Mystic South

The Snake-Horns or Snake Frames have long puzzled archaeologists and art historians, with an appearance that suggests both a two-headed snake and a pair of animal horns. Both naturalistic and stylized animal horns are a notable feature of Minoan art. The naturalistic ones can usually be readily identified as belonging to one of the types of livestock the Minoans raised or wild animals they hunted: cattle, goats, ibex, deer. The Snake-Horns, however, are not immediately identifiable as belonging to any known animal species, either horned quadruped or snake. The Snake-Horns appear in Minoan art, particularly on stone and metal seals, in similar configurations to both realistic animal horns and the stylized Minoan Sacred Horns. They appear most often in sets of two or three pairs, more rarely as a single pair of "horns." Until now, the nature and meaning of the Snake-Horns has been unclear. But a comparison of the Snake-Horns with images of animals on Minoan seals reveals their true identity as the oversized, stylized tusks of boars. Multiple examples of seal artwork depicting the Snake-Horns and the long-tusked boars they are identified with underscore the connection and illustrate the importance of this heretofore overlooked subject. This identification allows us to gain insight into the complexity of Minoan religion during the Late Minoan period, including the incorporation of an animal that was heretofore not considered an important symbol within Minoan iconography. It also opens the door to an aspect of Minoan culture and foodways that is not well known or often explored.