3000 BC to 1100 BC
Although references to Crete and its people are common in classical Greek writing, the existence of an ancient civilisation under the rule of King Minos was assumed for centuries to have been a myth. However, in the early years of the twentieth century, the finding of an ancient coin showing a labyrinth design and the word “Knossos” led Evans to begin excavating at Knossos. Eventually, he revealed enough to show that there was indeed a thriving civilisation in Bronze Age Crete. Nobody knew, or knows, what these ancient Cretans called themselves or their country, so Evans described them as Minoan, a term first coined in the nineteenth century to describe the society found in Greek myth. Through the work of Evans and widespread later excavations throughout Crete, there can now be few who have not heard of Minoan Crete, and one cannot go far in the country without falling over a Minoan archaeological site or some reference to what was arguably the most glorious period of Crete’s history.
Evans was the first to propose that the Minoans migrated to Crete from North Africa, based on similarities between the artefacts found at Knossos and those from Egypt and Libya, but this theory has been largely discredited by strong evidence for large-scale cultural exchange between these countries. More recently, it has been proposed that the Minoans’ origins were more likely Turkey, the Balkans or the Middle East. In 2013, however, a major DNA analysis of prehistoric skeletons indicated that the Minoans were more likely to have been descendants of the existing Neolithic inhabitants of the island.1 On the other hand, the previously discussed settlement patterns of the late Stone Age seem to indicate incursions from the east. It is therefore possible that the Minoans were a mixture of an indigenous Neolithic population and a new wave of settlers, the two races becoming intermingled early in the Bronze Age. DNA researchers are now working to sequence the entire genome of ancient remains taken from Crete, Mycenae on the Greek mainland and western Anatolia, which should help scholars better understand how homogeneous or heterogeneous Crete’s ancient population was, and how it varied over time. The researchers’ preliminary findings were reported in 2017:
Minoans and Mycenaeans were genetically very similar, with about three-quarters shared ancestry with the first Neolithic farmers of western Anatolia and the Aegean and most of the remainder from ancient populations like those from the Caucasus and Iran. Unlike the Minoans, however, the Mycenaeans also showed additional ancestry related to Bronze Age inhabitants of the Eurasian steppe (the region encompassing Eastern Europe and North Eurasia). Their analyses also find that Modern Greeks share ancestry with the Mycenaeans but with some additional dilution of the early Neolithic ancestry.2
Unfortunately, although we know a great deal about the art, artefacts and architecture of this period, the only written records have yet to be translated, so we have little knowledge of the actual history. The bare bones of the events of Bronze Age Crete have been pieced together and there have been various attempts to define a chronology, but the terminology used by the various archaeologists is generally complex, confusing and, indeed, the subject of academic dispute.3 A simplified version of the categories first outlined by Evans is probably the most straightforward timeline. It is based on the types of ceramics found at the various strata of Knossos. A second chronology is based on the development of the different types of palace used as the seat of government and varying over time, and can also be useful. Both of these are still generally accepted by the academic community, although some of the details have been disputed and exact dates may vary.
| Evans | Palatial | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Minoan | 3000 BC to 2000 BC | Prepalatial | 3500 BC to 1900 BC |
| Middle Minoan | 2000 BC to 1600 BC | Protopalatial | 1900 BC to 1650 BC |
| Late Minoan | 1600 BC to 1100 BC | Neopalatial | 1650 BC to 1450 BC |
| Creto-Mycenaean | 1450 BC to 1100 BC | ||
In the earliest years, before the building of the first Minoan palaces, society seems to have been similar to that of the late Neolithic era, although the technological advances resulting from the use of copper and bronze had become much more widespread. Settlements were centred on the family or clan and were largely independent of each other. As Bronze Age technology developed and trade between the settlements increased, local hierarchies began to emerge, leading to the establishment of ruling elites in the larger settlements. The Minoan ruler seems to have been more of a judge and high priest, with the task of administration left largely to a fledgling bureaucracy. This contrasts with the Mycenaean hierarchy on mainland Greece (from 1600 BC to 1100 BC). There, the king was a warlord with absolute power. The exact nature of the administration of the Minoan cities is somewhat controversial, but the idea of a strong “king” is becoming discredited. It has been argued that Evans’ description of structures as “palaces” implied that they were the residences of kings, an assumption that coloured scholarship for many years. In fact, there are no representations of a powerful “ruler” in Minoan art, and no wealthy tombs which might be called “royal” have been found until after the Neopalatial period. It is also interesting that none of the palaces contain throne rooms, except for the one at Knossos, and even in that case there is strong evidence that the throne itself was a later addition during the later Mycenaean period, when Mycenaean culture spread to Crete.
Most scholars believe that there are Prepalatial buildings and meeting areas underneath the excavated Protopalatial palaces, but it was after about 2000 BC that large-scale building of administrative centres for the local community began. A more complex and efficient bureaucracy developed, along with a class structure of nobles, artisans, merchants, peasants and, perhaps, slaves. The existence of slavery in Minoan society has still not been clearly established. If it did exist, enslaved people were either purchased by trade or captured in warfare, depending on one’s view of the Pax Minoica. During this period, a paved road network was beginning to link some of the major communities, while overseas trade with Egypt and the Middle East expanded substantially.
Sometime around 1700 BC, the first palaces were destroyed, either by earthquake or invasion. Whatever the cause, the result was an even greater flourishing of Minoan culture. The palaces were quickly rebuilt on an even grander scale, and the road network expanded to connect most parts of the island. At the same time, there was a growth in settlements outside the palaces, where villages of 150–200 people carried out farming and developed cottage industries. Some of these villages developed into small towns. By the late period, an affluent upper class of landlords had gained a certain amount of secondary power, and were able to build substantial villas in the countryside, modelled on the royal palaces and, like them, acting as the administrative and ceremonial centres of the settlements. It has been estimated that, at its height, Minoan Crete had a maximum population of about 250,000, with Knossos having anything between 15,000 and 40,000. While it is clear that Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Zakros were ruled by their own independent elites, there seems to have been an overall administrative, cultural and economic unity. Although Knossos has usually been assumed to have had overall dominance over the other palaces, many scholars now believe it to have been more of an ideological and cultural centre, exercising an influence similar to that of the Vatican in modern times.
In contrast to almost all societies at the time, there is strong evidence that women had a greater degree of equality with men, and played an important role in society, especially during the late period. While it was not unusual for early civilisations to honour women in a religious context either as goddesses or priestesses, Bronze Age Crete seems to have gone further, with women being a majority within the priesthood and possibly being in charge of religious rites. Images of women participating in ceremonies far outnumber those of men – for example, in the famous Aghia Triada sarcophagus – while the preponderance of female forms among Minoan figurines indicates an emphasis on female deities and priestesses. What is more, there is evidence that women also took an active part in other aspects of public life. In the Grandstand Fresco from Knossos, for example, it is the women who appear to have the places of honour, whereas the men merge into an anonymous mass. In contrast to Mycenaean art, there are few images of women in a domestic or child-rearing context, and the images we do have indicate that women were involved in administration and business as well as being craftswomen and priestesses. The images of women in bull-leaping frescoes do not show them participating in the leaping, but they are certainly involved in the ceremony, either as minders or judges. All in all, the little we know about this intriguing aspect of Minoan life raises more questions than it answers, whetting our appetites to know more.
Minoan civilisation was thus at its pinnacle during the two or three centuries after about 1700 BC, having reached a stage where political and economic systems worked together in unity, supported by a shared culture and religion.
It was Evans who first identified the massive complexes at Knossos and other sites as palaces, with the implication of a centralised royal court governing the country, organising the economy and raising taxes. However, scholars now believe that this was either a misconception or at least an oversimplification. Although part of the typical palace may have been the living quarters of a royal family or ruling elite, by far the greater part seems to have been communal. There were areas for workshops, food processing and storage, domestic use, administration and religious rites. All in all, the palaces might be better described as court compounds, which the archaeological writer Jarrett Lobell likens to “more of a city core than the single domestic entity that the word ‘palace’ connotes.”4 Within this complex, trade and exchange would be organised, and the supply of staple resources controlled in order to ensure enough were available for religious celebrations, feasting and paying artisans and craftsmen for their work. It’s not too outrageous to imagine Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall and the Bank of England all in one vast building!
We can only speculate on the precise function of the palaces, but two aspects of the structures leave no room for doubt. Firstly, even as ruined archaeological sites, the sheer scale of the palaces is striking. When complete, they must have been awe-inspiring, and in architectural terms they were certainly very advanced for their time, both in their size and in the use of advanced building materials such as ashlar (cut stone) and gypsum doorjambs. The main palaces cover areas of several thousand square metres and the largest, at Knossos, had 1,500 rooms. Even more impressive is that the palaces could be up to three storeys high in parts. With elaborate staircases, sophisticated drainage and plumbing systems and magnificent frescoes, the effect must have been stunning.5
Another striking feature of Minoan architecture was the distinctive column which, unlike Greek columns, was wider at the top than at the bottom. Made of wood rather than stone, the columns were generally painted a deep red or black and rested on a stone base. At the top was a round, pillow-shaped capital. The pillars were used not only to support a roof or upper storey but to create large open-plan spaces protected from the sun. It is also likely that the small pillar crypts found in most of the palaces may have had religious significance, possibly as symbolic representations of the sacred groves which formed a part of early Cretan religion.
The structure of the palaces was, in general, efficient and functional. Walls were made of sandstone or limestone blocks and rubble, packed with clay, and external walls in the late Neopalatial period had a facing of ashlar to improve their appearance. The existence of rubble and wooden crossbeams in the walls has led to speculation that the flexibility provided may have given some protection against small earthquakes. Light and ventilation were provided by open courtyards, together with the frequent use of light wells (unroofed shafts in the middle of the buildings).
There have, of course, been numerous and extensive excavations of Minoan sites in all parts of Crete. Indeed, such is the wealth of archaeological material that many of the sites have been abandoned through lack of funds. Just a few of the main sites so far discovered and at least partially excavated are as follows.
Knossos and Phaistos are the two largest and most famous palaces, but extensive excavations at Malia have revealed a whole workshop area and a possible council chamber close to the main palace. The Kato Zakros palace is on a smaller scale but in an enchanting location. About 30 km south of Iraklion, Galatas is the most recently discovered palace, excavated between 1992 and 2005.
There are also some further possible palaces. Aghia Triada, near Phaistos, is intriguing as it seems to be a palace, but on a smaller scale and with a different design. There are also possible palaces at Gournia; Petras, near Siteia; and Monastiraki, south-east of Rethymnon.
There are a large number of excavations of settlements and towns, or parts of towns, throughout the island. Probably the most extensive is Gournia, about 20 km east of Aghios Nikolaos. Mochlos, an island east of the Gulf of Mirabello, may have been a centre for gold and silver jewellery and stone vases. On Pseira, a small island near Mochlos, over sixty buildings and a town square have been unearthed. Perhaps the most frustrating site is Kydonia, which is mostly under the city of Chania and largely inaccessible. It is interesting because it shows some evidence of central town planning. More evidence of the trade and transport network can be seen at Kommos, on the coast 6 km south-west of Phaistos, where there is a harbour and shipyard, and a paved road leading to Phaistos. Probably the best-preserved Minoan site in existence is not in Crete but on the island of Thera (Santorini), which may well have been a Minoan colony. Sometimes called “the Greek Pompeii”, the recently re-opened site at Akrotiri alone makes a visit to Santorini worthwhile.
Peak sanctuaries and sacred caves have been found on Mount Iouktas, near Knossos; Simi, on the south side of Mount Dikti; and Arkalochori, 30 km south-east of Iraklion, where a massive collection of votive offerings was found in the 1930s. A possible temple or shrine at Anemospilia, on the north side of Mount Iouktas, has been used to support the human sacrifice theory. Cemeteries include Armeni, between Rethymnon and Spili, with 200 tombs, and Phourni, just south of Knossos, which apparently remained in use for over 1,000 years and has a rare Mycenaean tomb.
There are, of course many other tombs, villas and other excavations all over Crete. It is not possible to go into detail here, but information on individual sites is readily available on the internet.6
Although we know nothing of the language spoken by the Minoans, it was actually the discovery of tablets inscribed with unknown symbols that first prompted Evans to begin his excavations at Knossos and led to the discovery of the Minoan civilisation:
In the course of a visit to Greece in the spring of 1893 I came across some small three- and four-sided stones perforated along their axis, upon which had been engraved a series of remarkable symbols ... My inquiries succeeded in tracing these to a Cretan source ... I therefore determined to follow up my investigations on Cretan soil.7
And we all know what resulted from that.
The complex administration of the palaces would not have been possible without a written language with which to keep records, and it is no coincidence that the earliest scripts in the Aegean were developed in Crete. There were three systems: Cretan hieroglyphics; the script of the famous Phaistos Disc; and what Evans called Linear A. Cretan hieroglyphics were possibly based on the Egyptian or Hittite scripts, but could well have been home-grown. Linear A was a more stylised script. Neither of these two has been deciphered to date, largely because of the scarcity of examples. Clay tablets inscribed with hieroglyphs dating from about 2100 BC have been found, while Linear A emerged in the eighteenth century BC. Hieroglyphics seem to have disappeared some time during the seventeenth century BC, but for about 100 years the two systems existed side by side, and it seems likely that Linear A was a development from hieroglyphics. A clay bar from Knossos appears to show hieroglyphs alongside a few signs resembling Linear A, which may represent a transition between the two scripts.
Examples of hieroglyphics have been found in four locations in Crete and on the island of Samothrace. To date, a total of about 800 symbols have been found. The similarities and differences between the Cretan script and others from that era, including Hittite hieroglyphics and the script from Cyprus, suggest that they are related, possibly evolving from a common ancestor.
So far, Linear A has yielded about sixty symbols which appear to represent syllables, and about the same number of stylised pictograms which are thought to represent whole words, objects or abstract ideas. Thus, it seems to have been not only a development from hieroglyphics but, more importantly, a precursor of a later script called Linear B. Since the latter has been successfully decoded, one would think that it would be easy to decode Linear A by applying the same syllables to the signs. However, all attempts to do this have yielded unintelligible words, so it appears that the Linear B script was adapted by the Mycenaeans to fit their early form of Greek, while the language of Linear A was something very different – perhaps Minoan. Over 1,400 specimens of Linear A have been discovered to date, most of them in Crete but a few on other Aegean islands and in mainland Greece, southern Bulgaria, Turkey and Israel. Most of the examples from outside Crete seem to be locally produced, which might indicate use of the script beyond the area where the Minoan language was spoken. This in turn could indicate the adoption of the script by other languages.8 In 2018, two scholars claimed to have deciphered a Linear A tablet.9 This is an exciting development but, until the full paper is published, we will not know the details. The academic community is, for the time being, somewhat sceptical.
The Phaistos Disc is a clay disc about 6 inches in diameter, covered on both sides with hieroglyphic symbols. Discovered in 1908 at Phaistos, it can now be seen in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Although there are apparent similarities between the symbols on the disc and Cretan hieroglyphics, the Phaistos Disc typography is generally considered a separate script. Many of the symbols do not seem to relate to Cretan hieroglyphics, and it has been suggested that the disc may have originated outside Crete. The text remains a mystery in spite of countless attempts at deciphering it, ranging from the plausible to the more fanciful. Among the former suggestions are that it is a prayer, a call to arms or an inventory of goods. Less likely claims include the proposal that the disc is a relic from Atlantis or, inevitably, an alien artefact. With only 241 symbols and without much more information or further relevant finds, it is unlikely that the mystery will ever be solved.
The Minoans were excellent shipbuilders and sailors, and from very early days they were trading with mainland Greece, Egypt and the Middle East. Exports included olive oil, other agricultural products, timber and cloth, but it was mainly the manufactured items which were popular, especially ceramics and metalwork. A wide range of imports included raw materials like copper, tin, gold, silver, alabaster and ivory. Other imports included papyrus from Egypt and ostrich eggshells for decoration. The distribution of Minoan ware over a wide area of the Aegean, the Greek mainland and the Middle East indicates the depth of admiration for the skill and craftsmanship of the Minoans. It seems likely that the giant ceramic storage jars (pithoi) were, like well-made oak barrels in the Middle Ages, not just used to carry wine or oil exports but highly prized in their own right.
In Gournia on the north coast, a fully functioning harbour has been discovered, complete with a wharf, boathouses, a shipyard and a well-built cobbled road to the nearby town. The evident skill of the Minoans in shipbuilding enabled their navy to dominate the Aegean for several centuries. The ships had rounded prows, and each bore a single mast carrying a square sail. In addition to the sail, each ship was propelled by up to fifteen oars on each side, and was between 75 and 100 feet long. There is some evidence that after about 1600 BC, warships with rams were being built.
The peace and prosperity of the middle period enabled a rapid expansion of trade links with Egypt and the Middle East. Minoan artefacts have been found as far afield as Mesopotamia and the Indus valley to the east, and Sicily, Sardinia and Spain to the west, although we cannot be sure whether these were direct exports or secondary trade links. Oddly, although logic suggests that there would have been trade between Crete and Cyrenaica (Libya), extensive research and excavations have shown no evidence of this.
The already-advanced technology of the Minoans was aided further by increasing specialisation, leading to an even more intensive level of production. The excavation at Gournia offers a vivid picture of a thriving industrial and trading centre. Over fifty areas which seem to have been workshops have been found. Of these, twenty produced pottery, fifteen produced stone vases, eighteen cast bronze and manufactured bronze implements, and a few showed evidence of textile production. An area of burned bedrock indicates a possible foundry, as confirmed by the archaeologist Matthew Buell:
Here we have all sorts of scraps of bronze crucibles, bronze drips, copper scraps, and iron used for flux. Elsewhere, we also found a tin ingot, the closest known source of which is Afghanistan, and copper ingots from Cyprus, so it’s clear they are making and working metal into objects on the site.10
Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of Minoan technology was their innovative attitude to water supply and sanitation. Although the Romans would later develop aqueducts and drains to regulate the water supply, the sophistication of the Minoans’ integrated approach to plumbing, sanitation and hygiene was probably not matched until the nineteenth century AD. Complex drainage and sewage systems were constructed from the early Minoan period onward, and these were repaired as required over the later periods. So well made were they that the main water supply ducts in Knossos, Phaistos, Zakros and Aghia Triada are still functional today. The Italian scientist Angelo Mosso, visiting Phaistos in 1907, was astounded:
All the sewers were still working! It was very interesting for me to see the water in the drainages and sewers so big that a man could enter. I doubt if there are other examples of ancient sewerages working after four thousand years.11
The water management system began on the roofs of the palace, where rainwater was collected in cisterns or allowed to run down the light wells for direct use or for collection in further cisterns. Pipes took the water to all parts of the palace, where it was either purified for drinking or used for baths and flushing out waste from the toilets. The water purification system used hydraulic filters: the water was forced against a porous ceramic wall which captured impurities, allowing the cleaned water to fall into jars. Sand and charcoal filters were also common. The terra cotta water pipes were themselves of an innovative design that could well have been more efficient than modern pipes. Four to six inches in diameter, each section tapered to a narrow end which fitted tightly into the broad end of the next. This created a sort of jetting action, which increased the speed of the water, thus stopping any build-up of sediment. The joints were sealed with cement. The existence of pairs of pipes lying alongside each other has raised the possibility of a hot and cold water system, but this is not certain. The means of heating the water is also unknown, except in the case of Akrotiri on Thera, where it seems likely that the volcanic hot springs could have been used. There has also been speculation that some sort of underfloor heating system existed, similar to the Roman hypocaust, but, again, this may apply only to Thera.
There seem to have been both permanent bathrooms and moveable bathtubs, both of which were filled and emptied by hand, the waste water being discarded into a hole in the floor leading to the main drain. The toilets were almost modern in design, vertical in front and sloping at the back, with a pan filled with water and a wooden or stone seat. In rainy weather they were automatically flushed by rainwater coming through a pipe from the roof. Otherwise, water was poured into a pipe located outside the door. The waste was carried off to the main sewer, well away from the living quarters. It appears that the Minoans were every bit as conscious of cleanliness as the Romans, and a caravanserai (inn for travellers) near Knossos includes a public bath and a large communal footbath, where weary travellers could sit and soak their feet.
The large drains carried all waste water away, either to the river or to be used in the irrigation system, while storm drains were built to take the overflow during heavy rain. Thus the water management system reached its conclusion. With the complex interaction of aqueducts, cisterns, filters, rainfall harvesting, fountains, baths, lavatories, drains and sewers, it is no wonder that modern sanitation engineers hold the Minoans in the highest respect.
In addition to technology, there is increasing evidence of other scientific advances made by the Minoans. Their reputation for skill in medicine is recorded in Egyptian texts, but it is their apparent development of astronomy to “a level comparable to the Egyptians and Babylonians”12 that has caused much excitement. Researchers carried out extensive studies of the orientation of Minoan buildings in relation to the calendar positions of the sun, moon and stars in Crete. There was a very strong correlation and this, together with the Minoans’ known navigational skills and some literary evidence from classical writers, points to high level of astronomical knowledge. It has been argued that the peak sanctuaries were also used as observatories, and at least some of the figurines found in them might be representations of the moon and constellations.
The irrigation system, coupled with technical advances in tool manufacture, resulted in great improvements in agriculture. Wooden or bone tools gave way to bronze tools with holes to take a wooden handle. At some stage, the Minoans developed the idea of oval holes and handles to prevent the tool head spinning, a small but significant advance. Ploughs were generally of wood, pulled by pairs of oxen or donkeys. The practice of growing more than one crop at a time (polyculture as opposed to monoculture) enabled a more varied diet, leading to better health and an increasing population. It also maintained soil fertility and improved productivity, all adding to the prosperity and success of the Minoan civilisation.
Generally, the animals farmed and the crops grown during this period were little different from the later agriculture of the island, and the foundations of the “Mediterranean diet” were laid. Cattle, sheep, pigs and goats were raised and bees were domesticated for the first time. Cats were imported from Egypt for hunting wildfowl. Wheat, barley, vetch and chickpeas were grown and grapes, figs and olives were cultivated, along with poppies, perhaps for opium production. Palm trees and pomegranates were introduced from the Middle East, although lemons and oranges had yet to make an appearance. In addition to all this, nature itself was bountiful, as lettuce, celery, asparagus, carrots, pear trees and quince trees grew wild. To supplement the diet, hunting yielded wild deer and boar, while edible molluscs, fish and octopus seem to have been an occasional treat.
A creature very similar to the modern wild kri-kri (also known as the Cretan goat) is depicted in Minoan art in both domesticated and wild settings, leaping around the mountains or being hunted. This implies that, at that time, there was little to distinguish between the domesticated and wild species. There is also some speculation that the wild kri-kri is descended from domesticated goats that escaped and went feral. Cattle were generally reared for their milk rather than for meat, although they were also used as draught animals and their skins were used to make shields. The bulls, of course, were also used in the famous bull-leaping events. Although they were probably domesticated, they were kept in a semi-wild state to make them more difficult to manage.
The great amount of artwork discovered has given us a very good idea of the clothing the Minoans wore. Like almost everything they did, their costumes show a high degree of skill, both in design and manufacture. The warm Cretan climate meant that clothing was generally light. In the earlier years, men usually just wore loincloths of linen, leather or wool, with brightly coloured patterns and decorative codpieces. Later, they began to wear short-sleeved jackets and occasionally long skirts, similar to the women’s, probably for more formal occasions. Women also wore loincloths underneath long skirts that were richly ornamented and sometimes flounced. A close-fitting sleeved jacket, sewn at the shoulders, was cut low at the front to leave the breasts fully exposed. A decorated apron at the front of the skirt completed the ensemble. The outer garments were discarded for sporting events like bull leaping. Slim waists were considered fashionable for both men and women, the former wearing tight metal belts, and the latter using something like a girdle.
Young people of both sexes seem to have had shaved heads with two locks, a short one at the front and a longer one at the back. Much has been written about the religious or age-related significance of various hairstyles, but nothing conclusive has been established. There seems to have been a variety of adult hairstyles including ringlets and buns, all of which indicate care for appearance and a high degree of elegance.
It is fortunate that so many Minoan frescoes survive, mainly in Knossos, because, together with the beautifully preserved frescoes from Thera, they give us a wonderful picture of the Minoan lifestyle. In historical terms, they are of enormous value; in purely artistic terms, they are works of genius, pointing to a culture that valued life, beauty and colour. Minoan art has little of the religious symbolism of Egyptian, Mesopotamian or Persian art; nor does it often deal with military exploits and battles, like Mycenaean and later Greek painting. Although some of the frescoes depict religious or court ceremonies, many seem to have been composed simply to entertain and to please the eye: the original “art for art’s sake”.
Some Egyptian influence may be detected in the stylised depiction of people in profile with the eye at the front, but everything else is uniquely Minoan. In describing the details of the frescoes, some care is needed, as many of them have been reconstructed – not always convincingly – from a few surviving fragments. However, we can still be certain of the methods used, and about much of the style. In most cases, the pigments were applied directly onto wet plaster, as opposed to painting on already-dry plaster. This had the advantage of binding the pigments to the wall, keeping the colours bright and ensuring they would endure for a long time, but it required a great deal of skill and speed. However, this disadvantageous haste brought artistic benefits. Because the artists had to work quickly, the resulting pictures had a feeling of spontaneity and vitality that is absent from much art.
The subjects of the frescoes were varied, but usually involved nature or everyday court life. While some show scenes at court, processions, festivals or sporting events, many others depict flowers and plants without human presence – another Minoan first. Animals are usually shown in their natural habitats. Male figures are painted in dark colours, usually red, while females are depicted in white. This may follow the Egyptian convention in which the men’s darker reddish brown reflects their outdoor life, while the women’s lighter colour alludes to their mainly indoor domestic life. Although this theory makes interpretation of the frescoes easier, it is somewhat speculative. A rare almost-complete fresco on all four sides of a sarcophagus found at Aghia Triada shows a funeral procession, depicted with great skill and a vibrant use of colour.
As with the frescoes, the pottery of the Minoan period demonstrates advanced technical competence coupled with great artistry. Even ordinary domestic pottery was often carefully decorated, again pointing to a culture that loved beauty. Even if, like mine, your mind tends to go blank when confronted by a room full of pottery in a museum, you will be surprised how much you enjoy a visit to the Minoan pottery exhibition at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
During the early Minoan period, pottery developed along more or less the same lines as in the late Neolithic era. The major development at that time was a sort of turntable which made the building up of the clay easier and more accurate. The resulting pots were somewhat clumsy round-bottomed jugs and bulbous jars, with simple linear black patterns on a red or brown base. Gradually, the designs became more adventurous, with a greater range of markings and more variety of colour decoration, which now included red, orange, yellow and white.
With the development of the potter’s wheel around 2000 BC, a greater delicacy and a much wider range of designs became possible. Almost every kind of pottery was made, ranging from small cups to the giant storage jars (pithoi), often inscribed with Linear A characters. From about 1850 BC, very thin “eggshell” cups were produced. The elegant Kamares ware from this period was characterised by new colours – often red-and-white designs on a black background, decorated with abstract curves and spirals. Occasionally, stylised fish shapes were precursors of the later Marine style, and there were a few human figures, albeit in a very abstract style. By 1600 BC, there was a return to dark decoration on a light background and, for the first time, flower and shell shapes were attached to the surfaces of the pots.
Around the middle of the sixteenth century BC, several technological advances brought further improvements to Minoan pottery. Faster potters’ wheels, better quality clay and the ability to increase temperatures in the kilns produced more graceful shapes and more naturalistic designs. Decoration was usually brown or dark red on a lighter background colour such as yellow. Plants and marine life were now common subjects – for example, branches with leaves, flowers, starfish, dolphins and octopuses. Bulls’ heads and double axes, which may have represented religious themes, also appeared.
After 1450 BC, the influence of the Mycenaeans became apparent, with a return to more stylised and abstract designs. Bird designs were seen for the first time, as were military symbols such as helmets and shields.
If monumental statuary existed in Minoan times, none has yet been discovered, but a host of small figurines display the artistry and technical expertise common to all Minoan artefacts. Single figures or groups were made in a variety of materials: ivory, gold, bronze and faience, a brightly coloured glass-like material. Various portrayals of the snake goddess (or priestess) are amazingly lifelike, while clay figurines of people at prayer tend to be more stylised. The famous bronze statuette of a bull leaper gives a vibrant impression of movement and fluidity, while a similar, but incomplete, ivory model is remarkable for its elegance. Perhaps the most famous – certainly the most striking – example of Minoan craftsmanship is the beautiful bull’s head drinking vessel (rhyton). Although dating from about 1450 BC and possibly Mycenaean, it is of obvious Minoan origin and takes your breath away when you first see it.
Taking in the beauty of Minoan jewellery, one is struck by how modern much of it is. In fact, many of the more famous pieces have been copied and still sell well to visitors and Greeks alike. Some of the techniques were probably learned from the Syrians and Egyptians, including the use of gold leaf, but to this sophisticated technology the Minoans added their own exuberance and joy in natural, flowing shapes. Jewellery was mostly handmade, but rings and beads were often moulded, allowing limited mass production. Materials used included gold, silver and bronze, as well as ivory, shell and enamel. Semi-precious stones including amethyst were used to enhance the pieces. The amethyst was imported from Egypt and illustrates the individuality of the Minoans, who continued to use it long after it fell out of fashion in Egypt. As with modern jewellery, the Minoans produced a complete range of items from diadems and earrings to bracelets and anklets. Rings, of course, were extremely popular both as decorative wear and as seals. Usually gold, they were mostly engraved with detailed miniature scenes. Two of the most famous pieces of Minoan jewellery demonstrate the high point of skill and artistry: the Bee Pendant, found at Malia, and the Master of the Animals Pendant, from Aegina but certainly of Cretan origin.
As a result of his extensive excavations at Knossos, Evans developed the theory that the Minoan era was a golden age of prosperity and peace. His theory of a Pax Minoica was based on the lack of evidence for widespread fortifications and the relatively few weapons found. In recent years, this appealing and utopian vision has been the subject of much debate. (What isn’t, in the world of archaeology?) Without getting too bogged down in the detail, a few interesting points can be highlighted.
Evans certainly overstated the lack of fortified defences. Mapping and cleaning operations of the excavations at Gournia have found evidence of defensive walls and a possible tower, designed to protect the town against attacks from the sea, while other sites have revealed signs of guardhouses. Moreover, tombs have been found containing people buried with swords, one particular tomb producing an entire collection of daggers, swords and other items. There have been suggestions that the weapons may have been ceremonial or symbolic, as they were not suitable for actual battle, but these are inconclusive. In fact, tests with exact replicas of some of the swords have proved them to have lethal capabilities in battle. In any case, logic suggests that a society that never uses weapons in battle would be unlikely to include them in ceremonies.
Without any further finds, the general consensus at the moment seems to be a sort of compromise. There remains no direct evidence for major warfare within the Minoan sphere of influence, but this does not mean that the cities had no defensive capabilities against external threats. An interesting parallel has been drawn with Switzerland, whose neutrality and peace are maintained by a strong citizen militia.13 On the other hand, there remains no solid evidence for an actual Minoan army or any subjugation of cities outside Crete. Perhaps the clinching argument lies in the field of art. In most contemporaneous cultures (for example, those of Egypt, Mycenae and Babylon), paintings, sculptures and even pottery are full of images of warfare and military life. Although images of warlike activities do exist in some Minoan frescoes, they are few and ambiguous. It seems that, while they maintained a defensive capability, the Minoans relied on the goodwill generated by their prosperity and trade network, backed up by a powerful navy including warships, to ensure peaceful relations within their sphere of influence. If this was the case, Evans’ idea of a golden age may not have been so far from the truth, especially when compared with other civilisations of the time.
Artwork and artefacts supply ample evidence of Minoan religious practices, but the lack of any written language renders all conclusions speculative. It seems that there were many predominantly female deities, pointing to a polytheistic religion, but it is not impossible that the goddesses represented different aspects of one deity. Some male gods certainly existed, but were greatly outnumbered by female deities. Among the goddesses for whom we have no name are:
As with most ancient religions, there also seem to have been protectors of cities, households and the harvest. Other probable goddesses are shown with doves, representing the heavens; with poppies, indicating sleep, peace and calm; or with sword and shield, possibly symbolising protection.
More detailed descriptions of Minoan rites and religious beliefs are usually based on logic or comparison with other early religions – but they are still largely speculative. For example, the depiction of some human figures with animal heads may indicate the existence of animal-headed gods, as in ancient Egypt, but could equally show priests or priestesses wearing masks. In either case, a half-man, half-bull creature could represent the origin of the Minotaur legend.
Whatever the details, it seems fairly clear that the Minoans were a very spiritual people, and many objects were highly charged with religious meaning. Sacred trees, springs and pillars all had their place in the religious rites, while the famous horn-topped altar is seen in countless seal impressions and was probably of religious significance, along with the bull, the double-headed axe (labrys), the serpent and the sun disc. However, some scholars have disputed that all of these were religious objects.
The significance of the well-known bull-leaping ceremony was likely to have been at least partly religious, but probably also had elements of entertainment and sport. Since both girls and boys took part, it may not be too fanciful to suppose that the events also performed the same function as Victorian balls and modern nightclubs in introducing youngsters to each other.
It appears that the priesthood was almost entirely female, although the king may well have carried out some religious functions. There were shrines, where religious rites were performed, in palaces and private residences, but there is no evidence of dedicated temples in separate buildings. However, worship also took place in remote caves and on almost-inaccessible mountaintops, the so-called “peak sanctuaries”. In some of these, the large numbers of wine goblets unearthed seems to indicate a festive aspect to the religious ceremonies. Worship in some of these sanctuaries continued well into classical times. There is strong evidence of animal sacrifice, but the possibility of human sacrifice is based on a single piece of evidence and remains extremely inconclusive.
There were a variety of burial practices during the Minoan era. In the earlier years, circular tholos tombs (beehive shaped, with a dome) were common in south Crete, while “house tombs” were used in the north and east. The latter were either cut into the rock or built like small houses, and contained either members of the same family or groups from the same settlement. Later, while tholoi and rock-cut tombs continued, single burials in large pithoi became common throughout Crete, and clay or wooden sarcophagi appeared. Cremation seems to have been unusual throughout this period. Tombs were mainly individual, but a funeral complex exists at Malia. There is some evidence of social distinction in the size and type of tomb.
From about 1600 BC, there was further expansion of Minoan cultural influence, probably spread by trade, since there is no evidence of any attempt at military conquest. Many of the Aegean islands – including Kastri (Kythira); the islands of the Cyclades, especially Thera (Santorini); and even Messenia in the Peloponnese – could be called Minoan. There is evidence for Minoan settlements on many of the Dodecanese islands, including Karpathos, Saria, Kasos and Rhodes. The extent of Minoan domination varies between these locations, and it is not clear whether they were colonies, Cretan settlements or trading stations, or were merely within the sphere of Minoan cultural influence. It has been suggested that the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, as with so much mythology, may stem from a folk memory of a time when Minoan Crete was powerful enough to exact tribute from Mycenae. Although told from the Greek point of view and detrimental to the Cretans, it may give an inkling of the relative power of the two civilisations at one point in time. Certainly, Plato treated the legend as history:
When Minos, once upon a time, reduced the people of Attica to a grievous payment of tribute, he was very powerful by sea, whereas they possessed no warships at that time such as they have now, nor was their country so rich in timber that they could easily supply themselves with a naval force. Hence they were unable quickly to copy the naval methods of their enemies and drive them off by becoming sailors themselves.14
Cultural links between the Minoans and other civilisations went beyond direct influence. Various artefacts, together with frescoes of a distinctly Minoan style, have been found as far away as the Canaanite palace at Tel Kabri in Israel. There are also paintings from fifteenth-century BC Thebes in Egypt which depict obviously Minoan-looking people carrying gifts to the pharaoh. The significance of these pictures is uncertain, but could indicate some sort of tribute, a trading transaction or an exchange of gifts between equals. The hieroglyphs identify the bearers as being from “Kleftiu, Islands in the Middle of the Sea”. This is generally believed to be the only known reference to a name for Bronze Age Crete. In 1987, thousands of fragments of obviously Minoan frescoes were discovered near the ancient Hyksos palace of Tell el-Dab’a, in the Nile delta. These include depictions of bull leaping and a possible hunting scene.
Sometime around the middle of the fifteenth century BC, most of Crete’s palaces and villas were destroyed, together with the living quarters at Knossos, although the palace at Knossos remained intact until 1375 BC. For a long time, this was linked to the eruption of the volcano on Thera (Santorini), which was among the most devastating in history. The theory was that ash from the eruption and flooding by the subsequent tsunami destroyed crops and killed animals, leading to complete economic collapse. More recently, however, it has been argued that the easterly jet stream would have carried most of the ash to the east, leaving Crete largely untouched, with a maximum of 5 mm of ash anywhere on the island. Indeed, Minoan remains have been found above the level of the ash from Thera. More seriously, new analysis now sets the date of the Thera eruption much earlier, around 1645 BC. This makes nonsense of a straightforward cause and effect, since the Late Minoan period was one of great building and a flourishing society.
The arguments still rage, and there is no general consensus on the ending of Minoan society. Some still maintain that seismic activity later than the eruption on Thera may have caused devastation to the coastal areas of Crete, resulting in major losses of shipping and a decline in trade. Alternatively, drought might have led to social unrest, revolution or civil war, and a generally weakened society. Either of these events would have rendered Crete easy pickings for the more warlike Mycenaeans from the mainland. However, there is actually little evidence for a Mycenaean conquest. The famous Lion Gate at the citadel of Mycenae does seem to be a representation of Mycenaean power, with the two lions resting their feet on an obviously Minoan pillar, but this could represent cultural dominance as much as conquest. While the theory of an invasion by the Mycenaeans has not been completely dismissed, a growing number of scholars are suggesting that the development of Mycenaean culture in Crete was an extension of the widespread cultural interaction between Crete and the mainland during the Late Bronze Age. Whether this included immigration of Mycenaeans or merely the large-scale importation of Mycenaean administrative structures and culture is unknown. As with so much of Cretan history, there are plenty of PhD theses still to come.
The Mycenaean civilisation developed in the Peloponnese around 1650 BC, towards the end of the Middle Minoan period. Like the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were a trading culture, but they were far more aggressive in expanding their influence and defending their trade routes. Their society was based on city states, each with its own king, who was the political and religious leader. Beneath the king were local chiefs, responsible for administration. Class distinctions seem to have been much stronger than in Minoan culture: the king was at the top, supported by a powerful ruling class, and everyone else was a long way down at the bottom.
We do not know the nature of the transition, or the reasons for it, but by the second half of the fifteenth century BC Crete was largely composed of Mycenaean city states, while the Minoans were pushed out to the fringes, largely in the east. As previously noted, there had already been a fair degree of cultural interchange between the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, and this intensified, although the main direction was now from the latter to the former. Indeed, archaeological evidence suggests that Knossos now became a major centre for weapon production, and it is likely that the chariot was first introduced to Crete during this period.
Although Homer’s Iliad was a heroic epic, written down several hundred years after the events it describes, there is significant evidence that, at least in part, it describes some historical places and people generally believed to have existed in late Mycenaean times. The term “Mycenaean” itself was coined by archaeologists but, as noted below, the Achaeans that are mentioned in The Iliad are almost universally accepted by academics to be Mycenaeans. In this case, a strong link seems to have existed between Mycenae and Crete. Menelaus’ maternal grandfather was in fact Cretan, and Menelaus’ attendance at the funeral of his grandfather in Crete was the reason for his absence while Paris was busy seducing Helen. More significantly, the king of Knossos, Idomeneus, joined the expedition against Troy, along with unnamed kings of other cities:
Leader of the Cretans was Idomeneus, renowned with spear, those who held Knossos and the walls of Gortyn, Lyktos and Miletos and white Lykastos and Phaistos and Rhytion, well-founded cities; and the others who lived in the hundred cities of Crete. These men were led by the famous spearman Idomeneus, and Meriones, a warrior equal to the god of war himself, the man-slayer. With them there followed eighty dark ships.15
The Mycenaean period is the first that provides us with some knowledge of the language of the people of Crete: an early form of Greek, using Linear B for writing. Linear B was a development from Linear A, learned from the Minoans as early as the seventeenth century BC. It was mainly a syllabic script with about 200 signs. The script was not deciphered until 1952, when Michael Ventris, a young English architect building on the work of the American scholar Alice Kober, proved that the script was Mycenaean Greek.16 The bad news was that the script was only used for trade and economic records and, with the exception of a few names of deities, there were no religious or literary writings.
There have been many suggestions that there was a relationship between the Minoan religion and the Mycenaean but, although such a relationship is logical, the links are tenuous. Most of what we know about the latter comes from classical Greek sources written many centuries later, but there are intriguing links. For example, the Mycenaean goddess of childbirth, Eileithyia, born in a cave near Amnisos, was the subject of a cult from Neolithic times, which almost certainly continued through the Minoan era. There are many references to “Potnia”, but this appears to be a title meaning “lady” or “mistress” rather than a name. For example, Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, was worshipped as the Mistress of the Labyrinth in the Mycenaean pantheon. Most interesting are the cases where there was a degree of cultural imperialism by the Greeks. The goddess of mountains and hunting, Britomartis (meaning “Sweet Virgin”), continued into Greek mythology but as a mere mountain nymph (oread) and daughter of Zeus. Diktynna, goddess of Mount Dikti, who may have been the same as Britomartis, fared a little better. She became the goddess of hunting, Artemis. In Mycenaean – and possibly Minoan – mythology, Artemis nursed the god Hyakinthos, who was demoted to a hero by the Greeks and replaced by Apollo.
During the Mycenaean period, we also see the beginnings of the classical Greek pantheon. In Linear B inscriptions there is evidence of Poseidon – at this stage more related to earthquakes than the sea – and a sea goddess called Diwia. It is possible that Poseidon’s name was derived from “Poteidan”, the male form of Potnia. There are also early references to Zeus, Hephaestus, Hera, Ares, Hermes, Dionysos and Erinya. A single incomplete Linear B reference to “Potnia At–” may refer to Athena, but could equally mean Athens.
The strange story of the “Cretan Zeus” also emerges at this time, and may well be linked with earlier Minoan myths. Even in Greek mythology, Zeus had strong links with Crete, having been born and raised on the island, either in the Diktaion Cave on the Lassithi plateau or in the Idaion Cave on Mount Ida. He was also the father by Europa of the first three kings of Crete: Minos (Knossos), Rhadamanthus (Phaistos) and Sarpedon (Malia). While the Cretans worshipped Zeus as a minor god, however, he was regarded as mortal, dying a violent death each year and then being resurrected. The similarity of this to many early pre-Hellenic myths points to it being a remnant of an earlier, possibly Minoan, religion. Incidentally, the Greeks regarded the idea of Zeus being mortal as blasphemous, resulting in the belief that Cretans were liars, as famously quoted in Saint Paul’s Epistle to Titus:
One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”17
The Mycenaean period in Crete lasted about 300 years. There is evidence that walls around the cities were strengthened and enlarged in about 1200 BC, but what threat was expected we do not know. There are many theories, but none of them seem entirely satisfactory on their own, and some sort of combination might offer the most logical solution. It is possible that Crete was subject to raids by the “Sea People”, a loose alliance of warlike tribes responsible for largescale depredations in Anatolia, the Levant and Egypt. These attacks would have disrupted trade, destroyed cities, displaced populations and caused famine. The economic decline could well have led to revolution and/or inter-city warfare. Alternative theories propose similar internal problems caused by environmental factors, such as drought or unusually violent seismic activity. For many years it was assumed that, thoroughly weakened by one or all of these causes, Crete could have fallen easy prey to a new wave of Greek tribes from the north – the Dorians. The idea of a Dorian invasion has recently been challenged by archaeologists, although some scholars are reluctant to throw out the theory completely, pointing to the wealth of literary evidence from ancient historians. Whether the Dorians attacked a weakened Mycenaean Greece or merely migrated into depopulated areas in an “invasion without invaders” is subject to dispute. What is certain is that, by the end of the twelfth century BC, a new Iron Age civilisation had pretty well established itself in Crete.