Ancient Art Lecture 13: Minoan Art Part 2

Because that Minoan lecture was so long, I am creating a bonus lecture because usually this is at the end of that Minoan lecture, but I thought you had enough. So here is the end of the Minoan lecture. It's only about six slides. We'll get through it quickly. First of all, I want to say that you should watch the video that's called Akrotiri in the module because it explains the volcanic eruption. It explains the archaeology that's happening at this site. So you can watch it after, but it might be more informative if you watch it first and then come back to this. If you watch it after, I'll tell you quickly that this island of Santorini that everybody puts on Instagram with the white houses and blue roofs used to be an island called Thera. And in around 1600 BCE, the island basically exploded because it was the top of a volcano. What we're going to specifically talk about in the next five to ten minutes is this little town in that circle there called Akrotiri. And it was a Minoan settlement even though this island is in the Cyclades. Akrotiri is remarkably well-preserved. Later on when we talk about Rome, we will discuss Pompeii and Herculaneum. And both of those were covered from the volcanic eruption of Pompeii. So the same sort of thing happened here in Akrotiri, except the archaeology is better because they found it later. If you watch the video, you'll see. Anyway, in Akrotiri they found frescoes, pottery, furniture, advanced drainage systems, and three-story buildings. And interestingly, there are no skeletal remains that have been found. Basically, people must have known this thing was about to blow and they all got out of town. In fact, only a single gold object has been found in the entire ruins at Akrotiri. And it was hidden beneath the flooring. And so what this tells us is that there probably was an orderly evacuation that was performed with little or no loss of life at least on the island. And it was possibly due to a series of escalating earthquakes. Volcanoes just don't erupt, they move a lot first, so they probably figured it out like, we got to get out of here. What must have happened is someone hid this and left it behind, and that's why it was there, because they just didn't grab it. But we're not going to talk about this golden goat. We're going to talk about these amazing frescoes that were left behind. We'll start with the boxing boys. And the other fresco, you can actually see it to the to the right side there, that's the other one we're going to talk about. And we'll talk about why they're in the same room. So here's what we have. We have two youths boxing, and it's possibly a ritual sport rather than a competitive match. And it's unclear if the gloves were meant to protect the boys from serious bodily damage, or if they were made or filled with a substance that might have actually increased the damage. The boxers are boys, and that is suggested in the coloring of their skin. Remember this was possibly borrowed from Egypt. The red was male and the yellowish was female. They wear only a belt and a loincloth, with the boxing glove on only the right hand. Their hair has these long tresses, and they have shaved parts on their head. This is actually a sign of youth. The boy on the left wears a surprising amount of jewelry. Necklace, earrings, bracelets, and anklets. While his opponent has no jewelry. This denotes some sort of hierarchy in the people at Akrotiri. There's an interesting theory that the boy on the right might be suffering from a condition called spondylolisthesis. And it's a condition in which one vertebrae in your backbone slips and then causes displacement. And interestingly, the theory is that he might have acquired this condition through the trauma of boxing. So you can see on the opposite wall of the boys boxing, there are these two antelopes. And I want you to try to make some connection between these two paintings. You have boys in some sort of competition or ritual. You have these antelopes. I want you to look at them, and I'm not going to ask you if you think they are connected or not. Let's just say they are. And if they are, what is the connection between the two?