Sunday, September 19, 2021: Dr. Robert B. Koehl – Hunter College: A New Look at Minoan Athletic Competitions

Sunday September 19 at 3pm The Dr. George G. Hackman Memorial Lecture
Dr. Robert B. Koehl, Hunter College, CUNY
A New Look at Minoan Athletic Competitions

Access a recording of the presentation here.

The Minoans, as the people of Bronze Age Crete have been called since the early 20th century C.E., are known to us primarily from the art and architecture, as their language, called Linear A, remains undeciphered. Among the most notable examples of Minoan imagery are the wall paintings that depict young men, and possibly women, leaping over the backs of charging bulls in what was surely a thrilling and dangerous sport. Other images depict young boys and men in boxing matches, perhaps part of the ordeals undertaken during age grade rites of passage. The recent discovery of a magnificently carved seal stone from a tomb at Mycenaean Pylos that depicts a scene of conflict between armed warriors has raised the question of images of conflict in Minoan art involving spear throwing. In this talk, these images will be examined and shown to actually depict another Minoan sport, that of stick-fighting. As will be seen, stick-fighting, which continues to this day as a popular martial art, was invented in Egypt nearly 5,000 years ago, and it is probably from the Egyptians that the Minoans first learned the sport. Furthermore, this talk will demonstrate that both boxing and stick-fighting were practiced in two versions. In one, the athletes wore helmets and probably practiced the sport within the palaces on Crete, perhaps in their central courtyards. In the other version, the athletes were bare-headed and were apparently permitted to use their feet to kick their opponent. This version seems to have taken place outdoors. Finally, a group of images showing men in chariots will be discussed and will be shown to depict chariot races, rather than scenes of hunting or warfare.