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 Ancient Egypt). Evans' system divides the Minoan period into three major eras: early (EM), middle (MM) and late (LM). These eras are subdivided—for example, Early Minoan I, II and III (EMI, EMII, EMIII). Another dating system, proposed by Greek archaeologist Nicolas Platon, is based on the development of architectural complexes known as "palaces" at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Kato Zakros. Platon divides the Minoan period into pre-, proto-, neo- and post-palatial sub-periods. The relationship between the systems in the table includes approximate calendar dates from Warren and Hankey (1989). The Thera eruption occurred during a mature phase of the LM