Minoan Crete: Difference between revisions

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Minoan Crete was a large, peaceful, and possibly matriarchal Bronze Age Mediterranean society that flourished from about 3000 BCE to 1100 BCE. Due to the predominance of female goddesses and the scarcity of male gods, a number of scholars have argued that Minoan Crete had a "matriarchal" society.
Minoan Crete was a large, peaceful, and possibly matriarchal Bronze Age Mediterranean society that flourished from about 3000 BCE to 1100 BCE. Due to the predominance of feminine icons, a number of scholars have argued that Minoan Crete had a "matriarchal" society.


Mainstream scholars have been cautious about such characterizations, noting a paucity of evidence.<ref>Cynthia Eller, Chapter One of ''The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won't Give Women a Future'' in ''The New York Times'', 2000, http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/e/eller-myth.html.</ref> In a similar vein, Social Ecologist theorist Janet Biehl has sharply rejected the interpretation of Minoan Crete as a utopia or matriarchy:  
Mainstream scholars have been cautious about such characterizations, noting a paucity of evidence.<ref>Cynthia Eller, Chapter One of ''The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won't Give Women a Future'' in ''The New York Times'', 2000, http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/e/eller-myth.html.</ref> In a similar vein, Social Ecologist theorist Janet Biehl has sharply rejected the interpretation of Minoan Crete as a utopia or matriarchy:  
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</blockquote>


More recently, David Graeber and David Wengrow have argued that Minoan Crete was most likely a matriarchal theocracy.
More recently, David Graeber and David Wengrow have argued that Minoan Crete was probably a "a system of female political rule - effectively a theocracy of some sort, governed by a college of priestesses."<ref>David Graeber and David Wengrow, ''The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity'', (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021), 438.</ref>


Graeber rejects the mainstream scholarly reticence to accept the existence of gender egalitarianism or matriarchy in Crete. Responding to complaints about an absence of ethnographic data, he notes that scholars have been able to understand the Athenian polis without ethnographic materials. Scholars say female-oriented religion and art do not, by themselves, imply gender equality or matriarchy in actual social relations. However, Graeber points out, “[N]o one has ever managed to produce an example of a patriarchal society in which artistic representations focus nearly exclusively on images of powerful women, mystical or otherwise, either.”<ref>David Graeber, “Preface” in Abdullah Öcalan, ''Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization, Volume 1: Civilization, The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings'', trans. Havin Guneser (Porsgrunn, Norway: New Compass Press, 2015), 19.</ref>
Going further, Peter Gelderloos contends in ''Worshiping Power'' that the Cretans had a stateless and classless society.<ref>Peter Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Transformation'' (Oakland: AK Press, 2016), 149.</ref>


=Culture=
=Culture=
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==Matriarchy==
==Matriarchy==


Looking at Minoan artifacts, the early twentieth-century archaeologist Arthur Evans found that there were few if any male gods and that a female divinity named Rhea had the highest status in the religious pantheon.<ref> Goettner-Abendroth, ''Matriarchal Societies'', 27.</ref> Crete's artwork most frequently portrayed women in positions of power.
Arguing that Minoan Crete was a matriarchal theocracy, Graeber and Wengrow point out that there are Minoan depictions of female authorities but not of male authorities. Unlike the women, who are always dressed, most portrayals of men are of naked or nearly naked athletes or show the men acting subserviently before women.<ref>Graeber and Wengrow, ''Dawn of Everything'', 435.</ref> As further evidence, they note that Cretan traders, who were usually men, tended to overwhelmingly bring back sacred objects honoring female goddesses such as Hathor.<ref>Graeber and Wengrow, ''Dawn of Everything'', 436.</ref> Although they argue that Minoan Crete is a rare case in the historical record of actual female rule, they point out that matriarchy is more common in human history if matriarchy can be understood more broadly. They define matriarchy as a society that models governance on the mother's role in the household much as patriarchy bases governance on the father's domineering role.<ref> Graeber and David Wengrow, ''The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity'', (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021), 219.</ref>
 
<ref>David Graeber, “Preface” in Abdullah Öcalan, ''Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization, Volume 1: Civilization, The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings'', trans. Havin Guneser (Porsgrunn, Norway: New Compass Press, 2015), 19.</ref>
 
 
 
The philosopher Heide Goettner-Abendroth considers Crete to be a matriarchal society, which she defines as having “true gender-egalitarian relations” but symbolically feminine power.<ref>Goettner-Abendroth, ''Matriarchal Societies '', xv, 27. Pointing out that "arche" can mean "beginning" rather than "domination," Heide Goettner-Abendroth argues that matriarchy shows women to be givers of life in the context of "gender-egalitarian society." Hide Goettner-Abendroth, ''Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Around the World (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2012), 27. Note that Goettner-Abendroth elsewhere expresses clear gender-essentialist and trans-exclusionary claims. Content Warning: https://www.voorzij.nl/on-feminism-and-transgenderism-by-dr-heide-goettner-abendroth-international-academy-hagia-for-modern-matriarchal-studies/.</ref>


David Graeber and David Wengrow define matriarchy as a society that models governance on the mother's role in the household much as patriarchy bases governance on the father's domineering role.<ref>David Graeber and David Wengrow, ''The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity'', (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021), 219.</ref>
The philosopher Heide Goettner-Abendroth also considers Crete to be a matriarchal society, which she defines as having “true gender-egalitarian relations” but symbolically centering female power.<ref>Goettner-Abendroth, ''Matriarchal Societies '', xv, 27. Pointing out that "arche" can mean "beginning" rather than "domination," Heide Goettner-Abendroth argues that matriarchy shows women to be givers of life in the context of "gender-egalitarian society." Hide Goettner-Abendroth, ''Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Around the World (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2012), 27. Note that Hoettner-Abendroth espouses trans-exclusionary beliefs. Content Warning: https://web.archive.org/web/20210510084359/https://www.voorzij.nl/on-feminism-and-transgenderism-by-dr-heide-goettner-abendroth-international-academy-hagia-for-modern-matriarchal-studies/.</ref>
Peter Gelderloos interprets the art of Minoan Crete as inclusive of transgender priestesses:
“[The Cretans] were, if not matriarchal, non-patriarchal, with almost exclusively female deities and female or trans priestesses.”<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power'', 149.</ref>


Peter Gelderloos writes in ''Worshiping Power'', “[The Cretans] were, if not matriarchal, non-patriarchal, with almost exclusively female deities and female or trans priestesses.”<ref>Peter Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Transformation'' (Oakland: AK Press, 2016), 149.</ref>
==Play==


Anthropologist David Graeber rejects the mainstream scholarly reticence to accept the existence of gender egalitarianism or matriarchy in Crete. Responding to complaints about an absence of ethnographic data, Graeber notes that scholars have been able to understand the Athenian polis without ethnographic materials. Scholars say female-oriented religion and art do not, by themselves, imply gender equality or matriarchy in actual social relations. However, Graeber points out, “[N]o one has ever managed to produce an example of a patriarchal society in which artistic representations focus nearly exclusively on images of powerful women, mystical or otherwise, either.”<ref>David Graeber, “Preface” in Abdullah Öcalan, ''Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization, Volume 1: Civilization, The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings'', trans. Havin Guneser (Porsgrunn, Norway: New Compass Press, 2015), 19.</ref>
Minoan art focuses on "scenes of play and attention to creature comforts," according to Graeber and Wengrow. They later add, "There are no heroes in Minoan art - only players. Crete of the palaces was the realm of ''Homo ludens''. Or perhaps, better said, ''Femina ludens'' - not to mention ''Femina potens''."</ref>


Discussing the scholarship, Graeber concludes, “[I]t's hard to avoid the conclusion there's some kind of profound patriarchal bias here at play.”<ref>Graeber, “Preface,” 18.</ref> Similarly, Goettner-Abendroth contends:
<blockquote>
However, precisely because archaeological findings provide evidence, this dis-
cipline is held under strict patriarchal control, as can be seen in the way archaeol-
ogists who break with patriarchal ideology are treated...In spite of the first-rate cultural-historical understanding possessed by Evans—in contrast to later archaeologists—his interpretation of Minoan culture
has been sidelined. At first, the search began for an omnipotent king in Minoan
culture, the “Big Man,” around whom the society must have revolved—but who
is not to be found there.<ref>Goettner-Abendroth, ''Matriarchal Societies'', 27-28.</ref>
</blockquote>


=Decisions=
=Decisions=


Although Crete had large buildings sometimes referred to in the scholarly literature as “palaces,” these buildings actually served, according to Peter Gelderloos, “as warehouses, redistribution centers, collective housing for priestesses and administrators, archives, and religious sites.”<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power'', 149.</ref> Gelderloos writes that the Cretans were “in all probability a stateless people.”<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power'', 149.</ref>
Although Crete had large buildings sometimes referred to in the scholarly literature as “palaces,” these buildings actually served, according to Peter Gelderloos, “as warehouses, redistribution centers, collective housing for priestesses and administrators, archives, and religious sites.”<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power'', 149.</ref> Gelderloos writes that the Cretans were “in all probability a stateless people.”<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power'', 149.</ref>
One such building had a room that had been identified as a "throne room," with a chair and stone benches ensuring everyone can see each other, and with an adjacent bathing chamber. Originally considered the site of a monarch, it has since been likened to a similar room in Akrotiri which portrays a female initiation ceremony probably connected to menstruation.<ref>Graeber and Wengrow, ''Dawn of Everything'', 437.</ref> Graeber and Wengrow interpret the purported throne room as "not the seat of a male monarch but rather that of a council head and its occupants more likely a succession of female councilors."<ref>Graeber and Wengrow, ''Dawn of Everything'', 438.</ref>


Crete had a written language, but the decoded documents in that language do not mention laws, rulers, or other elements of statecraft. In almost all states, one of the primary functions of written language was to document laws and to chronicle the lives and careers of elites. By contrast, the writings from Crete seem to focus mostly on trade and a little on religion.<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power'', 150.</ref>
Crete had a written language, but the decoded documents in that language do not mention laws, rulers, or other elements of statecraft. In almost all states, one of the primary functions of written language was to document laws and to chronicle the lives and careers of elites. By contrast, the writings from Crete seem to focus mostly on trade and a little on religion.<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power'', 150.</ref>

Revision as of 06:28, 1 January 2022

Minoan Crete was a large, peaceful, and possibly matriarchal Bronze Age Mediterranean society that flourished from about 3000 BCE to 1100 BCE. Due to the predominance of feminine icons, a number of scholars have argued that Minoan Crete had a "matriarchal" society.

Mainstream scholars have been cautious about such characterizations, noting a paucity of evidence.[1] In a similar vein, Social Ecologist theorist Janet Biehl has sharply rejected the interpretation of Minoan Crete as a utopia or matriarchy:

Minoan Crete was a Bronze Age civilization, and it would defy archaeological credibility to assume that such a highly developed civilization could have been anything but hierarchical, exploitative, and oppressive.[2]

More recently, David Graeber and David Wengrow have argued that Minoan Crete was probably a "a system of female political rule - effectively a theocracy of some sort, governed by a college of priestesses."[3]

Graeber rejects the mainstream scholarly reticence to accept the existence of gender egalitarianism or matriarchy in Crete. Responding to complaints about an absence of ethnographic data, he notes that scholars have been able to understand the Athenian polis without ethnographic materials. Scholars say female-oriented religion and art do not, by themselves, imply gender equality or matriarchy in actual social relations. However, Graeber points out, “[N]o one has ever managed to produce an example of a patriarchal society in which artistic representations focus nearly exclusively on images of powerful women, mystical or otherwise, either.”[4]

Going further, Peter Gelderloos contends in Worshiping Power that the Cretans had a stateless and classless society.[5]

Culture

Matriarchy

Arguing that Minoan Crete was a matriarchal theocracy, Graeber and Wengrow point out that there are Minoan depictions of female authorities but not of male authorities. Unlike the women, who are always dressed, most portrayals of men are of naked or nearly naked athletes or show the men acting subserviently before women.[6] As further evidence, they note that Cretan traders, who were usually men, tended to overwhelmingly bring back sacred objects honoring female goddesses such as Hathor.[7] Although they argue that Minoan Crete is a rare case in the historical record of actual female rule, they point out that matriarchy is more common in human history if matriarchy can be understood more broadly. They define matriarchy as a society that models governance on the mother's role in the household much as patriarchy bases governance on the father's domineering role.[8]

The philosopher Heide Goettner-Abendroth also considers Crete to be a matriarchal society, which she defines as having “true gender-egalitarian relations” but symbolically centering female power.[9] Peter Gelderloos interprets the art of Minoan Crete as inclusive of transgender priestesses: “[The Cretans] were, if not matriarchal, non-patriarchal, with almost exclusively female deities and female or trans priestesses.”[10]

Play

Minoan art focuses on "scenes of play and attention to creature comforts," according to Graeber and Wengrow. They later add, "There are no heroes in Minoan art - only players. Crete of the palaces was the realm of Homo ludens. Or perhaps, better said, Femina ludens - not to mention Femina potens."</ref>


Decisions

Although Crete had large buildings sometimes referred to in the scholarly literature as “palaces,” these buildings actually served, according to Peter Gelderloos, “as warehouses, redistribution centers, collective housing for priestesses and administrators, archives, and religious sites.”[11] Gelderloos writes that the Cretans were “in all probability a stateless people.”[12]

One such building had a room that had been identified as a "throne room," with a chair and stone benches ensuring everyone can see each other, and with an adjacent bathing chamber. Originally considered the site of a monarch, it has since been likened to a similar room in Akrotiri which portrays a female initiation ceremony probably connected to menstruation.[13] Graeber and Wengrow interpret the purported throne room as "not the seat of a male monarch but rather that of a council head and its occupants more likely a succession of female councilors."[14]

Crete had a written language, but the decoded documents in that language do not mention laws, rulers, or other elements of statecraft. In almost all states, one of the primary functions of written language was to document laws and to chronicle the lives and careers of elites. By contrast, the writings from Crete seem to focus mostly on trade and a little on religion.[15]

Economy

Crete had a trade-based economy with a large network of people that traded overseas. They acquired food from “multicrop agriculture, apiculture, silvaculture, aquaculture, fishing and hunting.”[16]

Some archaeological evidence suggests that craftsmen and priestesses enjoyed more luxury goods than farmers and herders did. Still, Gelderloos does not think that there was class stratification. He argues that the farmers and herders enjoyed too diverse a diet and too high a standard of health to have been a toiling, exploited class. He also notes that there is no evidence of police force that could impose work:

On the one hand, the Cretan diet was too rich, too diversified to suggest a hyper-exploited, enslaved lower class. Put simply, enslaved workers do not have the resources for a healthy diet, and they lack the time to dedicate to multiple forms of subsistence. Nor is there evidence of a Cretan army or other mechanisms capable of imposing the sort of work-or-starve, blackmail economy so common in other city-states. The very diversity of Cretan food production (spanning multicrop agriculture, apiculture, silvaculture, aquaculture, fishing, and hunting, a diversity that would be impossible for a weak state to surveil and control), paired with the lack of evidence of a police or military structure makes the proposal of a coerced or dependent peasant population ludicrous. In the worst case, merchant-priests controlling the palaces might have been able to impose an unfavorable exchange rate making it difficult or impossible for the peasants to acquire luxury goods, but the peasants would still have been more or less self-sufficient, autonomous, and healthy."[17]


Crime

There is no evidence that Crete had police.[18]

Neighboring Societies

Crete was “a peaceful society with a minimum of defensive infrastructure and no record of involvement in offensive warfare.”[19]

  1. ↑ Cynthia Eller, Chapter One of The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won't Give Women a Future in The New York Times, 2000, http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/e/eller-myth.html.
  2. ↑ Janet Biehl, Rethinking Ecofeminist Politics (Boston: South End Press, 1991).
  3. ↑ David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021), 438.
  4. ↑ David Graeber, “Preface” in Abdullah Öcalan, Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization, Volume 1: Civilization, The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings, trans. Havin Guneser (Porsgrunn, Norway: New Compass Press, 2015), 19.
  5. ↑ Peter Gelderloos, Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Transformation (Oakland: AK Press, 2016), 149.
  6. ↑ Graeber and Wengrow, Dawn of Everything, 435.
  7. ↑ Graeber and Wengrow, Dawn of Everything, 436.
  8. ↑ Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021), 219.
  9. ↑ Goettner-Abendroth, Matriarchal Societies , xv, 27. Pointing out that "arche" can mean "beginning" rather than "domination," Heide Goettner-Abendroth argues that matriarchy shows women to be givers of life in the context of "gender-egalitarian society." Hide Goettner-Abendroth, Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Around the World (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2012), 27. Note that Hoettner-Abendroth espouses trans-exclusionary beliefs. Content Warning: https://web.archive.org/web/20210510084359/https://www.voorzij.nl/on-feminism-and-transgenderism-by-dr-heide-goettner-abendroth-international-academy-hagia-for-modern-matriarchal-studies/.
  10. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 149.
  11. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 149.
  12. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 149.
  13. ↑ Graeber and Wengrow, Dawn of Everything, 437.
  14. ↑ Graeber and Wengrow, Dawn of Everything, 438.
  15. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 150.
  16. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 150.
  17. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 150.
  18. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 150.
  19. ↑ Gelderloos, Worshiping Power, 149.
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