The Minoan Genius is a fantastic mythological creature that was common in the

Minoan art Minoan art is the art produced by the Bronze Age Aegean Minoan civilization from about 3000 to 1100 BC, though the most extensive and finest survivals come from approximately 2300 to 1400 BC. It forms part of the wider grouping of Aegean art ...

of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization in

ancient Crete The history of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The palace-based Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe. After the Minoan civilization was devasta ...

. It is portrayed sometimes with the head of a lion, or of hippopotamus, or of other animals. It is mostly seen on

Minoan seals 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 ...

, often in pairs as supporters of deities. It is also sometimes called a "demon", though it seems generally to be a benign figure in

Minoan religion Minoan religion was the religion of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization of Crete. In the absence of readable texts from most of the period, modern scholars have reconstructed it almost totally on the basis of archaeological evidence of such as M ...

; the meaning is that of a

daemon Daimon or Daemon (Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and Hell ...

in later classical religions. It is often portrayed with water vessels, such as ewers, so it seems to play a role as libation bearer to deities.

Mythological connections

The connections of this mythological beast seem to be with the Egyptian hippopotamus and crocodile goddess

Taweret In Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret (also spelled Taurt, Tuat, Tuart, Ta-weret, Tawaret, Twert and Taueret, and in Greek, Θουέρις – Thouéris, Thoeris, Taouris and Toeris) is the protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and ...

, 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 Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births glob ...

and the protection of young children, and some scholars have thought the Genius had similar functions, although the Minoan evidence for this is very slim indeed. The other common composite mythological beast seen in Minoan art is the griffin—a very widespread figure around the

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

. These may pull deities in chariots, as on the Hagia Triada Sarcophagus. Cylinder seal and modern impression- Master of Animals between lions, griffins, Minoan genius MET 1999

Cylinder seal and modern impression- Master of Animals between lions, griffins, Minoan genius MET 1999

Later on, the Genius also became a deity in the Mycenaean world; its representations are found widely in continental Greece.

Sacrificial aspect

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."Weingarten, J. 1991.
The Transformation of Egyptian Taweret into the Minoan Genius: A Study in Cultural Transmission in the Middle Bronze Age.
' Partille, Paul Åström Förlag.

Notes

Bibliography

* C. Baurain, “Pour une autre interprétation des génies minoens,” in P. Darcque and J-C. Poursat (eds.), L’iconographie minoenne CH Supplement 11(Paris 1985) 95-118. * M. Benzi, “Minoan Genius on a LH III Pictorial Sherd from Phylakopi, Melos? Some Remarks on Religious and Ceremonial Scenes on Mycenaean Pictorial Pottery,” 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 Archäologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung 79, 1-21. * P. Rehak
''The ‘Genius’ in Late Bronze Age Glyptic: the Later Evolution of an Aegean Cult Figure'' (PDF file)
in W. Müller (ed.), Sceaux Minoens et Mycéniens MS Beiheft 5(Berlin 1995) 215-231 * C. Sambin, “Génie minoen et génie egyptien, un emprunt raisonné,” 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 Åström 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. D’Agostino, G. Guarducci, V. Orsi, S. Valentini (eds), SOMA 2012, Identity and Connectivity, Proceedings of the 16th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, Florence, Italy, 1–3 March 2012, Vol..I, Bar International Series 2581 (I) 2013, 371-378.

Mythological connections

Sacrificial aspect

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading