Minoan civilization
Who discovered the Minoan civilization?
What destroyed the Minoan civilization?
Minoan civilization, Bronze Age civilization of Crete that flourished from about 3000 bce to about 1100 bce. Its name derives from Minos, either a dynastic title or the name of a particular ruler of Crete who has a place in Greek legend. The Minoan civilization was named by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans, who excavated the ruins of an ancient city at Knossos in 1900. Other major centers of the Minoans included Phaistos, Malia, and Zakros. Modern understanding of the Minoan civilization is derived primarily from archaeological evidence because its principal script, Linear A, has not yet been fully deciphered.
A brief treatment of the Minoan civilization follows. For full treatment, see Aegean civilizations.
Minoan timeline
Scholars divide the Minoan period broadly into three stages:
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- Early Minoan: Establishment of Minoan culture, usually dated between 3000 and 2000 bce.
- Middle Minoan: Flourishing of the Minoans, usually dated from about 2000 or 1900 bce to either 1600 or 1450 bce. Also called the Palatial period, it was distinguished by the construction of palaces such as Knossos.
- Late Minoan: Decline of the Minoans, usually dated from either 1600 or 1450 bce to about 1100 bce. This phase is regarded as having coincided with the eruption of a dormant volcano on the island of Thera (modern Santorini), which may have caused the destruction of Knossos.
Trade, writing, and art
Crete, strategically located at a maritime crossroads between Greece, Anatolia, and Egypt, became the foremost site of Bronze Age culture in the Aegean Sea, and in fact it was the first center of high civilization in that area, beginning at the end of the 3rd millennium bce. Reaching its peak about 1600 bce and the later 15th century bce, Minoan civilization was remarkable for its great cities and palace complexes which functioned as political, economic, and ceremonial hubs; its use of several writing systems (Linear A and Cretan hieroglyphs); and its extended trade throughout the Aegean, the Levant, Egypt, and other Mediterranean regions. These trade networks helped distribute Minoan artistic styles and luxury goods across the eastern Mediterranean.
Its sophisticated art included elaborate seals, pottery (especially the famous Kamáres ware with its light-on-dark style of decoration), and, above all, delicate, vibrant frescoes found on palace walls. These frescoes provide important evidence for Minoan daily life, ritual activity, and relationships with the natural world. Many display both secular and religious scenes, such as magical gardens, monkeys, wild goats, or fancifully dressed goddesses that have been interpreted by some scholars as evidence for the prominent role of female deities and female religious figures in Minoan religion. Among the most familiar motifs of Minoan art are the snake goddess and the bull. The ritual of bull-leaping, found, for example, on cult vases, seems to have had a religious or magical basis, although its precise significance remains uncertain.
Spread, decline, and legacy
By about 1580 bce Minoan civilization began to spread across the Aegean to neighboring islands and to the mainland of Greece. Minoan cultural influence was reflected in the Mycenaean culture of the mainland—particularly in architecture, artistic motifs, administrative practices, and religious symbolism—which began to spread throughout the Aegean about 1500 bce.
By the middle of the 15th century bce the palace culture on Crete declined during a period that may have involved a combination of natural disasters, internal disruptions, and increasing Mycenaean influence from the mainland. A new order was established on Crete, often referred to as the Mycenaean phase of Knossos. Following these changes, elements of Cretan and mainland traditions were combined in material culture and administration. The Late Minoan period, however, was a time of marked decline in both economic power and aesthetic achievement.
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Aspects of Minoan culture continued to influence later Greek societies, such as the writing system Linear B, adapted by the Mycenaeans from Linear A. Minoan influence is also evident in Greek mythology, particularly in the legend of the Minotaur, the monstrous offspring of Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos, and a snow-white bull sent to Minos by the god Poseidon for sacrifice. The mazelike plan of the palace complex at Knossos reflects the half-bull, half-man Minotaur’s legendary home, a labyrinth constructed by architect and inventor Daedalus.