ABSTRACT
At the end of the Late Bronze Age, around 1200 bce, the palatial system that ruled various parts of the Aegean “collapsed.” However, the destruction of the palace of Knossos on Crete probably gave local leaders the opportunity to gradually emerge and forge a new social and political order. In this long process of “societal transformation,” whose achievement is marked by the rise of the Greek city-state ca 650 bce, religious practices represent active components. Around 1200 bce, independent bench sanctuaries housing large wheel-made figures with upraised arms appear in a series of newly founded Cretan sites. Since the typical gesture of these figures recalls Minoan scenes allegedly representing the epiphany of a female divinity, they have traditionally been interpreted as cult images or representations of deities. However, epigraphic, iconographic, technological, and architectural evidence suggest that the function and meaning of these figures should be reconsidered. It is argued here that these figures most likely represent votive offerings, emblematic of emerging social groups in a context of regional competition. Interestingly, examples recalling such bench sanctuaries and figures continue to be found up to the crystallization of the Greek city-state, possibly as a reference to a period of early regeneration. As an illustration of this phenomenon, the case of the sanctuary at Kako Plaï, brought to light at Anavlochos in the summer of 2017, is presented here.
