Taurocatapsia!
Let’s leap on the bull!
1600 b. C., Island of Crete, palace of Knossos.
The ritual games started with an opening ceremony; the escort of the wild bull along this corridor in the southern part of King Minosse palace.
This ritual allows us to understand many details of the ancient Minoan culture, so ancient and evolved at the same time.
Many legends were born after the later encounter with the greeks of the peninsula, whos arrived on the island and participate within these events, detected no defensive walls, meaning no civil wars, a city built evenly in the form of a palace, almost labyrinthine.
The contests would have been held in large, outdoor spaces or even in the courts of the palaces. The spirit of competition and excellence first cultivated by the Minoans was revived centuries later in the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, whose establishment was linked by mythological tradition to Crete.
The first time I saw this fresco, within the most spectacular Minoan acrobatic sport, I identified myself with an athlete who manages to dominate the raging bull.
Trained athletes made a dangerous leap over the horns and back of a charging bull. Athletes of both sexes took part, as we see from the colour of their skin, dark for men and white for women.
The bull-leaping extravaganza is summarly depicted on a series of wall paintings, gold rings and seals forming an image identified with Minoan Crete and the glory of Knossos in particular. This contest would have been held in large, outdoor spaces or even in the courts of the palaces.
The spirit of competition and excellence first cultivated by the Minoans was revived centuries later in the Olympic Games of ancient Greece, whose establishment was linked by mythological tradition to Crete.
In the games areas of Minoan Crete the picture of a large crowd of excited spectators, impulsively and passionately identifying themselves with the contestants would not have been very different to the atmosphere of the stadium and the arena in the ancient and even modern world.
Credits: Concept, painting, pictures and content translation by Alberto Ballocca ©️
