The Minoans
The first Aegean Civilization developed on the island of Crete probably because it was safe from invasion. The Aegean Sea formed a natural boundary. Crete became the center of the Aegean world and dominated the people living on the mainland. The people of Crete were called Minoans because the King was called "Minos." This title was similar to the Egyptians use of the title "pharaoh."
A sea culture
It was only natural that the people of Crete relied on the sea for their living. They were skilled enough to develop ships capable of making long voyages. By 2100 B.C. there was a brisk trade among the Mycenaean cities of Greece, Crete and the city of Troy. Cretans also traded with the Egyptians and with the cities along the cast fo Palestine. The major items of export were olive oil, wine, pottery, and artifacts made from metal. The Cretans also traded beautiful jewelry of gold and copper which they were skilled in making. The Minoans seemed to rely on their sea boundaries to protect them from attack. Their cities show no signs of fortifications according to findings. There are no war scenes on their frescoes(paintings drawn directly on the fresh plaster of the walls). This indicates that war and fighting war not considered very important. Their sea boundaries however din not protect them from invaders as we shall see
Religion
Apparently there were no powerful priesthoods on Crete as there were in other civilizations. It is hard to tell whether the Minoans considered their king a god. We do know they worshiped a "mother goddess" and a "snake goddess" because many small statues of them have been found. The Minoans also are credited for introducing Zeus and some of their other gods to the Greeks. Most civilizations built huge monuments and temples for their rulers and their gods the majority of the painting and sculpture was designed to glorify the gods or to picture religious themes. The Minoans built no such monuments or temples for their gods
Climate
The climate was very worm on Crete and the people dressed accordingly. The women wore long low-necked dresses that often were open almost to the waist. Their hair was worn long in very tigiht ringlets. They wore as much jewelry as they could afford. The men dressed very simply in short boots, a loin cloth, and sometimes a jeweled waistband
Architecture
The people in Crete had many of the conveniences used in the cities of Mesopotamia. They had indoor bathrooms and plumbing systems with running water. (drain pipes for their sewer system were built to expertly that they can still be used today.) Sun-dried bricks and wooden frames were used to build home. The mos impressive building on Crete was the beautiful palace at the capital city of Knossos. The palace approximately five stories high had so many rooms, courtyards, stairways, and halls that it resembled a maze. The entire building covered 6 acres.
Art
Minoan artwork rather than being stiff and formal was full of rhythmic motion. People were pictured in almost every activity of life. The walls of the palace of Knossos were covered with lovely frescoes.
Writing
The Minoans developed three types of writing during their history. They first used pictures and later scripts representing spoken syllables. Archaeologists call the first script Linear Script A. The third type of writing was a combination of Cretan and Greek scripts and is known as Linear Script B. Although may records have been found of all three of these forms of writing only Linear Script B has been translated. Since this writing was developed late in Cretan history records give little information about the Minoan civilization.
Cylinder seals
People have always looked for faster ways to copy messages. Today people use scanners. In Crete cylinder seals were used. These seals were mad of baked clay with messages in pictures or writing on them. The seal was then rolled over soft cay to duplicate the message quickly. Cypriots and Minoans from Crete used silvery cylinders
Sports
Bull-jumping was a favorite sport of the Minoans on Crete. As this drawing shows a person would run toward a bull grab its horns and do a somersault flip over its back. Bull-jumping was primarily a spectator sport like bull-fighting is today
Theseus ans the Minotaur
For many years all that was known about Crete was in a popular Greek legend. It told how Greek boys and girls were sent to the island of Crete as tribute. There the king of Crete who controlled all of Greece offered them to a Minotaur a Cretan god who was half man and half bull. Theseus the son of a Greek king volunteered to go to Crete to kill the Minotaur. The Minotaur was protected by a labyrinth(maze) but Theseus was able to find a way around the winding passages and killed the Minotaur. It is interesting to note that the favorite sport in Crete was Bull-jumping similar to present -day bullfighting. It may be that Greek young people were brought to Crete to participate in this dangerous sport. We also know that the king's palace at Knossos on Crete resembled a maze which may be where this part of the legend developed. Often the King of Crete wore a golden mask of a bull and it is possible that Theseus after finding his way through the labyrinth killed the king who looked like a Minotaur
Minoan Civilization Disappears
About 1400 B.C. during the same time as the Hyksos took over Egypt the Minoans were conquered by Mycenaeans from mainland Greece. The beautiful palace at Knossos was destroyed by fire.(This might have happened later during a revolt against the Mycenaean conquerors.) The palace was never rebuilt and civilization on Crete slowly disappeared until it was only remembered in Myths. It was not until 1905 that Sir Arthur Evans an English archaeologist investigated the source of these myths. He discovered the ruins of the palace at Knossos and unearthed the forgotten civilizaiton