The Sissi Genius lentoid: A lapis lacedaemonius seal from Final Palatial Crete

Diana Wolf

Hesperia 91 (2022): 351-384

A Final Palatial lapis lacedaemonius seal, here called the Sissi Genius Lentoid, was recovered during the 2018 excavation of the Court-Centered Building at Sissi, East Crete. The seal instantly drew attention because of its rare material and unique iconography that shows a Minoan genius flanked by the foreparts of two agrimia. An examination of the object within the context of Late Minoan II-III hard stone glyptic, particularly the lapis lacedaemonius seals, reveals ideological and sociopolitical links between Sissi and other Cretan sites, including neighboring Malia. The lentoid belongs to a group of seals that clearly formed prestige items used by sociopolitical elites who were exercising control over the surrounding land, possibly as delegates of the Knossos palace.