Week 6 Storytelling: A Different Spirit-Guarded Cave

The day before the Mycenaean boats met the shores of Crete, the island was in a flurry. This time, the people had time to prepare for the event that would change everything about their lives. Hundreds of years before, when an earthquake rumbled the growing city, the Minoans were taken by surprise. All of their houses, art work, and alters were decimated. Their most valuable possessions, the ones that defined their city itself, were lost in an instant to history.

Over time, the Minoans rebuilt the city to be ever grander than before. More than ever, they valued each construction as a testament to their very identity. The sprawling palace dominated the rolling landscape. Light flooded in from the sea and through the columns to illuminate rooms for courtiers and common people alike.  Paint bathed the walls in colors that could only be created by the gods. The frescoes awed every onlooker with their depictions of flowers from every season living harmoniously on the island.  Pottery of every shape and purpose lined the rooms, its marine designs symbolizing the sea to the frescoes’ shore.

Life by the sea was rich, until the white sailed appeared on the horizon.

The Mycenaean people had heard about the Minoans’ expansive palace and beautiful art. They longed for it, so they set out to take it. When the Minoans saw the boats approaching, they knew that, instead of living in continuous fear for their fates, they had to act.  At first, the people fled away from the shore and into the hills. However, as the sails grew closer, the Minoans grew more afraid that the Mycenaean warriors could still overtake them. After days of fearful retreat, the queen said, “Our lives are spent in trying to escape from our enemies and no joy can be ours.” Looking over their former city, the people knew that she was right. However, before they boarded their boats to seek refuge on another island, the Minoans did what their ancestors could not do before the earthquake – they saved their culture.

Hurriedly, they gathered their most valuable possessions and stored them in huge underground magazines where they could not be disturbed by the invading forces. Then, they placed their sacred carvings in front of the stalactites in the nearby caves.  As they left their figurines, each person prayed for protection from the gods for their families going forward and the possessions left behind in hopes that, one day, they could return to their city.

Minoan Marine Style pottery that could have been buried in the story
Image Source

Author's Note:

This story is based on the Lao's Folklore story The Spirit-Guarded Cave. In the original story, the people are also fleeing an enemy that is approaching their land. However, instead of leaving their possessions behind hidden, the people tried to take all of their money and jewels with them as they escape. As their situation became more dire, the riches caused a rift among the refugees. An old wise man knew that the people could survive being divided, so he proposes storing the items in a cave guarded by spirits. He stated that once they were safe again, they could send someone to retrieve the treasure, but until then, the treasure would be protected by the cave spirits. Sadly, the people were never able to return to the cave. However, the wise man was right in that no one who ever attempted to steal the treasure succeeded. While reading this story, I was reminded of a recent lesson about the end of the Neopalatial period of the ancient Minoans. They too had to flee from their city because of invaders. However, instead of taking their things with them, they decided to hide them from the start to prevent their enemies from taking their valuable possessions. I wondered what it would look like to merge elements of both of these stories!

Bibliography:

"The Spirit-Guarded Cave", Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson,(1899).