Minoan civilisation flourished on Crete in the Bronze Age and is considered Europe's first great civilisation. The name is modern: British archaeologist Arthur Evans took it from the legendary King Minos, who in myth ruled at Knossos and kept the Minotaur in the labyrinth. We do not know what the Minoans called themselves.
Discovery
Evans began digging at Knossos in 1900 and within a few years uncovered a huge palace, which he partly rebuilt in reinforced concrete and bright colours, a choice much debated today. At the same time Italian archaeologists led by Federico Halbherr and Luigi Pernier excavated Phaistos and Hagia Triada, where the mysterious Phaistos Disc was found.
- c. 3000-1900 BCPrepalatial period: villages, communal tombs, first fine pottery.
- c. 1900-1700 BCFirst palaces at Knossos, Phaistos and Malia; an earthquake destroys them.
- c. 1700-1450 BCNeopalatial period: palaces rebuilt larger; the civilisation's peak.
- 17th-16th c. BCEruption of Santorini; the Minoan town of Akrotiri is buried.
- c. 1450 BCMany palaces destroyed; Mycenaeans settle at Knossos.
- c. 1100 BCEnd of Minoan civilisation.
The palaces
Minoan palaces were not just royal homes but religious, administrative and economic centres, with storerooms full of great jars (pithoi) for oil, wine and grain. They were built around a large central court, on several floors, with staircases, light wells, wooden columns tapering downwards and painted red, and a strikingly modern water system. There are no defensive walls: the Minoans probably relied on the strength of their fleet.
| Palace | Where | Why visit |
|---|---|---|
| Knossos | A few km from Heraklion | The largest, with Evans's reconstructions and the throne room |
| Phaistos | Messara plain | Spectacular setting, excavated by Italians |
| Malia | North coast | The least reconstructed, most authentic |
| Zakros | Far east of Crete | Small palace by the sea |
Art and daily life
Minoan frescoes, now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, show a world full of nature and colour: dolphins, lilies, birds, processions, elegant women like the so-called "Parisienne", and the famous bull-leaping, in which young acrobats grasp the animal's horns and vault over it. The Minoans were superb potters, goldsmiths and seal engravers.
Religion
At the heart of their religion was probably a great nature goddess, shown in the "snake goddess" figurines. Sacred symbols included the double axe (labrys), perhaps the origin of the word labyrinth, and the "horns of consecration". Rites took place in palaces, peak sanctuaries and caves, such as the Dictaean Cave, linked to the birth of Zeus.
Writing
The Minoans used a hieroglyphic script and then Linear A, written on clay tablets: neither has been deciphered. The Phaistos Disc, with signs stamped in a spiral, is also a mystery. The Mycenaeans adapted Linear A to their Greek language, creating Linear B.
The end
The causes of decline are still debated: the eruption of Santorini and the tsunami that struck Crete's coasts, earthquakes, internal crises and finally conquest by the Mycenaeans around 1450 BC. After that Knossos lived on for a time under Mycenaean rule.
See also Santorini and the Atlantis myth and the history of Greece.