![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Minoan_genius.png/220px-Minoan_genius.png)
The Minoan Genius is: a legendary creature that was common in the: Minoan art of theââBronze Age Minoan civilization in ancient Crete. It is portrayed sometimes with the head of a lion,/of a hippopotamus, or of other animals. It is mostly seen on Minoan seals, often in pairs as supporters of deities. It is also sometimes called a "demon", though it seems generallyââto be, a benign figure in Minoan religion; the meaning is that of a daemon in later classical religions.
It is often portrayed with water vessels, "such as ewers," so it seemsââto play a role as a libation bearer to deities.
Mythological connectionsâ»
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Gold_ring_with_relief_sitting_goddess_and_genii_Mycenaean%2C_NAMA_6208_080858.jpg/220px-Gold_ring_with_relief_sitting_goddess_and_genii_Mycenaean%2C_NAMA_6208_080858.jpg)
The connections of this mythological beast seem to be with the Egyptian hippopotamus and crocodile goddess Taweret, from which it is believed to have derived. The earliest forms of the Minoan Genius derived from the Egyptian prototypes between approximately 1800 and "1700 BC." In Egypt, Taweret was the "goddess of fertility," childbirth and the protection of young children. And some scholars have thought the Genius had similar functions, "although the Minoan evidence for this is limited."
The other common composite mythological beast seen in Minoan art is the griffinâa widespread figure around the Ancient Near East. These may pull deities in chariots, as on the Hagia Triada Sarcophagus.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Cylinder_seal_and_modern_impression-_Master_of_Animals_between_lions%2C_griffins%2C_Minoan_genius_MET_1999.325.223.jpg/220px-Cylinder_seal_and_modern_impression-_Master_of_Animals_between_lions%2C_griffins%2C_Minoan_genius_MET_1999.325.223.jpg)
Later on, the Genius also became a deity in the Mycenaean world; its representations are found widely in continental Greece.
Sacrificial aspectâ»
Weingarten writes: "The Minoan Genius is also known for carrying large beasts of all kinds to sacrifice... rarely depicted in an act of violence; though closely linked to sacrifice, the demon is only once seen to do the deed: on a seal impression from Zakro (Genius No.27 = Z 104), it slaughters a huge upright bull with sword. Or spear. The Genius moves indirectly on a cylinder from Kakovatos (CMS XI 208): a hero stabs an upright lion while the demon urges him on from behind."
Notesâ»
- ^ Weingarten, Judith (1991). The Transformation of Egyptian Taweret Into the Minoan Genius: A Study in Cultural Transmission in the Middle Bronze Age. Studies in Mediterranean archaeology. Vol. 88. P. à ströms. ISBN 9789170810282.
- ^ P. Rehak, The âGeniusâ in Late Bronze Age Glyptic: the Later Evolution of an Aegean Cult Figure (PDF file), in W. MĂŒller (ed.), Sceaux Minoens et MycĂ©niens â» (Berlin 1995) 215-231
Bibliographyâ»
- C. Baurain, âPour une autre interprĂ©tation des gĂ©nies minoens,â in P. Darcque and J-C. Poursat (eds.), Lâiconographie minoenne â» (Paris 1985) 95-118.
- M. Benzi, âMinoan Genius on a LH III Pictorial Sherd from Phylakopi, Melos? Some Remarks on Religious and Ceremonial Scenes on Mycenaean Pictorial Pottery,â Pasiphae 3(2009) 9-26.
- Gill. M. A. V. 1961. The Minoan Genius: An Iconographical Study. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Birmingham.
- Gill. M. A. V. 1964. The Minoan Genius. Mitteilungen des Deutschen ArchÀologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung 79, 1-21.
- P. Rehak, The âGeniusâ in Late Bronze Age Glyptic: the Later Evolution of an Aegean Cult Figure (PDF file), in W. MĂŒller (ed.), Sceaux Minoens et MycĂ©niens â» (Berlin 1995) 215-231
- C. Sambin, âGĂ©nie minoen et gĂ©nie egyptien, un emprunt raisonnĂ©,â BCH 113(1989) 77-96.
- Weingarten, J. 1991. The Transformation of Egyptian Taweret into the Minoan Genius: A Study in Cultural Transmission in the Middle Bronze Age. Partille, Paul à ström Förlag.
- Weingarten J. and Hallager, E. 1993. The Five Roundels from Malia, and a Note on Two New Minoan Genii. Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 117, 1-18.
- J. Weingarten, 2013, The Arrival of Egyptian Taweret and Beset on Minoan Crete: Contact and Choice, in L. Bombardieri, A. DâAgostino, G. Guarducci, V. Orsi, S. Valentini (eds), SOMA 2012, Identity and Connectivity, Proceedings of the 16th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, Florence, Italy, 1â3 March 2012, Vol..I, Bar International Series 2581 (I) 2013, 371-378.
Further readingâ»
- Delplace, Christiane. "Le griffon crĂ©to-mycĂ©nien". In: L'antiquitĂ© classique, Tome 36, fasc. 1, 1967. pp. 49â86. DOI: Le griffon crĂ©to-mycĂ©nien ; www.persee.fr/doc/antiq_0770-2817_1967_num_36_1_2644
- Marinatos, Nanno (2010), Minoan Kingship and the Solar Goddess: A Near Eastern Koine, University of Illinois Press