Text 1: Minoans Prosper

From Trade

Topic 5: Ancient GreeceLesson 1: Early Greece

Minoans Prosper From Trade

The island of Crete was the cradle of an early civilization that later influenced Greeks living on the European mainland

The people of Crete had absorbed many ideas from the older civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia

Minoans Prosper From Trade

Located in the Aegean Sea, Crete was home to a brilliant early civilization—and the first European civilization

It is not known what the people who built this civilization called themselves

The British archaeologist Arthur Evans, who unearthed its ruins in the early 1900s, named the culture

Minoans Prosper From Trade

He called them Minoans after King Minos, a legendary king of Crete

Minoan civilization had lay buried for more than 2,500 years

Today, the Minoans are recognized not only for their unique civilization but also for their contribution to the rise of civilization in Greece

A Crossroads Location

Location affected the early people of Crete

They lived at the crossroads of three continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Early on, they engaged in seaborne trade

From their island home in the eastern Mediterranean, they crossed the seas to the Nile Valley and the Middle East

A Crossroads Location

Through contact with the older civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, they acquired artistic ideas and technologies such as metalworking that they adapted to their own culture

A Crossroads Location

Minoans developed several systems of writing during their long history

The first used hieroglyphs, although it does not seem related to Egyptian hieroglyphs and has not yet been deciphered

Later, Minoans used two other scripts, each somewhat different

Most writing appeared on seals or disks

An Economy Based on Trade

Abundant resources and trade helped Minoans build a prosperous economy

Unlike the early civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the success of the Minoans was based on trade, not conquest

Minoan traders set up outposts across the Aegean and beyond

From Crete, they exported timber, food, wine, wool, and many other goods

An Economy Based on Trade

From Egypt and the Middle East, they brought back cargoes of precious stones, copper, ivory, gold, and silver as well as tin

The nearest tin mines were located in Spain, Britain or Persia, suggesting that Minoan traders acquired goods that had traveled great distances

The Palace at Knossos

Minoan civilization reached its height, or greatest success, between about 1700 B.C.E. and 1400 B.C.E.

During this time, Minoan kings built a vast palace at Knossos

The palace housed rooms for the royal family, banquet halls, and working areas for artisans

It also included religious shrines

The Palace of Knossos

The Minoans were polytheistic

Archaeological evidence shows the importance of a snake goddess, often holding a snake in either hand

The later Greeks associated the snake with the god of healing

Along with other ancient civilizations, the bull held a place of honor in Minoan religious beliefs

Minoan Frescoes Show Palace Life

The walls of the palace at Knossos were covered with colorful frescoes, and provide evidence of Minoan life

Some frescoes show young nobles, both men and women, strolling through gardens outside the palace

These images suggest that women appeared freely in public and may have enjoyed more rights than women in other ancient civilizations

Minoan Frescoes Show Palace Life

A startling fresco depicts men and women in a dangerous athletic contest, jumping through the horns of a charging bull

Minoan sculptors also created works showing bull leapers

Scholars think that the bull leaping was part of a religious activity

Minoan Civilization Disappears

Archaeologists have found that Minoan palaces were destroyed and rebuilt more than once

But some time around 1400 B.C.E. palaces were destroyed

Evidence shows fire and sudden destruction

Minoan Civilization Disappears

Scholars do not know why Minoan civilization fell

A volcanic eruption on a nearby island or perhaps an earthquake destroyed the palace, followed by an immense tidal wave that drowned many inhabitants

It is certain that invaders played a role in the destruction of Minoan civilization

Minoan Civilization Disappears

These intruders were the Mycenaeans, the first Greek-speaking people of whom we have a written record

Minoan civilization slowly disappeared, surviving only in legend for thousands of years

In the last century, its legacy was recovered as archaeologists revealed its influence on later Western civilization