Beckmann S. — Resin and Ritual Purification
Повний текст збірника, у якому стаття займає с. 27–40 (PDF-сторінки 8–19). Решта тому — інші доповіді конференції; збережено цілком, бо кілька з них суміжні за темою (MacGillivray про богиню з подвійною сокирою, Kanta про мінойський Джед, Kopanias про образ пекла).
Бібліографія: Beckmann S. «Resin and Ritual Purification: Terebinth in Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age Cult» // Stampolidis N. Chr., Kanta A., Giannikouri A. (eds.) Athanasia: The Earthly, the Celestial and the Underworld in the Mediterranean from the Late Bronze and the Early Iron Age. — Herakleion: University of Crete, 2012. — P. 27–40. ISBN 978-960-7143-40-2. Рання версія: Root, Resin, Red and Ritual Purification // Proceedings of the IVth International Congress of Ethnobotany (ICEB 2005), Istanbul 2006.
Розбір → Terebint_chervonyi_kod.
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Ο τόμος αυτός αφιερώνεται
στο Νέστoρα της Κυπριακής Αρχαιολογίας καθηγητή Βάσο Καραγιώργη
This volume is dedicated to
Professor Vassos Karageorghis, Nestor of Cypriot Archaeology
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ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΚΡΗΤΗΣ
Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας
UNIVERSITY OF CRETE
Department of History & Archaeology
ΥΠΟΥΡΓΕΙΟ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΜΟΥ
Αρχαιολογικό Ινστιτούτο Αιγαιακών Σπουδών Αρχαιολογικό Ινστιτούτο Κρητολογικών Σπουδών
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
Archaeological Institute of Aegean Studies
Archaeological Institute of Cretological Studies
ΜΕΣΟΓΕΙΑΚΗ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
ISBN 978-960-7143-40-2
Copyright © 2012
Καθηγητής Ν. Χρ. Σταμπολίδης
Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης, Ειδικός Λογαριασμός Ηράκλειο
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ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΕΙΣ - CONTRIBUTORS
Nicoletta Antognelli Michel Professor Antoine Hermary Dr. Çiğdem Maner Doctoral candidate (PhD) at the Université d’Aix-Marseille I. Centre Koc University. Department of Archae- University of Freiburg i. Bernau-Menzen- Camille Jullian. ology and History of Art. Rumeli Feneri schwanderstr. 16. D - 79837 St. Blasien. hermary@mmsh.univ-aix.fr 34450 Sariyer. Istanbul Turkey nicoletta_anto@yahoo.it CMANER@ku.edu.tr Dr. Reinhard Jung Dr. Andrea Babbi Fachbereich Altertumswissenschaften. Dr. Isabelle Martelli Alexander von Humboldt Post-Doc. Universität Salzburg. Residenzplatz 1 / PhD. University IULM Milan-Paris IV Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg II. A-5010 Salzburg SorbonneItalia m_isa@katamail.com Zentrum für Altertumswissenschaften reinjung@hotmail.com Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte Dr. Mathias Mehofer und Vorderasiatische Archäologie Dr. Athanasia Kanta Archaeometallurgy. VIAS - Vienna Insti- Marstallhof 4. D-69117 Heidelberg Director of the 23d Ephorate of tute for Archaeological Science. Franz Deutschland Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. Klein-Gasse 1. A-1190 Wien andreababbi@tiscali.it Xanthoudidou and Chatzidaki 71202, mathias.mehofer@univie.ac.at Heraklion. Μαρία Ι. Βαϊοπούλου Athanasiaka@gmail.com Δρ. Ανδρονίκη Οικονομάκη Αρχαιολόγος. ΛΔ΄ ΕΠΚΑ Δρ Κλασικής Φιλολογίας Αριστοτελείου vaiopulu@otenet.gr Professor Vassos Karageorghis Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης. vassoskarageorghis@cytanet.com.cy Θεοδοσίου Διακόνου 10, 71305, Sabine Beckmann Ηράκλειο Κρήτης University of Crete. Professor Litsa Kontorli-Papadopoulou niki.ikon@gmail.com Vigla Panagia Lakonia. 72100 Agios Associate professor of Prehistoric Nikolaos. Archaeology. University of Ioannina Χριστίνα Παπαδάκη. Beckmann@students.phl.uoc.gr Themistokleous 69, Ν.Psychiko, 154 51 Υποψήφια Διδάκτωρ Προϊστορικής Athens Αρχαιολογίας Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών. Dr. Giorgos Bourogiannis papadop7@gmail.com papadakichristina@gmail.com Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Medel- havsmuseet, Fredsgatan 2. Box 16008, Dr. Konstantinos Kopanias Professor Thanassis Papadopoulos 103 21 Stockholm. Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology. Emeritus professor of Prehistoric gbourogiannis@thebritishmuseum.ac.u University of Athens. Department of Archaeology. University of Ioannina History and Archaeology - University Themistokleous 69, Ν.Psychiko, 154 51 Δρ. Στέφανος Γιματζίδης Campus. GR 157 84 Athens - Greece Athens Ακαδημία των Επιστημών της kkopanias@arch.uoa.gr papadop7@gmail.com Αυστρίας. Βιέννη gimatzidis@gmail.com Dr. Antonios Kotsonas Dr. Laura-Concetta Rizzotto Amsterdam Archaeological Centre Antikensammlung Staatliche Museen Δρ. Καλλιόπη Εμμ. Γκαλανάκη University of Amsterdam. Turfdraag- zu Berlin. Bodestr. 1-3 D- 10178 lrizzo- Αρχαιολόγος. ΚΓ΄ Εφορεία sterpad 9, 1012 XT. Amsterdam. The tto@yahoo.it/rizzotto@athen.dainst.org Προϊστορικών και Kλασικών Netherlands Aρχαιοτήτων. Ξανθουδίδου και a.kotsonas@uva.nl Φανή Κ. Σέρογλου Χατζηδάκη 71202, Ηράκλειο. Αρχαιολόγος. Αρχαιολογικό Ινστιτούτο Calliopegk@gmail.com Professor Panagiotis Kousoulis Αιγαιακών Σπουδών. Πλ.Μ.Αλεξάνδρου Ass. Professor of Egyptology. Depart- Παλαιά Πόλη - 85 100 Ρόδος. Ελένη Γούλα Γ. ment of Mediterranean Studies. Univer- serfani@aenaon.biz Υποψήφια Διδάκτωρ Κλασικής sity of the Aegean. Rhodes, Greece. Αρχαιολογίας Πανεπιστημίου Κρήτης. kousoulis@rhodes.aegean.gr Μαρία Σταυροπούλου Γάτση Πεσόντων Μαχητών 23, Αγ. Γεώργιος Tέως Προϊσταμένη της ΛΣΤ’ ΕΠΚΑ. Βοιωτίας, 32007 Δρ. Ευθύμιος Λαζόγκας Αγίου Αθανασίου 4 GR - 302 00. elgoula@sch.gr Διδάσκων Αρχαίας Τέχνης (ΑΣΚΤ) Μεσολόγγι. Επτανήσου 33, 11257 Αθήνα. Dr. Florentia Fragkopoulou lazonga1@otenet.gr Δρ. Κωνσταντούλα Χαβέλα Μεταξάτα 28100. Κεφαλονιά Αρχαιολόγος. ΛΣΤ’ ΕΠΚΑ. Μεσολόγγι. florentiaf@googlemail.com Νίκος Λεβεντάκης konha71@yahoo.gr Αρχιτέκτων. Dr. Kostas Georgakopoulos lebentakis_nikos@yahoo Archaeologist. 23d Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. Professor J. Alexander MacGillivray Xanthoudidou and Chatzidaki 71202, Palaikastro Excavations. British School Heraklion. at Athens. kgeorgakopoulos@yahoo.com macgillivrayalexander@yahoo.com
Σημειώνεται ότι κάθε συγγραφέας ήταν υπεύθυνος για τις διορθώσεις του άρθρου του.
It is noted that each writer was responsible for the corrections of his/her paper.
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ΠΕΡΙΕΧΟΜΕΝΑ - CONTENTS
Ν. Χρ. Σταμπολίδης Εισαγωγικό σημείωμα 8 N. Chr. Stampolidis Introductory note 9 Αγγελική Γιαννικουρή Χαιρετισμοί και ευχαριστίες. 10 Angeliki Giannikouri Greetings and Compliments 11 Συντομογραφίες - Abbreviations 12
Ο Άνω Κόσμος - The Earthly World
Vassos Karageorghis Notes on Music and Dance in Cyprus: The Archaeological Record, from the Late Bronze Age to the Cypro-Archaic Period. 15 Sabine Beckmann Resin αnd Ritual Purification: Terebinth ιn Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age Cult 27 Nicoletta Antognelli Michel Palms And Papyruses in the Late Minoan/Helladic III: The Exotic World, the Fantastic World and the Afterworld 41 Çiğdem Maner A Comparative Study of Hittite and Mycenaean Fortification Architecture 53 Giorgos Bourogiannis Rhodes, Cos and the White Painted Ware of Cyprus: Introduction to Contacts in the Early Iron Age 65 Στέφανος Γιματζίδης Η Διακίνηση της Ελληνικής Κεραμικής και οι Ιδεολογικές Διαστάσεις της στη Μεσόγειο της Πρώιμης Εποχής του Σιδήρου 83 Οικονομάκη Ανδρονίκη Το Ταξίδι του Αλφαβήτου. Κρήτη: Σταθμός ή Αφετηρία; 93 Florentia Fragkopoulou Lakonia and Samos during the Early Iron Age: a Revised Look at the Messenian War Dates 101
Ο Υπεράνω Κόσμος - The Celestial World Kostas Georgakopoulos A Note on a Hittite Bull-Leaping Scene and its Minoan Perspectives 111 J. Alexander MacGillivray The Minoan Double Axe Goddess and Her Astral Realm 115 Panagiotis Kousoulis Egyptian vs. Otherness and the Issue of Acculturation in the Egyptian Demonic Discourse of the Late Bronze Age 127 Efthymios Lazongas Gates and Pillars of Heaven. The Architectural Structure of Cosmos in Greek, Egyptian and Near Eastern Tradition and Art 139 Μαρία Ι. Βαϊοπούλου Η λατρεία της Ιτωνίας Αθηνάς στην Ηπειρωτική και Νησιωτική Ελλάδα, μέσα από τα Ιερά της, τα Γραπτά Κείμενα και τους Μύθους 153 Γούλα Γ. Ελένη Mυστηριακές Λατρείες και Διαβατήριες Τελετές στον Χώρο του Aιγαίου: η Περίπτωση των Kαβιρίων 161 Antonios Kotsonas Three Early, Limestone Sculptures from Gortyn and their Mediterranean Profile 177
8 ATHANASIA
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Ο Κάτω Κόσμος - The Underworld
Konstantinos Kopanias Paradise Lost. The Image of the Netherworld in the Near East 191 Νίκος Λεβεντάκης Από τον Ονειρικό Ίσκιο στην Απεικόνιση του Προσώπου 203 Athanasia Kanta A Minoan Version of the Djed Pillar and Other Borrowed Ideas About the Afterlife in the Cretan Late Bronze Age 229 Thanasis Papadopoulos - Litsa Kontorli-Papadopoulou Power, Troubles αnd Death in Late Bronze Age Aegean αnd Cyprus: the Evidence of Warrior-Graves and Painting 237 Μαρία Σταυροπούλου Γάτση - Reinhard Jung - Mathias Mehofer Τάφος «Μυκηναίου» Πολεμιστή στον Κουβαρά Αιτωλοακαρνανίας. Πρώτη Παρουσίαση 247 Laura-Concetta Rizzotto Spätbronzezeitliche und Früheisenzeitliche Steinerne Sarkophage auf Kreta und auf Zypern 265 Φανή Κ. Σέρογλου Προσδιορίζοντας τη Ζωή από τον Θάνατο. Διαπολιτισμικές Ανταλλαγές στη Μεσόγειο κατά την Πρώιμη Εποχή του Σιδήρου 275 Andrea Babbi Έλα, Ύπνε, και Πάρε το…Clay Human Figurines from Early Iron Age Italian Children’s Tombs and the Aegean Evidence 285 Κωνσταντούλα Χαβέλα Τα Ταφικά Έθιμα ως Δείκτης Διακοινοτικών και Διαπολιτισμικών Επαφών στο Χώρο της Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας κατά την Εποχή του Σιδήρου 305 Isabelle Martelli Women Go Further: Understanding the Handmade Globular Pyxis from Protogeometric Greece to Southern Italy 321 Χριστίνα Παπαδάκη - Καλλιόπη Εμμ. Γκαλανάκη Τό δένδρον ἴσα τῷ θεῷ σέβειν. Μία ΥΓ; – ΠρΑν Απεικόνιση “Δέντρου της Ζωής” από τα Αϊτάνια Πεδιάδος 335 Antoine Hermary The Cypriot Kourotrophoi : Remarks on the ‘Mother with Child’ Theme 341
ATHANASIA 9
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INTRODUCTORY NOTE
An arduous effort which we made in 1997 had two aspects: first a series of international conferences and symposia and second extensive archaeological exhibitions, both focusing on the relations developed between the peoples of the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The present International Archaeological Conference entitled “Immortality; The Earthly, the Celestial and the Underworld in the Mediterranean from the Late Bronze and the Early Iron Age” is included among them. The Athanasia conference was preceded by: 1. The International Conference “Eastern Mediterranean; Cyprus – Dodecanese – Crete, 16th-6th c. BC, 1997” Proceedings of which were published in English in 1998. 2. The International Conference “PLOES - Sea Routes; Interconnections in the Mediterranean, 16th - 6th c. BC “in 2002, whose Proceedings were published in English in 2003. In the interval from 1997 to 2003 the following great archaeological exhibitions with the same name as the above conferences took place. The first exhibition was in Heraklion, Crete in 1998. This exhibition was taken to Italy, to the Musei Capitolini of Rome in 2001, with the title “Sulle Rotte di Omero”. The second exhibition, “Ploes”, took place at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens in 2003. At the same time as the exhibitions detailed catalogues pertaining to them in Greek and English (1998), Italian (2001) and in Greek and English (2003) respectively, were published. Parallel to this overall investigation, a series of symposia on more specific topics began. Their aim was to cover gaps in various sectors of our knowledge. Thus, the International Symposium “Cremation in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age” was held in 1999 and its proceedings were published 2001; also, “The Aegean in the Early Iron Age” took place in 2002 and its proceedings were released in 2004. In conclusion, the continuous effort to understand the relations of peoples, groups or individuals in the Ancient Mediterranean in an ideological frame, is focusing now on issues related to the Earthly, the Celestial and the Underworld aspects of culture. This focus, through discussion and papers hopefully will produce new knowledge and conclusions which will help move research one step further. Unfortunately, various problems concerning the collection of the papers, their corrections and other external causes, delayed the printing of the proceedings of this conference, three years after its realization. This is an unusual occurance for us in all our previous editions. We apologize for this and we hope that it will not be repeated in our future efforts. Warmest thanks are once again due to the Ministries of Culture and of Merchant Marine, Aegean and Island Policy, not only for their financial but also their moral support. The University of Crete is always willing to support similar initiatives and for this we offer our thanks. We are also grateful to the Institute of Aegean Archaeological Studies and its Director Angeliki Giannikouri and to the Institute of Cretological Studies and its former director Dr. Athanasia Kanta (former Head of the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion and now Director of the 23rd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities) and to the staff of both Institutes. Special thanks are due to archaeologists Alexia Speliotopoulou and Danai Kontopodi for their efforts towards the organization of the Conference. The difficult task of producing this volume of the Proceedings was taken over by Athanasia Kanta and by Danai Kontopodi who was responsible for the layout, organization and graphics design. Finally, sincere thanks are offered to the Mediterranean Archaeological Society, which through the selfless work of its members has become a major sponsor of this volume.
Nicholas Chr. Stampolidis
ATHANASIA 11
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G reetings and C ompliments
It was a great pleasure and honour for me to welcome the delegates to the International Archaeological Conference “Immortality: The Earthly, the Celestial and the Underworld in the Mediterranean from the Late Bronze and the Early Iron Age.” The Institute of Aegean Studies has always worked constructively with the Ephorates of the Dodecanese and with universities, research centres and other organizations. Among them were the Technical University of Bari, the Universities of Molise and Palermo, the University of Crete, the National Technical University of Athens, the Institute of Historical Research: Department of Greek and Roman Antiquity, the Democritus Institute and others. The present conference, organized with the productive cooperation between the Archaeological Institute of Aegean Studies, the University of Crete and the Archaeological Institute of Cretological Studies, falls in this context. Our cooperation with the University of Crete is an old, successful recipe, which dates from 2001. With my dear friend Nicolas Chr. Stampolidis we have organized four conferences, the Proceedings of which have been published. However, I am delighted, for the launch of collaboration with the Institute of Cretological Studies, which hopefully will not be limited only in terms of conferences and research activities. Let this be the beginning of activation and cooperation among the institutes of the Ministry of Culture on common goals, in order to develop into an active research area of the Ministry. The conference was organized with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Mercantile Marine, Aegean and Island Policy and the University of Crete. Our gratitude is expressed to the Ministries and rector authorities. It would be remiss not to mention the important facilitation of our efforts by the officers of the Department of Culture - Ministry of Mercantile Marine, Aegean and Island Policy. I refer in particular to Mrs Magda Alvanou, who always finds a way to support our efforts. My heartfelt thanks are due to the Mayor of Rhodes Mr. Hatzis Hatziefthimiou who demonstrated once again his sensitivity and interest for the cultural matters of our region, which for him are a top priority. Thanks are also due to the KAIR company and Mr Pontikakis, owner of Pane Di Capo for their support. I would like to express my thanks to Nicholas Stampolidis and Athanasia Kanta, as well as to the people who helped and contributed to the success of this conference. These include the staff of the Archaeological Institute of Aegean Studies and especially Anna Karavokyrou and Fani Seroglou. Also, many thanks are due to Danae Kontopodi and Alexia Spiliotopoulou, archaeologists of the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. Finally, we owe many thanks to the Ephors Mrs. Melina Philemonos and Eleni Papavasiliou, as well as to the colleagues of the 22nd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and of the 4rth Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities, who guided us to museums, archaeological sites and monuments of the city of Rhodes.
Angeliki Giannikouri
ATHANASIA 13
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Sabine Beckmann
Resin αnd Ritual Purification:
Terebinth ιn Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age Cult*
ABSTRACT
Although the terebinth plays a rather insignificant role in modern times, it must have been one of the most important trees in the Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean. Archaeologists, archaeobotanists and chemists find its resin’s aromatic traces in wrecks and sherds while its name’s roots reach down into forgotten strata of early Eastern Mediterranean languages. With the help of this information combined, the tree’s symbolical function can be shown to have had connections with chthonic spheres in beliefs including the power of growth, death and its transition, and the color red symbolizing life-energy, elements that would have been applied in rites of fertility. The hidden meaning of the plant’s early name and distant memories of its medical and mythological/cultic importance can give us hints to understand archaeological findings. From all these follows the conclusion that terebinth must have been one of the central plant symbols in Aegean Bronze Age cults of ritual purification. Keywords: Terebinth - Minoan - Ritual – Aegean Bronze Age Cult
ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ
Παρόλο που ο τερέβινθος κατέχει ένα μάλλον ασήμαντο ρόλο στην σημερινή εποχή, θα πρέπει να ήταν ένα από τα πλέον σπουδαία δένδρα της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου κατά την εποχή του Χαλκού. Οι αρχαιολόγοι, οι αρχαιοβοτανολόγοι και οι χημικοί βρίσκουν τα φασματοσκοπικά ίχνη του ρετσινιού του σε ναυάγια και όστρακα, ενώ οι ρίζες της ετυμολογίας του φθάνουν βαθιά πίσω σε ξεχασμένα υποστρώματα των πρώϊμων γλωσσών της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου. Συνδυάζοντας όλες αυτές τις πληροφορίες, μπορεί να καταδειχθεί ότι η συμβολική χρήση του δένδρου είχε διασυνδέσεις με τις χθόνιες σφαίρες ύπαρξης εκφράζοντας την πίστη στην δύναμη της ανάπτυξης και της υπέρβασης του θανάτου, ενώ παράλληλα το χαρακτηριστικό κόκκινο χρώμα του συμβόλιζε την ίδια την ενέργεια της Ζωής, στοιχεία που θα έπρεπε να έχουν βρεί την ανάλογη χρηστική θέση τους κατά την διάρκεια των τελετών γονιμότητας. Το κρυφό νόημα του ονόματος του φυτού κι οι θαμπές αναμνήσεις της ιατρικής και της μυθολογικής/πνευματικής σημασίας του μπορούν να συνεισφέρουν σημαντικά στην κατανόηση των αρχαιολογικών ευρημάτων. Απ’ όλα τα παραπάνω συνάγεται ότι ο τερέβινθος θα πρέπει να ήταν ένα από τα κεντρικά συμβολικά φυτά των λειτουργικών πρακτικών τελετουργικής κάθαρσης.
*Αn earlier version of this paper appeared as: Beckmann,S. Root, Resin, Red and Ritual Purification - The Role of Terebinth in Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age Cult. In: Proceedings of the IVth International Congress of Ethnobotany (ICEB 2005)Yeditepe University Istanbul, 21-26 August 2005. Istanbul 2006.
ATHANASIA 29
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Sabine Beckmann
The holy tree The terebinth must have been a tree with an important religious function in Minoan Bronze Age Crete – and not only because some of the trees shown in Minoan/Mycenaean iconography have a clear resemblance to the terebinth’s shape. All around the ancient Eastern Mediterranean from Crete to the Levant trees had some kind of ritual function. Although no Minoan/Mycenaean religious texts are known, examples from ritual scenes depicted on artifacts show the importance of trees in their spiritual world (fig.1). In general the trees may not have been seen as object of worship in their own right but as focus of cultic activities1 and as symbols of gods or sacred powers, mainly fertility.
Terebinths have some remarkable qualities befitting an important tree for fertility- and transition cults: They return to life in spring with a dramatic rush of (in the beginning) blood-red leaves and blooms (both sexes differently, as they are dioecious) while surrounding nature begins to dry up for summer. And they show blood-red leaves again in autumn before they seemingly lose their lives while nature turns winter-green.
The tree called in Greek terebinthos (τερέβινθος) or ter(e)minthos (τερέμινθος)2 was a holy tree in the Iron Age Levant3, named ( אלהela), which is why it has in the bible-translations often be confounded with ( ףלאelon or allon), the oak4.
In ancient Canaan terebinths were venerated in fertility cults where they symbolized the goddess Asherah5. These cults were known e.g. from the Bible, although they existed certainly before the Israelites arrived in the area. The Egyptians imported terebinth-resin (called sntr, read as sonter) as ritual incense, as an ingredient for the preparation of mummies for eternal life and as a remedy, mostly for disinfection6.
The terebinths’ function as a healing plant could be called ‘purifying’: In ancient Egypt terebinth-resin was used on different body parts (wounds, eyes, vulva) for purging, i.e. disinfection or purification7, but also for its conserving qualities to prepare mummies for eternal life8 – even though the tree doesn’t grow there naturally and the resin had to be imported9. Similar healing functions are ascribed to it by ancient Greek authors of medical texts10.
Trees and shrubs of the pistacia family yield different amounts of resin that has been used by humans for thousands of years. Most popular nowadays is mastic (from P.lentiscus var. Chia) from the island of Chios, still11 available as chewing-gum12, as incense (μοσχολίβανο, Sabbidis 2000) and recently also added to cosmetic products. Until about 1880 the same island also produced the so-called “Chios turpentine” from P.atlantica13. Also from P.atlantica came the turpentine produced in Cyprus. P.terebinthus produces much less resin, a fact that was obviously known (together with its high quality) in ancient times, as Theophrastus (Enquiry into Plants 9.2.2) wrote: “Resins from different trees differ. Terebinth is the best, for it sets firm, is the most fragrant, and has the most delicate smell; but the yield is not abundant.”14
P. atlantica used to produce the earliest version (in use until early modern times) of turpentine – which is why forensic chemists know about it when testing the provenance of paintings15 (modern “turpentine” comes from various pine-trees), cf. table 1.
1 Evans 1901, N. Marinatos 1989. Compare also Kislev 1985. 2 Laumonier 1958 3 Murr 1890, Keel 1998 4 My sincere thanks to Prof. Amots Dafni, Haifa University, for the correct Hebrew spelling. 5 Keel 1998. 6 Stern et. al. 2003, Manniche 1999, Nunn 1998. Stern et al 2008 has a very extensive bibliography. 7 Nunn 1996. 8 Manniche 1999, Stern et al 2008. 9 Stern et al 2003. 10 Note the frequent mixing up – since antiquity – of P.terebinthus with P.lentiscus. Cf. Murr 1890, 66, where such an error occurs, but also Mechithar 1908: notes p.196, b, where it is stated that already the ancient Arabian medical texts did not make clear distinctions. 11 Already used as such for a healthy mouth in ancient Greece, cf. Dioscorides I c 90. 12 Cf. Mechithar 1908. 13 Trees there could have yielded over 1 litre of resin per year, cf. Stiepowich 1881. 14 Theophrastus 1916:223. Cf. what Stern et al 2008:2191 write about chemical analyses: “modern resins show differences between geographical areas”. 15 For these uses are e.g. books like Koller et al 1997.
30 ATHANASIA
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Resin αnd Ritual Purification
Fig. 1. Top left: Light red fruit
of Pistacia terebinthus. Top
right: Ring Mycenae, ‘Drosin-
os Treasury’. LH I, Athens Nat.
Arch. Museum 992 - with the
Goddess/priestess sitting under
a “sacred tree “(from: Sakel-
larakis et al. 1994: 286). Bot-
tom left: Ring Archanes Fourni
cemetery, LM I, Iraklion Arch.
Museum 989 – the shaking (or
uprooting?) of the sacred tree
(from: Sakellarakis et al. 1994:
201). Bottom right: Intensely
red male inflorescence of Pista-
cia terebinthus in spring
Fig. 2. Partial triterpenoid chro-
matograms (from: Stern et al
2003: 459) of: Top: Modern
„Pistacia resin“ Used modern
resin: Mastic (Pistacia lentis-
cus var. Chia) Cave: The other
Pistacia resins have similar trit-
erpenoids. Bottom: Compared
ancient residue from Amarna
sherd. Ancient resin identified
as: Pistacia atlantica
ATHANASIA 31
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Sabine Beckmann
Known resin
Latin Botanical Ancient Resin
Name forms + Grows in NOT in Archaeology
name description tree names names
availability
(turpen- ? Apodoulou
Fresh:
tine) LinB Crete (no P.
Small LinB: te-mi-t- Viscous
Terebinth : ki-ta-no Westen terebinthus ref. Pistacia deciduous GR: Stored: τερέβινθος (Knossos) Mediterra- spectrum – thus terebinthus tree/shrub τερέβινθος Viscous (f. Levant Crete: Hesych: nean identified as P. L. ssp rhachis not terebinthos varnish) Dries in Egypt αδραμιθιά Κρίτανος> area atlantica by terebinthus winged τερέμινθος open air adramithiá τέρμινθος Crete exclusion – but terminal leaflet tereminthos (or was that that doesn’t grow Small amounts fruit f.oil?) in Crete)
Large Identified at
Terebinth Fresh: N. Africa Pistacia deciduous (elah) Crete Uluburun τερέβινθος (turpen- Viscous to India atlantica tree rhachis אלהoften Greece Amarna (Iran Cyprus: tine) Stored: Eastern Desf. winged confounded Western 5200 BC Hajji Firuz τρέμιθα Chios Viscous Mediterra- (Zohary terminal leaflet in Bible- Mediterra- Tepe) Trémitha turpentine. (varnish) nean 1987) often (The fruit was translation nean Etc. – (Used ref. Chios: Cyprus Dries in open air coast misnamed expressed for with elon (Egypt: spectr. Amarna: τσικουδιά turpentine. Chios terebinthus its oil in various oak Only Sinai) P. lentiscus var Tsikoudiá Large amounts Cyprus places) Chia though!)
Fresh:
Evergreen No published
Viscous (!)
shrub to σχινίνη/ reference
Lentisc Dries in open air Eastern Western Pistacia 1-3m rhachis σχίνος μαστίχη spectrum σχίνος Mediterra- Mediterra- lentiscus winged Lentiscus Resina (recently for Schínos Unknown nean nean terminal leaflet lentiscina medical studies -possibly large missing purposes?) amounts
Evergreen Fresh:
Lentisc small tree μαστίχη χία Viscous (!) Used as reference Mastic tree Pistacia or shrub to Masticha/ Stored: Only on spectrum e.g.for Μαστιχό- σχίνος lentiscus 2-5m rhachis Mastiche: Hard dry tears the island Egypt Amarna (!) no δενδρο lentiscus +var. chia winged the best Large amounts of Chios archeologically Mastichó- terminal leaflet from Chios per plant but certain finds. dendro missing only from Chios
Table 1: Comparative information for Pistacias
“Terebinth” – What do they mean? A little light into scholars’ confusion Unfortunately in scholarly writings of the last decades it is often not clear which sub-species is referred to, especially as concerns Pistacia terebinthus and Pistacia atlantica (cf. table 1). Most important here is the fact that the two sub-species occur in different areas.
The confusion is easily understandable when we realize that not the leaves and fruit usually shown in botanical literature can make the difference of the two sub-species clear, but mainly the tree-shape: P. atlantica becomes a huge, oak-like tree, P. terebinthus grows rather like a big bush. The fact that P. atlantica has a winged rhachis and P.terebinthus doesn’t is also hardly visible on most illustrations (fig.2). But even P. lentiscus has been called ‘terebinth’ in the past.
This and the similarity in qualities like smell and taste that are also reflected in chemical similarities (see below) may be the main reasons why all the mentioned resins were at times called “turpentine” and said to be produced by ‘terebinth trees’, which explains why most modern sources16 give wrong names for the trees the resin came from, a fact that might lead to further confusion in art history and archaeology in the future.
The oldest known traces of terebinth resin found archaeologically have been detected in finds from a Neolithic building at Hajji Firuz Tepe, Iran, (5400-5000 B.C.)17. The resin came from wine-jars and is taken by scholars to have been used for wine- preservation. Large amounts of the resin found in the shipwreck of Uluburun show that it was a sought-after item for trade
16 Even reference works like Koller et al 1997, and following them e.g. Van der Doelen 1999. But also most archaeological and linguistic studies obviously do not take into account the possible difference, e.g. Melena 1976: 180-181, Palaima 2000 passim. 17 McGovern 2003. Hajji Fiurz Tepe has been excavated by a University of Pennsylvania Museum expedition, director Dr. Mary M. Voigt. On resins and wine see: http://www.penn.museum/sites/wine/winegrapevine.html (last accessed on 22/10/09)
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Fig.3. Top: P. terebinthus (Crete) Drawing: Hempel&Wilhelm 1889-1899: 31. Bottom: P. atlantica (Chios) Drawing: Zohary 1972/2: 436
in the Aegean Bronze Age18. It was also produced, obviously from local trees19 in significant quantities in Minoan Crete and belonged to the aromatic ingredients for (probably ritually used) unguents (known from Linear B archive tablets KN Ga 1530, Ga 1532 and X 1385). Several cases of sherd-analyses were published20 that prove the Bronze-Age use of terebinth resin in Crete.
With the first analysis of so called “Terebinth resin” from the Uluburun shipwreck by Mills&White in 1989 this subject began to interest archaeologically working scholars elsewhere, too, because of its seemingly scientific (i.e. objective) potential. The following tries to give a short explanation for non-specialists with an example from Stern et al 2003:
The main chemical constituents used for identification purposes were triterpenoids (fig.3), said to be the same in all Pistacia trees (Pollard et al 2007: 155). They compared (probably because it was the easiest available pistacia resin) the chromatogram from mastic (P. lentiscus var. Chia) with the chromatogram of the resin in the Amarna sherds calling both just “Pistacia resin”. Still they identified the ancient resin as P.atlantica - by reasoning alone (and not by chemistry), following Mills&White with the explanation: Probably there was a limited availability of mastic in ancient times as it came from Chios only.
As the chemists’ problem was at the time obviously a non-availability of a broader range of resins, for comparison, the author
18 Ward 1990 sees it as luxury item. Cf. also Stern et al 2008. 19 Palaima 2000, 17, cf. also Melena 1976. 20 Tzedakis/Martlew 1999.
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Fig. 4. Top: Left: P.lentiscus var Chia: Mastic tree. Centre: P.lentiscus, Crete: The plant with the monoterpenes closest to the Uluburun resin. Right: P. lenticus: Newly sprouted red stalks. Bottom: Left: Partridge in its natural Cretan habitat. The plants are P. lentiscus. Right: Partridge Fresco, Knossos Caravanserai (Evans PM II, 1928, frontispiece) Note: the stalks are red like P.lentiscus sprouts.
collected samples of all the mentioned trees and sent them to Vassar, where a student of Prof Beck’s (whose laboratory is one of the main analyzers of resins for Mediterranean archaeology) put it to use in a new test method. Chudolji based her analysis on monoterpenoids, comparing the modern resins to a sample from Uluburun. With this she came to amazing results (table 2): The Uluburun resin shows most similarities with resin from P. lentiscus from Crete. tricy-clene
β- cyclene
o-methyl-
anisole
p-cymene
linalool
2-pinene-
7-one
camphor
4-terpineol
myrtenol
Compound >>
Sample resin
P. lentiscus (Crete ) x x x x x x P. lentiscus var.Chia x x x P. terebinthus x x x x x P. atlantica x x x x Uluburun KW165 x x x x x x
Table 2. Analysis of Pistacia monoterpenoids: A.Chudolji, 2006. Compounds similar to the Uluburun sample checked in light grey.
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Comparable or not for archaeology? A synopsis The aforementioned confusion has various consequences for archaeo-botanical research. Since the discovery of the Uluburun shipwreck21, where about one ton of terebinth resin is supposed to have sunk in Canaanite amphorae, the spectrum of P.atlantica22 has been used as reference for other investigations. Thus the resin detected in a Minoan vessel was declared by Beck23 as the same. Consequently, as P.atlantica doesn’t grow in Crete and probably never did, it follows that the resin must have been imported – a crucial difference for archaeology. Still it is possible that the resin was only identified as the same because there was no reference spectrum of P. terebinthus and/or because at the time only triterpenoids were tested that obviously show the same results in both (or even all pistacias?) cases of resin presence.
Thus two questions remain:
-
Did the Minoans import P. atlantica resin (e.g. as luxury object) – even for a “village” far from the sea like Apodoulou24 that is (and probably always was) surrounded by local pistacias (terebinthus)?
-
Could the Uluburun ship have transported P. lentiscus resin (not from Chios!) as the monoterpenes in Chuldoji‘s study seem to suggest?
There may be other consequences for archaeology. As pistacia resin was an important trade-object in the Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean, mainly from Canaan to Egypt and elsewhere25 the question is raised if the Uluburun ship could possibly have been on its way to Crete with P. atlantica resin because Cretan trees didn’t provide enough resin for the island’s ritual needs26?
Iconography needs images Is it possible to approach the subject of “terebinth” for iconographical purposes? A closer look at the plants gives some details (fig.2 and 4): The tree-shapes and sizes are different, leaves and details of P. atlantica and P. terebinthus very similar, wheras only specialists can tell the leaves and details of the various sub-species of P. lentiscus apart. So “Terebinth” in general may be a better term than talking about sub-species – as in chemistry. Some more can be said about P. lentiscus: Mastic plants (P. lentiscus var, Chia) are cut to form a tree (if untrimmed they form a bush just like the “normal” lentisks. Common P. lentiscus grows as a bush (but has been cut to form small trees as well). P. lentiscus has characteristic red stalks, especially with young plants or those that had been cut back - the people with a garden in the Mediterranean area know that this omnipresent plant is nearly not extinguishable (only by total removal of the very deep and widepsread root) once it grows somewhere – a very impressive quality. Thus it seems probable that P. lentiscus is the plant depicted with the partridges in Knossos /Caravanserai Fresco), and not only as reproduction of their natural habitat, but probably with a spiritual meaning of regeneration and resilience27. After those details it may become clear why here the word “terebinth” is going to be used in the most general sense to avoid adding to the confusion – because I believe that it’s mostly not possible to tell the subspecies apart from an archaeologists’s point of view, with or without chemical analyses.
“Terebinth”/”tereminthos” – Linguistic roots A first small glimpse of identity – without further “translation” - comes from the Minoan/Mycenaean writing systems: The Lin A/B sign 04 TE- was the representation of a terebinth leaf, obviously the akronym of a plant name important enough to constitute one of the syllable signs in use since the time of the Old Palaces (fig.5).
But what does the name mean?
21 Bass 1986, 1994, Pulak 1988, 1998. 22 Available through the analysis of Mills&White1989. 23 In Tzedakis/Martlew 1999: 149, cf. also Beck et.al.2008. 24 Tzedakis/Martlew 1999: 149. 25 Bass 1986, 1994, Stern et.al. 2003 and 2008 with literature. 26 Or even the use as wine-additive. 27 Evans 1928:111 interpreted the plants as “wild myrtle”. Myrtle-stalks are brownish, though.
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The general approach: From an archaeological point of view Wiener coined the term “Versailles effect”28. Renfrew, in “Word of Minos”,29 translated that phenomenon into linguistics, supposing that Mycenaean Greek borrowed from the Minoan language terms from the material culture of the élite. The respective élite objects Renfrew collected (in his “Group 2”) are: Weapons, musical instruments, architectural features, terms from social hierarchy. He does not proceed to explain his “Group 1” words (which are mainly plants, e.g. mintha, tereminthos) as élite-borrowings from a Minoan language, but as having come from even earlier linguistic phases – thus paying no further attention to them.
As for “Group 2” Renfrew believes that all the Pre-Greek words collected in it entered Greek from Crete/the Aegean in the Bronze Age from a very early stage of Indo-European in the Minoan language. This language had for him the same ancestors as the Anatolian Indo-European languages (Hittite, Luwian)30.
The question is: Did some of the plant-names – like ter(e)minthos – also come into early Greek through the Versailles-Effect by borrowing from the Minoan elite’s spiritual culture? I would like to take Renfrew a little further by trying to understand the word tereminthos with the help of cognates, without going into further linguistic detail.
The first two syllables seem easy to explain: “tere-“ looks like the Indo-European element [*tere-], best known from the Latin trans- meaning: ‘cross over, pass through, overcome’. Other words belonging to this root are Sanskr. Avatar, Eng. ‘through’. In Greek it’s the “-tar” in Nek-tar (which means literally = overcome death) In Hittite the cognate verb stem tarh-, ‘to overcome’, is part of the Storm God’s name Tarhunnas, literally ‘the Overcomer’ (of death). His myth is told at the New Year’s festival (in spring) which has to do with renewal and rebirth31. Tarhunnas was the god who in Hittite mythology brought fertilizing rain to Anatolia after the dry season.
Thus, as a first step, tere-minthos must mean “The overcomer of minth-“
The suffix also seems to be Indo-European: Although often overlooked, Kretschmer has already clearly shown in 1925 that the ‘-nt’-suffixes belong to a very early stage of Indo European (IE) and carry the meaning “belonging to” 32. Thus it seems that we are still with Renfrew here, and tereminthos must be IE in origin.
But we are still looking for the second half of the word.
Terms known from the Greek Bronze Age (from Linear B [LB], writing Mycenaean Greek) that are cognate with tereminthos are: Minta (MI-TA, mint), Asaminthos (A-SA-MI-TO, ritual vessel, usually wrongly just called ‘bathtub’).
Cognate are in Hittite Mi(i)jatar, (growth)33, amazing morphological similarity with which have the (non-Greek) Knossian names noted in LB: MI-JA-RA-RO (KN - Ln 1568.1a) and MI-JA-RO (KN- As 1516.5), the latter - by comparison, with -ro being the name-constituting suffix - thus meaning literally ‘the one who makes grow’. Cognate in Latin is possibly mitis (ripe, fruitful)34.
Also in this line seem to belong Ancient Greek: Miltos (red iron oxide pigment); in Lycian: Miñti (priests specialized on grave care). All the obviously cognate place names in the eastern Aegean – like e.g. Zominthos, Miletus - belong to BA sites (denoting fertile areas with enough water); a fact that in itself speaks of the high age of these names/terms.35
Linguistically (although usually called ‘Pre-Greek’ and ‘untranslatable’) the Aegean Bronze Age ‘MI’ terms must be variants of the Anatolian cognate, possibly in a contracted form (with the “b” - in the ‘MI’-words nasalised to “m”- and often the zero form of the “l” theme) of Pokorny’s 3. and 4. bhel- root meaning ‘swell’, ‘thrive’, ‘bloom’36, to which also belong words like folium, phyllon, Blatt (Latin, Greek, German: leaf), ‘bloom’, ‘flower’, ‘phallos’ and ‘blood’ (for the latter see below) in the more Western Indo-European languages37.
28 Wiener 1984: 17 : “A “Versailles effect ” is most likely to occur where the cultural prestige of one society within an interconnecting set of societies is great, as was surely the case in the Bronze Age Aegean with regard to Crete from the beginning of the old palaces through LM IB.” 29 Renfrew 1998. 30 Renfrew 1998: 259. 31 Watkins 2000: 91. 32 Kretschmer 1925. 33 mi-ia-tar, e.g. in the evocation-ritual KUB XV 34, Vs. II, 22 and 24; here and at other occurences translated as ‘growth’, Puhvel 2004:8. 34 Puhvel 2004: 10. 35 Cf. already Haley and Blegen 1928. 36 Watkins 2000: 9 37 The b/m change as in the two known forms in Ancient Greek terebinthos – ter(e)minthos is well known in IE languages, but obviously also typical for non-Greek words Palaima 2000: 12,( citing J. Fortes Fortes 1999. Anatolische und griechische Pflanzennamen. Methodologie ihrer etymologischen Erforschung, Faventia, 21/1: 24-25) and 15 for further explanation of the m/b change.
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In the following I shall show what kind of (especially spiritual) meaning these terms share that prove them to be cognate.
The general meaning of ‘MI-’ is most clearly visible in the oldest cognate, Hittite Miijatar38, ‘growth’, making it clear that ‘growing’ and ‘sprouting’ is the basic meaning of the ‘MI’-root. Further investigation into the meaning of ‘MI’-objects (see below) suggests that the symbolical meaning of ‘growth’ included also transitional phases, death and return to life.
As Minoan syllable-signs were acrophonic signs, showing the first syllable of the word the sign originally symbolized, the syllable sign representing the sound ‘MI’ (LA/B 73) may have denoted a sprout – or actually a form of “mint”, as in LA/B the sign ‘MI’ is also used as an ideogram for that plant (MI-TA, ‘minta’) (fig. 5).
More insight into the meaning of the ‘MI’-root can be gained from the Asaminthos, a commodity also known already from LB (A-SA-MI-TO, KN Ws 8497.y)39 It is usually called rather imprecisely a ‘bathtub’ by scholars40. As the use of the word in a repeated formulaic context in Homer shows though41, it was more than a simple commodity for washing: Those who use it are not just cleaned from dirt, but rather from impurities, in a ceremony for spiritual ends that combines anointment, ritual clothing and a following meal. The bath in the asaminthos renders the users, as Homer says e.g. in the Odyssey, ‘like to the deathless gods in presence’ (“ἴδεν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖς” Od. 24/370)42.
Thus the asaminthos is an object to help humans ‘overcome’ death in bringing them nearer to immortality. This background may be the reason for the use of similar vessels (larnakes are also sometimes called ‘bathtubs’) as coffins in the BA Aegean: The intention of burying someone in such an “asaminthos” could have been to bring him/her closer to the gods through the transition of death and ritual purification (that may have taken place in the vessel).
The identity and uses of miltos (μίλτος) also gives us more insight into the meaning of ‘MI-’: The blood red iron-oxide (Fe2O3 anhydrate) pigment43 has been used since Palaeolithic times in burial rites (especially for painting skulls)44. In Greek-Egyptian Papyri the word ‘miltos’ could actually stand for ‘blood’45. Symbolically miltos took the dead or the objects painted with it closer to immortality.
Red in general, especially blood-red, has always been a ritual colour in representing the dynamic force of life, blood (hence probably the red paint on Knossian columns and the importance of red for Minoan art in general and plant symbolism in particular46).
It should be noted here that terebinth-trees show amazing shades of blood-red (inflorescence, new and dying leaves) in spring and autumn, very similar to miltos (fig.6).
A look at mints and their history can give us further hints. They were used at least since Minoan times in European medicine for ‘liquefying’, (e.g. in cases of cough; milk is supposed not to curdle in the presence of mint) and purifying47. As I’ve already pointed out elsewhere48, mints have to be seen as an important element in Minoan wall paintings (usually the plants in the frescoes were erroneously called ‘wild peas or vetches’, or lupines, following Evans PM II 454 and Moebius 193349). Mints’ appearance in art already shows their probable sacred meaning in Minoan religion.
In Greek myth mint was obviously connected with fertility (Demeter and Persephone) and the spiritual overcoming of (seasonal) death: As the terebinths’ leaves, mints ‘vanish’ seemingly under the ground in winter. Their growing in an area is an indication for water - during an Aegean summer only in areas where farmers could hope for something else to grow, too.
38 A form like grow-th: -ijatar (as known from other Hittite words) means something like ‘being of’, cf. assijatar, love, attraction, from ass-ija- to love, literally ‘make good’. 39 Here the asaminthos is denoted as being made of Bronze. 40 E.g. Vandenabeele-Olivier 1979: 176. 41 Probonas (1992) believes this proves the element/formula to be of Mycenaean origin. 42 Cf. the spiritual function of Christian baptismal fonts. 43 The mineral is also sometimes called ‘haematite’, from the Ancient Greek word for blood. 44 In ancient Greece it was also used for the conservation (or the ritual colouring, to protect the vessels from destruction?) of ships. 45 E.g. in PGM XII, 98, cf. Betz 1997: 122, n.13. 46 This was also mentioned in Dr.Clemens Schmidlin’s Dissertation (Univ. Freiburg 2004) „Ornament und Bedeutung. Zur Motivik mittelminoischer Feinkeramik“: “Es läßt sich bei einem großen Teil der als vegetabil erkennbaren Motive der sogenannten «Kamares-Ware» thematisch und strukturell eine Wachstumssymbolik erschließen: thematisch durch eine Akzentuierung der Darstellung auf die jeweils neuen Triebe, strukurell durch Betonung der Kraftlinien und -zentren der Pflanzen durch Verwendung roter Farbe.“ (per litteras electronicas 2001) 47 Mint, as e.g. in chewing gum, is still today a favourite all over the world for its fresh taste and breath-purifying qualities. 48 Beckmann 2006. 49 Möbius called them ‘Lupines’ and the flowers ‘ears’ (Möbius 1933: 23 and following).
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Fig. 5.
Top left: Terebinth leaf (P.terebinthus)
Right: Variant forms of the Minoan
syllable sign LA/B 04 TE-
Centre: A newly grown plant sprout.
Bottom left: Variant forms of the Minoan
syllable sign LA/B 73 MI-
Right: Wild Cretan mint Mentha sp.
Fig. 6. From top left: Blood red in spring and autumn - terebinth leaves, fruit and miltos (red ochre).
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In a Minoan fresco of Amnissos mints are placed on a three-partite throne-dais usually occupied by the goddess, as e.g. shown in frescoes at Bronze Age Thera50. So in Amnissos mint is possibly shown as a representative for the goddess51. It obviously also had a ritual use in classical antiquity as there must have been a reason for its ritual ban in Western Anatolia52. Linguistically the term ‘mint’ means (after what has been said above) ‘belonging to growth’ - possibly this should be written with a capital G in Growth as the plant was holy to the powers (goddess?) of fertility, a fact also shown in its mythical connection in ancient Greece with the goddesses of fertility, transition and the underworld (in giving and taking life), Persephone and Demeter. Consequently mint was traditionally used as a funereal plant53 in Greece as well as in ancient Egypt, e.g. in the tomb of Tutanchamun54.
As a small note one might even suggest that the name of the BA Cretan king Minos as it is remembered in Greek mythology could be translated now as “The Fertile One”55.
Seen in context with terebinth, some interesting points may be noted: The resin, in its use as wine-conservant, may possibly have been seen as the ritual keeper of spiritual life-force in a holy beverage56. Thus it becomes understandable why it was in some cases even important enough on its own, not just as conservative, and may possibly have been used as incense, too: Some Minoan vessels show traces only of resin and nothing else57. In LB terebinth-resin was written as KI-TA-NO (KN Ga 1530, Ga 1532 and X 1385)58. This could be cognate with GR χέω (cheo) and German giessen = ‘pour, libate’. Blood and wine (with terebinth resin) may have had a similar cultic use in Minoan ritual with terebinth resin as aromatic alternative for blood, or strengthening the spiritual function of wine.
The root TE-MI-T- (occurring in LB, mainly in Pylos) is read as a Mycenaean form of tereminth-, e.g. in the place name written as TE-MI-TO-A-KE (from Pylos), translated by Palaima (2000) as Terebinth-Temenos, holy ground of terebinth. It is well understandable from what was said above that a holy ground of terebinth existed. One might even venture that it probably was a place for the ritual worship of fertility including its life- and death-aspects.
We may in conclusion of these comparisons suggest that ‘tereminthos’ means: “Overcomer of the forces of Growth (and Death with it)’.
Terebinth and the Anatolian coast Greek mythology tells us in elements of several myths that the Anatolian West-coast was partly settled by Minoans. Archaeology – with excavations in the BA layers of Miletus – has shown us recently how much this myth was actually true59.
Later inhabitants of the area (Caria/Lycia) still seem to have had memories of this, as they said their homeland had been Crete. They called themselves Tremili60, their mythical ancestor (come to the Anatolian coast from Crete) Termeros.
Some of their towns have also cognate names: Termera, Termessos, Telmessos (with r/l obviously exchangeable as in LB).
Did Tremili originally mean ‘Terebinth-Adorers’, derived from their Minoan ancestors’ holy tree?
Their grave-priests on the other hand may have been called Miñti61 for guarding the death- or transition-part of the cycle of growth before a new life (e.g. in expression of the belief that humans had a recurring life-cycle similar to that of plants like mint and terebinth).
50 Marinatos 1990. 51 Beckmann 2006. 52 Daux 1957. 53 Daux 1957: 4. 54 Hepper 1990: 52. 55 Minos should also be cognate with the name of the later Cretan god “Velchanos” Βέλχανος, an epithet of Zeus shown sitting in a tree on Phaistos coins. Notable is especially the first syllable: The M/B change has developed further from B to V (Βέλχανος is also written with digamma: Fελχανος), also in comparison with the “MI”- words that haven’t lost the “l” yet. 56 Cf. again Christian symbolism where red wine stands for blood. 57 Tzedakis/Martlew 1999: 149. 58 Cf. Palaima 2000: 15-17 for further thoughts on the subject. 59 E.g. Niemeier 1998. 60 Bryce and Zahle 1986. 61 Ibd.: 121
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It is certainly interesting to note that in ancient Greek Anatolia an Apollo Termintheus was venerated, and Miletus knew a Zeus Termintheus62.
Thus the terebinth was holy to two of the highest gods in the Greek Pantheon, which had possibly adapted to local traditions in Anatolia.
This throws a new light on M. Finkelberg’s (1990/1991) statement that the Cretan BA language is most cognate to the later Lycian language and might be its ancestor.
Conclusions There are several points to be made here in summing up:
Tereminthos is an Early Indo European word meaning something like Overcomer of the Forces of Growth (and Death). It has probably come into early Greek (together with other plant-names like minta) from Minoan as a religious term through the Versailles-effect as described for other terms by Renfrew (2000).
All in all it stands to reason that terebinths belong to the holy trees venerated in connection with fertility-rites in the Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean not only in Canaan, but also in Minoan Crete and in Mycenaean Greece where they were depicted in religious art and probably stand as a religious symbol for the power of life, death, rebirth and ritual purification.
62 Hoefer and Reusch in Roscher V, 1916-1924.
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B I B L I O G R A P H Y
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