Flower lovers, after all? Rethinking religion and human-environment relations in Minoan Crete

Bibliographic Data

ID4863956
AuthorsP Herva (0000-0002-5925-4406, University of Oulu, corresponding author), Vesa-Pekka Herva
Year2006
Volume38
Issue4
Pages586-598
Publication date2006-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-8243 • E-ISSN: 1470-1375
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00438240600963114
OpenAlexW2011311229
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited36

That the ‘natural’ world was imbued with symbolic and religious meaning in Minoan Crete has been suggested since the early days of Minoan archaeology. Notwithstanding, it often remains unclear how certain constituents of the physical environment acquired specific meanings, and what such meanings imply for the actual dynamics of human-environment relations. This paper considers the relationship between (what is today construed as) religion and human engagement with the environment in Minoan Crete. An ‘ecological’ perspective is adopted which assumes that both organisms and inanimate objects are a result of and subject to continuous development, and their identity is defined by the network of relationships they are endowed with. The idea is put forward that the relationship between people and certain landscape elements were of a social kind, based on mutuality and intimacy, and that some activities conventionally identified as religious or ritual are better understood in terms of practical engagement with the physical environment

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Biology · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Fish · Fish <Actinopterygii> · Identity (music · Meaning (existential · Natural (archaeology · Perspective (graphical · Sociology · Subject (documents · Visual arts · Anthropology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classical Antiquity Studies · Ecology · History · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub