Second Interdisciplinary Conference: Disasters, Catastrophes and the Ends of the
World in Sources
Pultusk Academy of Humanities, Poland
Ανακοίνωση Δρος Παντελή Κομνηνού με θέμα:
Volcanic LBA Activity and its reflection on Aegean frescoes
The intention of this paper is to reveal the role
mural painting, depicting the Aegean volcanic nature during the Late Bronze Age,
plays in the formation of a Landscape. These landscapes constitute the
expression of a collective identity and acts as means of self-defining this
identity in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Of course, humans produce ... art not only expressing
beauty, pleasure or love. With their art people depict also the environment in
which they lived, which is shaped and experienced. This environment can often be
considered by us as hostile, cruel, and perhaps dangerous. For
the people however who have experienced and materialized it into their art,
this is their own environment, which is lived and experienced by their
ancestors, which embodies the tradition, memories and what people have turned
from place to landscape.
Firstly, let us see briefly what these ecological features
of this place that experienced by the Aegean person are. Let us see in what
context its activity has been introduced and transformed into landscape,
defining to a large extent its identity in the Mediterranean.
The tectonic activity largely determines the
configuration of the geomorphological landscape of the Aegean. The volcanic
arc, the result of the movement of tectonic plates (Eurasian, Eastern, African),
creates cracks and deformations, dips and elevations and natural earthquakes
hob surface. The arc largely affects the southern coastal zone, while the north
is affected by the moat of Anatolia. Certainly, the tectonic changes interact
with the climate changes. So, after a lot of fluctuations, temperature undulations and interference of cold interglacial periods, from
8000 to 10000 years ago, a climate similar to the one we are having today,
prevailed.
On the other hand, while the climatic conditions in
the Cycladic islands are about the same as those of Crete, in geomorphology remarkable
differences are observed. First, the communication between the islands is more
difficult, as there is a proliferation of small islands where there are small
communities. Subsequently, the morphology is quite different from Crete: The space
is obviously more limited. The 'place' in most
islands of the Cyclades in fact presents a remarkable feature: it is based on
the contrast between the steep and rocky coast (N. Naxos, Amorgos, Folegandros)
and hospitable coastal plains (Syros, SW Naxos). Other areas have steep rocky
shores and other deep sheltered harbors. The interior of the Cyclades are
always mountainous, but not uniform: there are
bare hills interspersed by flat lands, while there are the very significant
farming terraces that emphasize the continuity of farming methods to the
present day. The forests are sparse and their remains are still preserved in
some sheltered parts of islands (Naxos, Andros, Tinos). The logging for the needs
of manifold requirements, the deforestation and the grazing had a negative impact on forest
land that didn’t have the ability to be renewed. Beyond the discreet presence
of the olive tree, which was a key productive asset, barley, beans and vines
were cultivated. Millstones and tools demonstrate
the cultivated types, allowing the assumption of cultivation methods such as
crop rotation and the "rain-fed cultivation." Loom weights indicate
livestocks while oxen (more rarely) and donkeys were used for various
agricultural activities since the Bronze Age.
Rightfully, from all the islands of Cyclades, we should be focus on
Thera. That's because, based on the evidence so far, it presents a significance
and considerable interest in the establishment of a geomorphological landscape,
remarkable and highly variable at the end of the Bronze Age: As mentioned
above, along with Thera, Kimolos, Milos and Nisyros form the southern Aegean
volcanic arc. The island of Thera has relatively recently developed some
volcanic activity. Previously it consisted of limestone, marble and schist. The
volcanic activity began about 100,000 years ago, and by successive eruptions
the island has been continuously rebuilt. However, it is extremely difficult
both to reconstitute the original form and the climate of these islands before
the eruption in the Bronze Age and consequently the flora and fauna. It is
generally considered to present a climatic stability, although some researchers
argue that the last eruption (Cave Riva) affected the populations of mammals
and thus shaped the island's forest cover. Certainly, the eruption of the
Bronze Age was a reference point that marked the geomorphological evolution of
the broader landscape of the eastern Mediterranean basin and consequently the
populations who lived there. Dendrochronology evidence and even ice core
samples suggest that the Aegean eruption affected the overall global climate.
Certainly the adjacent areas were affected most severely by the explosion. The
ash was transferred as far as Anatolia, the islands in the Aegean Sea and
eastern Crete. On Kos and Rhodes thirty thick ash deposits are associated with
the abandonment of settlements. The coastal areas of Egypt also received
certain quantities of ash, as shown by the excavations at Tell el Dab'a
(Abaris) where pumice found in local workshops was apparently collected for
industrial use. Ash fell on Crete, especially on the east side, but not as
thick as on Kos and Rhodes. However, it is considered that the impact on Crete must
have been limited to a brief and transient disruption of crops without further
effect on the economy of the island. What certainly seems remarkable as a
result of the explosion is the possible removals of the island population. The
inhabitants of the islands of the archipelago, and especially Thera will certainly
sought refuge away from their islands, which also probably happened with the
residents of neighboring areas. Perhaps minoanizing elements - among them the
frescos - were spread through this route, arriving in areas such as Miletus,
the Tell Kabri, the Alalakh and Tell el Dab'a, reinforcing, if not initiating,
communication links between peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean.
I will examine the features of the Aegean iconography
associated with a special element which characterizes the way collectivity is
expressed; i.e. how the Aegean disaster natural environment is depicted on
Aegean frescoes and how this type of depiction illustrates the “constructing”
of a landscape.
A characteristic feature of frescoes is that through
the use of images they constitute a representation that functions both as a
visual idiom and a mean of communication. It also functions as a narrative
text, giving shape to central ideas and symbols, turning them into something
tangible and placing them in space. It provides symbols that organize and
determine the world’s hierarchy, the
process through which
we view and conceive the world, that stimulate the memory, the imagination and
the feeling. Largely, the art of illustration is reproduced as long as its
notions, are reproduced in the frame of a “long-lasting period of time”,
aiming at the justification, support and reproduction of the principle defining
its existence.
Let us see now some of the frescoes of the
Aegean, both of Minoan Crete and the Cyclades, comprising the most
characteristic features of this landscape, which largely reflects the natural
environment experienced by the Aegean person. Firstly, we will focus on a
fresco from Knossos, called the "Crocus-Gatherer Monkey".
The floor which was located in the Old Fort
area, above the "Cells", in the northwestern part of the Palace of
Knossos, described by Evans himself as early. Furthermore, the color of the
form (gray - blue), the depiction of the vessels with white spots, places where
(or from where) it cuts flowers, containers mentioning "spiky" style,
the red band around the edges, the flowers themselves, the way of
representation of the rocky terrain, all refer to MMIII. Evans believes that,
apart from the vessels, even the depiction of rocks, the colors of black, white
and red, evoke the influence of kamares pottery and early MM period. But today,
most scholars believe that the representation should be placed in MMIIIA period
or a little later
Not so with another mural- which again features the blue monkey as its central theme
but where the depiction of the animals appears more naturalistic: It is the
"Fresco with Monkeys and Birds" from the House of the Frescoes, NW of
the Palace, which was destroyed in 1550 BC (as restored by M.Cameron). The
initial discovery was made by Evans in 1923, and in 1959 additional research was
conducted by Professor Platon. Cameron restored the fragments giving to the
Room Q the form of a frieze, a room whose walls were demolished after the
earthquake mentioned above. Maybe it decorated the worship space upstairs, as it
was customary in the Akrotiri areas, on Thera. The mural, as restored by
Cameron, spans to three walls, with significant differences between them.
Specifically, the dominant element of the background of the northern wall is
red. In the central panel the red ground is bordered by a creek, over which the
background is whitish, while a second stream, rolling along, is surrounded by a
yellowish wavy band. This color almost disappears in the third panel (the south
panel), where the background is completely off-dominant. The land on the north
wall is rocky, while on the east and south walls, streams - waterfalls are added
to the rocks along with their riparian landscape.
The pattern we saw in the "Crocus-gatherer” with the
rocks embracing the figures all around is repeated here, but with the modernity
that at certain parts these rocks extend
further out of the colorful wavy margins. Apart from the rocks, a special feature
is the depiction of streams and their surrounding area with ribbed rounded
pebbles and shingles, which thanks to their form are called "Easter
eggs".
By moving further north on the island of Thera, we will
find that the pictorial assemblages found there, contemporary or a little later than the Minoan, show a remarkable similarity in their
theme and philosophy but also profound and essential differences from those on
the island of Crete. Very distinctive and thematically relational fresco to
that of "Monkey and Birds" from the House of the Frescoes, Crete is a
similar one from Akrotiri on Thera, the "Monkey Fresco». Contemporary with
the previous one, it is dated to LC IA , around 1550 BC and comes from the
floor of Room B6. Eight monkeys appear here in a purely rocky landscape. The
scene is bounded at the top by a frame in red, green and blue and just above
there are white spirals with a blue center in a red background. The lower part
of the scene depicts wave formations in blue, yellow and red. Conventionally
perhaps this is a river depicted here. The monkeys are shown in a white background,
while their hands are hunging from angular, jagged rocks in a brownish-red
color. It has been suggested that these rocks are not an artistic convention,
but both their shape and colors reflect the theran environment: The roughness of
the ground reflects the volcanic rocks, while yellow represents sulfur and ash,
red is for pumice, and blue for dark lava. In this environment thus the blue
monkeys are shown, depicted to a stunning variety of attitudes.
Certainly, a secure conclusion would be that both the
forms of the animals and the formation of the ground allow us to integrate the
whole scene into a theran landscape where the artist undoubtedly observed these
two elements directly in order to depict them on this wall painting.
A composition that illustrates very graphically
the theran landscape is that of Room 5 of the West House, Akrotiri. It depicts nautical
cities and an overseas trip of a fleet. The scenery covering the Eastern Frieze is crossed by a river. The riverside
city III is depicted whose surrounding area is the river. The separation of
water and the shore is a black outline from which are sprouted forked
appendages to water. The waters are depicted in blue color, while banks with
pale, emphasizing their sandy nature. The forked appendages may be originated
from the representation of coral-shaped rocks, such as those are depicted in
MMIII marine scenes. The representations with pebbles along the riverbank on both
sides are sensationally impressive. They are in various colors and sizes, while
the eight-shaped pebbles, which are larger than the others and found only in
the Miniature Frieze, are unique in Aegean painting. The subject of pebbles,
the "Easter eggs" are commonplace in LM IA - B painting of the Aegean
- is eminently Minoan pictorial norm - and will pass into the Mycenaean
pictorial art. The landscape, however, includes rocks depicted in the lower
part of the frieze in the form of wavy lines, of various color tones (ocher,
blue, yellow), which undoubtedly represent their veins. The representation with
the broad lines and curves imitating the veins the limestone dadoes, can only
bring us to mind the depiction of the rocks of “Crocus Gatherer” but also the
frieze with" partridge "of Karavanserai. The effort to depict by a
naturalistic way the terrain all over the miniature frieze is notable. On the
south wall two mountain ranges and one on the north wall are depicted viewed by
the sea. The coast is shown by the convention of the aspective view, from
above, forming coves and bays with irregular arcs and curves, combining
appearance and plan view while creating a sense of perspective. The environment
of the Departure of the Fleet on the south wall is a characteristic depiction
of the Aegean landscape. Many researchers proceed to identifications with real
sites of the Mediterranean and in particular of the Aegean, taking into account
the representations of mountains, beaches and harbors.
For the depiction of the rocky landscape, the
artist uses various color tones, whose rotation has been placed decoratively,
but can be associated, at least at the case of the Departure area and the City
V with geological rock formations and the colors that resulted from the Big
eruption of Thera (c. 1470 BC). Of course, the artist observed and attributed
the landscape surrounding him. The soil was volcanic before the big explosion
and was formed by previous eruptions of lower intensity. The depiction may
therefore not due to artistic convention, but on observation and mapping of
geological peculiarities of the island. The mountain range of the city IV is
defined with a black line and arched recesses. The other surface has successive
zones of various colors, red, pale, bluish. Noteworthy is the convention used
in the statement of the rocks: recesses with - forked appendage that points to
the rendering of both the bank of "Nilotic landscape" and the rocks
of "fresco of monkeys and birds" of Knossos. The background of the
city is defined white, as in most Theran frescoes, while the river on both
sides has ocher bands like the river of the eastern wall. The beaches, both on
the south wall and the north, are depicted using coral-shaped rocks found
already on the faience items of MMIII. The sandy beaches are usually depicted using
pale band
In this frame, the Aegean inhabitants depicts on the
walls, amongst others, the landscape that entourages them and which he
experience via numerous and manifold aspects. They use the elements of the
natural environment, in order to depict a landscape that will enable them –
beside the rest of the functions that such a representation might have – to
create an element of self-reference so as to structure or develop an identity
relative to their aspirations, according to their social memory and/or
tradition, and feelings.
The highlight of the elements of the natural
environment in regard to the human and even the divine presence in the
representations, the dominance of a more free spirit in depicting the
figurative units, the special hybrids and the conventions used in Aegean art,
the choices made by the painter, and many more, are reflections of the
inhabitants’ ideology in the representative art. These reflections enable them
to articulate their own cultural speech in the, as it seems, complicated
reality of the Eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age. Therefore, these people presented their ideology
turning it into the material culture they produce and, in this case, into the
frescoes on the wall of some specific buildings and spaces, materializing also
the elements of the disaster natural environment which participate to that
ideology. In this way, they set out the self-reference points that the subject
would have used as such.
Additionally, to the question whether the landscape
can be used in order to demonstrate the cultural identity of a collectivity,
the answer is evidently affirmative, if one thinks that the Aegean similarities
and dissimilarities in the way natural environment is depicted, the special
character the Aegean art has in its three aspects (Minoan, Cycladic,
Mycenaean), a character which contributes to the creation of this cultural
identity which is also verified by other aspects of the material culture such
as pottery and the
seal-engraving, the ideology reflected in this art, everything points to the
conclusion that the representation of natural environment in the Aegean area is
associated with the forming of a substantial and totally necessary for the
collectivity’s social coherence socio-cultural identity.
