The Minoans of Crete

The Minoans were the first Europeans to have a literate civilization.

The Minoans have an important place in world history, as building the first civilization to appear
on European soil.
 
Minoan civilization emerged around 2000 BC, and lasted until 1400 BC. It was located on the
island of Crete, which is now a part of Greece. The Minoans were famous for the magnificent
palaces they built, above all at Knossos.
 
There was, if fact, never a people who called themselves the "Minoans". The civilization of
Ancient Crete was given this name by the 19th century British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans,
who, when he began excavating at Knossos in 1900, thought he had discovered the palace of the
legendary king Minos, who appears in several Greek myths.
 
The Rise of a Bronze Age Civilization
 
Neolithic (Stone Age) farming villages began to appear in Crete sometime from 7000 BC. With
the arrival of the Bronze Age, trade routes spread out from the Middle East in search of copper,
tin and other resources. Given that water transport was, until the coming of railways, much more
efficient than land transport over distances of more than a few miles - one of those often-ignored
factors which had such an impact on world history - it was natural that the Mediterranean would
from ancient times be a major conduit of trade. Several regional cultures emerged in the 4th
millennium BC in and around the Aegean Sea, which pioneered seaborne commerce. One of
these evolved into the Minoan civilization.
 
As an island in the eastern Mediterranean, Crete enjoyed a strategic location between the centres
of civilization in the Middle East and the sources of much-needed minerals in the Balkans, Italy,
and as far west as Spain. The rulers of Crete were therefore able to make their land into a centre
for international maritime trade.
 
Bronze Age Centres of Power
 
The long-distance trade networks of the Bronze Age were largely dominated by the rulers of
well-placed chiefdoms and city-states which straddled the trade routes. They were able to tax the
flow of trade, and their seats of power became centres of industrial activity, where goods were
manufactured - especially elite items such as bronze weapons, armour and jewellery.
 
Bronze Age cultures outside the main river valley civilizations therefore tended to consist of
largely Neolithic farming populations ruled over by a small but wealthy ruling class, who lived
in comparatively luxurious - and often fortified - centres. Minoan civilization is a spectacular
example of this.
 
Palaces, Towns and Villas
Palace complexes dotted ancient Crete. These began to be built around 2000 BC, with phases of
palace construction and enlargement interspersed with periods of decline and retrenchment. The
long-term trend was for a few of the palaces to get larger, while others declined in size, or
disappeared altogether. In the final phase (1600 - 1400 BC), Knossos emerged as by far the
largest and most sophisticated palace, a multi-storied complex of stone buildings impressive by
any standards. It was clearly the seat of the most powerful ruler on the island.
 
Minoan palaces were usually situated in or near towns and cities. Here lived the bronze workers,
wall painters, potters and other craftsmen who worked in the palace workshops, as well as the
traders and crews who manned the Minoan ships. The city of Knossos, adjacent to the great royal
palace, was one of the largest urban centres anywhere in the ancient world.
 
Between the main palaces were situated much smaller groups of buildings which scholars
interpret as rural "villas" for members of the palace elite. They often exhibit the same artistic and
architectural motifs as the palaces, though on a less magnificent scale.
 
High Culture
 
The remains of Minoan palaces, especially Knossos, show an astonishing level of material
culture for the time. The larger ones would have housed hundreds of inhabitants, and were
serviced by elaborate water supply and sewage systems. Our knowledge of the lives of the
people who lived in these palaces is limited by the fact that, although writing was practised (in
the form of a script called Linear A, which was a pictographic script like Egyptian hieroglyphics
and Sumerian cuneiform), it has not yet been deciphered by modern scholars.
 
Lively and colourful wall frescoes, however, have survived, as well as some statuettes and
painted pottery. These give us a vivid glimpse of some aspects of Minoan life. They apparently
depict a religious life dominated by priestesses. Their ceremonial dress was almost Victorian in
its shape and decoration, with its wide skirts and tight bodices; but there was one glaring
difference - the Minoan priestly dresses were bare-breasted. It is likely that this is linked to a
fertility cult, prevalent in ancient religions.

Another remarkable feature shown in the paintings is bull-jumping - a sport undertaken by both
men and women. This too was almost certainly connected to religious ceremonies, as was most
public sport in the pre-modern world. It is tempting to see here the origins of bull-fighting, which
became prevalent in southern Europe hundreds of years later.
 
Far-flung Influence
 
The influence of Minoan civilization spread to many places on the Mediterranean coast - on the
Greek mainland, where it had a major impact on the emerging Mycenaean civilization; on the
coast of Asia Minor; as far west as the coasts of Italy and Sicily; and in the east, on the Canaanite
culture.
Minoan pottery has also been found in Egypt. Clearly Minoan traders and sailors journeyed far
and wide in search for trade items, and, judging by the power and wealth apparent at Knossos,
the Minoans came to dominate maritime trade in the eastern and central Mediterranean.
 
Decline and Fall
 
In about 1400 BC, the archaeological evidence shows a sudden break in the historical record -
the palace of Knossos collapsed, its inhabitants dispersed. Modern scholars have linked this to a
devastating earthquake and tsunami caused by a volcanic eruption on the nearby island of Thera.
Palace-building returned after a little while, but on a smaller scale; and the script has changed - it
is now one which scholars call Linear B. This script has, unlike Linear A, been decipehered, with
most of the documents relating to routine trade and administration. Linear B was also used on the
Greek mainland at this time, and this suggests that the centres of power in Crete had been taken
over by conquerors from Greece. These held sway for some two centuries before themselves
vanishing.
 
After that, there are no signs of palace building, nor of writing, nor of any other kind of high
culture, for several centuries. When at last literate civilization returns to the island it is as part of
the civilization of Classical Greece, an entirely different one from that of the Minoans. A new
chapter in the history of the world has begun.