Catalogue Number: EGM-130
GREAT MOTHER GODDESS, Saffron offering from Xeste 3, Akrotiri, Thira, 1,600 BCE; Oil on canvas (48x48”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D., 2021
Catalogue Number: EGM-171
Minoan (1,700-,600 BCE) Archanes-Fourni sealstone #252; Oil on canvas (12x12”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D., 2021.
Catalogue Number: EGM-160
Oil on canvas (48x48”)©Eugene G Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Adaptation of 1,600 BCE Xeste 3 fresco at Akrotiri, Thera depicting the generation of life, growth, and continuance of life cycles derived from the sun disc, allomorph of the Minoan Great Mother Goddess, source of all of life (Marinatos, 2018; Papaodysseus et al., 2006). Minoan and other ancient cultures across the globe celebrated and revered the lifegiving energy of the sun and the interconnectedness of all life for eons, a fact of the natural world ecologists have labeled “interdependence of all life forms via interconnected food webs” – vis-a-vis “web of life.”
To me, this fractured and disintegrating fresco eroded by natural forces over millennia is a fitting metaphor for the current loss of biodiversity on Earth by human activities (i.e., climate change, habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, pollution, population growth, and over-consumption). Over a 40+year period (1970-2016), population levels of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes have dropped an average of 68 percent – the most alarming is the 94 percent decline of populations in tropical American subregions (Almond et al., 2020). Embrace the concept of Half-Earth by Dr. E. O. Wilson (2016) to “protect half the land and sea in order to manage habitat to reverse species extinction and ensure the long-term health of our planet.” It is not too late to fully accept the fundamental axiom of the life-giving forces of the natural world and act accordingly.
Catalogue Number: EGM-173
Middle Minoan (1,700-1,600 BCE) sealstone at Archanes-Fourni, Crete # 202; Oil on canvas (12x12”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D., 2021.
Catalogue Number: EGM-156
Adapted from the Fisherman fresco, Room 5 at Akrotiri, Thera (~2,000-1,650 BCE). Oil on canvas (24x30")©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Fresco is probably a youth offering the Common dolphinfish (𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘴) during religious ceremony rather than an adult male fisherman.
Catalogue Number: EGM-172
Middle Minoan (1,700-1,600 BCE) sealstone at Knossos, Crete # 203; Oil on canvas (12x12”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D., 2021.
Catalogue Number: EGM-060
Oil on canvas (24x30”)©Eugene G. Maurakis Ph.D. 2016. Minoan woman with necklace, Thera (Santorini), ~3,600 years old fresco.
Catalogue Number: EGM-150
Oil on canvas (30x40”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Adapted from Xeste 3, Akrotiri, Thera, 1,500 BCE.
Catalogue Number: EGM-155
Oil on canvas (24x30”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Adapted from Xeste 3, Akrotiri, Thera, ~1,500 BCE.
Catalogue number: EGM-027
Oil on canvas (24x30”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2015. Minoan Prince of the Lilies, 3,500 years old fresco.
Catalogue Number: EGM-121
Oil on canvas (25x25 cm)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Minoan ideograms of woman and male (person). ~ 3,600 year old.
Catalogue Number: EGM-033
Oil on canvas (24x30”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2015. Minoan procession fresco in part, ~3,600 years old.
Catalogue Number: EGM-122
Oil on canvas (25x25 cm)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Minoan ideographs for olives and olive oil, ~3,600 years old.
Catalogue number: EGM-032
Oil on canvas (24x30”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2015. Minoan Cup Bearers fresco at Knossos, ~3,600 years old.
Catalogue Number: EGM-124
Oil on canvas (25x25 cm)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Minoan ideograms of wine and figs, !3,600 years old.
Catalogue Number: EGM-025
Oil on canvas (40x48”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2015. Dancing Girl fresco at Knossos.
Catalogue Number: EGM-125
Oil on canvas (25x25 cm)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Minoan ideograms of barley and wheat, ~3,600 years old.
Catalogue Number: EGM-024
Oil on canvas (32x38”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2008. Saffron Gatherer fresco at Akrotiri, Thira (Santorini), ~3600 years old.
Catalogue Number: EGM-123
Oil on canvas (25x25 cm)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Minoan ideograms of goat and sheep, ~3,600 years old.
Catalogue number: EGM-031
Oil on canvas (24x30”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2015. Saffron gatherer fresco, Akrotiri, Thera (Santorini), ~3,600 years old.
Catalogue Number: EGM-120
Oil on canvas (24x30”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2020. Top to bottom: Clay bar at Knossos (transitional form between Minoan ideograms and Linear A); Libation table at Knossos (Linear A); Magic cup at Knossos (Linear A); Upper Minoan Sealstones, Archanes, Crete; Lower Minoan Sealstones, Knossos (L) & Archanes (R); Oil on canvas 24"x 30", Eugene, 2019(c)
Catalogue Number: EGM-030
Oil on canvas (16x20”)©Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph.D. 2015. Flying Fish at Phylakopi, Melos, ~3,600 years old.