GREECE
BY BRADLEY SKEEN
In the earliest period of Greek history, the Minoan civiliza-
tion (ca. 2600–ca. 14,500 b.c.e.) on the island of Crete was a
highly centralized culture of palaces, of which Knossos was
the most important. Evidence from the material remains
of this culture, including paintings on palace walls, off ers
grounds for speculation rather than clear evidence about gen-
der structures and roles. Two factors are oft en cited to argue
that the Minoan society had equality between the sexes or
may even have been a matriarchy.
First, many paintings show women seemingly active in
public life, especially the Minoan ritual and sport of acro-
batically vaulting over the backs of dangerous bulls. But the
mere presence of women does not tell us their role. Th ere
is no way to determine whether the participants (male and
female) in bull jumping were aristocratic youths, trained
slaves (like Roman gladiators), or even prisoners preparing
to be sacrifi ced. (Th is latter fate might be suggested by the
myth of Th eseus and the Minotaur, in which Th eseus, an
Athenian prince, is sent to Crete as tribute to be sacrifi ced
to the half-human, half-bull Minotaur but instead kills the
monster and frees his city from the tyrannical rule of King
Minos of Crete.)
Second, most surviving cult statues suggest that the
main fi gures worshipped in Minoan religion were goddesses.
But this fact need not imply a high status for women in soci-
ety, any more than the importance of Mary (Jesus’ mother)
in European religion in the Middle Ages was equated with a
high status of women in that culture. Interestingly, Minoan
art typically depicts men as having brown skin and women as
having white skin. Th is might suggest that aristocratic women
led comparatively sheltered and inactive lives, kept away from
the outside world, whereas men became suntanned from the
outdoor tasks of business, war, and agriculture.
Th e Mycenaean civilization (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 b.c.e.)
rose from the invasion of Greece and the Aegean islands byTerra-cotta statuettes: woman holding pancake and woman kneading dough (Alison Frantz Photographic Collection, American School of Classical
Studies at Athens)
500 gender structures and roles: Greece