When someone says "papyrus," most people think of Egypt - specifically, ancient Egypt with papyrus plants growing along the banks of the Nile and being made into sheets of material to write on.
People don't often think of the Minoans in connection with papyrus. But papyrus appears in Minoan art more than you might think. And we're still not quite sure what it means.
Last week I looked at the top five blog posts of 2021, a couple of which surprised me. Then I decided I wanted to look back over the seven years (time flies!) that I've been writing this blog and see which posts have been most popular over the long term. In this case, four out of the top five surprised me - and one didn't. At all.
Herewith, the top five Minoan Path posts since I began this blog in 2014, from least popular to most popular. Have you read them all?
We often think of deities as being less tethered to the Earth than we are, so it only makes sense that many of them have winged creatures among their symbols and iconography.
I've written about birds in Minoan art before, but from a more general perspective, looking back toward the Minoans' ancestors in Neolithic Anatolia. But a lot happened after those people migrated down to Crete and began a new life there. So let's discover which birds - and other winged creatures - are associated with which deities in Modern Minoan Paganism.
I feel a little bit like an elementary school teacher: OK, everyone, we're going to learn to read Minoan art!
We're all a bit past elementary school, but learning to understand the iconography of any ancient culture is a big step toward understanding their religion and worldview. Iconography is the set of symbols (icons) that have meaning in religious art. They're pictures, but in a sense, we can "read" them and they'll tell us their story. Archaeologists and historians of religion have pieced together the basics, and we've fleshed it out just a bit more in MMP using dance ethnography and shared gnosis.
Over three years ago, I made a post here called The Evolution and Re-Interpretation of Symbols (or, The Coffee Tarot Leaves Me Cold). Click here to read that post.
Anthony Gresham
Yes, I remember seeing the Jane foster Thor back when we still had a comic book shop in town. I had pretty much dropped comic books by then and this ...
Erin Lale
Hi Anthony! Yeah I thought the trailers were cringy. The entire idea of the movie is cringy. Disney says "Let's have female Thor!" Me, an Asatru Heath...
Anthony Gresham
I've seen a trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder at the theater and I have mixed feelings about it. I haven't looked at the complete trailer teasers on...
Steven Posch
I spent one fine Beltane in Avebury myself, years ago. On May Eve I sat in the Devil's Chair (a hollow in one of the larger stones) and made a wish. T...
Anthony Gresham
My parents went to England once. They went to see Wimbledon. They took a look around and liked Avebury. They said that Stonehenge was fenced off, b...
Jamie
Molly,So profound and relevant. Don't we all need to find that balance to live our best lives? Your verse is beautiful.I pray, give thanks, and make o...
Jamie
Mr. Pagano,May the Goddesses and Gods grant you good health and happiness.I really like the prayer you shared. I will recite it myself when the time c...