Minoan flying goddess with griffin

Minoan gold signature ring depicting a flying griffon and goddess, from cemetery at Archanes, Phourni, in Crete, 1700-1450 BC.

What does this mean? 

I believe that this means: The goddess of fertility arrives at the end of autumn symbolised by a griffin.

Minoan griffin consists of: 

Lion, animal calendar marker known as Leo, marks Jul/Aug, cause the mating season of Eurasian lions starts in Jul/Aug...

Vulture, animal calendar marker known as Eagle, marks Oct/Nov, cause the mating season of Eurasian vultures starts in Oct/Nov

I talked about it in my post "Origin of griffins" which contains symbolic analysis of this Proto-Elamite seal, dated to 3000 BC and depicting a griffin, followed by ibex goat, or goitered gazelle...

I talked about the Minoan griffins in several of my posts. Like "Minoan griffin fresco" about the griffin fresco from the throne room, palace of Knossos, Crete, dated to 1700-1450 BC. 

I also talked about Minoan griffins in my post "Minoan dolphins fresco" about the famous Minoan "dolphins fresco" from Knossos, Crete, dated to 1500BC...And about the symbolism of dolphins in Minoan art and culture...

And their (strange) link to griffins, depicted here on this very interesting Minoan sealstone discovered at Akrotiri, Thera, and dated to the 18th c. BC, which depicts a griffin suckling a dolphin...

Here is another interesting Minoan fresco. This one is commonly known as the "Saffron goddess". 1600 BC Akrotiri frescoes, Santorini, Greece. Griffin is depicted sitting next to the same fertility goddess... 

Why saffron goddess?

This is a part of the saffron harvest fresco. 

The goddess is depicted sitting on a throne among the blooming saffron crocuses...

The start of the Saffron crocus flowering/harvest season in Crete coincides with the beginning of the rain season (Oct/Nov)...And in Crete rain=fertility=life.

Posts about saffron and its symbolic role in Minoan mythology: "Saffron", "Origin of saffron"...

That's it. To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…Then check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am way way behind...

Origin of griffins

Proto-Elamite seal, 3000 BC. A griffin, followed by ibex goat, or goitered gazelle...

From "The Elamite Cylinder Seal Corpus, c.3500 - 1000 BC" volume II part I

Finally a proof (at least to me 🙂) that griffin is a complex animal calendar marker...

If you look up "griffin", this is what you get: "The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and sometimes an eagle's talons as its front feet"...

Legendary creature? Nah...It's a complex animal calendar marker for autumn (Jul/Aug - Oct/Nov)...

Eeee, why, how?

If you wanted to depict this time period, using animal calendar markers how would you do it?

Well you could find an animal whose mating or birthing takes place in Jul/Aug and mark the beginning of autumn. And then you could find an animal whose mating or birthing takes place in Oct/Nov and mark the end of autumn...

Like for instance, you could take eurasian lions, whose main mating season starts in Jul/Aug...

In the "THE ASIATIC LION: A study of ecology and behaviour" by Paul Joslin we can read that based on the observation of the large number of wild lions, the mating season of the Asiatic lions starts in August and lasts until October. 

Which is why lion is the symbol of the hottest, driest part (Jul/Aug) of the hot, dry half of the year (Apr/May - Oct/Nov)...I talked about this in many of my posts. For instance in my post "Angra Mainyu", about this amazing Middle Assyrian Cylinder Seal with a "Lion-Dragon", 1300-1200 BC. 

Eurasian lion main mating season marks the beginning of autumn and spans the whole of autumn (Aug,Sep,Oct)...

Which is why lion is also the symbol for autumn. I talked about this in my post "Symbols of the seasons"... 

Oh by the way, the symbol for summer (Apr/May - Jul/Aug) is bull, because summer starts with the calving of wild Eurasian cattle. Which is why "lion killing bull" symbol found all over the place means "the end of summer, BEGINNING OF AUTUMN"

I talked about this in many of my posts. For instance "Cypriot stamp seal with cow and calf", about this amazing conoid stamp seal, Late Cypriot III. Cyprus (?), ca. 13th–12th c. BC. 

So, I guess, you could use lion as the symbol marking the beginning of autumn...What about the symbol for the end of autumn?

Well, you could take old world vultures, whose mating season starts in Oct/Nov, with synchronized flying mating dances...

Which is why Vulture (Eagle) is the symbol of for the END OF AUTUMN, beginning of winter...

I talked about this in many of my posts. For instance "Eagle dance", about this interesting cylinder seal from North Mesopotamia-Syria, 1800–1500 BC, from the Leroy Golf collection.

So now put these two symbols together, lion-eagle...And you get griffin...Symbol of autumn...Here they are on another amazing Proto Elamite seal from "The Elamite Cylinder Seal Corpus, c.3500 - 1000 BC" volume II part I

That I am right about the meaning of the griffin, can be seen from the fact that on the original seal griffin, symbol of autumn is followed by ibex goat (or goitered gazelle), both symbols of winter...

I wrote many posts about ibex goat as symbol of winter, because ibex mating season coincides with the beginning of winter (Oct/Nov). For instance "Goats with tree of life from Alalakh", about "rampant goats flanking tree of life" images discovered in Bronze Age city of Alalakh/Tell Atchana, located 20 km from Antakya (Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. 

I wrote many posts about about gazelle as symbol of winter, because gazelle mating season coincides with the beginning of winter (Oct/Nov). For instance "Mysterious creature", about this Akkadian Cylinder Seal dated to 2300-2200 BC. 

Oh, by the way, do you see the green branch between the griffin and the goat/gazelle? 

In Elam, the climatic year is divided into hot, dry half (Apr/May - Oct/Nov) and cool, wet half (Oct/Nov - Apr/May)...

It is the rain that arrives in Oct/Nov, at the end of autumn (griffin), beginning of winter (goat/gazelle) that made life in Elam possible...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...

Griffin killing lizard

Griffin. 6th century mosaic, Great Palace Museum, Istanbul.

Leopard, tiger, eagle, goat. All symbols of winter, killing a lizard, symbol of summer...

In short all these animals were used as animal calendar markers, marking the time of the year when these animals either mate or give birth...

Articles which talk about Leopard and Tiger as symbols of winter in Europe: "Leopard and tiger", "Thyrsus", "Furious maenad", "Maenads and hare"...

Both tiger and leopard mate during winter...

Articles which talk about goat being symbol of winter in Europe: "Tanngnjostr and Tanngrisnir", "Krampus", "Pan - goat of rain", "Pan, Apollo and Midas", "Goats and partridges", "Goat riding thunder god"...

Wild goats mate during winter...

The symbolic linking between ibex and leopard and winter originated in Central Asia and Mesopotamia, where winter is the rain season and the season of the resurrection, rebirth of nature after long dry summer and autumn... 

I talked about it in my articles "A vessel from Tepe Hissar" and "Ibex and leopard"

The symbolic link between eagle and goat as symbols of winter is well known from Iran to Anatolia. For instance:

Iran (Article "Strider")

Central Asia (Article "Giant eagle dude with mouflons") 

I talked about the link between vultures and winter in several of my posts. Like these ones: "Eagle dude from Alepo", "Double headed eagle" "Giant eagle dude with mouflons" "Fluffy" and "Eagle calendar marker" 

Vultures mate during winter...

And lizards...Well they are cold blooded animals which are around during the summer...

Put all together, winter killing summer...

Now in all these lands from Anatolia to Iran, winter (Oct/Nov to Apr/May) is the wet, cool season, the season of resurrection of nature, after it died during the dry, hot summer (Apr/May - Oct/Nov)...So this is a positive symbol...

To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...

Pantikapaion coins

If I was to pick my favorite ancient coins, these would be way up there...Gold staters from Pantikapaion, c. 340 BC. 

Obverse: Bearded head of Pan with a wreath of ivy leaves.  

Reverse: Π-Α-Ν - griffin standing on a stalk of grain, holding spear in its mouth.

Pantikapaion (today's Kerch on Krimea), was founded in the 7th century BC by the Greek colonists from Miletus.  By the 480 BC it became a capital of the Kingdom of Bosporus.

The city located at the intersection of trade roads between Asia and Europe, and surrounded by fertile land and sea, grew rapidly and amassed fabulous wealth, which is attested by its large gold coins whose obverse always depicted Pan, the protector of the Pantikapaion.

Now back to the original coins. I love the wild Pan frowning from the obverse . But I love the reverse with the griffin even more. Why? Because I believe that this is a great example of the use of animal solar calendar markers in Europe...

In many of my posts I showed that the ancient Eurasians and North Africans used animals as calendar markers. The animal markers were derived from a significant lifecycle event (usually the beginning of a mating season) of the animal in question...

For instance, Eurasian lion mating season started in August. Which is why throughout Eurasia, Lion was the the symbol of the end of Jul beginning of Aug, the end of summer - beginning of autumn...I talked about this in my posts "Entemena vase", "Musth"...

On the other hand, Ibex Goat and Goitered gazelle were used as a calendar markers for the end of Oct beginning of Nov, end of autumn - beginning of winter. Because this is when their mating season started throughout Eurasia...I talked about this in my post "The pissing gazelle" and many other...

All zodiac animal signs are such solar calendar markers, marking significant lifecycle events of the depicted animals in Europe. 

So if you wanted to represent autumn (Aug,Sep,Oct) using animal solar calendar markers, you could do it by using the back half of a Lion and the front half of an Ibex or a Goitered gazelle...Right?

You could also add wings to that composite creature. Just so people understand that this is a solar calendar marker...Just like on the reverse of the Pantikapaion coin...

But I don't think that the griffin on the revers of this coin represents autumn. The head of the gazelle does mark the end of autumn. And the back of the lion does represent the beginning of autumn. That's all fine...

But as the head --> tail direction indicates, the progression of time goes: the end of autumn -> winter -> spring -> summer -> beginning of autumn. I believe that the direction in which the spear points also indicates that this is what this "griffin" marks...From head to tail...

But why would you want to mark this time period on a coin? Well the clue is under the "griffin"...The sheaf of grain...

In the Azov sea area, Southern Ukraine/Russia, winter wheat is the main grain crop. It is planted in Oct/Nov (the end of autumn, Gazelle), it grows over winter, spring, summer, and is harvested in Jul/Aug (beginning of autumn, Lion)...

So from gazelle's head (sowing, beginning) to lion's butt (harvest, end)...Exactly as the spear direction indicates...

And if you are a grain farmer, it is the golden grain, which grows during the time marked by the golden "griffin" that turns to gold...

Again, maybe I am reading too much into this...But maybe not...