Minoan Crete, c. 3650 - c. 1170 BC

Minoan Crete was an ancient Aegean Bronze Age civilisation which began its rise to prominence in the latter half of the fourth millenium BC. Its remains were first excavated in 1900 by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, who named the civilisation after the mythical king Minos of Knossos. These so-called Minoans originated from the Neolithic people of Crete who developed small farming communities from around 7000 BC, as agriculture spread from the Middle East into Europe. Crete’s strategic location in the eastern Mediterranean ensured its status as a hotspot in the seaborne trade networks which began to flourish in the region as the Bronze Age reached Europe from around 3200 BC, once again from the Middle East. A thriving exchange of goods and cultural influences thus emerged and the Minoan elites benefited greatly from Crete's key position in the flow of mineral resources from the Balkans, Italy and Spain to the Middle East and exports of wool, grain, olive oil, wine and pottery.

From around 2000 BC, the Minoans put their wealth to use in the construction of so-called palace complexes at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Zakro. Their exact purpose and relation to one another remains a matter of debate, but their role as centres of political, economic and religious activity seems almost self-evident. Moreover, the abscence of defensive fortifications suggests that the rulers of each palace complex generally co-existed peacefully and commanded sufficient naval power to prevent a foreign invasion. Power and prosperity emanated from the palace complexes in the form of numerous smaller palaces, villas, towns, harbours and religious abodes which dotted the land. All of these places were adorned with beautifully coloured frescoes which – along with numerous depictions on pottery, statuettes, seals and rings – provide some insight in the Minoan religious practices. These were mainly centred on a class of priestesses, the worship of female deities (cf. goddesses of fertility, harvest and death) and the cult of the bull (cf. sacred bull-horns, double axes and depictions of ritualistic bull-leaping events). In addition, Minoan Crete was home to many religious sanctuaries in caves and mountains, as well as beehive tombs where the prominent dead were laid to rest.

The Minoans also developed a writing system, as evidenced by the many findings of clay tablets featuring hieroglyphics and the so-called Linear A script, which was most likely syllabic and used to record administrative and religious matters. Despite remaining as of yet undeciphered, it is certain that the language is native to Crete and not an early form of Greek, the oldest form of which reached Crete only when the Minoan civilisation had long fallen into decline. It is assumed that the Minoans were toppled from around 1450 BC by a combination of natural disasters – earthquakes, the eruption of the Thera volcano and a resulting tsunami – and the invasions of the Mycenaean Greeks. The Minoan culture partly recovered and survived under these newcomers as they rebuilt the ruined palaces, revived and expanded maritime trade and introduced the deciphered Linear B script (the oldest form of Greek, partly inspired by the Linear A script). Thus Minoan Crete was absorbed into the Mycenaean world, which itself perished during the Bronze Age Collapse between around 1250 BC and 1170 BC…

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