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Volume 105 No. 1
January 2001
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Abstract |
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Dancing in the Dark: Deconstructing a Narrative Epiphany on the Isopata Ring
C. Dawn Cain
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| Isopata ring bezel |
In theory, narratives in any medium can recount religious, profane, real, or fantastic events. But some stories, those involving battles for instance, have more narrative value and are easier to relate and understand than others. The often-reproduced scene on a ring from Isopata, Crete, is an instructive example of the rich narrative character of the finest Aegean glyptic art. It also exemplifies the difficulties posed to the modern viewer-narrator by images that depict religious tales or events. The examination of the pictorial structure and gestures of the protagonists on the Isopata ring undertaken here, which takes the form of a comparative analysis and centers the discussion within the theoretical framework of narratology, discloses the intense ambiguities of the ring's representation. The characters on the ring appear to take part in an event of some significance, yet it is not possible to determine the individual status of each figure (e.g., divine or mortal) from the pictorial texts at our disposal. Their actions, positions, and the sequence in which the action depicted should be read is also difficult to determine. This revelation is unsettling, given that the traditional view of Minoan religion being focused on invoking an epiphany of the goddess through ecstatic dancing is based in large part on readings of the scene on the Isopata ring.
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