Goddess Sites of Eastern Crete - Part
1
(continued from page 1)
by Cheryl Straffon & Jackie Dash
We knew that they honoured the Goddess here, for in the south-western corner of the site, archaeologists found a shrine, one of the earliest yet known to the Minoan Goddess. Here was found a clay figurine of a Goddess, holding a miniature jug, which now resides in the museum in Ayios Nikolaos [below].
We found what was probably this shrine room with its stone altar - and discovered someone had been there before us! An offering of coloured stones and pebbles had been placed on the altar, and it was exciting to think that perhaps other Goddess-celebrating people had been there to once again honour Her at her shrine. The site seemed to us so alive with the spirits of the people who had lived there, it was as if the last 4000 years had gone nowhere, and we kept half-expecting to see one of them coming around the corner with some grain for grinding, or with an offering for the Goddess at the shrine. As the sun set behind the mountains and twilight began to gather, we reluctantly said goodbye to our ancestors and left this powerful Goddess settlement.
The next day, having spent a lazy day basking in the Cretan heat and cooling in the azure Libyan sea, we journeyed into the mountains late in the afternoon. Winding our way ever higher, the narrow, twisting road snaked its way past olive groves, terraced fields and hilltop villages. The higher we climbed, the more abundantly fertile the land appeared to become. We came at last to a dusty limestone track, which would take us the final two kilometres to the three-hilltop settlement and sacred C3rd BCE temple of Presos that we were seeking.
This is a fascinating site, for it appears that after the disasters that beset the Minoan people (eruption of Thera and invasion of the Myceneans) the remnants of that once-great civilisation retreated into this mountain fastness, where they constructed this first Eteocretan city. Here they preserved their language and culture into the Greek period, and have been considered as the first or original Cretans.
To find the site, we had little to go on - its location is only scantily and somewhat cryptically described in the Guidebooks, but following our instinct and intuition we arrived at the foot of the first of the three hills (called First Acropolis). We were immediately struck by the richness of the place, alive with bird song, the constant humming buzz of bees and a heady fragrance of many wild and flowering herbs. As we climbed over ancient stone terraces, the energy of the Sun, stored in the earth, radiated all around us. The welcome shade of an olive tree gave some respite as we reached the entrance to the remains of the sacred temple.
Many exotic creatures and unfamiliar plants inhabited this place: a snake, basking on the stones of the fallen ruins, slid away to ground as we approached; a lime-green spider hung motionless in the stillness of the air; a perfectly camouflaged cicada disguised herself amongst the yellowed grasses; and buzzards wheeled overhead.
Surrounded by the craggy ridges of the blue-grey mountains, we sat and talked of the ancient ones, and the relationship between what the first people saw and experienced here and the presence of the Goddess. We felt Her very strongly in the spiral pathways of the bees, the song of the birds, the healing properties of the herbs and the nourishment provided by the land, the waters and the living spirit of this sacred place. The stunning setting of the hills which greeted the people when they first arrived here must have been awe-inspiring - a rich, fertile land in which to establish a settlement, and a natural hilltop on which to honour the Goddess who blessed them with such abundance. Cradled in the shelter of the mountains, the hills formed an idyllic and magical homeland for them.
We sat for a long time speculating as to the actual layout of the three hills. There was a saddle between the two peaks where the ancient city stood, and on the second hill (Acropolis) houses were built into the slope. The third hill contained an altar with rock-cut steps, marking a sanctuary that had been in use from the C8th-5th BCE and later
became a small temple.We recognised and identified what we thought were the first two hills, but the third remained elusive, and we thought we would have to leave it, since we needed to return down the winding mountain roads before the light faded. But the Goddess had not yet revealed herself totally to us. In fact she took us on a figure-of-eight detour, higher up the mountain road to Nea Pressos, and then back by a different route to the site, where suddenly the whole picture fell into place, and we could clearly see the three hills.
The daylight was fading as we set off on our return journey, excited at our discoveries and delighting in the ways She had spoken to us. But She had not finished yet! As we left the mountain track and met with the main road, we looked back across to the silhouetted mountain range and there was the beautiful light of the full moon rising rapidly over the temple hill top. We stood in spontaneous ritual and in awe and reverence at Her beauty, thanking Her for all Her amazing gifts that we had experienced that day, once again connecting with the Goddess in this land where She had so long been honoured and celebrated for Her power and grace.
The next evening we were sitting in a Taverna at Makriyalos at the water’s edge having our evening meal, when suddenly the moon rose out of the sea, still very full and coloured a deep red. It was a most magical sight and we decided that once our meal was over we would go and celebrate Her. Our choice of site was the Minoan Villa that lay just up the road, 400 metres west of the harbour. We had visited the site earlier in the day, when we discovered that it had been constructed to a plan similar to the Minoan temple sites of Knossos, etc, though of course on a much smaller scale.
The site was readily accessible and open at all times, so we were able to walk up to it and have it all to ourselves for our ritual. Its location was beautiful, with two breast-shaped hills, directly visible from the site. We identified the room where there had been an altar and a bench shrine and set up for our ceremony there. It was incredible to be able to do a ritual to the Goddess at the very altar where the Minoan peoples had done their own rituals to Her! The wonderful thing about these Minoan sites is that we don’t have to speculate or wonder whether Goddess was celebrated there - we know for sure that She was.
“At this particular site (Makriyalos Villa) was discovered a remarkable sealstone, carved with a scene of a ship carrying an altar, flanked by a palm tree and an adoring female worshipper, suggesting marine associations for the Minoan goddess”. [Blue Guide to Crete]. This sealstone can now be seen in Agios Nikolaos Museum (Room III).
So, at this very altar, we placed our offerings of flowers, blessed each other with water infused by the light of the full moon, and gave thanks to Her, and celebrated Her, chanting “The Goddess is alive and magic is afoot”. It was indeed a most magical night and a magical place, so sacred to Her. This visit to Crete was proving to be an incredible and very deep experience for us - and more was to come!
BibliographyKnossos - temple of the Goddess - Rodney Castleden (Efstathiadis Group, 1997)
Blue Guide to Crete - Pat Cameron (A & C Black, 2003)
Crete - Dr. Antonis Sp. Vassilakis (I.Mathioulakis & Co,)
Crete Reclaimed - Susan Evasdaughter (Heart of Albion Press, 1996)
A Cultural Guide to Ayios Stephahos & Makry Yialos - Nikos P. Papadakis (1986)In Part 2 of this feature, in the next GA!, we climb high into the mountains to a Goddess Peak Sanctuary and walk down a sacred ravine to a Goddess temple site.
GA! hopes to organise a trip in 2005 to this part of eastern Crete for a limited number of women. If you are interested please drop a line to GA! and we will get back to you when we have more details.
Return to Issue 6
Advertising: We invite advertising for Goddess-related products.
Rates are £9 one-eighth page A4
£16 quarter-page A4
£30 half-page A4
Rates are per issue, for camera-ready copy
Discount given for multiple issues.
Contact: Address above or email