Plasterboard - Bulljumper of Knossos
Plasterboard with motif template "Stierspringer" approx. 17 x 22 x 1.5 cm
The bull-jumper fresco from the palace on Crete, is one of the most famous relics of the Minoan culture.
Contents: A plaster plate, a template with borders, a painting or colour instruction, a sheet of carbon paper. a short instruction.
| Aspiration scale: | Easy |
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| Time Line: | 1,5 Hours |
The Minoans
They were the first advanced civilisation in Europe, their seafarers dominated the Mediterranean for centuries and their bull cult was the model for the legend of the Minotaur: the Bronze Age empire of the Minoans, named after the legendary king Minos, is still legendary today.
The Minoans built large palace complexes on Crete around 5,000 years ago, constructed roads and developed a script that is still undeciphered today. Their sphere of influence stretched from the Aegean islands to Cyprus and the coast of Asia Minor to Mesopotamia and Egypt. But as magnificent and archaeologically productive as Minoan palaces such as Knossos or Phaistos are, their builders still pose numerous riddles to researchers. The reason for the decline of the legendary Minoan empire is also not clearly understood.
From the Bull Jumping Ritual to the Minotaur
The Minoan bull cult is as rich in myth as it is in mystery. Images on frescoes and vases repeatedly show young men grabbing bulls by the horns or jumping over them. At the same time, many shrines are decorated with double horns or bull heads. Archaeologists therefore assume that the Minoans organised ritual bull jumps in which young men tried to grab the bull by the horns or swung over its back - a life-threatening exercise. Whether this was part of the equation, as a sacrifice to the gods, is debatable.
This bull cult is probably also the origin of the famous Minotaur from Greek mythology. According to legend, this monster with a human body and a bull's head was imprisoned in a labyrinth under the palace of the Cretan king Minos. Young men and women who had to be sent to Crete from other Aegean kingdoms as tribute were said to have been sacrificed to him regularly. Only the Greek hero Theseus managed to kill the Minotaur and escape the labyrinth with the help of Minos' daughter Ariadne.
How much truth is hidden behind the mythical dressing of this legend is debatable. However, some researchers believe it is possible that young men were indeed sent to Crete as tribute and that they had to take part in the ritual bull jumps. However, there is no evidence for this.