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Articles

• Banou, Emilia

In this article a previously proposed interpretation of Minoan ‘horns ofconsecration’ as a symbol of sun is reexamined. A clay model of ‘horns ofconsecration’ from the peak sanctuary of Petsophas, the results of astronomicalresearch on Minoan peak sanctuaries, the idols of the so-called ‘Goddess withUpraised Arms” and a clay model of ‘horns of consecration’ from the Mycenaeancemetery of Tanagra are put forward as evidence for a possible adoption - or aparallel development under the influence of adjacent cultures - by the Minoans (andby the Mycenaeans, at least after 1400 B.C.) of religious notions related to theEgyptian symbols of the ‘mountain’ and the ‘horizon’, both connected with the Sunin Egyptian cosmology and religion. It is concluded that the ‘horns of consecration’may represent a practical device as well as an abstract symbol of the Sun, a symbol ofcatholic importance, which embraced many aspects of Minoan religious activities asrepresented on Minoan iconography.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία

Symbol of 'mountain', Symbol of ‘horizon’, peak sanctuaries, Goddess with Upraised Arms, bull, consecration, Minoan, Mycenaean

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