Abstract

Palaces are considered the central administrative and religious institutions of Late Bronze Age Crete through their control of social ties and social mobility. A closer look at the archaeological record from Palatial and Postpalatial sites across Crete indicates the performance of convivial events in which high-value types of pottery were used as a means for social display. Conical, ovoid, and bull-shaped rhyta made of fine ware and bearing elaborate decorations with semiotics of socio-political character and symbolism comprised the core-equipment of gatherings that were typically organized on the upper floors of buildings. This finding reinforces what has already been widely accepted re-garding the fundamental character of feasting practices in Crete, which attained a key-role in social reproduction both before and after the establishment of the “palaces.” It also allows us to reconsider social organization in Minoan Crete and the significance of the palatial centers. Minoan society may be seen as a complex web entangling a dynamic interplay of differing levels of social organization and hierarchy.