Influence Of Larnax On Ancient Greek

A larnax is a type of closed coffin used as storage for corpses or ashes in Ancient Greek times. Larnakes are usually small boxes, set on four legs, with gabled lids. The larnax originated from the Minoan civilization in the late Bronze Age around 1300-1350 BCE. Egyptian wooden coffins or chests influenced Greek larnakes. The Greek larnakes were made out of terra cotta and were highly decorated with naturalistic, flowing paintings. The larnax from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is a rectangular box with brownish orange decorations. On one side, there are three papyrus plants with two smaller papyrus plants between. On the other side, there are two larger papyrus plants and with a type of shell painted in between. Throughout the larnax, there are borders of vertical wavy lines. On one of the ends, there are two

This larnax shows that Egypt had an immense influence on the. Nearly all of the decorations on the larnax potentially symbolize aspects of Ancient Egyptian culture. If true, the Nilotic motif proves that the Egyptians had a large impact on the Minoans. The Nile River to the Egyptians would be like the Aegean to the Minoans. The Egyptian funerary practices may have influenced the Minoans as well. The Minoan people put forth serious effort into this larnax, which shows that the burial was of some importance. This suggests that the Minoans may have been very religious people. This could have been a larnax used in a religious burial or a human sacrifice. Either way, it proves the funerary practices were very important to the Minoans. Finally, this larnax proves the importance of the Aegean Sea. All of the naturalistic decorations on the larnax connect life and sea. The Aegean Sea was crucial to the success of the Minoans, and without the sea, they may have never existed. Overall, this larnax could symbolize a variety of different things. However, it was very important to the Minoans; that is for