Alexandre Farnoux Alexandre Farnoux Alexandre Farnoux is a French historian, a specialist on the Minoan civilisation and Delos. Alexandre Farnoux studied at the French School at Athens, he became director of this institute in September 2011. He is professor of Greek archaeology at Paris-Sorbonne University and also teaches Greek history at the University of Strasbourg. He conducts research in Crete on the Minoan civilisation and is director of the excavation of a residential quarter in the Minoan city of Mallia. An overview of the archaeological discoveries made in Knossos, Crete, from the beginning of the 20th century, especially by the British archaeologist
Minoan civilization language. The Minoans seem to have prominently worshiped a Great Goddess, which had previously led to the belief that their society was matriarchal. However it is now known that this was not the case; the Minoan pantheon featured many deities, among which a young, spear-wielding male god is also prominent. Some scholars see in the Minoan Goddess a female divine solar figure. Although some depictions of women may be images of worshipers and priestesses officiating at religious ceremonies (as opposed to deities), goddesses seem to include a mother goddess of fertility, a goddess of animals and female protectors of cities,