On which Mediterranean Island was the Minoan Civilisation based?
"the origin of the script) is rather deceptive, as the archaeological context of Cyprus was largely different from that of Minoan Crete, even in spite of visible traces of trade with Crete in the archaeological context, as well as common presence of Cypriot and Cretan writing in Ugarit. There were no visible traces of Minoan invasion, colonization, or even significant cultural influence in Bronze Age Cyprus. At that time, the island was part of the Near-East cultural circle rather than Aegean civilizations. Based on the above-mentioned classification of the script into several varieties, Emilia Masson hypothesized that they may (not"
"Age, roughly the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, the eastern Mediterranean was dominated by a civilization named Minoan by its discoverer, Sir Arthur Evans, excavating the Palace of Knossos, which he termed the Palace of Minos. The civilization was maritime, its fleets were legendary, its settlements were mainly coastal, and its operations were mainly peaceful. There are legends, such as that of Theseus and the Minotaur, which indicate that tribute of some sort was collected by Crete from overseas locations, but its legendary history is far different from the wars and warriors of the mainland. The evolution of"
"Minoa Minoa is the name of several Bronze-Age cities on the coasts of the Aegean islands and Corfu in Greece, as well as Sicily. The original meaning of the word remains unknown, but it seems that there is a strong connection with the mythic king of Crete, Minos, during the bronze-age Minoan civilization which flourished in Crete and in the Aegean islands in Greece between 2000-1470 BC. The inhabitants of Crete were named Minoans by Arthur Evans, after the legendary king. The root ""min-"" corresponds to a group of Aegean languages, and appears also in some toponyms like Minya, ""Minassos"""
"from Minos, the legendary king of Crete), including their written system, which was recorded on the undeciphered Linear A script and Cretan hieroglyphs. They were primarily a mercantile people engaged in extensive overseas trade throughout the Mediterranean region. Minoan civilization was affected by a number of natural cataclysms such as the volcanic eruption at Thera (c. 1628–1627 BC) and earthquakes (c. 1600 BC). In 1425 BC, the Minoan palaces (except Knossos) were devastated by fire, which allowed the Mycenaean Greeks, influenced by the Minoans' culture, to expand into Crete. The Minoan civilization which preceded the Mycenaean civilization on Crete was"
"from the first half of the second millennium BCE during the Bronze Age and are to be found among Aegean civilizations, more precisely the Minoan culture from the island of Crete and other islands of the Aegean Sea. The most famous of these, The Toreador, depicts a sacred ceremony in which individuals jump over the backs of large bulls. The oldest surviving Minoan frescoes are found on the island of Santorini (classically known as Thera), dated to the Neo-Palatial period (c. 1640–1600 BC). While some similar frescoes have been found in other locations around the Mediterranean basin, particularly in Egypt"
"Cyclades, the Old Kingdom of Egypt, copper-bearing Cyprus, Canaan and the Levantine coast and Anatolia. Some of the best Minoan art is preserved in the city of Akrotiri on the island of Santorini, which was destroyed by the Minoan eruption. The Minoans primarily wrote in the undeciphered Linear A, encoding a language hypothetically labelled Minoan. The reasons for the slow decline of the Minoan civilization, beginning around 1550 BCE, are unclear; theories include Mycenaean invasions from mainland Greece and the major volcanic eruption of Santorini. The term ""Minoan"" refers to the mythical King Minos of Knossos. Its origin is debated,"
"of these major Neolithic (then later Minoan) sites. Other neolithic settlements include those at Kephala, Magasa, and Trapeza. Crete was the centre of Europe's first advanced civilization, the Minoan (). This civilization wrote in the undecipherable script known as Linear A. Early Cretan history is replete with legends such as those of King Minos, Theseus and the Minotaur, passed on orally via poets such as Homer. The volcanic eruption of Thera may have been the cause of the downfall of the Minoan civilization. In 1420 BC, the Minoan civilization was overrun by the Mycenaean civilization from mainland Greece. The oldest"
"that the ""Minoans"" travelled from Crete down to Egypt, Syria and Mari of Euphrates, to Asia Minor (Anatolia) and Black Sea through the Aegean islands, and to the West up to Lipari (Aeolian islands) to the north of Sicily. Approximately in 1600 BC the routes to Italy and Asia Minor were gained by the rising Myceneans. They followed the same tradition with the establishment or use of commercial and supporting settlements in the Mediterranean coasts. Minoa Minoa is the name of several Bronze-Age cities on the coasts of the Aegean islands and Corfu in Greece, as well as Sicily. The"
"the Cyclades, Albania and Dalmatia. The Cycladic culture is a significant Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age culture, is best known for its schematic flat female idols carved out of the islands' pure white marble centuries before the great Middle Bronze Age (""Minoan"") culture arose in Crete, to the south. The Minoan civilization in Crete, which lasted from about c. 3000 BC (Early Minoan) to c. 1400 BC, and the Helladic culture on the Greek mainland from circa 3200/3100 BC to 2000/1900 BC. Little specific information is known about the Minoans (even the name ""Minoans"" is a modern appellation, derived"
"with the coming of Christianity revived there in the Insular style of the Early Middle Ages. The Minoan culture is regarded as the oldest civilization in Europe. The Minoan culture existed in Crete and consisted of four periods: Prepalatial, Protopalatial, Neopalatial, and the Postpalatial period between 3650 BC and 1100 BC. Not much of the art remained from the Prepalatial times, and most of artefacts still existing today are Cycladic statuettes and pottery fragments. The most prosperous period of the Cretan civilization was Neopalatial period and most of the artefacts are from this era. A large number of artefacts from"
"to diminishing the value of feminine ideals in society. The Minoan Civilization of Crete The last known major civilization to have a partnership society, the Minoan civilization of Crete, flourished during the Bronze Age over 3500 years ago. Having existed even before Archaic Greece, it is one of the earliest known civilizations in Europe and is vital to recreating the timeline of Europe’s history. First discovered by Sir Arthur Evans, numerous artifacts have since been uncovered documenting the way of life of this ancient civilization. The Minoans had constructed enormous courts at four different palace sites which are believed to"
"4th millenniums BC. The first well-known literate civilization in Europe was that of the Minoans. The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans. Will Durant referred to it as ""the first link in the European chain"". The Minoans were replaced by the Mycenaean civilization which flourished during the period roughly between 1600 BC, when Helladic culture in mainland Greece was transformed"
"considered the birthplace of Western civilisation, beginning with the Cycladic civilization on the islands of the Aegean Sea at around 3200 BC, the Minoan civilization in Crete (2700–1500 BC), and then the Mycenaean civilization on the mainland (1900–1100 BC). These civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC, during a time of regional upheaval known as the Bronze Age collapse. This ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages,"
"Aegean civilizations Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the Aegean Sea. There are three distinct but communicating and interacting geographic regions covered by this term: Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainland. Crete is associated with the Minoan civilization from the Early Bronze Age. The Cyclades converge with the mainland during the Early Helladic (""Minyan"") period and with Crete in the Middle Minoan period. From ca. 1450 BC (Late Helladic, Late Minoan), the Greek Mycenaean civilization spreads to Crete. Commerce was practiced to some extent in very early times, as is proved"
"History of Crete The History of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe and the first, in Europe, to build a palace. After the Minoan civilization was devastated by the Thera eruption, Crete developed an Ancient Greece-influenced organization of city states, then successively became part of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Venetian Republic, the Ottoman Empire, autonomous state, and the modern state of Greece. Excavations in South Crete in 2008–2009 led by Thomas F. Strasser (Providence College, R.I.,"
"is, before Alexander the Great connected the island to mainland Egypt by building a causeway. The Minoan civilization on Crete was the dominant sea power of the eastern Mediterranean, with large cities and temples, but after 1400 BC only small villages existed. Archaeologists believe that some abrupt event changed society, but an invasion is unlikely because of the Minoan fleet. After the discovery of the Minoans at Knossos on the island by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900, theories linking the disappearance of the empire with the destruction of Atlantis were proposed by K. T. Frost in 1913 and E. S."
"of the Minoans, a mercantilist people who built a trading empire from their homeland of Crete and from other Aegean islands. Minoan civilization was known for its beautiful ceramics, but also for its frescos, landscapes, and stone carvings. In the early Minoan period, ceramics were characterized by spirals, triangles, curved lines, crosses, and fishbone motifs. In the middle Minoan period, naturalistic designs such as fish, squid, birds, and lilies were common. In the late Minoan period, flowers and animals were still the most characteristic, but variability had increased. The 'palace style' of the region around Knossos is characterized by strong"
"late Neolithic, the donkey and the rabbit were introduced to the island, deer and agrimi hunted. The Kri-kri, a feral goat, preserves traits of the early domesticates. Horse, fallow deer and hedgehog are only attested from Minoan times onwards. Crete was the centre of Europe's most ancient civilization, the Minoans. Tablets inscribed in Linear A have been found in numerous sites in Crete, and a few in the Aegean islands. The Minoans established themselves in many islands besides Ancient Crete: secure identifications of Minoan off-island sites include Kea, Kythera, Milos, Rhodes, and above all, Thera (Santorini). Archaeologists ever since Sir"
"Minoan civilisation centred at Kydonia east of Rethymno. Rethymno itself began a period of growth when the Venetian conquerors of the island decided to put an intermediate commercial station between Heraklion and Chania, acquiring its own bishop and nobility in the process. Today's old town (""palia poli"") is almost entirely built by the Republic of Venice. It is one of the best-preserved old towns in Crete. From circa 1250 the city was the seat of the Latin Diocese of Retimo, which was renamed Retimo–Ario after the absorption in 1551 of the Diocese of Ario and as suppressed only after the"
"Mediterranean made use of several techniques to determine their location, including staying in sight of land and understanding of the winds and their tendencies. Minoans of Crete are an example of an early Western civilization that used celestial navigation. Their palaces and mountaintop sanctuaries exhibit architectural features that align with the rising sun on the equinoxes, as well as the rising and setting of particular stars. The Minoans made sea voyages to the island of Thera and to Egypt. Both of these trips would have taken more than a day's sail for the Minoans and would have left them traveling"
"the Black Death, many Cretans migrated overseas during difficult periods on the island, some acquiring great fortune abroad, such as Constantine Corniaktos (c. 1517–1603) who became one of the richest people in Eastern Europe. History of Crete The History of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe and the first, in Europe, to build a palace. After the Minoan civilization was devastated by the Thera eruption, Crete developed an Ancient Greece-influenced organization of city states, then successively became part of"
"such as Troy, Tartessos, and Tantalis (in the province of Manisa, Turkey); Israel-Sinai or Canaan; and northwestern Africa. The Thera eruption, dated to the seventeenth or sixteenth century BC, caused a large tsunami that some experts hypothesize devastated the Minoan civilization on the nearby island of Crete, further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe that inspired the story. In the area of the Black Sea the following locations have been proposed: Bosporus and Ancomah (a legendary place near Trabzon). Others have noted that, before the sixth century BC, the mountains on either side of the"
"in Minoan Crete from about 3000 to 1000 BC, since the name ""Dionysus"" exists nowhere other than Crete and Greece. The rites were based on a seasonal death-rebirth theme, common among agricultural cults such as the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Osirian Mysteries paralleled the Dionysian, according to contemporary Greek and Egyptian observers. Spirit possession involved liberation from civilization's rules and constraints. It celebrated that which was outside civilized society and a return to primordial nature—which would later assume mystical overtones. It also involved escape from the socialized personality and ego into an ecstatic, deified state or the primal herd (sometimes both)."
"Minoan civilization is not believed to have been warlike; there are few traces of arms and armor. They probably represented a mercantile hegemony, safe in their island home and protected by their fleet. Around 1450 BCE, the villa was burned along with all of the other major sites in Crete except for Knossos. These events are generally interpreted as an interest in ruling the island by Mycenaean Greeks. As the name Amnisos evidences the pre-Greek -""ssos"" suffix, they probably took the name as it was. Amnisos Amnisos, also Amnissos and Amnisus (Greek: or ; Linear B: 𐀀𐀖𐀛𐀰 - ""A-mi-ni-so""), is"
"Zakros Zakros () is a site on the eastern coast of the island of Crete, Greece, containing ruins from the Minoan civilization. The site is often known to archaeologists as Zakro or Kato Zakro. It is believed to have been one of the four main administrative centers of the Minoans, and its protected harbor and strategic location made it an important commercial hub for trade to the east. Flinders Petrie related Zakro with Tjeker of the Sea Peoples The town was dominated by the Palace of Zakro, originally built around 1900 BC, rebuilt around 1600 BC, and destroyed around 1450"
"1400 BC, the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete, center of the Minoan civilization, and adopted a form of the Minoan script (called Linear A) to write their early form of Greek in Linear B. The Mycenaean civilization perished with the collapse of Bronze-Age civilization on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The collapse is commonly attributed to the Dorian invasion, although other theories describing natural disasters and climate change have been advanced as well. Whatever the causes, the Mycenaean civilization had definitely disappeared after LH III C, when the sites of Mycenae and Tirynth were again destroyed and"
"Knossos (modern history) Knossos (, ""Knōsós"", ), also romanized Cnossus, Gnossus, and Knossus, is the main Bronze Age archaeological site at Heraklion, a modern port city on the north central coast of Crete. The site was excavated and the palace complex found there partially restored under the direction of Arthur Evans in the earliest years of the 20th century. The palace complex is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete. It was undoubtedly the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. Quite apart from its value as the center of the ancient Minoan civilization, Knossos has"
"Saria and Kasos also contained middle-Bronze Age (MMI-II) Minoan colonies or settlements of Minoan traders. Most were abandoned in LMI, but Karpathos recovered and continued its Minoan culture until the end of the Bronze Age. Other supposed Minoan colonies, such as that hypothesized by Adolf Furtwängler on Aegina, were later dismissed by scholars. However, there was a Minoan colony at Ialysos on Rhodes. Minoan cultural influence indicates an orbit extending through the Cyclades to Egypt and Cyprus. Fifteenth-century BC paintings in Thebes, Egypt depict Minoan-appearing individuals bearing gifts. Inscriptions describing them as coming from ""keftiu"" (""islands in the middle of"
"Mochlos Mochlos () is a modern island in the Gulf of Mirabello in eastern Crete, and the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan settlement. There is evidence that Mochlos was not an island in Minoan times, but was attached to the mainland and acted as an eastern harbor. The name Mochlos also applies to the small fishing village and resort located on the main island of Crete, opposite Mochlos island. Only 150 metres separates them. The island is administered from Tourloti which is only away. Mochlos was first excavated by Richard Seager in 1908 at the western end of the"
"palace like Knossos for their own use. Several authors have noted evidence that Minoan civilization had exceeded its environmental carrying capacity, with archaeological recovery at Knossos indicating deforestation in the region near the civilization's later stages. A 2013 archeogenetics study compared skeletal mtDNA from ancient Minoan skeletons that were sealed in a cave in the Lasithi Plateau between 3,700 and 4,400 years ago, to 135 samples from Greece, Anatolia, western and northern Europe, North Africa and Egypt. The researchers found that the Minoan skeletons were genetically very similar to modern-day Europeans — and especially close to modern-day Cretans, particularly those"
"cultures that developed in Crete were adopted into what became the Mycenaean palace culture on the mainland. ""The palaces found at Mycene, Pylos and elsewhere on the Greek mainland have a common inspiration: All borrowed heavily from the Minoan civilization that arose on the large island of Crete, southeast of Pylos. The Minoans were culturally dominant to the Mycenaeans but were later overrun by them. How, then, did Minoan culture pass to the Mycenaeans? The warrior's grave may hold many answers. He died before the palaces began to be built, and his grave is full of artifacts made in Crete."
"around 3200 BC, when civilizations first established a far-ranging trade network. This network imported tin and charcoal to Cyprus, where copper was mined and alloyed with the tin to produce bronze. Bronze objects were then exported far and wide, and supported the trade. Isotopic analysis of tin in some Mediterranean bronze artifacts suggests that they may have originated from Great Britain. Knowledge of navigation was well developed at this time, and reached a peak of skill not exceeded (except perhaps by Polynesian sailors) until 1730 when the invention of the chronometer enabled the precise determination of longitude. The Minoan civilization"
"Vrokastro Vrokastro was an ancient Minoan civilization settlement in the Lasithi regional unit of eastern Crete, Greece. It overlooks the Gulf of Mirabello. The site was a mountain citadel located on a hill 1,5 km east of Priniatikos Pyrgos, another very early archaeological site. Nearby, there's a small resort town of Kalo Chorio, Lasithi. Yet another important archaeological site in the area is Vasiliki, Lasithi. There's an Archaeological Museum in nearby Agios Nikolaos, Crete. Vrokastro bridges the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the early Iron Age. It was first inhabited during the Middle Minoan period (ca."