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Introduction to Minoan Crete - Part 4

© Suzi Goode

Last week, we explored men's and women's fashions in Minoan society. What were their daily lives like? What did they eat? What kind of occupations were prominent among them? These are some of the questions this article will answer.

The Minoans, like the ancient Greeks, ate a variety of foods. Goat's cheese, barley bread, and olives were the staples of their diet. They also grew olives for export. Writers living in that time period considered Minoans excellent growers of fruit (figs and herbs) and it's quite possible that the art of cultivation was discovered by the Minoans early in their civilization as it was in other areas of the Bronze Age. Seafood, especially young squid, was found in plenty. However meat wasn't consumed by peasants at all and may have been a rare feast only for his betters. This may have been because killing animals in the ancient world was a sacred event (as it remained down into ancient Greek times). Sacrifices could easily become an excuse for feasting, where the gods received a much smaller portion than they might have warranted if they had been real entities.

As mentioned in a previous article, the Minoans were not a people bogged down by a multitude of religious practices. It can be said quite accurately that most every practice of life was connected to religion in one way or another. Sports in the Aegean were usually in relation to a religious ceremony and were, in fact, in honor of one god. Dancing and bull-games were also intertwined with religion. Minoans were famous for their dance and have gone down into legend as the best of dancers. Dancing was usually gay and exciting, and many times a feeling of ecstasy accompanied the rhythm of the dance. The Minoans played the lyre, the sistrum (to mark time with) as well as the flute. To put it simply, they took their pleasure seriously.

What did Minoans do when they weren't dancing and feasting? Like you and me, they worked, While ninety percent of the population were peasants, the other ten percent were . . . should I let you guess? Would you have guessed they were the aristocracy or the upper class? I'm sorry to say but you would not be correct. The remaining ten percent of the Minoan population was made up of seamen as well as merchants and craftsmen who created the precious parts of the cargo.