:: 2009 :: 40cm x 30cm Oval :: Inks, Markers & Aerosol Paint on Canvas ::
Archaeologists and commentators are now fairly accepting of the notion that Minoan society had an age-grade initiatory system for young men, in common with many other agrarian societies of the ancient world. Judging by the hairstyles and attire of young men as evidenced in frescoes, seals and statuary, there appear to have been three grade, roughly corresponding to child (uninitiated), youth or kouros (an adolescent male the ideal of which was depicted often in Minoan art) and adult. Interestingly (but obviously given the strong female focus of Minoan society), these grades appear to have been presided over by a female deity, although the male kouros was almost certainly a sacred personage too.
