Minoan Fresco at Tell El-Daba, c. 15th century BCE
One of the goals of this exhibition is to show that the Greek-Egyptian relationship may have been at times more complicated than the one-sided Greek admiration of Egypt. Minoan style frescoes at Tell el-Daba near the Nile Delta in Egypt suggest that there was at least some cultural exchange between the Egyptians and Minoans before the Mycenaean palace collapse.
The reconstructed fresco shown here depicts bull-leaping scenes characteristic of Minoan palatial frescoes. In addition, as Dickinson points out, the mens’ skin here is painted in brown or red (Dickinson 1994: 89), and the women are painted with whiter skin, another key characteristic of Minoan frescoes. The blend of blues, oranges, and whites also appear to be similar to Minoan frescoes, suggesting a clear link between the Egyptian and Minoan palaces (MR 2003: 9). The rosette styling and Griffin iconclature underneath the bull-leaping scene are symbols found frequently in the Minoan palace (Bietak 2005: 89), suggesting that this fresco was either painted by a Minoan or by someone with extensive knowledge of Minoan painting practice.
It is difficult to precisely date these frescoes, which makes the question of influence tricky. For instance, if the Tell el-Daba frescoes can be dated before the earliest Minoan frescoes, then we could plausibly argue that the Minoans actually incorporated Egyptian elements; on the other hand, if Tell el-Daba frescoes are dated to the same time as the Minoan frescoes, then one could argue that Egyptians were borrowing from the Minoans. Dating the frescoes has been contentious: Bietak, one of the key scholars on this question, initially received criticism (see Cline 1998) for changing course on his dating; he once said the frescoes should be dated to either the Hyksos period or the 18th dynasty (roughly 16th century BCE to 13th century BCE), then changed his mind and said they should not be dated at all to the Hyksos period (Cline 1998: 218). Bietak was also criticized for suggesting that the painting knowledge required to create this fresco was likely transmitted through a political marriage (Bietak 2000: 203), but he has maintained that there could have been at least a political alliance since then. We do not know for certain whether the painter is Minoan or Egyptian, but either way, there is a fascinating cultural exchange occurring here.
Works Cited
Bietak, Manfred. “The Setting of the Minoan Wall Paintings at Avaris.” British School at Athens Studies 13 (2005): 83-90. www.jstor.org/stable/40960394.
Bietak, Manfred. “‘Rich beyond the Dreams of Avaris: Tell El-Dabʿa and the Aegean World: A Guide for the Perplexed’: A Response to Eric H. Cline.” The Annual of the British School at Athens 95 (2000): 185-205. www.jstor.org/stable/30103431.
Cline, Eric H. “Rich beyond the Dreams of Avaris: Tell El-DabʿA and the Aegean World: A Guide for the Perplexed.” The Annual of the British School at Athens 93 (1998): 199-219. www.jstor.org/stable/30103788.
Dickinson, Oliver, and Oliver Thomas Pilkington Kirwan Dickinson. The Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Matthews, Roger, and Cornelia Roemer. Ancient Perspectives on Egypt. London: Psychology Press, 2003.
Image source: photo taken by Martin Dürrschnabel, Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete.
"Land Beyond the Seven Mountains": The Greeks and Egyptians 