Minoan Manitnada

Our Goddess

Original Greek Version

H Θεά μας έχει ένα φίδι σε κάθε χέρα.
Την προσκυνούμε με αφοσίωση κάθε μέρα.

Μια μικρή κουκουβάγια καθεί στο στεφάνι της.
Την ζωή και τον θάνατο, και τα δυό τα διοικεί.

Transliteration

I Theá mas éhei éna fídi se káthe héra.
Tin proskynoúme me afosíosi káthe méra.

Mia mikrí koukouvágia katheí sto stefáni tis.
Tin zoí kai ton thánato, kai ta dyó ta dioikeí.

English Version

Our Goddess holds a snake in every hand.
We worship her with devotion so grand.

A little owl* sits atop her crown.
Life, death, in between… She commands it all.

Literal Translation (sans proper syllable count & rhyme)

Our Goddess has one snake in each of her hands.
We worship her with devotion each day.

One little owl sits on her crown.
Life and death, she commands the two.

Note: In Sir Arthur Evans’ controversial rendition of the Minoan Snake Goddess, he placed a cat atop her crown that he found in one of his excavations. In a lot of Cretan renditions, there’s a little owl instead. Some scholars have posited that this Goddess is the precursor to the Greek goddess of wisdom & warfare (Athena); therefore, the owl addition makes more sense (they are a primary symbol of hers after all).

Minoan Autumn

Original Greek Version

Η συγκομιδή ελιών και σταφυλιών ξεκίνησε!
Kόκκινο χρώμα από τα δέντρα εμφανίζεται.

Η καλοκαιρινές ακτίνες του Ήλιου δροσίζουν.
Στο πολύχρωμο τοπίο, oι δρόμοι ησυχάζουν.

Transliteration

I synkomidí elión kai stafylión xekínise!
Kókkino chróma apó ta déntra emfanízetai!

I kalokairinés aktínes tou Íliou drosízoun.
Sto polýhromo topío, oi drómoi isyházoun.

English Version

The olive and grape harvest has arrived!
Auburn hues of oaks and planes come alive!

Summer sun softens, gives way to brisk days.
Bustling streets halt in the changing landscape.

Literal Translation (sans proper syllable count)

The harvest of the olives and grapes has commenced!
Red color from the trees appears!

The summer rays of the Sun are cooling.
In the colorful landscape, the streets calm down.

Note: While there’s a lack of records, modern trends of Cretan weather can inform the distant past. Autumn was and is a time for harvesting the island’s greatest commodities: olives and grapes. Wine was also made at this time. As the plane (platanos) and oak trees took on striking brownish-red and golden hues (but the deep green of cypress and olive trees remained), the Minoans, like present-day Cretans, prepared for the winter ahead. The seasonal shift definitely brought much reprieve on an island known for its summers of harsh heat and VERY dismal rain (if any).