If you’ve ever played the original game, you may have noticed that the game developers drew inspiration from real-life artworks and artefacts, such as the Toltec pillars at Tula in Mexico, the Gayer-Anderson cat statue, and the Chimú bird motifs that adorn the adobe walls of buildings at Chan Chan in Peru. 

In this edition of Arte-Factual, we’ll be looking at the walls of a pool seen at the start of the Palace Midas level, which appears to be modelled on the famous Minoan Dolphin Fresco found on the Greek island of Crete.

Crete was one of the major cultural centres of the Eastern Mediterranean during the Bronze Age and was home to Knossos, the political and ceremonial centre of the Minoan civilisation. The site, which covers an area of almost 20,000 square metres, was excavated by the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and his team in the early 20th century. The Minoans were a primarily mercantile and seafaring people who established trade links with mainland Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, Canaan, and Egypt, and set up colonies on the nearby islands of Santorini – also known as Thera – and Rhodes. Their extensive trade network encouraged cultural exchange and this is evident in their art.

The Minoans adopted the colour conventions used in Ancient Egyptian art, where men were painted in red and women in white. They also adopted certain Egyptian motifs such as lotus flowers, and papyrus reeds. Even human figures and animals were usually drawn in profile. However, in contrast to the Egyptians’ highly conventionalised art style, Minoan art is characterised by its vigorous naturalistic style and fluid, graceful forms.

A perfect example of this style is the “bull-leaping” fresco found at Knossos, with its athletic men and women performing somersaults over the back of a bull. The Minoans were also fond of depicting flora and fauna in their art and are thought to be one of the first cultures to portray natural landscapes without any accompanying human figures, suggesting that they may have placed a great deal of importance on nature and the environment.

But let’s turn our attention back to the dolphin fresco. The dolphin fresco dates back to the period known as Late Minoan I (c.15th and 16th centuries BC) and is an example of “marine style” Minoan art.

Octopuses, dolphins, fish, crabs, rocks, and seaweed are common motifs seen on pottery and in frescoes dating to this period and some archaeologists believe that this may have been in response to a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or tsunami. This theory is corroborated by the fact that a number of temples and palaces, including the palace at Knossos, had to be rebuilt following an earthquake in 1570 BC. Could the sudden attention to marine life have been an attempt to appease Poseidon, the Earth-Shaker, and prevent further devastation?

Whether the dolphin fresco was designed to appease a temperamental god or was for purely decorative purposes, it’s hard to deny it’s one of the most stunning works of Minoan art found at Knossos. Visitors to Knossos will find a replica of the fresco displayed over a doorway in the east wing of the palace.

The original fresco, which is now housed in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, is actually a reconstruction. Piet de Jong, the artist and architect hired by Evans to assist in the recording and reconstruction of the palace at Knossos, was able to recreate the fresco based on a few fragments of painted plaster.

It’s quite possible that de Jong may have taken some artistic license when he reconstructed this and other frescos. There is also some debate as to where the original fresco would have been. Although de Jong and Evans believed it once adorned the wall of the Queen’s Megaron, it may actually have been part of a decorated floor in an upper level chamber and that it had fallen through the ceiling when the palace was destroyed after the Mycenaean takeover of the island.

One thing is for certain, though. If I were as rich as Ms Croft, I’d call in the painters and have my bathroom redecorated in Minoan marine style, dolphins and all.

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Sources & Further Reading:

• A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture by Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burstein et al, Oxford University Press (2008)
• Greece Before History: An Archaeological Companion and Guide by Curtis N. Runnels and Priscilla Murray, Stanford University Press (2001)
• Knossos (Ancient-Greece.Org)
• Knossos (Wikipedia)
• Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete by Rodney Castledon, Routledge (1990)
• Minoan Civilization (Wikipedia)
• Minoan Frescoes (Ancient History Encyclopedia)
• The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean edited by Eric H. Cline, Oxford University Press (2012)

If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more about the art and artefacts seen in the Tomb Raider games, feel free to check out the other articles listed in the “Arte-Factual” archive.

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Related Articles:

• Arte-Factual: Ancient Greek Wrestlers
• Lara’s Travels: Meteora
• Arte-Factual: Athenian Owl Figurine

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