Images of power in Bronze Age Crete

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the use of imagery by the elite of Neopalatial Crete to preserve and maintain their position in society. In the introduction a short history of previous scholarship is outlined. The tendency up to the present has been to look for a single ruling figure similar to that found in the iconography of Egypt and the Near East. However, while there is clear evidence that Minoan society was hierarchical, there is no single figure who stands out in the art, or any other evidence that Minoan society was ruled by a king or pharaoh-like figure.