring religious sanctioning of their actions or warriors partaking in contests and displays at religious festivals. We should also note that identities need not be exclusive and so warriors may perform religious activities that make no reference to their warriorhood.

We could also ask if religion was an imposed element of superficial control over the military, or whether the military imposed aspects of its needs upon religious practices. It can be noted that aspects of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) can be mitigated by psychological treatment in the modern military system, and the use of religion to rationalise and legitimise violence could have had a similarly powerful effect on alleviating the trauma of killing in the past (Grossman Reference Grossman1996; Molloy and Grossman Reference Molloy and Grossman2007). It is facile to view prehistoric warriors as mindless killing machines, or to think that trauma is inflicted only on victims of violence and not on the perpetrators in the specific context of warfare. The weight of modern research (Bourke Reference Bourke2000; Shephard Reference Shephard2002; Grossman Reference Grossman2004) on the use of training to naturalise the unnatural (killing) demonstrates that, by making people who lack aggressive tendencies effective killers in combat, institutionally recognised cathartic measures are required to alleviate the psychological damage caused to many combatants. The ability to transfer personal responsibility for undertaking often brutal acts to the figures and institutions of authority that sanctioned and solicited those acts in the first place is an important measure in recovering from the experiences of war. We may consider religion as providing such a conduit in prehistory, as it related to both divine and secular moral authority.

Burial practices

Warrior burials are a problem. When they do not exist we may wonder if there were any warriors; when they do exist, we have to ask were they really warriors (Whitley Reference Whitley2002; Smith Reference Smith, Schepartz, Fox and Bourbou2009). The casual introduction by Hood and de Jong (Reference Hood and de Jong1952) of ‘warrior burials’ to mean burials with weapons at Knossos was not intended to be dogmatic, but has nonetheless met with considerable debate (Whitley Reference Whitley2002; Driessen and Schoep Reference Driessen and Schoep1999; Preston Reference Preston2004a; Reference Preston, Cadogan, Hatzaki and Vasilakis2004b; Alberti Reference Alberti, Cadogan, Hatzaki and Vasilakis2004; Smith Reference Smith, Schepartz, Fox and Bourbou2009). The earliest burials with weapons come from Aghia Photia in East Crete (Davaras and Betancourt Reference Davaras and Betancourt2004) and from tholoi in the Mesara (Branigan Reference Branigan1974), and, despite differences in burial practices in the two areas, daggers, axes and/or spears were associated with individuals and deposited in the event of a funeral. The rarity of burials with weapons in Middle Minoan II – Late Minoan IA is a problem because there is a risk of this being correlated with an absence of warriors and hence of warfare, but a dearth of primary burials of any kind for this period needs to be noted (Poursat Reference Poursat1999). Late Minoan II–IIIA ‘warrior burials’ are known from the areas of Knossos (Evans Reference Evans1906; Hood and de Jong Reference Hood and de Jong1952; Hood Reference Hood1956; Popham, Catling and Catling Reference Popham, Catling and Catling1974) and Chania (Vlasaki in Whitley 2002–3) and have been considered as evidence for the arrival of ‘warlike Mycenaeans’ on Crete. In Late Minoan IIIC, burials with weapons occur throughout the island, with a particular concentration of excavated examples in the east (Kilian-Dirlmeier Reference Kilian-Dirlmeier1993).

Whitley (Reference Whitley2002) has comprehensively sought to dispossess the deceased in Cretan graves of a warrior identity in life (see also Smith Reference Smith, Schepartz, Fox and Bourbou2009; Driessen and Schoep Reference Driessen and Schoep1999), and Preston (Reference Preston1999; Reference Preston2004a; Reference Preston, Cadogan, Hatzaki and Vasilakis2004b) has convincingly questioned the unilateral ‘Mycenaean-ness’ of burial practices in general. We can thus make assumptions neither about the identification of persons buried with weapons as being warriors, nor about their being Mycenaean in ethnicity or identity. Taking these as starting points, we must account for weapons being intentionally interred in tombs and consider their function in the construction of identity in death (Whitley Reference Whitley2002). At the most basic level the deposition of weapons may relate to the anticipation of needs in the afterlife (Renfrew Reference Renfrew, Zubrow and Renfrew1994, 52), or to worship of a specific deity associated with weapon production and use (Kilian-Dirlmeier Reference Kilian-Dirlmeier and Sherratt2000, 830).

The symbolic grammar of weapons noted in the iconography of Late Minoan I to Late Minoan IIIA (Krzyszkowska Reference Krzyszkowska2005; Hiller Reference Hiller1999) may in part have been translated to the burial environment to afford meanings through the selection and position of specific weapon types. Weapons were used in the construction of identities that were conflations of military and religious symbolism, variably and perhaps contextually referring to either or both (Haysom Reference Haysom2010). The entire package of mirrors, tweezers, weapons, jewellery, razors, cleavers and seals found in Knossian graves (Evans Reference Evans1906; Hood and de Jong Reference Hood and de Jong1952; Hood Reference Hood1956; Popham, Catling and Catling Reference Popham, Catling and Catling1974) accords with a package of grave goods identified by Treherne (Reference Treherne1995) as occurring widely throughout Europe and reflecting warrior identity. These were related to the concept of the ‘warrior's beauty’ that we also see reflected in Cretan art, such as the Chieftain Cup. Some burials, however, only possessed a single spear and lacked other components of this package, perhaps indicating expressions of different meanings, as we see in the varied treatment of weapons in art. The differential selection of objects may thus relate more to symbolic constructs in the event of burial than to personal wealth or a warrior identity, though manipulation of one to promote the other may blur such boundaries. Furthermore, we cannot consider all burials with weapons from Early Minoan I to Late Minoan IIIC across the island as affording the same meanings.

The lack of ‘warrior burials’ in Middle Minoan II to Late Minoan IA CreteFootnote ²³ relates to the lack of desire in mortuary practice for constructing warrior identities and perhaps control of the distribution of bronze, thus relating to religion, economy and technology, not military practice. The separation of weapon and warrior may also have been related in some cases to a deliberate deconstruction of warrior identities in death as part of the passage to the afterlife or even for reasons of superstition (Williams Reference Williams2005, 268). Weapons ‘had a powerful agency to affect and direct the way that memories of the dead were constructed and reproduced’ (Williams Reference Williams2005, 267), and so we cannot assume that violent aspects to a warrior's identity were considered paramount in the processes of commemoration by the living.

Before the end of Late Minoan I the inclusion of combat weaponry in burials occurs in the area of north-central Crete. Two Type A swords (Fig. 21) came from the ‘isolated deposit’ possibly originating from a destroyed tomb at Isopata (Evans Reference Evans1935, 846; Driessen and Macdonald Reference Driessen and Macdonald1997, 71). Burials with fragments of weapons and boar's tusk helmets are known also from Poros (Dimopoulou Reference Dimopoulou, Kilian-Dirlmeier and Egg1999) from Late Minoan I. Burial as a warrior becomes more widespread in Late Minoan II–IIIA, but any suggestion that these persons (or any others) were exclusively warriors from mainland Greece is founded upon the idea of peaceful Minoans relying on bellicose Mycenaeans to fight their battles (e.g. Wright Reference Wright and Shelmerdine2008, 243). This ignores the dominant flow of military ideologies from Crete to the mainland in Middle Minoan III – Late Minoan IB (Molloy [forthcoming a]), marking a Cretan origin to mainland military traditions.

Fig. 21.

Range of swords in use in Bronze Age Crete. From left to right: Types A, Ci, Dii, Fii, Gi, Gii, Naue ii.

Osteological evidence for ancient violence

Looking to find real warriors beyond warrior burials, Smith (Reference Smith, Schepartz, Fox and Bourbou2009) has demonstrated that weapon-inflicted injuries occur on burials possessing no weapon in the Athenian Agora; this was in a cemetery that did include burials of individuals with weapons who had no identifiable injuries. Weapon trauma on people buried without weapons occurs also in Crete. Two such cases occur at Armenoi, where one individual had been struck repeatedly in the arm with a sword or axe and another still had an arrowhead lodged in their spine (McGeorge Reference McGeorge1984). In this case, the injuries cannot be attributed securely to warfare, as they could equally reflect homicide, execution or torture. The human remains from Aghios Charalambos cave in Lasithi provide the best examples of deliberately inflicted trauma, with a considerable 16 crania exhibiting distinct injuries (Betancourt et al. Reference Betancourt, Davaras, Dierckx, Ferrence, Hickman, Karkanas, McGeorge, Muhly, Reese, Stavropodi, Langford-Verstegen and Chlouveraki2008). These burials are secondary and the disturbed stratigraphic sequences allow broad dating between Final Neolithic and Middle Minoan IIB, though a bias towards the later end of this spectrum is suggested by the excavators. McGeorge (in Betancourt et al. Reference Betancourt, Davaras, Dierckx, Ferrence, Hickman, Karkanas, McGeorge, Muhly, Reese, Stavropodi, Langford-Verstegen and Chlouveraki2008) has identified numerous injuries on the skulls (Fig. 22 and Fig. 23), and suggests that many of these were inflicted during deliberate attacks. Both male and female crania exhibit wounds, supporting the evidence from urban destructions that settlements and their inhabitants were potential targets in war. We can also note that the bias of injuries in this study was towards blunt force trauma to the head. A possible explanation for some of these injuries would be an axe strike to a helmeted head, and double-axes were the primary potential percussive weapon in the Middle Minoan arsenal. It is also possible that these are the result of sling-stone impacts. Sharp/bladed weapon trauma to the head was recorded also at Aghios Charalambos, potentially from spear, dagger or sword attacks. We should note, however, that bladed weapon attacks in the Bronze Age would be preferably targeted to soft tissue areas, thus making them under-represented osteologically (Molloy Reference Molloy2010).

Fig. 22.

Blunt force injury to skull from Aghios Charalambos (courtesy T. McGeorge).

Fig. 23.

Injury from pointed object to skull from Aghios Charalambos (courtesy T. McGeorge).

Early daggers

In socio-military terms, the Cretan dataset of weapons illustrates the transition from the use of the tools of hunting in interpersonal combat (Chapman Reference Chapman, Carman and Harding1999) to formalised military systems using purpose-designed weapons of war – such as the sword, shield and lance. This was a landmark change in the way communities could define themselves both internally and externally through potential aggression (Parker Pearson Reference Parker Pearson and Pearson2005). By Early Minoan II, the first daggers evolved that reveal a distinct bias towards interpersonal combat, and so a social change initiated by weapons technology is apparent. However, Branigan's (Reference Branigan1974) Triangular Daggers were functionally replicating stone technology and, at 7–10 cm in length, they were thus too short and thin for combat (Branigan Reference Branigan1967, 237). Of Branigan's Long Daggers, Types III to XI were well suited to combat in terms of their length and the strength afforded by midribs, and many with blades of >25 cm would have been >33 cm in length with their organic hilt attached. While Branigan (Reference Branigan1999) suggests that the hilting mechanism was too fragile for combat use, experiments carried out by the author with similar grip-plate daggers from Atlantic Europe show that it survived very robust cutting and stabbing tests with no damage (Molloy Reference Molloy2007b). Daggers were dynamic objects so, while many were not suited to combat, others were suited to multiple purposes that included combat (Floyd Reference Floyd1999, 440), and the very longest variants (e.g. Branigan Reference Branigan1974, nos. 292, 284, 377) may be considered specialist combat weapons.

Axes

It can be difficult to differentiate axes that may have been weapons and those that may have been tools, though it might content us to consider many as tool-weapons, serving both purposes. The earliest copper-alloy axes and chisels of the Aegean were virtually unusable for cutting wood, due to the softness of the material and the process of work-hardening of copper alloys when they are thus used. Mathieu and Meyer (Reference Mathieu, Meyer and Mathieu2002) have demonstrated through experimental archaeology that stone axes were significantly superior for woodworking. It seems plausible, therefore, that, used alongside the early daggers in the Aegean, axes and so-called ‘chisels’ were in fact more oriented towards violence than industry. By analogy, we can refer to ‘Ötzi’, the Early Bronze Age man found frozen in Alpine ice, who had a (broadly) similar short axe to those used in the Aegean. DNA from human blood found on his cloak came from several different individuals, and he himself is likely to have died as the result of injuries sustained during a violent skirmish (Harding Reference Harding2007, 49).

Early swords

I have argued elsewhere (Molloy Reference Molloy2010) that the introduction of the sword represented a quantum leap in combat practice, and it cannot be regarded as a simple ‘extending of the dagger’ because it required entirely different skill-sets to use effectively. The earliest Type A swords (Fig. 21) were 70–90 cm in length (or 80–100 cm when hilted) and they would have originally weighed c.500–700 g. These metric variables indicate that, while Type A swords were typologically homogeneous, different swords would have performed quite differently in combat, reflecting the preferences of past warriors. As with earlier daggers, the midrib inhibited the depth of cutting attacks and the weapon was thus designed for slicing, not chopping (Molloy Reference Molloy2010, 416). The limited cutting capacities of these swords may suggest a display element to fighting in certain contexts, whereby bloody but not debilitating injuries might be inflicted (Molloy Reference Molloy2008; Reference Molloy2010). This could leave room for showmanship in fighting commensurate with the agonistic contests we see in art. However, by placing attacks to the neck or groin, for example, Type A swords could also make lethal attacks using the edges and the point. There is a common perception (Peatfield Reference Peatfield1999; Taracha Reference Taracha2007) that these swords were mainly suited to single combat, though their inclusion alongside shields and spears on the Miniature Fresco from Akrotiri (Morgan Reference Morgan1988) reminds us that battlefield functions were equally probable.

Defensive equipment

Boar's tusk helmets and large body-shields were in use for a very long time – from the origins of complex weapon panoplies in Middle Minoan II (or before) to the collapse of state-level society in Crete by Late Minoan IIIB. The use of identifiable animal-derived elements for weapons has led Morris (Reference Morris, Hägg and Nordquist1990, 155) to suggest that through the use of these helmets and shields ‘the relationship between man and animal is consistently expressed’ through symbolism and real life. The helmet represented the boar hunt and the shield represented the ubiquitous bull imagery in Crete, ideologically linking war, hunting and competitive fitness. These weapons were part of the underlying network of cross-references between military, social and religious symbolism and activities. It is noteworthy that swords never took on this symbolic power in Crete, and that spears were typically used to demonstrate power when associated with a person in art.

The dense and tough character of the boar's tusks made them very durable items of armour, and the large shields made of wicker and rawhide were a key element in determining battlefield tactics for centuries (Molloy Reference Molloy2009). We may note that armour and bronze helmets, like the one from Late Minoan II Knossos (Hood and de Jong Reference Hood and de Jong1952), could represent an end to these established relationships between war, hunting and the natural world/religion, as may also be supported by the inclusion of the abovementioned Ke-se-no foreign warriors (Driessen and Macdonald Reference Driessen and Macdonald1984, 55) by Late Minoan IIIA.

Double-axes

The double-axe is a ubiquitous symbol synonymous with ‘Neopalatial Minoan Crete’. Considering the obvious separation between cast and sheet metal that we also see mirrored in swords and daggers, we might consider the cast ones to be functional as weapon-tools. As Haysom (Reference Haysom2010, 42) argues, ‘we cannot assume that just because something is not functional (like the impractically large or thin double-axes) it was not meant to represent a functional object’. Indeed Haysom (Reference Haysom2010, 42) notes that the majority of double-axes are the functional cast forms (cf. Evely Reference Evely1993, 51). Double-axes incised with a figure-of-eight shield and boar's tusk helmet reflect the use of all three devices in a conflation between military and religious symbolism (Morris Reference Morris, Hägg and Nordquist1990; Haysom Reference Haysom2010), perhaps in constructing divine as well as terrestrial identities. As with earlier axes, double-axes had soft alloys, the low tin content of many (Craddock Reference Craddock1976; Northover and Evely Reference Northover and Evely1995, 95) making them poor tools for cutting wood.Footnote ²⁵ In combat, we could consider double-axes as weapon-tools for close-quarters fighting that would have been suited to percussive attacks reaching over shields to the head of an opponent or hooking the tops of shields in seeking to break up a defensive wall.

Archery

Archers were probably present in Crete from the Neolithic, and in the Bronze Age they are seen in Late Helladic I scenes from Mycenae using the same bows in interpersonal combat as are known to have been used in Crete (Hiller Reference Hiller1999). From the Shaft Graves, the Lion Hunt Dagger and Silver Battle Krater appear to use stock imagery of battle groups and along with the Silver Siege Rhyton they suggest that archers fought as skirmishers amongst the infantry, as perhaps did slingers. This indicates that there was a distinct lethal intent to combat and that idealistic visions of ritual combats or limited engagement wars have little foundation in the Cretan Bronze Age.

Spears

Bronze spears in Early Minoan and Middle Minoan Crete were simple designs, typically shoe-socket or slotted forms. They were primarily intended for penetrative attacks, and were suited to both hunting and warfare. Few Late Minoan I spears have been recovered from Crete (Avila Reference Avila1983; Branigan Reference Branigan1974; Höckmann Reference Höckmann1980), though we could expect lances similar to those from the Shaft Graves at Mycenae to have been in use on the basis of parity with other weaponry, and the lances on the Miniature Fresco from nearby Akrotiri (Morgan Reference Morgan1988). By Late Minoan II/Late Minoan IIIA more complex forms of spear are known archaeologically and they are best represented in the graves around Knossos (Evans Reference Evans1906; Hood and de Jong Reference Hood and de Jong1952; Hood Reference Hood1956; Popham, Catling and Catling Reference Popham, Catling and Catling1974). Continuing the long-standing cross-fertilisation of military technology between mainland Greece and Crete, spears of Types E, F and H (Fig. 24) are well known in both areas (Avila Reference Avila1983; Höckmann Reference Höckmann1980). Many of these could have served in the hunt or battle, though it is noteworthy that a deliberate decorative cross-reference was made between many Type D swords and Type F spears in the form of a raised wavy ridge on the handle and socket respectively. Most spears had distinct cutting edges to provide a further means of inflicting injury as well as the point, and the compact and robust cross-section of Types F in particular, but also some Type H examples, suggests they were intended for punching through armour. Type G spears in particular have strong morphological similarities to mediaeval boar-hunting spears, with their wide flaring blades and abrupt shoulders.

Fig. 24.

Type F and H spears from Crete.

Armour

A stone vase (Hood Reference Hood1971) and Linear B texts from Knossos (Ventris and Chadwick Reference Ventris and Chadwick1973, 375–9) and plates from Phaistos (Hood and de Jong Reference Hood and de Jong1952, 60) indicate that armour broadly similar to the well-known Dendra corslet (Verdelis Reference Verdelis and Aström1977) was in use in Crete, though we are unclear as to its composition (bronze or leather or both). It has variously been regarded as infantry armour (Harding Reference Harding1984, 151, 174; Crouwel Reference Crouwel1981, 127), chariot armour (Drews Reference Drews1993, 175) and duelling armour (Peatfield Reference Peatfield and de Souza2008, 93). Considering the functional strengths of 1 mm+ thick bronze plate (Molloy Reference Molloy2009), its relatively light weight of around 15 kg, and my experience wearing a replica (Molloy Reference Molloy2006; forthcoming b),Footnote ²⁶ I suggest that such armour was highly versatile and perfectly suited to use in any of these contexts.

Later swords and daggers

The Types C and D swords (Fig. 21; Sandars Reference Sandars1963; Kilian-Dirlmeier Reference Kilian-Dirlmeier1993; Molloy Reference Molloy2010) of Late Minoan II did not change as rapidly in functional terms as spearhead designs had, and these swords were poorly suited to attacks against the new plate armour (Molloy Reference Molloy2008). Type C (all variants) and Type Di swords had midribs and the blades were typically long and thin. While lighter than their predecessors the Type A swords, they nonetheless appear to have been used in a broadly similar manner (Molloy Reference Molloy2008; Reference Molloy2010; Peatfield Reference Peatfield1999; Reference Peatfield2007; Taracha Reference Taracha2007). Peatfield (Reference Peatfield and de Souza2008) conflates Late Helladic I and Late Minoan I iconography with Late Minoan IIIA sword forms to suggest that there was a ‘hierarchical perception of combat skills’ in which swords were the ‘dominant weapon’ in Crete across these periods. In both Late Helladic I–II and Late Minoan I art, however, spears occur far more commonly than swords and they occupy a much wider range of symbolic as well as practical roles. We also need to note that there is a complete lack of swords in Late Minoan IIIA art, so there is a marked gap between the images of swords in use and the actual swords Peatfield discusses, making it difficult to substantiate the relative importance of swordsmanship over and against other forms of fighting for either period. In view of this, his suggestion that duelling was common practice (see also Taracha Reference Taracha2007), and more importantly that this was the main context for sword use, remains speculative. Furthermore, because images of combat were ideological expressions and/or narrative excerpts using violent imagery (Hiller Reference Hiller1999), not martial art exposés or manuals, we must remain cautious when using them to suggest modes of conflict resolution or systems of combat in either Late Minoan I or Late Minoan IIIA. The range of potential functions of Type C and D swords (Molloy Reference Molloy2008; Reference Molloy2010; Peatfield Reference Peatfield2007) indicates that they were suited to ‘audience-oriented’ combat with a significant display element, supporting elements of Peatfield's theory, but we need to also observe that they were suitable for use on the battlefield.

Between Late Minoan I and Late Minoan IIIA short swords became increasingly common, and these suggest different modes and contexts of use to the longer thin varieties (Molloy Reference Molloy2010). Later Type Di and Type Dii swords lost their midrib in Late Minoan IIIA:2 and other forms of short sword began to appear around this time. These include Type E daggers, and Type Fi and Fii daggers and swords (Kilian-Dirlmeier Reference Kilian-Dirlmeier1993). The characteristically broad Type E and Fi long daggers find an interesting parallel in (doubtlessly functional) first century ad Roman dagger forms (Fig. 25; Connolly Reference Connolly1998, 232). Alongside these, Type Gi swords evolved that could make deeper and more deadly cuts than their Type C predecessors (Molloy Reference Molloy2006; Reference Molloy2010). The non-midribbed daggers and short swords of Late Minoan II–III were more stocky and robust than their long and thin predecessors and thus capable of making stronger, percussive, cutting attacks. There was, however, significant variation in thickness (from 2.5 to 5 mm), indicating that only some were capable of contending with heavy armour.

Fig. 25.

Type Eii dagger from Knossos (courtesy of Heraklion Museum – Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Archaeological Receipts Fund) (left), and 1st century ad Roman dagger from southern Bavaria (courtesy of Archäologische Staatsammlung, Munich) (right).

Weapons of Late Minoan IIIB–C

Spears in Late Minoan IIIC were basic leaf shapes with cast sockets, and swords were primarily of Types Fii or Naue ii. The latter entered the Aegean from the north in Late Helladic IIIB, and was transformed in Crete to shorter and lighter proportions (Molloy Reference Molloy2010). Local Type F swords were generally of similar proportions, if slightly shorter. On the basis of shield forms known from other parts of the Aegean, we can assume that shields in Crete were small (covering from chin to groin at best). The votive v-notched shields from the Idaean cave (Coles Reference Coles1962) are metal models of shields known widely from Bronze Age Europe. Such shields entered the Aegean at the same time as Naue ii swords (Molloy Reference Molloy2010), and while the bronze ones in Crete are Late Geometric in date, they may be models of more ancient (and now decayed) organic shields from Late Minoan IIIC, similar to those from Europe (Coles Reference Coles1962; Molloy Reference Molloy2009; Uckelmann [forthcoming]). The v-notch on prehistoric shields occurs where a sword would hit the shield if the user banged it to produce noise for a cheer or taunt, and the myth that shields in the Idaean cave were thus banged by the Kouretes to cover up the cries of the baby Zeus (hiding him from Kronos) may reflect this tradition (Hard Reference Hard2004, 75).