On Minoans, and their Vedic connections

The Minoan civilization orignated in the 4th millennium BC and reached its pek from 2,600-1,600 BC. The Minoans developed a writing syste called Linear A, which served as the base for Linear B – the earliest written form of Greek. However, Linear A texts were not in Greek, but another Indo-European language.

A recent study proved that Minoans were genetically mixed. Some were related to Greeks, while the others came from the Middle East.

Minoans, the bull worshipers

One of the most iconic images of the Minoan culture is the bull-leaping fresco from Knossos palace in Crete. It was a common motif in Minoan art. Scholars are still debating on the meaning of this ritual.

However, the bull-leaping games were not a Minoan invention. The earliest evidence of bull-leaping can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization. Subsequently, it was observed in ancient Syria and with the Hittites in what is now modern-day Turkey.

The meaning of the bull-leaping – spring in Taurus

Between the 5th and 3rd millennia BCE, bull-related imagery was a popular motif. This was a time when the spring equinox occurred in the zodiac sign of Taurus. Many ancient cultures believed that the transition of the Sun through the zodiac signs was a challenging process. To facilitate this passage, numerous rituals were developed with the specific purpose of aiding in this transition.

In spring, the Sun “jumps” higher on the horizon, and then “falls” six months later in the fall. This could be the original meaning behind the terms “spring” and “fall”. I believe that the bull-leaping event relates to the same idea. It was a spring festival.

Here is how the celestial cross of the period influenced the iconography of other cultures, neighboring Minoans.

Minotaur

Legend has it that King Minos was given a magnificent white bull by the god Poseidon to be sacrificed as an offering. However, the king chose to sacrifice a different bull and kept the beautiful creature for himself.

As punishment for this defiance, Poseidon caused Minos’s wife to fall in love with the white bull, resulting in the birth of the Minotaur, a monstrous creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull. The term Minotaur translates to “the bull of Minos” or “the Minoan bull.”

This is jus another example of the star lore related to the spring equinox in Taurus. This is also one of the rare examples where we still see the original astrological imagery of half-man, half animal hybrid, so typical for astrological signs.

Archaeologists were unable to find a labyrinth on Crete. The closest match would be the Neolithic drystone constructions, so typical for Meditteranean of the time. Here is an example from the famous Baljenac island, Croatia.

Labrys, Minoan double-ax – autumn in Aquila

Another important religious symbol of the Minoans was Labrys – adouble ax. Majority of scolars believe that this word is connected to the word labyrinth.

However, this symbol predates Minoans. We see it on the Neolithic drawings from Çatalhöyük, Turkey, as well as the Linear pottery culture of Romania (5,500-4,500 BC)

Labrys was also a common symbol in the Middle East. It was an ax of a storm god and as such, closely related to thunderbolts. Some of the deities that have it are Hurrian Teshub, Luwian Tarhun, and Carian Zeus Labraundos. Dacians and Thracians too, had depictions of a deity holding a labrys.

In any case, it seems that nobody knows what was the real symbolism behind it, so I will be free to give my opinion.

In Minoan iconography, we often see Labrys in the sky, perhaps hinting that we are dealing with a constellation. In Indo-European star-lore, thunder gods rule the rainy seasons of spring and autumn. And as we saw, the spring equinox was in Taurus, the bull.

Therefore, I looked right across, towards the autumn equinox – which was in Aquila, the eagle. Amazingly enough, this constellation looks exactly like Labrys!

Besides, Minoans gave us another clear hint that we are dealing with the equinox – the symbols of Sun and the Moon are above the Labrys. At other times, this duality is represented by a double-headed eagle, which was the more common representation of the Aquilla cpnstellation.

And just as a curiosity, I added the Mayan thunderbird with the same set of symbols. Obviously another autumn equinox in Aquila. But who brought this iconography to Mesoamerica?

The Vedic language of the Minoans

As I already stated at the beginning of this article, the language of the Minoans is yet to be deciphered. However, while doing my research, I found an interesting article titled: “Minoan names” – by Astrid van den Kerkhof and Peter Rem.

For now, the article is available online, and for the sake of brevity, I will bring out just some interesting points. The introduction quotes numerous scholars who proposed links between the Vedic / Harrapan civilizations, with the Minoans of Crete. They came to this conclusion by comparing the architecture, seals, and other archaeological evidence. In short – from Crete to the Indian subcontinent, there are certain similarities. They follow the migration route of Eastern Aryans.

But even more interesting than the archaeological evidence is the linguistic one. They believe that the etymology of the Minoan King Minos comes from the Vedic “mino” or “minu” – to judge. King Minos was really a judge. According to Plato (Laws I 624), every nine years he visited the cave on Mount Ida to receive the new code of law. And the book of Oddisey sees him as the judge of the underworld.

Indeed, in this period the local chieftains were known as “judges”. In the Old Testament, we even have “The book of judges”. (see Shophet). But if “King” Minos was a “judge” in the same context, it means that his “kingdom” was only a part of a larger nation.

This is not the only Minoan/Vedic name. The Minoan name Radamanthus may be a compound of “rādhā” – prosperity and “mantus” – king’s adviser. Knossos may come from Vedic “knoso” – the light of dawn. (knas-shine + uso, usas-dawn). And Phaistos would mean “bright glow”

In conclusion, there are a few scholars who seem to agree that Minoans might not have only been influenced by the Vedic civilization – they believe that Minoans were an Aryan tribe!

So who were the Minoans?

From everything presented so far, it is clear that Minoan mythology is older than the official dating of the Minoan civilization. The astronomical age of Taurus ended around 2,500BC, several centuries after the Minoan civilization appears. Since there are no proves of an earlier bull-worship cult, we must assume that the influence came from the outside. Bull worship was common all across the Neolithic world.

However, Minoans continued to see the bull as a sacred symbol for many more centuries. The reason for this is that the following spring constellation, the Aries, is not so clearly distinguishable on the night sky. Also, old habits die hard, especially when they are two millennia old. Moses faced the same problem when he was convincing his people to stop worship Baal.

But there is one final piece of the puzzle, that may help us shed some light on who the original Minoans were.

Herodotus begins the history of Scythians with a strange event. Four golden objects fell from the sky: a plow, a yoke, a drinking cup, and a battle-ax. There are two reasons why I find this information interesting.

First, I see it as an astronomical allegory. Namely, a “plow” is the constellation Ursa Minor, around which the night sky revolves. A yoke is the constellation Auriga – the chariot, and a drinking cup – constellation Crater. I am not sure if Herodotus was aware of this when writing down the stories he heard from his Scythian sources. Or perhaps he was and saw it as a clear allegory that does not need further explanation.

But most importantly, the battle-ax has no match on the night sky. Unless we see it as Aquila. Aquila was the eagle for many nations. Its two heads conveyed the symbolism of the autumn equinox. But only a few nations might have seen it as a double-ax. And judging by Herodotus, one of them were Scythians. An Aryan tribe with an Indo-European language.

Indeed, these four constellations depict perfectly the four Vedic castes: 1. Plow – Shudras, laborers 2. Yoke – Vaishyas, agriculture and merchants 3. Axe – Kshatriyas, warriors and rulers, and 4. Cup – Brahmins, priests and scholars.

https://cogniarchae.com/2018/06/30/origins-of-the-sea-peoples-the-sherden-the-shekelesh-the-peleset/