Introduction to Minoan Crete - Part 2

In part 1 of this set of articles, I indicated that the island of Crete is surrounded by the Mediterranean. This made it the perfect location for trading; therefore increasing Minoan Crete's wealth and influence.

Trade is beneficial to societies today. It was even more important in the Bronze Age because it increased Minoan Crete's material wealth, its heritage in terms of the cultural exchange that accompanied trade and also stimulated production on the island. Not only were precious metals, such as bronze, in demand, but also the trading routes of the time crossed near Crete. From Cyprus to Gibraltar, from Trieste to Cairo, a sailor of the day was bound to cross near Crete. The types of peoples they came into contact with were Scandinavians, Egyptians, Hittites, Babylonians and Scythians.

What did Minoan Crete trade for? Amber, copper and gold. Having these metals created a demand for aesthetically pleasing items such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, vases made from precious metals, pendants and rings. There is nothing inferior about the craftsmanship in working with precious metals and much of what the Minoans created was outstanding. For example, there is an elaborate gold pendant from Mallia (northeastern Crete) which dates from around 2000 BC or from the early Minoan period. It is about two inches across and looks like two hornets clinging to a honeycomb. This pendant wasn't a priestess' ornament but rather a little girl's. Archeologists don't know if the pendant's decoration is really hornets or bees, but they do know that Minoans believed that hornets were not as mean-tempered as honey bees can be.

Another ornament dating from 2000 BC is a gold signet ring, intricately incised with a delicate and elaborate design of bare-breasted Minoan ladies, dancing and caring for fruit trees. Many of the gold ornaments may be found in Oxford, Great Britain in the Minoan room of the Ashmolean Museum but you might want to go with a magnifying glass to examine the minute details found on many of the ornaments and to avoid eye strain.

As you can see, Minoans excelled in creating fine jewelry. However they excelled in other arts as well. In an Introduction to Pre-Hellenistic Culture, I focused on how pottery and fragments of pottery gave archeologists clues as to who made up this ancient civilization. This is no less the case on Crete, especially for a peoples who never left their name written in any place archeologists and historians are familiar with. A slight difference in the pottery made in Minoan Crete was the exciting shapes they were made in. In fact, jugs and pottery in general had rather bizarre shapes.

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