"Horns of Consecration" is a term coined by
Sir Arthur Evans for the
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
, ubiquitous in
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450BC ...
, that is usually thought to represent the
horns of the
sacred bull. Sir Arthur Evans concluded, after noting numerous examples in Minoan and Mycenaean contexts, that the Horns of Consecration were "a more or less conventionalised article of ritual furniture derived from the actual horns of the sacrificial oxen"
The much-photographed porous limestone horns of consecration on the East Propyleia at
Knossos (''illustration, right'') are restorations, but horns of consecration in stone or clay were placed on the roofs of buildings in Neopalatial Crete, or on tombs or shrines, probably as signs of sanctity of the structure. The symbol also appears on
Minoan sealstone
Minoan seals are impression seals in the form of carved gemstones and similar pieces in metal, ivory and other materials produced in the Minoan civilization. They are an important part of Minoan art, and have been found in quantity at specific s ...
s, often accompanied by
double axes and
bucrania
Bucranium (plural ''bucrania''; Latin, from Greek ''βουκράνιον'', referring to the skull of an ox) was a form of carved decoration commonly used in Classical architecture. The name is generally considered to originate with the practic ...
, which are part of the iconography of Minoan bull sacrifice. Horns of consecration are among the
cultic images painted on the Minoan coffins called ''
larnakes
A larnax (plural: larnakes; grc, λάρναξ, ''lárnaks'', plural: , ''lárnakes'') is a type of small closed coffin, box or "ash-chest" often used in the Minoan civilization and in Ancient Greece as a container for human remains—either a c ...
'', sometimes in isolation; they may have flowers between the horns, or the
labrys. It is generally agreed to be something to do with
Minoan religion.
Sites
Minoan sites where the horns have been found in some form include
Archanes
Archanes ( el, Αρχάνες, Godart & Olivier abbreviation: ARKH) is a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Archanes-Asterousia, of which it is a ...
,
Armeni,
Kamilari
Kamilari is a village on the island of Crete, Greece, with 379 inhabitants. There is an archaeological site of an ancient Minoan cemetery nearby. The origin of the name 'Kamilari' is Byzantine. It is derived from the word 'kamilaris' or ‘Καμ ...
,
Knossos,
Mount Juktas
A mountain in north-central Crete, Mount Juktas ( el, Γιούχτας - ''Giouchtas''), also spelled Iuktas, Iouktas, or Ioukhtas, was an important religious site for the Minoan civilization. Located a few kilometers from the palaces of Knossos ...
,
Odigitria
Odigitria is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan religious complex including two tholos tombs located near the modern Odigitria Monastery in the Asterousia mountains of southern Crete.
The tombs are dated from Early Minoan I to Middle M ...
, and
Tylissos.
Astronomy
A suggestion for a practical use for the large examples on the top of buildings, is that they were used as frames for sighting the movements of heavenly bodies, for example the
constellation of Orion
Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. I ...
, which may have represented the "young god" of
Minoan religion.
Comparisons
Evans compared the Horns of Consecration with the four "horns of the altar" of Hebrew ritual, and with the altar with a horned cult object depicted on the stele from
Teima
Tayma (Taymanitic: , vocalized as: ; ar, تيماء, translit=Taymāʾ) or Tema Teman/Tyeman (Habakkuk 3:3) is a large oasis with a long history of settlement, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia at the point where the trade route between M ...
in northern Arabia, now conserved at the Louvre.
[Evans 1901:137 fig. 20.]
File:Knossos Fresko Dreigliedriger Schrein 04.jpg, Miniature fresco fragment, Knossos
File:Findings from shrines on Crete, Postpalatial period, AMH, 145264.jpg, From shrines on Crete, Postpalatial period, AMH
File:Agia Triada, sarcophagus, long side 1, limestone, fresco, 1370-1320 BC, AMH, 145305.jpg, topping a tomb on the Hagia Triada sarcophagus
File:Goddess with upraised arms, terracotta, Gazi, 1300-1100 BC, AMH, 145284.jpg, Crowning terracotta goddess figure, Gazi, 1300-1100 BC, AMH
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horns Of Consecration
Minoan religion
Minoan art
Sacred bulls
Religious symbols