ABSTRACT
The first publicly organized cult in Crete emerged around 2000 BC in the Peak Sanctuaries. The 52 recently identified sanctuaries, dispersed mainly through east and central Crete, were situated near settlements or palatial centres. Most were frequented during the period of the Old Palaces, as well as during the first phase of the New Palaces (1900–1600 BC). Only in a few of them (e.g. in Jouktas) was the cult continued through the whole Minoan period (Peatfield 1983, Rutkowski 1986, pp. 79f.). The main offerings in Peak Sanctuaries were male and female figurines. These figurines, conceived as symbols of an ideology, may reveal multiple evidence about the religious and social concepts of the Middle Minoan period.
