Abstrakt
The lecture considers the existence of pre-Greek Zeus in Minoan Crete and his significance as a link between different eras and cultures. The question of "Minoan Zeus" has already received an attention, especially regarding the so-called Hymn on the Great Kouros - a fragmentary copy of a poem originally written in the 4th- 3rd century B.C.
The copy itself was inscribed on a stone and dates to the 3rd century A.D. The date of this poem wouldn't seem to make it relevant to the Minoan period, if it wasn't for a discovery of chryselephantine statue representing a young man, the so-called "Kouros from Palaikastro," which surprised scholars more than 80 years later.
The statue was found in a building cluster north-west of the later Zeus's sanctuary and dates to the LM I period and re-opened the aforementioned question - does this statue represent young Zeus - Great Kouros mentioned in later hymn? The lecture takes into consideration the existence of later Cretan tradition and Greek mythology as well as striking similarity between young Zeus and some oriental divinities, especially Baal. Final step is looking for "Minoan Zeus" in Aegean Iconography.