The Minoans emerged from Cycladic and Pelasgian culture around 2100 BCE They established dominance over Crete and most of the eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus Culture reached its height around 1500 BCE

Sea-faring population Economic base = fishing, trade 2000 BCE: controlled trade in Mediterranean Sea

Peaceful Paintings of natural world Enjoyed music and dancing No army, no navy High degree of equality between sexes Family and royal names passed down through daughter Worshipped goddesses, not gods Extreme sports enjoyed by both girls and boys High standard of living Bright, airy buildings (natural air conditioning) Hot/cold water, flush toilets Apparent over-abundance of food But… a dark side too Practiced human sacrifice

Built around 1700 BCE Running water Multiple stories Bathrooms Elegant gardens No walls!

English aristocrat Began excavating Knossos in 1905 Gave the culture its name – Minoan After mythic King Minos associated with the labyrinth – perhaps a real place at Knossos?? Died at Knossos

Several palaces dot the island of Crete Each palace ruled a district Each collected raw materials and finished goods as tribute (tax) Palaces traded goods with each other and with foreign nations, such as Egypt

Minoan trade based in part on ceramics trade: pots and dishes Pharaoh Akhenaton traded Egyptian gold for Minoan pottery Archaeologists call it “eggshell ware” b/c it is so thin

Called “Linear A” by archaeologists

Around 1450 BCE, Minoan civilization began to fail Several theories for decline: Invasion Natural disaster Mythical

Mycenaean pirates from mainland Greece invaded Crete Burned palaces and took over the land

Island of Thera (Santorini) erupted around 1500 BCE Resulting ash cloud and tidal wave buried or swamped Minoan civilization

Most of Thera was blown away in the eruption of 1500 BCE The crater, now filled with sea water, still survives Thera is still an active volcano

Ruins of Akrotiri, on Thera, support the volcano and tidal wave theory Ruins are clearly Minoan in origin Eruption buried and destroyed the town

A young Greek prince, Theseus, was brought to Knossos He was to be sacrificed to the Minotaur – a huge monster the King kept in the palace labyrinth The Minotaur had the head of a bull and lived on human flesh Theseus was put into the labyrinth where he fought the monster with a magical sword and killed it When the Minotaur died, the power of the Minoans died too