Were women dominant in Minoan society?
Art historian Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe points out there is plenty of archaeological evidence to indicate that women occupied an important if not dominant position within the practice of Minoan religion and possibly the entire society as well. In scenes of ritual worship, women appear to dominate the proceedings and far outnumber male priests and attendants. "Moreover men are rarely seen in commanding positions, despite attempts to identify them in such positions," Witcombe says. "Even the lifesize male figure in the reconstructed frescoed stucco relief at Knossos which Evans identified as the "Priest-King" is now believed to be made up of fragments of several different figures. The only thing that seems relatively certain is that one or more of the figures was male." He also observes that typical evidence of a male-dominated society in the second millennium including walled citadels, fortifications, temples to gods, large public sculpture and boastful...