Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe

Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe is a book by Scottish journalist and folklorist Donald A. Mackenzie, first published in 1917. Crete harbors a rich tapestry of myth and mystery. Its enigmatic Minoan civilization, predating the well-documented classical Hellenic era by centuries, met a tumultuous end, besieged by volcanic eruptions and marauding invaders. Subsequent generations, commencing with the classical Greeks, wove an intricate web of tales around the vanished maritime empire.

The epic sagas of Homer, the legends of Daedalus and Icarus, the labyrinthine King Minos and the Minotaur, and even, as Mackenzie astutely observes, the fabled Atlantis, all bear the fingerprints of conjecture and oral tradition concerning the elusive Cretan realm. At the dawn of the 20th century, archaeologists embarked on the meticulous excavation of Minoan relics. Relying heavily on circumstantial evidence, such as the vibrant mural artistry and the striking iconography of the Goddess, visionaries like Mackenzie constructed an entirely new mythos surrounding the ancient Cretans. Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe is an informative, well researched and very readable book about a very opaque period of history.