The Minoans Reading

The Minoan civilization thrived on the island of Crete, and the smaller islands in

the vicinity of Crete, like the island of Thera to the north. The English archaeologist,
Sir Arthur Evans, named the civilization after the legendary Cretan king, Minos, who
was said to have kept a monster, called the Minotaur, in a complicated maze, called
the Labyrinth, under his palace at Knossos. The Minoans are not Greek, but they are
part of the Greek history. By trading with the early Greeks, the Minoans spread their
ideas and art to the Greek mainland.
At the height of their civilization, between 2,000-1400 BC, the Minoans developed a
palace-centered civilization. The Minoan cities of Knossos and Phaistos are two
examples of palace cities. Palaces acted as the economic and religious centers of the
island. Palaces were large and three to five stories tall. Interestingly, there were no
defensive walls around palaces. The Minoans must have lived in peace on the island
and relied on the sea and a navy for protection from outsiders.
 - Minoan Palace at Knossus
We know little about Minoan religion, but it is clear that religion was an important
aspect of Minoan life. There were only minor male deities; the goddesses were
supreme. It is unclear whether the goddesses represent two or three goddesses or
only one with different aspects. There are several distinguishable goddess identities -
a goddess associated with animals, sometimes called the Mistress of the Animals,
a snake goddess who typically has snakes wrapped around her arms, a household
goddess, and others. Scholars believe that these identities eventually found their
way into the Greek pantheon as Hera, Artemis and other female gods.
Without a written history, what we know about the Minoans comes from the
artifacts and frescoes that have survived through the years. Frescoes indicate that
men and women attended meetings and parties together; this suggests that women
enjoyed equal social status to men. If this is true, the Minoans were far ahead of
their time. The artwork also tells us that the Minoans enjoyed spectator sports. Both
men and women attended and performed in these sporting events. The most
popular, and intriguing, is bull leaping.
 - Evidence of “bull-leaping. Yep, it is EXACTLY what you think it is

There is discussion as to why this advanced civilization disappeared. Clearly there

were natural disasters, including earthquakes and the volcanic explosion on Thera,
which caused a tsunami that hit the northern shore of Crete, but the civilization,
though weakened, recovered. The invasion of the Mycenaeans, a warrior people and
the first Greeks, seems to have ended the Minoan civilization.

Questions:
1. In what ways did the Minoans inspire the Greeks? Give as many examples as you can.

2. What were some activities the Minoans enjoyed in their free time?

3. What happened to the Minoans?