Evidence for the Minoan Tripartite Shrine

Abstract

Our knowledge of the Minoan Tripartite Shrine, once based chiefly on evidence from Knossos and Mycenae, is constantly accumulating. One incompletely published building foundation from Vathypetro, for instance, is surely that of such a shrine. The depiction in relief on the now famous Shrine Rhyton from the Palace of Kato Zakros furnishes, upon careful analysis, even fuller evidence for the layout, location, and appearance of such structures. As a result of these examples and hitherto unidentified shrines, it now appears that structures of this nature were more common than has been suspected in the past. Moreover, it is likely that such shrines did not have extensive inner chambers but, rather, served chiefly as backdrops for religious rites carried out in front of them. That such rites were seasonal and/or sporadic in nature is suggested in some cases by the light, if not flimsy, nature of the shrines' architectural remains.