The 'Libyan Landscape' from Thera

A Review of Aegean Enterprises in the Late Minoan 1A Period

Abstract

The narrative context of the exotic scenery depicted in the Theran 'Libyan Landscape' becomes more comprehensible now due to recent restoration of the 'Miniature Fresco' from the West House at Akrotiri. The historical authenticity of this fresco gains further credence from new archaeological evidence for Aegean enterprises overseas in the LMIA period. This paper re-evaluates the implications of new evidence on the absolute date of the Thera eruption, the extent and nature of maritime activity in the eastern Mediterranean in general, and the political, commercial and cultural intercourse between the rulers of Knossos and Avaris during the late Hyksos period in particular.