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The Minoan Genius is a fantastic mythological creature that was common in ancient Crete. It is portrayed sometimes with the head of a lion, or of hippopotamus, or of other animals. It played a role in various religious ceremonies. It is often portrayed with water vessels, such as ewers, so it seems to play a role as libation bearer. ==Mythological connections== The connections of this mythological beast seem to be with the griffin—a very widespread composite mythological beast—as well as with the Egyptian hippopotamus and crocodile goddess Taweret, from which it is believed to have derived. According to Judith Weingarten, the earliest forms of the Minoan Genius derived from the Egyptian prototypes between approximately 1800 and 1700 BC.〔Weingarten, J. 1991. ''(The Transformation of Egyptian Taweret into the Minoan Genius: A Study in Cultural Transmission in the Middle Bronze Age''. ) Partille, Paul Åström Förlag.〕 Later on, the Genius also became a deity in the Mycenaean world; its representations are found widely in continental Greece.〔P. Rehak, (''The ‘Genius’ in Late Bronze Age Glyptic: the Later Evolution of an Aegean Cult Figure'' (PDF file) ), in W. Müller (ed.), Sceaux Minoens et Mycéniens (Beiheft 5 ) (Berlin 1995) 215-231〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Minoan Genius」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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