The thirst for progress, victories and conquests, the desire of those in power to assert their dominance - all this is present in the cultures of all peoples. But the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization stands apart. We will not see in it either awe of fate, or the glorification of the exploits of the conquerors, or the deification of despotic power.
Unlike the great works of ancient Mesopotamia, Babylon and Egypt, the art of the island of Crete, located south of the Aegean Sea, reflected the pure joy of being, where life was depicted as a continuous holiday, and the perception of the world was serene, light, exultant. It is difficult to imagine a human society that lived in such an ideal world, but the fact is obvious that the people who created these cultural monuments believed in the magical power of art, which flourished in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC
Ancient Crete became famous for its myths about gods in love, the legend of Icarus, the first man to fly into the sky. Zeus, the patron saint of all gods, was born here.
On the social structure of the ancient kingdom on the island of Crete, very little information has been preserved. But the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization lifts a certain veil of its secrets in the preserved monuments of architecture and art. One of the remarkable phenomena that testify to the special features of the Cretan building art is the preserved palaces. The most famous of them is the Labyrinth Palace at Knossos. It is called so because of the intricate mysterious passages, countless rooms.
Huge in area (twenty thousand square meters), the palace does not look heavy and cumbersome. This is a distinctive feature of Cretan architecture.
Everyday life must have flowed calmly and comfortably among the white walls with dark columns along them, illuminated by natural sunlight penetrating through special "light wells". Magnificent utensils have been preserved in the storerooms: gold and silver dishes, huge clay pithoi for storing wine and olive oil.
But, perhaps, the most important value of the Palace of Knossos is wall painting.
One of the most remarkable fragments of the painting is the profile of a young woman. The eye, as was customary in the Egyptian pictorial canons, is in front. But in this image there is a completely different spirit - he is in a lively face, a slightly upturned nose, swept curls of dark hair. A lifelike, seductive look that earned the name "Parisian" for a reason.
The Crete-Mycenaean civilization found its continuation and further flourishing in Mycenae, where artflourished even after the collapse of Crete. Being strongly influenced by the culture of the latter, the Mycenaean civilization, however, had its own stylistic features. This is noticeable, first of all, in the principles of urban planning, monumental sculpture and architecture.
Mycenaean buildings are surrounded by huge walls made of natural stone. The famous Lion's Gate is also different in style. The relief depicting two lionesses is filled with an expression of strength and militancy that were not characteristic of Cretan art.
The pathos of strength, the thirst for victory are also heard in the hunting scenes depicted on gold-encrusted daggers.
Like other ancient cultures, the Cretan-Mycenaean civilization has sunk into oblivion. But thanks to the priceless preserved cultural monuments, we can feel the bygone world as it was at the dawn of its existence.
