Minoan Genius Minoan Genius The Minoan Genius is a fantastic mythological creature that was common in ancient Crete. It is portrayed sometimes with the head of a lion, or of hippopotamus, or of other animals. It played a role in various religious ceremonies. It is often portrayed with water vessels, such as ewers, so it seems to play a role as libation bearer. The connections of this mythological beast seem to be with the griffin—a very widespread composite mythological beast—as well as with the Egyptian hippopotamus and crocodile goddess Taweret, from which it is believed to have derived. According to Judith Weingarten,
Minoan civilization millennium BC at Malia. Although it was formerly believed that the foundation of the first palaces was synchronous and dated to the Middle Minoan period (around 2000 BC, the date of the first palace at Knossos), scholars now think that the palaces were built over a longer period in response to local developments. The main older palaces are Knossos, Malia and Phaistos. Elements of the Middle Minoan palaces (at Knossos, Phaistos and Malia, for example) have precedents in Early Minoan construction styles. These include an indented western court and special treatment of the western façade. One example is the House