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Minoan Period |
It is not clear when Crete was first inhabited but there is ceramic and other evidence of human habitation from the Neolithic Age around 7000 BC. The Minoan period from around 2700 BC to 1450 BC is the first clearly recorded historical period in Crete. The apex of Minoan civilisation was in the 17th and 16th centuries BC. It was during this period that Crete took advantage of its strategic position at the crossroads of three continents and became a flourishing maritime power and the great palaces, such as the one at Knossos, were built. The term “Minoan” comes from the legendary King Minos who was supposed to rule Crete around that period (refer section on Cretan Legends).
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 The Importance of Trade
Through trading with other states in the Easter Mediterranean, Crete not only became powerful but developed a unique culture that took elements from various other cultures through which it came into contact. The civilisation that developed became the forerunner of Greek civilisation and western civilisation in general.
It is believed that the Minoans were important players in the tin trade which when alloyed with copper from Cyprus was used to make bronze. The trade in saffron was also important as it was used throughout the Mediterranean in perfumes, ointments, medical treatments and divine offerings. The Minoan fresco of saffron gatherers in Santorini is well known (picture on left). Ceramics and other durable goods were also extensively traded. The decline in Minoan civilisation appears to co-incide with the increasing use of iron and the reduction in the importance of bronze and other goods that they traded.
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Cities, Palaces & Architecture
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Minoans built great cities and palaces which were well designed and employed advanced construction techniques. Stone and mud bricks as well as timber were used in construction. Some buildings, particularly in the palaces, had several floors and were grand in scale. The palace at Knossos has buildings with as many as five floors and more than 1,300 rooms.
Streets were laid out according to traffic volume and drained through clay pipes. Water and sewage facilities were provided and the world’s first flush toilets can be seen in Minoan palaces. Roads paved with stone connected Minoan cities.
According to Homer, Crete had 90 cities with Knossos being the most important. It is believed that Knossos, at its peak, was home to between 50,000 and 100,000 people. Other important cities were Phaistos, Malia and Zakros. Minoan cities were not protected by walls as it appears reliance was placed on the strong Minoan fleet to protect the island from invaders.
A unique feature of Minoan buildings is the inverted
columns used in their construction (see picture above). Unlike other Greek columns they are wider at the top than the bottom and are topped with a round piece. The columns were normally painted red.
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A reconstructions depicting how the palace at Knossos would have looked like
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Agriculture
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Minoan agriculture was varied. Wheat, barley, grapes figs, olives and honey were produced. Sheep, cattle, pigs and goats were raised for their meat and milk. Wooden ploughs pulled by donkeys or oxen were used in cultivating the fields. The practice of growing several crops at the same time provided a varied and healthy diet which allowed the population to increase rapidly.
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Language
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Although thousands of tablets with writing have been found from the Minoan period the understanding of the Minoan language and writing is limited. To date the writing found on tablets prior to 1400 BC has not been deciphered. However, in 1952 Michael Ventris managed to decipher the writing on tablets found after 1400 BC and conc luded that it was an early form of Greek. As the language of the peak in Minoan culture hasnot yet been deciphered our understanding of Minoan civilisation is based on buildings,mosaics and paintings that have been found as well as later accounts from various Greek writers such as Homer.
The Phaistos Disc from the Heraklion
Archaeological Museum depicts the unique Minoan hieroglyphic writing
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Clothing & Hairstyles 
Women wore bell-shaped colourful skirts with wide hems not dissimilar to modern clothing. The skirts were either smooth or consisted of several succeeding layers of increasing ruffles. Bodices that fitted the arms closely and fastened beneath the breasts leaving them exposed w ere also worn. These were in fact, the first fitted garments known in history. Some experts believe that Minoan women covered their breasts after marriage and therefore it was easy for single men to identify single women. The famous snake goddess figurine found at Knossos (picture on left) shows the style of dress of the time. Women are often depicted in paintings with long black curling hair and it is believed that this was the norm for hairstyles at the time.
Minoan men wore a loin cloth and boots or sandals made from leather. They also wore T-shaped garments with a variety of sleeve and skirt lengths and turban shaped hats made from twisted fabric. Men also appear in Minoan paintings with long hair. The painting from Knossos on the right depicts a typical Minoan men’s outfit.
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Religion and Festivals
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The religion of the Minoans is somewhat of a mystery although it seems to have been centred on the worship of goddesses as there is little evidence of any male gods. There are a variety of what appear to be depictions of a number of goddesses such as a goddess of fertility, of the harvest, of cities and so on. In some experts’ opinion the depictions may represent a single goddess with many aspects.
The Minoans also seem to have worshiped bulls and these are depicted on many of the frescoes, paintings, figurines and pottery found. Bull jumping was a favourite sport with both men and women participating. The famous fresco from the palace of Knossos above on the right shows how the sport was played with the participant grabbing the bull by the horns and flipping backwards over it.
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Status of Women
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Another unique feature of the Minoan culture compared to the rest of Greece and probably all ancient civilisations is the apparently high status of women. Women seem to have had equality in all areas of life including religion, social gatherings, administration, sports and trade. On pottery, frescoes and paintings women are depicted participating equally with men i n bull jumping, in festival,as artisans and traders and as bureaucrats. Infact,in religion women seemed to have played thedominant role and this has ledsome experts to suggest that Minoan society was matrilineal withwomen having a higher social and legal statusthan men. Some also believe that kinship descent was determined through the mother.
The picture on the left is taken from an old source book on Minoan civilisation and depicts a palace scene with Minoan women socialising, knitting and playing the Minoan board game called ‘zatriko’. A princess is shown receiving a manicure. The entire scene combines several depictions of Minoan women that have been found on original Minoan artefacts.
The Decline of Minoan Civilisation
There are a number of theories on what caused the sudden decline of Minoan civilisation which occurred around 1450 BC. A popular theory is that a natural catastrophe occurred which severely weakened the Minoans and from which they never recovered. This may have been caused by an earthquake or the massive volcanic eruption that blew the island of Thera (nowadays Santorini) apart around that time. In fact, many historians suggest that the legendary Atlantis which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption was Minoan Crete. There is ample evidence for the natural disaster theories as most Minoan sites show signs of having been destroyed by fire around 1450 BC and in eastern Crete there is evidence of ash fallout. A volcanic eruption in Thera would have caused a tsunami which may have caused the destruction of the entire Minoan fleet on the north coast of Crete thus leaving the island open to invasion from the Greek mainland.
Another theory of what led to the decline of Minoan Crete is that their trade networks collapsed and this led to increasing poverty and famine as the growing population could no longer import much needed grain supplies and other food. The increasing use of iron at the time gives some support to this theory as the Minoans who were traders in bronze would have lost their markets and therefore their source of wealth.It may also be that the Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, who were themselves going through a strong development process at the time, simply managed to land on Crete and take it over either through the use of the element of surprise or because the Minoan fleet had been devastated by some natural catastrophe. If the Mycenaeans did manage to land on Crete there would have been very little to stop them as the Minoan cities were not protected by walls and the Minoans did not have a strong army.
Perhaps all of the above theories are to some extent true and the decline in Minoan civilisation was a combination of several factors which occurred  over a relatively short period of time. However, one thing that is well established is thataround 1400 BC the Mycenaeans take over Crete andthe long and stable Minoan rule over the island is brought to an end. |
The source of Minoan power: A fresco from the island of Thera
depicting a Minoan trading ship (above) and a model reconstruction of
such a ship at the Maritime Museum of Crete at Chania (below)
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Cretan Music Click on the lyra to lissen to the song
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