Out of the Jurisdiction: Heraklion, Crete

 Heraklion is a modern city on the northern shore of Crete.  What impressed me most was the archaeological museum, which holds and displays a wealth of artifacts from thousands of years ago.

Beautiful Cretan clay and bronze figurines and vessels.  1450 - 1370 BC.

A bull-leaping fresco, with a male athlete doing a backwards somersault over a bull while two female athletes restrain the bull.  1600-1400 BC.

Decorated clay vessels of different sizes and shapes from the Palace of Knossos.  1500-1400 BC.

On the left, a carved bone Cretan figurine.  2300 - 2100 BC.  The others are Cycladic-type figurines from 2600 - 2200 BC.   (The Cyclades are 30 Greek islands, including Santorini, Mykonos, Naxos and Andros.)

Vessels from shrines, including a bull's head, from 1600 - 1450 BC.

The Poppy Goddess is the biggest of these figures.  She has opium poppy fruit in her crown, conveying the message that she relieves pain and heals her worshippers.  1300 - 1200 BC.

Several of these vessels were made for a luxury dinner service for banquets at a Minoan palace.  

1300 - 1200 BC.  

A clay cauldron with griffins.  7th century BC.