I’ve written before about the astronomical alignments of the Minoan temple complexes, but the big temples that were the centerpieces of the cities in ancient Crete weren’t the only places the Minoans went for worship.

The island of Crete is ringed by level lowlands that reach to the coast, but the center is filled with mountains that rise more than a mile high. Some of these mountain peaks were sacred places to the ancient Minoans. They built pilgrimage roads up the mountainsides to shrines and sanctuary buildings at the peaks.

These peak sanctuaries were popular places for individual sacred pilgrimages as well as large religious celebrations. Some of them were built with purposeful astronomical alignments as well, mostly due east, the direction of sunrise on the equinoxes, but also to some lunar rising points. The peak sanctuaries' pattern of use changed over the centuries, and some of the sanctuaries fell out of use altogether while others continued to be the focus of religious activities.

So how many peak sanctuaries were there? There are nearly four dozen documented Minoan peak sanctuaries, and there are probably more that haven't yet been discovered. They all show evidence of bonfires, which were probably lit on specific sacred days. There is speculation that the bonfires are evidence of Sun worship at the peak sanctuaries since bonfires, around the world and across time, often represent the Sun.

The bright fires on the mountaintops stand in stark contrast to the dimly-lit caves where the Minoans also partook in sacred activities. This balance of light and dark shows us the two halves of the Minoan worldview: the Upperworld and the Underworld. This division is also reproduced in the temple complexes, where light wells brought sunlight deep into the multi-story buildings but where the adytons (sometimes inaccurately called lustral basins) – large recesses in the floor – were essentially artificial caves.

During the centuries from about 1900-1700 BCE, the peak sanctuaries were popular places for ordinary people to make pilgrimages. Lots of terracotta votive offering figurines have been found from this time period.

These are simple ceramic objects that would have been cheaply available to most everyone. They depict people in particular postures, including the Minoan salute, suggesting that they represent the worshipers who were visiting the peak sanctuary, probably to ask a favor of the deities. The fact that the offerings included not just whole figurines but also purposely-made individual body parts (arms, legs, torsos) suggests that the Minoans visited these places to seek healing, among other reasons.

During the next few centuries after 1700 BCE, including the era of the Mycenaean occupation that ended around 1350 BCE, most of the peak sanctuaries appear to have fallen out of use. The only active ones were those few that were near the major temple complexes, with each temple apparently keeping a close rein on the nearest peak sanctuary.

For instance, the peak sanctuary at Mt. Dikte was associated with the temple complex at Knossos. The temple at Phaistos was in charge of the peak sanctuary at Mt. Ida, and the Zakros temple governed the one at Traostalos. The peak sanctuary at Petsofas was administered by one of the nearby temples in eastern Crete – Zakros, Petras, or Palaikastro – though we can’t be sure which one.

Along with the reduction in the number of active peak sanctuaries, those later centuries also saw a change in the kinds of offerings that were left there. Instead of the rustic terracotta figurines, the sanctuaries received offerings of beads, jewelry, stone vessels, and bronze figurines.

These are more expensive items, suggesting that pilgrimages to the peak sanctuaries had become an elite activity, open only to a select few. It’s possible that the temple complexes required some kind of ‘price of admission’ to the peak sanctuaries (perhaps a donation to the temple), thus restricting access only to those who could afford it. This change in access may be connected with the cultural and religious changes that took place on Crete under the Mycenaean occupation.

Both the Moon and the Sun were important aspects of Minoan astronomy and religion, and we see this fact reflected in the orientations and archaeological evidence of the peak sanctuaries. The Uppsala Archaeoastronomy Project’s research into the peak sanctuaries reveals that the Minoans used these places not just for religious pilgrimages, but as astronomical observatories as well. This makes sense, due to the extended visibility from the mountaintops.

The Minoan calendar combined the cycles of the Moon and the Sun as well as the planets and certain stars. In ancient Crete, the new year was celebrated at the time of Autumn Equinox, when the ‘dead time’ of summer was over and the renewing rains began in the Mediterranean climate. The Project's research shows that the calendar was recalibrated and the new year officially began at a particular phase of the Moon on or immediately after the Autumn Equinox.

This ‘particular phase’ was probably the heliacal rising of the Moon, what is sometimes called Diana’s bow. In Ariadne's Tribe, we call it Diktynna's bow. This is the first sliver of the newly-waxing Moon you can see above the western horizon just after the Sun sets, and this narrow crescent Moon sets soon after.

This was the first day of the month in many ancient cultures – not the day of the New Moon, when the Moon is invisible. The New Moon was considered a ‘bad luck day’ throughout the ancient world because it’s the day on which solar eclipses can occur.

So the Minoan peak sanctuaries performed a variety of functions throughout the centuries in ancient Crete. They were pilgrimage sites, first for the general populace and then for a chosen elite. And they were astronomical observatories, allowing the Minoan priesthood to calibrate their calendar and keep it accurate so they could celebrate the sacred times of the year with confidence.