A mountain in north-central

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, Mount Juktas ( - ''Giouchtas''), also spelled Iuktas, Iouktas, or Ioukhtas, was an important religious site for the

Minoan civilization The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan palaces at K ...

. Located a few kilometers from the palaces of

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

and Fourni and the megaron at Vathypetro, Mount Juktas was the site of an important peak sanctuary in the Minoan world. At the base of Juktas, at Anemospilia, is a site that has suggested to some that the Minoans practiced human sacrifice, but the evidence is currently somewhat in question.

Peak Sanctuary

Mount Juktas is the site of one of the most important peak sanctuaries in the Minoan world, and probably the first of them.

Archaeologial importance

Archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

s have studied the site over an extensive period, examining fragments of pottery, remains of walls, and some unique kinds of stone that must have been hauled up the mountain because they do not otherwise occur there.

Religious importance

The mountain remains important in the religious life of the people of the area to this day – a

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

chapel is located about a kilometer south of the sanctuary along the ridge of the mountain. Every year, people from towns down in the plains below Mount Juktas bring flowers in procession to the chapel.

Archaeology

Juktas was first excavated in 1909 by Sir Arthur Evans. It can be regarded as an adjunct archaeological site to the important

site a few kilometres away.C. Michael Hogan, 2007)] Among the finds at the Juktas Minoan peak sanctuary were clay human and animal figurines, stone horns of consecration, horns, stone altars, bronze double axes, and both bowls and tables with Linear A inscriptions. See references for a more comprehensive inventory. Pottery sherds from the site date back as far as Middle Minoan IA.

References

* Anna Simandiraki, ''Middle Minoan III Pottery from Building B of the Peak Sanctuary of Mount Juktas, Crete, and a general re-assessment of the Middle Minoan III Period'', PhD Thesis, University of Bristol, 2002, British Library catalogue * C. Michael Hogan (2007
''Knossos fieldnotes'', The Modern Antiquarian
* Donald W. Jones (1999) ''Peak Sanctuaries and Sacred Caves in Minoan Crete''

Line notes

External links

*Younger, Joh

Landforms of Heraklion (regional unit) Peak sanctuaries Geography of ancient Crete Mountains of Greece Mountains of Crete {{Crete-geo-stub