Sanctuary at Symi

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Archaeological site of the high altitude sanctuary

The sanctuary at Symi ( Greek Ιερό στη Σύμη Iero sti Symi ) was a high altitude sanctuary in the south of the Greek island of Crete that existed from the Minoan to the Roman period . In Greco-Roman times, the gods Hermes and Aphrodite were worshiped here. The sanctuary was discovered in September 1972 during construction work on a small road and excavated by Angeliki Lebessi from 1972 to 2003 .

location

The archaeological site of the sanctuary, the total area of ​​which is estimated at 9350 m², is located in the east of the municipality of Viannos in the wooded area of ​​Krya Vrysi ( Κρύα Βρύση 'Cold Spring '). The plateau, lined with pines and oaks and traversed by a small watercourse , sloping to the south at an altitude of about 1130 meters is located on the south side of the up to 2009 meter high Pratolitsa Mountains ( Πρατολιτσά ), part of the Dikti Mountains . The 2,148 meter high summit of Dikti ( Δίκτη ) or Spathi ( Σπαθί ) in the north is 6.9 kilometers away. The sanctuary can be reached via a serpentine road from the small town of Kato Symi ( Κάτω Σύμη ), 1.4 kilometers southwest . The south coast of Crete near Sidonia ( Σιδωνία ) is about 7.9 kilometers away. The next larger towns are Ano Viannos 8.2 kilometers to the west and Ierapetra 23.5 kilometers to the east.

history

Prehistoric time

View towards the altar

The first indications of the sanctuary's existence come from the Middle Minoan phase MM II of the Old Palace period around 1700 BC. Some structures from MM III have been preserved that were later rebuilt and supplemented. Walls of a shrine made of MM III B could be exposed, which were preserved up to a height of 30 cm. A door that was later blocked connected two rooms with plaster floors. On a surrounding low stone bank altar in the western room stood stone sacrificial vessels, two of which had linear A inscriptions . In both rooms there were various cult vases, dispenser tubes and conical cups made of terracotta , which made it possible to assign the time.

Stone libation vessel with Linear A inscription
Adorante idols made of bronze

To the south-east of the altar, a rich MM III B / SM I A stratum with three rooms of a larger building was recorded, the plastered walls of which were still up to one meter high. Here, in connection with a pedestal on a triangular base, there were clay vases, so-called goblets, and stone vessels. The south adjoining rooms and a hypaithral slab floor probably belonged to the same building. They were covered by a thick layer of fire. In the remains of the building there were numerous votives , including bronze idols of adorants from SM III, terracotta animal idols from the same phase, a neo -palace seal depicting two fish and a small brass votive double ax.

Cretomycian bronze swords

Also to the west of the altar was a building made of MM III B / SM IA, in which a large number of stone sacrificial vessels were discovered, including a fragment with three characters in linear A. a running goat and a two-bodied demon are shown in the knee-run diagram. Minoan finds from later, historical layers of the sanctuary, such as two male bronze idols from SM I, seals from the Neupalastzeit and three Cretaceous bronze swords, indicate the obvious partial re-use of earlier votive offerings. A rectangular enclosure to the west of the holy spring in the north of about 530 m² with a square podium in the middle comes from the time of the new palace.

Animal figures made of clay and bronze

In Minoan times, a male deity appears to have been worshiped. There were burnt offerings of animals, cult meals and liquid offerings on the stepped terraces in the open air. The first buildings in the southern area were auxiliary buildings for the residence of priests and believers. The spring water of the sanctuary played an essential role in the cult. Objects, such as the animal figures made of clay and bronze, characteristic of the Minoan period as offerings, lay in a layer of fire under the altar, where they were mixed with later votives during the long period of use. As a result of the disruption of the stratigraphy by running water on the mountainside and the construction work on the road that led to the discovery of the sanctuary, certain finds could only be assigned to a certain time based on their style.

Historic time

Roman building behind the podium

In the sub-Minoan and Geometric periods, terraces were created in the south of the sanctuary and a bothros for burnt offerings above the terraces . Above the northern podium arose in the archaic period of the 6th century BC. A new building of unknown function. The spring water was artificially channeled during the same period. In classical times, in the 5th century BC BC, the archaic building was restored, including the erection of a retaining wall. In the Hellenistic second half of the 2nd century BC, a construction was made on the southeast corner of the neo-palace period podium . A single-celled naïskos was laid out in the 4th century BC, overlaid by a subsequent 2.65 × 2.85 m Roman building.

Hellenistic naïskos within the Roman structure

While the cult of the Minoan period cannot be reconstructed, the finds show that the gods Hermes and Aphrodite were worshiped in the sanctuary near Symi in historical times . They are sometimes considered to be the successors of the Minoan vegetation goddess and her Paredros . As can be seen from the inscriptions on the roof tiles, the sanctuary was visited by cult participants from the neighboring Poleis Lyttos , Priansos , Hierapytna and Arkades . Presumably the areas of these poles, like that of Biannos , bordered the holy land. The mention of a Lyttic phyle of Lasynthioi in an inscription indicates that Lyttos was responsible for the cult and the administration of the sanctuary. The identification of the place of worship with the holy mountain mentioned by Ptolemy ( ancient Greek Ἱεϱὸν ὄϱος Hieron oros ) between Inatos and Hierapytna is questionable. This is likely to be the mountain Dikte , on the northwest side of which was the Diktean Grotto and south of it the sanctuary of Symi.

Figurine heads from the sanctuary

Post-Minoan finds include half of a double vase in the shape of a male head from the Sub-Minoan period, many female figures from the Protogeometric period and a female bronze figure from the early Geometric period containing oriental and Minoan elements. An important find of the late Geometric period is a group of two ithyphallic figures, which to a certain degree can be typologically associated with some Iron Age groups from Asia Minor and which are directly related to similar ones from the 7th century from Sicily . A headless female clay figure comes from the end of this period. Many fragments of a tripod , decorated with the repeated motif of two griffins flanking the sacred tree, have been found scattered around the area. Despite its association with Cypriot tripods, some differences suggest that it is a Cretan work based on Cypriot prototypes .

Bronze kouros from the orientalizing period

Numerous bronze figures depicting gods or worshipers date from the 7th century. The figure of a man wearing a kilt and holding a four-stringed lyre belongs to the early orientalizing period , perhaps an early depiction of Hermes, the inventor of the instrument. The middle orientalizing period includes an intact kouros who also wears a kilt and holds his arms in a gesture of adoration. The shape of the head and the arrangement of the hair of a male statuette from the same period point to Egyptian influences on the art of Crete in the 7th century. An archer and a small kouros belong to the end of the middle and late orientalizing period. The figure of a centaur from the late orientalizing period shows a certain Corinthian influence at the end of the 7th century BC. Chr.

Engraved bronze plates

Of great importance for the history of Cretan art and for the history of the sanctuary itself are the engraved and cut bronze plates found on its territory from the 7th to the middle of the 5th century BC. The nature of the finds suggests that they were separate offerings and not decorative attachments attached to a larger object. Some of them represent male worshipers who sacrifice an animal or part of it. Others could represent the god Hermes. Some of the male figures are armed with bows and quivers. Iconographic elements of the figures, common to the centaur mentioned above, indicate the existence of a workshop where both figures and plaques were made.

Bronze plate of Hermes
Hermes representations
Bronze model shields

From the 5th century BC A bronze plate depicting Hermes comes from BC. In the upper layers, destroyed by a bulldozer during road construction, lay the lower part of a clay statuette of Aphrodite, another of Hermes and a bronze figure of the god with a short tunic with belt, cloak, petasus and winged sandals. The finds are assigned to the late Hellenistic period. Other finds are numerous animal figures made of bronze and clay, miniature votive shields made of bronze, jewelry and other objects.

The worship of nature and fertility deities in the sanctuary near Symi is documented by two later inscriptions. Near the surface was an inscription from the 3rd century AD with a dedication to Hermes Dendrites ( ancient Greek Ἑϱμῆς δενδϱίτης , Hermes of the trees):

ΕΡΜΑ ΔΕΔΡΙΤΑ ( sic ) ΝΙΚΑΝΩΡ
ΘΕΟΜΝΑΣΤΟΥ ΤΟΝ ΝΑΟΝ

A graffito on a late Hellenistic hydria attests to the parallel cult of Aphrodite . There it says:] Ι ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΑ. The full inscription might read [ΕΡΜΑ ΚΑ] Ι ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΑ. Hermes is also referred to here by the nickname Kedrites ( ancient Greek Ἑϱμῆς κεδϱῑ́της , Hermes of the cedars').

The function of the sanctuary on the southern slopes of the Dikti Mountains could have been in connection with initiation rituals for young men, the Cretan Ephebe . These are described by Strabon (10,4,21), who refers to Ephoros von Kyme . A Philetor (, Befreunder ') "stole" the chosen by him Kleinos (' Glorious') and began with him a love affair. For two months they hunted and dined together in any part of the city outside of town. In the mountains the mature man introduced the younger to the warrior's life. After returning to town, the Kleinos received a drinking cup, a robe called a stole polemike and a bull, which he sacrificed to Zeus.

Depictions of Ephebe with wild goats

In the mountainous border area of Eschatia around the sanctuary near Symi, war training and hunting of the young men seem to have taken place. A mystical room in which the Ephebe died as Ephebe to be reborn as an adult citizen. The tablets made of thin sheet bronze and belonging to a specific iconographic cycle found in the sanctuary were hung on the trees by visitors. The beardless, naked and long-haired Ephebe hunt wild goats with bow and arrow, which were then sacrificed in the cult area. With the burnt offering, the god got what belonged to him, while the rest was distributed to the friends of Ephebe.

The ritual of passage of male consecration was probably introduced by Doric tribes. It was a strictly regulated social institution that prepared the Ephebe to take on new roles as citizens and warriors. The connection between Philetor and Kleinos later continued as a community in battle, in which the younger ones were referred to as "next to him", that is, as neighbor in battle.

literature

  • Angeliki Lebessi: A Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Crete . In: Expedition Magazine . tape 18 , no. 3 . Penn Museum, 1976, ISSN  0014-4738 , p. 2–13 (English, online ).
  • Angeliki Lebessi, Polymnia Muhly: Aspects of Minoan Cult: Sacred Enclosures. The Evidence from the Syme Sanctuary (Crete) . In: German Archaeological Institute (Hrsg.): Archäologischer Anzeiger 1990 . Issue 3. Walter de Gruyter, 1990, ISSN  0003-8105 , p. 315-336 (English).
  • Wolfgang Schürmann: The sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Syme Viannou, II: The animal statuettes made of metal . Athens Archaeological Society, Athens 1996, ISBN 978-960-7036-61-2 .
  • Angelos Chaniotis: Sanctuaries of national importance on Crete . In: Klaus Freitag, Peter Funke, Matthias Haake (eds.): Cult - Politics - Ethnos. Supraregional sanctuaries in the field of tension between cult and politics . Colloquium, Münster, 23.-24. November 2001 (=  Historia individual writings . No. 189 ). Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-515-08718-6 , The Sanctuary of Hermes Kedrites in Simi Viannou, p. 200–202 ( digitized version [PDF; 1.1 MB ]).
  • Angeliki Lebessi: Hermes as Master of Lions at the Syme Sanctuary, Crete . In: Olga Krzyszkowska (Ed.): Cretan Offerings: Studies in Honor of Peter Warren (=  British School at Athens Studies . No. 18 ). British School at Athens, London 2010, ISBN 978-0-904887-62-4 , pp. 195-202 , JSTOR : 23276776 (English).
  • George Papasavvas: Votives from Cretan Sanctuaries: Regional versus Island-wide Radiance . In: Gerald Cadogan, Maria Iacovou, Katerina Kopaka, James Whitley (eds.): Parallel Lives. Ancient Island Societies in Crete and Cyprus (=  British School at Athens Studies . Volume 20 ). British School at Athens, London 2012, ISBN 978-0-904887-66-2 , pp. 289-297 (English, online ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Angeliki Lebessi: Syme . In: J. Wilson Myers, Eleanor Emlen Myers, Gerald Cadogan (Eds.): The Aerial Atlas of Ancient Crete . University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles 1992, ISBN 978-0-520-07382-1 , pp. 268 (English, excerpt [accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  2. ^ A b Antonis Vasilakis: Crete . Mystis, Iraklio 2008, ISBN 978-960-6655-30-2 , Symi, p. 170 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Ruben Neidinger: The legacy of Minos: The overbuilding of Minoan ruins in Doric Crete (=  Daidalos - Heidelberg theses on classical archeology . Volume 7 ). Propylaeum, Heidelberg 2017, ISBN 978-3-946654-72-8 , East Crete: Kato Syme, p. 73-74 ( eBook [accessed May 23, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Ian Swindale: Simi. Minoan Crete, July 12, 2015, accessed May 23, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b Angeliki Lebessi: A Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Crete . In: Expedition Magazine . tape 18 , no. 3 . Penn Museum, 1976, ISSN  0014-4738 , p. 10 (English, digitized version [PDF; 2.7 MB ; accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  6. ↑ a b c d Stefan Hiller : The Minoan Crete after the excavations of the last decade (=  Fritz Schachermeyr [Hrsg.]: Mykenische Studien . Volume 5 ). Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1977, ISBN 978-3-7001-0176-5 , The time after the great palaces: 2. Sanctuaries, p. 186-187 .
  7. ↑ Angelos Chaniotis: Sanctuary and municipality in classical and Hellenistic Crete . In: Apostolos Kyriatsoulis (ed.): Crete and Cyprus: Religion and Scripture. From early history to the end of the archaic period . Conference Ohlstadt, 26.-28. February 1999. DZA, Altenburg 2001, ISBN 978-3-9806602-3-5 , pp. 324–325 ( digital version [PDF; 223 kB ]).
  8. ^ Klaudios Ptolemaios : Geography (II-VI). § 3.15.4 Hieron mountain. ToposText, accessed on May 23, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Edward Boucher James: MONS SACER . In: William Smith (Ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . Walton and Maberly, London 1854, pp. 369 (English, online , digitized (1873) [accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  10. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Wilberg (Ed.): Claudii Ptolemaei geographiae, libri octo . Baedeker, Essen 1838, XV, p. 244 (Latin, digitized version ).
  11. ^ Karl Friedrich August Nobbe (ed.): Claudii Ptolemaei geographia . Tauchnitz, Leipzig 1843, p. 219 (Greek, digitized version ).
  12. ↑ a b Angeliki Lebessi: A Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Crete . In: Expedition Magazine . tape 18 , no. 3 . Penn Museum, 1976, ISSN  0014-4738 , p. 5 (English, digitized version [PDF; 2.7 MB ; accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  13. ↑ a b Angeliki Lebessi: A Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Crete . In: Expedition Magazine . tape 18 , no. 3 . Penn Museum, 1976, ISSN  0014-4738 , p. 6 (English, digitized version [PDF; 2.7 MB ; accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  14. ↑ Angeliki Lebessi: A Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Crete . In: Expedition Magazine . tape 18 , no. 3 . Penn Museum, 1976, ISSN  0014-4738 , p. 10 (English, digitized version [PDF; 2.7 MB ; accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  15. ↑ Angeliki Lebessi: A Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Crete . In: Expedition Magazine . tape 18 , no. 3 . Penn Museum, 1976, ISSN  0014-4738 , p. 12 (English, digitized version [PDF; 2.7 MB ; accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  16. ↑ Angelos Chaniotis : The Treaties between Cretan Poleis in the Hellenistic Period . Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 978-3-515-06827-7 , means to strengthen friendship: participation in festivals and agons and the problem of Cretan 'amphiktionien', p. 129 ( extract [accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  17. ↑ Albert Forbiger (Ed.): Strabo's earth description . Book 9 and 10th volume 4 . Hoffmann, Stuttgart 1858, Description of Crete, p. 156–157 ( digitized [accessed May 23, 2019]).
  18. ^ Gunnar Seelentag : Archaic Crete: Institutionalization in Early Greece . de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-036240-4 , The Abduction of the Ephebe, p. 464 ( excerpt [accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  19. ^ Gunnar Seelentag: Archaic Crete: Institutionalization in Early Greece . de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-036240-4 , The Abduction of the Ephebe, p. 474 ( excerpt [accessed May 23, 2019]).
  20. ↑ Angelos Chaniotis: Of shepherds, herbalists, ephebes and pilgrims: life on the mountains in ancient Crete . In: G. Siebert (ed.): Nature et paysage dans la pensee et l'environnement des civilizations antiques. Actes du Colloque de Strasbourg 11-12 June 1992 . De Boccard, 1996, ISSN  0037-8984 , Mountains and Society in Doric Crete: Initiation, Hunting, Cult, p. 101-102 ( digitized version [PDF; 540 kB ; accessed on May 23, 2019]).
  21. ↑ a b Angelos Chaniotis: Ancient Crete (=  Beck's series . No. 2350 ). CH Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 978-3-406-50850-9 , Bridge between Orient and Hellas: The Cretan Renaissance (approx. 900–630 BC), p. 54–55 ( excerpt [accessed May 23, 2019]).

Web links

Commons : Sanctuary at Symi  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Kria Vrysi. In: Digital Crete: Archaeological Atlas of Crete. Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Institute for Mediterranean Studies(English).;
  • Ian Swindale: Simi. Minoan Crete, July 12, 2015 (English).;
  • Alexandros Roniotis: Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite at Simi. CretanBeaches;

Coordinates: 35 ° 3 ′ 21.4 ″  N , 25 ° 30 ′ 0 ″  E