civilization, that have been excavated in our century, we visited only Knossos at Herakleion. In the wide and many,folded mountain valley, the labyrinthal Palace bears witness to a nonwarrior, rural and com, mercial Dasein dedicated to the joys of life, although highly stylized and refined. A feminine divinity is supposed to have been the center of all the worship. What comes in view is something of an Egyptian, oriental essence. Enigmatic as the whole is also the sign of the double axe that keeps occurring. Every, thing is focused on the luxurious, on adornment and embellishment, from the large frescos to the insignificant utensils of everyday life.
All the findings from the different excava, tions have been gathered in the Museum of Herakleion which was recently reorganized: the abundance of objects and forms, the impressive glimmer and the luxurious shine beg the question: what is this that shines in things and hides itself in their shine? The small statues and the votive figures do not say any, thing clear about this. Is there, perhaps, some con, nection between the labyrinth and luxury? As an adjective the word luxus means something that is
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