Here lived the bronze workers, wall painters, potters and other craftsmen who worked in the palace workshops, as well as the traders and crews who manned the Minoan ships. The city of Knossos, adjacent to the great royal palace, was one of the largest urban centers anywhere in the ancient world. They often exhibit the same artistic and architectural motifs as the palaces, though on a less magnificent scale. The remains of Minoan palaces, especially Knossos, show an astonishing level of material culture for the time.
The larger ones would have housed hundreds of inhabitants, and were serviced by elaborate water supply and sewage systems. Our knowledge of the lives of the people who lived in these palaces is limited by the fact that, although writing was practiced in the form of a script called Linear A, which was a pictographic script like Egyptian hieroglyphics and Sumerian cuneiform , it has not yet been deciphered by modern scholars. Lively and colorful wall frescoes, however, have survived, as well as some statuettes and painted pottery.
These give us a vivid glimpse of some aspects of Minoan life. They apparently depict a religious life dominated by priestesses. Their ceremonial dress was almost Victorian in its shape and decoration, with its wide skirts and tight bodices; but there was one glaring difference — the Minoan priestly dresses were bare-breasted. It is likely that this is linked to a fertility cult, prevalent in ancient religions.
Another remarkable feature shown in the paintings is bull-jumping — a sport undertaken by both men and women. This too was almost certainly connected to religious ceremonies, as was most public sport in the pre-modern world. It is tempting to see here the origins of bull-fighting, which became prevalent in southern Europe hundreds of years later. The influence of Minoan civilization spread to many places on the Mediterranean coast — on the Greek mainland, where it had a major impact on the emerging Mycenaean civilization; on the coast of Asia Minor; as far west as the coasts of Italy and Sicily; and in the east, on the Canaanite culture.
Situated on the Kephala Hill near the modern-day city of Heraklion, the site was first occupied during Neolithic times c. They preserved their economic advantage by apparently controlling ship traffic in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. For approximately years, they dominated trade in these regions. They were so secure on their islands, protected by their ships, that they never fortified their cities. The Minoans were prosperous thanks to agriculture and fishing but grew rich primarily on trade.
Statue of Europa abducted by Zeus in the guise of a bull, at Agios Nikolaos, Crete The high standard of living, the relative abundance of food and other good things, and the security of their island homes gave the Minoans an outlook on life substantially different from other contemporary cultures.
Perhaps because life was good, worship and communication with deities was not stressed. They built no great temples. Female goddesses who protected the household, the crops, and the animals dominated their religion. The Minoans may have practiced human sacrifice at one time. There is a famous Greek myth of a minotaur, half man, half bull, who lived in a labyrinth beneath the palace.
Young people were sacrificed to the minotaur each year. The high priest or king may have worn a bull mask for the sacrifice, creating the illusion of half man, half animal. They believed in an afterlife and buried the dead with food and possessions that would be of use.
Double-headed axe symbol carved into stone at Knossos, Crete The Minoans developed a hieroglyphic writing system around BCE, perhaps following trading contact with the Egyptians. Illustration of the bull-leaping fresco from Knossos Surviving artwork shows the people of Crete engaging in the sport of bull jumping.
The significance of this activity is not known. Young men and women are depicted approaching a charging bull, grabbing it by the horns, and somersaulting over its back to land behind it. The everyday life of the Minoans was pleasant and relatively free of war and unrest, as witnessed by the richness and exuberance of their frescos, wall paintings, and decorative objects.
Pithos jars in the storage magazines, Knossos, Crete The great palace at Knossos was also a giant warehouse. The distribution of food and other goods may have been organized from here.
The only king whose name survives was Minos. It may be that the word minos referred to the office, not the man, like the Egyptian term pharaoh. Islanders lived in houses made of stone, mud brick, and wood, and the domestic economy was based on viticulture and olive farming. The surrounding cypress forests provided timber for shipbuilding for the important Minoan fleet.
The Aegina Treasure is a trove of gold artifacts, like this two-headed pendant, featuring strong Minoan characteristics. Dating to between and B. It is believed that the pieces were originally from a Cretan necropolis, perhaps that of Chrysolakkos in Mallia. Little evidence has been found of city walls or fortifications built on ancient Crete during this time. This finding seems to suggest that either there were no serious threats to the island or—more likely—that patrolling ships were enough to guard its coastlines.
A maritime force would have also protected the trading routes, harbors, and strategic points, such as Amnisos, the port that served the capital, Knossos. As Minoan culture and trade radiated across the Aegean, communities on the islands of the Cyclades and the Dodecanese near the coast of modern-day Turkey were radically changed through contact with Crete.
Cretan fashions became very popular in the eastern Mediterranean. Local island elites first acquired Cretan pottery and textiles as a symbol of prestige. Perhaps the clearest sign of Minoan influence was the appearance of its writing system in the languages of later cultures. One of the oldest was discovered by Arthur Evans and is now known as Linear A. Despite not yet being deciphered, scholars believe it is the local language of Minoan Crete.
But it must have been an important regional common language of its day, as Linear A has been found inscribed on many of the clay vessels discovered on islands across the Aegean. The other script, called Linear B, evolved from Linear A. Deciphered in the s, Linear B is recognized as the oldest known Greek dialect. The Minoans also maintained trading relationships with Egypt, Syria, and the Greek mainland.
Their trade routes may have extended as far west as Italy and Sicily. Certain locations had especially close ties with Crete and its sailors. The city of Akrotiri on the island of Thera modern-day Santorini is one of the best preserved of these Minoan settlements. A volcanic eruption around the 16th century B. Its walls boasted stunning murals of brightly colored, stylized images of sparring boxers, climbing monkeys, swimming dolphins, and flying birds.
The quality of the paintings uncovered at Akrotiri suggests that artists either from Crete or influenced by its culture had set up workshops in this city.
Other Aegean settlements bearing clear evidence of Minoan influence include the Cycladi islands of Melos and Kea, and islands in the Dodecanese, such as Rhodes. The settlement of Kastri, on the island of Cythera, south of the Peloponnesian peninsula of the Greek mainland, is another example of Cretan cultural power.
Within the palace complexes… sophisticated plumbing, wonderful frescoes, plaster reliefs and open courtyards. People had leisure time and devoted a good portion of it to sports, religion and the arts. While we can only guess at their religious beliefs, the remains of their artwork suggest a polytheistic framework featuring various goddesses, including a mother deity. The priesthood was also completely female, although the King may have had some religious functions as well.
In fact the role of women- as religious leaders, entrepreneurs, traders, craftspeople and athletes far exceeded that of most other societies, including the Greeks.
Their system of government was that of a monarchy supported by a well-organized bureaucracy. According to myth, a King Minos, living in a palace with more than a thousand rooms, once ruled the island of Crete.
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