Crete and the Minoans

Aegean: Greek Mainland, Islands, Crete - 3000-1000 BC - Bronze Age

Minoans - Sir Arthur Evans - Late 1800s - Looking for Minos - Knossos - 1900 Excavation - Uncovered Palace of "Minos" - Created Many Fake Replicas
Many Palaces, 6 or 7 - History of Inhabitation: 2000BC-1250 BC: 3 Major Periods:
1st Palatial Period 2000-1700BC; Major Earthquake, Destroyed Palaces
2nd Palatial Period 1700-1400 BC; Invasion, Greek Mainland, Mycenaean's - 1450 BC
3rd Palatial Period 1400-1200 BC; Mycenaean Period; Later defeated by sea people - Enter Dark Ages
Knossos - Larger than Others; Many Rooms; Storage Areas; Living Place of Ruling Family and Redistribution Center
Linear A Alphabet - Untranslated
Pottery - Distinctive: Flora, Fauna, Nautical Themes: Fish, Birds, Octopus - Kamare's Ware: Orange, Black, White; Popular in Egypt through Trade
Burials - Gold - Religious Significance - Minoans Double Axe - Snake Goddesses/Priestesses/Queen?: Ivory-made Women Figurines, Holding Snakes - Most Are Forged

Neo-Palacial Crete - Knossos - Similar - Ruins Gave Rise to Theseus and Minotaur - 800 BC, Like a Maze - Created The Myth?
Knossos: Evans Excavated - Rebuild and Reconstructed - Mistakes
Palace is light and open - Pillars with open corridors - Connected with nature - Large Courtyard - Unfortified: Thucydides: "Minos had a sea empire"
Unafraid of civil war; Peaceful people? - One family rules all Crete - Crete ruled by women/matriarchy?
Throne Room - Largest room w/ Throne - Paintings of Griffins
Drainage System - Indoor Plumbing - Window Panes
Queens Magron/Throne Room - Dolphin Fresco, 5 dolphins and fish
Central Courtyard - Entertainment - Bull-Leaping: Grab horns and flip over to friend. Perhaps basis of myth - 7 boys and 7 girls.
Painting found in Egypt of Maze
Storage - Barley, Wheat, Grain, Olives, Oil
Painting: Priest King, Evans: Portrait of Ruler; Mistake! Rope attached to bull; Reconstructed from 3 different paintings.
Thriving Maritime Power- 1700-1400 Height - 1450: Disaster overtook entire island, the Mycenaean. New graves, weapons, writing: Linear B - Translated; Counting System

Questions:

What are some suggestions that have been made to explain why there were no fortification walls around Knossos?
There are a few possible answers, but archaeologists don't precisely know. One of the theories developed in the 1960's was that the Cretans were a peaceful civilization. Some suggest Crete was a matriarchal society, but this does not explain why there was no war or need for fortification. Some of the more likely theories suggest Crete had a large navy and was surrounded by allied islands, which protected it from invasion.

What is wrong with some the reconstructions at Knossos by Evans?
As Evans began his excavations at Knossos, he also began reconstruction. While his reconstructions were impressive, they were not entirely accurate. Some of the most popular examples include the painting of two dolphins, which Evans reconstructed by moving them to a large wall and painting an additional three dolphins surrounded by leaping fish. We know now that Minoans were popular for their floor paintings, and it is likely the dolphins belonged on the floor and not the wall. Additionally, in the impressive throne room, a painting of a griffin was found. Evans painted a season griffin beside it, although there is no evidence there should have been a second griffin.

Suggested Readings:
Castledon, Rodney - Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete
Fitton, J. Leslet - Minoans
Higgins, Reynold A - Minoans and Mycenaean Art
Preziosi, Donald - Aegean Art and Architecture

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Greece is frequently considered the cornerstone of democracy in Western Civilization. However, much of what Greece gave us came from Egypt/Near East, but the Greeks themselves made those ideas unique.

1. The Minoans & Crete