Introduction to Minoan Crete - Part 1

Four thousand years ago, a civilization was born. There is little to prove that they existed outside of mythical tales and the findings of archeology. Who were these brilliantly artistic people who reveled in luxury and gaiety? What legacy have they left behind for our modern civilization? This will be my subject for the next set of articles on ancient Greece.

Archeologists have not found a name for the civilization that began about the year 2500 BC on the island of Crete. If they named themselves, this piece of information has been lost to us through the years. In order to name these peoples, Sir Arthur Evans (the man credited for excavating the palace of Knossos in the nineteenth century), named them Minoans after the famed King Minos of Crete. (Minos may also refer to a line of kings, not only to this famed hoarder of gold.) Their name prompts us to think that we can only know this civilization through the myths that have been told and through the excavations carried out on Crete.

What time frame can we place the Minoans in? Sir Arthur Evans based his periods on the well-known Egyptian periods of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms or the period covered by the years 2686 BC to 1000 BC. The Minoan periods are:

Early Minoan: 2500 BC to 1950 BC

Middle Minoan: 1950 BC to 1550 BC

Late Minoan: 1550 BC to 1100 BC.

These periods are divided further but need not concern us here. It is important to note that the greatest cultural achievements took place between 1900 BC and 1400 BC. This is the period which I will be concerned with in this article. It's the period in which bull-leapers entertained and snake goddesses and fine ladies wore their beautiful flounced dresses, in which fascinating palaces were built.

Crete is a land of contrasts even though it lies on the 35 degree latitude. In a few hours, a traveler can journey from high mountains covered year round with snow, to plateaus where corn is grown and then onto a warm plain. Mount Ida takes up the center of the island and the palace of Knossos is to the northeast. In the Bronze Age, Crete had more forest than it does now and Minoans grew olives, grapes and corn. This is all the land would support - grapes in the valleys, olives where the forest had been cleared from the mountains and corn in the flat uplands. Growing these crops is one of coaxing moisture from the soil to allow the crops to grow. We must also take into consideration that in Bronze Age Crete, the land was more fertile than it is now.

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