Art and Religion in Thera: Reconstructing a Bronze Age Society

by Nanno Marinatos

This book is about wall paintings and the function they fulfilled in the Bronze Age society of Akrontiri, Thera. The author discusses the frescoes in their architectural setting and in relation to the objects found in the rooms and buildings. This method enables her to explore the symbolism of the art and to reconstruct actual ceremonies. The paintings also reveal attitudes towards religion and the Therans' basic confidence in the permanence and unchanging order of nature. --- from book's cover

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Archaeology, Greece

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Ginevra · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing read.
Nanno Marinatos daughter of Spiridon Marinatos, the original archeologist to lead the excavations in Thera (Santorini), sets out a thesis on religion bolstered by the art and other finds on the site. Her idea seems to be that there were an incredible number of shrines everywhere in the excavated section of Acrotiri and that all wall frescoes were decorating said shrines. She postulates that the Santorini population lived in a theocratic world, ruled by priests and religion, rather than any type of secular government and that there were different shrines for the different stratas of society.
The illustrations are good, I was particularly interested in the reconstructions, which convincing or not, still help the reader to envisage what the rooms and interiors might actually have looked like. Otherwise, most of her theories I found trite and unconvincing, I felt that she was too definite in her opinions when so little of the site has actually been excavated and quite a lot of the logic I found ridiculous.

[Apostate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read portions of this for a class, but enjoyed it so much I bought a copy. The author is the daughter of the man who discovered & excavated the site. While the text is somewhat dry, the photographs, maps, & colored pencil illustrations are wonderful.