From early times, Cretan religious sites were located in remote localities such as mountain peaks and caves. Here offerings were made, including votive models of ailing parts of the body, male and female figurines representing worshippers or deities, and small vessels presumably containing food.
At one shrine several skeletons were found which suggest human sacrifice; more usually animals were sacrificed, as shown in artwork.
In later Minoan times rural sanctuaries gave way to some extent to small shrines constructed within the palaces. Here small numbers of nobles may have participated in religious ceremonies, while large-scale ceremonies, processions and festivities performed in the courtyards allowed everyone to participate.
Religious art and votive clay models imply the importance of the Mother goddess in the religion, served by priestesses as well as priests. Bulls and their horns also feature prominently, perhaps linked with the worship of Poseidon, god of the sea and bringer of the earthquakes that repeatedly troubled Crete and its neighbours.
