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- Minoan, Any member of a non-Indo-European people who flourished (c. 3000– c. 1100 bc) on the island of Crete during the Bronze Age. The sea was the basis of their economy and power. Their sophisticated culture, based at Knossos, was named for the legendary King Minos. It represented the first high civilization in the Aegean area.
www.britannica.com/topic/MinoanMinoan | Minoan Civilization, Bronze Age, Crete | Britannica
Oct 30, 2024 · Minoan civilization, Bronze Age civilization of Crete that flourished from about 3000 bce to about 1100 bce. Its name derives from Minos, either a dynastic title or the name of a particular ruler of Crete who has a place in Greek legend.
- Minos
Minos, legendary ruler of Crete; he was the son of Zeus, the...
- Minoan
Minoan, Any member of a non-Indo-European people who...
- Aegean Civilizations
Aegean civilizations, the Stone and Bronze Age civilizations...
- Minos
e. The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos are popular tourist attractions.
Rise and Fall of the Mighty Minoans. Perhaps the inspiration for Atlantis, Minoan civilization born on the island of Crete spread throughout the Mediterranean before it mysteriously collapsed.
- Arthur Evans & Discovery
- Minoan Palace Settlements
- Religion
- Material Culture
- Aegean Contacts
- Decline
The archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans was first alerted to the possible presence of an ancient civilization on Crete by surviving carved seal stones worn as charms by native Cretans in the early 20th century CE. Excavating at Knossos from 1900 to 1905 CE, Evans discovered extensive ruins which confirmed the ancient accounts, both literary and mytholog...
Minoan settlements, tombs, and cemeteries have been found all over Crete but the four principal palace sites (in order of size) were: 1. Knossos 2. Phaistos 3. Malia 4. Zakros At each of these sites, large, complex palace structures seem to have acted as local administrative, trade, religious, and possibly political centres. The relationship betwee...
The religion of the Minoans remains sketchy, but details are revealed through art, architecture, and artefacts. These include depictions of religious ceremonies and rituals such as the pouring of libations, making food offerings, processions, feasts, and sporting events like bull-leaping. Natural forces and nature in general, manifested in such art...
The sophistication of the Minoan culture and its trading capacity is evidenced by the presence of writing, firstly Cretan Hieroglyphic (c. 2000-1700 BCE) and then Linear A scripts (both, as yet, undeciphered), predominantly found on various types of administrative clay tablets. Seal impressions on clay were another important form of record keeping....
The Minoans, as a seafaring culture, were also in contact with foreign peoples throughout the Aegean, as evidenced by the Near Eastern and Egyptian influences in their early art but also in the later export trade, notably the exchange of pottery and foodstuffs such as oil and wine in return for precious objects and materials such as copper from Cyp...
The reasons for the demise of the Minoan civilization continue to be debated. Palaces and settlements show evidence of fire and destruction c. 1450 BCE, but not at Knossos (which was destroyed perhaps a century later). The rise of the Mycenaean civilization in the mid-2nd millennium BCE on the Greek mainland and the evidence of their cultural influ...
- Mark Cartwright
Mar 18, 2021 · British archaeologist Arthur Evans discovered extensive ruins on Crete in the early 1900s. In honor of the legendary King Minos, he termed the civilization he uncovered “Minoan.” A polychrome relief of a bull adorns the north entrance of the Palace of Knossos.
Sep 23, 2023 · The prosperous civilization of the Minoans represented one of the oldest cultures of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean area and the first major Aegean civilization comparable in its achievements to the older ones, such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia.
2 days ago · Minoan, Any member of a non-Indo-European people who flourished (c. 3000–c. 1100 bc) on the island of Crete during the Bronze Age. The sea was the basis of their economy and power. Their sophisticated culture, based at Knossos, was named for the legendary King Minos.
