The Minoans: a Beginner's Guide

Lisarow High School Ancient History Beginners Guide 1 : beginners guide Carnovale The Minoans: A beginner's guide

The Minoan civilisation on the Mediterranean island of Crete flourished during the period 2000-1500 BC. At that time, centres of power – probably erroneously called 'palaces' – were established all over the island, most significantly at Knossos in the north. These contained spacious living quarters constructed with sophisticated masonry, sanitary facilities and gorgeous decoration. The Minoans themselves were enthusiastic traders and adept at creating such desirable luxury goods as pottery, jewellery and other artistic works.

From 1500 BC, Minoan civilisation declined. There are a number of theories as to why this happened. The most extreme yet compelling of these is that a massive volcanic eruption to the north of Crete caused such serious damage that the Mycenaeans on the Greek mainland were able to take advantage of it to conquer the island. The Minoan palaces gradually disappeared into the landscape. They were only rediscovered in the late 19th century and excavated in the 20th.

Here you will find a selection of websites covering all aspects of Minoan history and civilization. Overviews

The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/ Through a series of lessons and illustrations, from the chair of the classics department at Dartmouth College, this site traces cultural evolution in the Aegean, including the age of the great palatial cultures of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece. Quite academic but thorough. Lisarow High School Ancient History Beginners Guide 2 : beginners guide Carnovale Bureaucrats & Barbarians: Minoans, Myceneans and the Greek Dark Ages www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/MINOA/MINOANS.HTM A 'learning module in the form of a research textbook' from Washington State University, this contains an enormous amount of information on the Minoans and Mycenaeans.

Minoan Crete www.fhw.gr/chronos/02/crete/en/index.html Elegant site owned by the Foundation of the Hellenic World. Covers natural environment, habitation, society, economy, religion, arts & crafts and achievements. Includes a glossary, bibliography and chronology.

Minoan Crete www.uk.digiserve.com/mentor/minoan/index.htm Extensive site created by Ian Swindale, a teacher of English on Crete. Covers palaces, early Minoan settlements and tombs, later Minoan tombs, and other sites, with dozens of good photographs of what remains.

Minoan Civilization www.dilos.com/location/13406 Surprisingly good overview (for a travel agency site) of Minoan civilisation from 2600 to 1000 BC. The Dilos site contains lots of other good information on and images of Minoan Crete.

History of Minoan Crete www.ancient-greece.org/history/minoan.html Good (if a bit dry) historical account, which concludes with 'Some thoughts on the demise of Minoan civilisation'. The site itself also includes sections on Minoan archaeology, architecture, art and culture, plus a map and photographs of some of the treasures at two Cretan museums.

The Minoans: A multimedia exhibit www.historywiz.com/minoans-mm.htm An image-based journey through Minoan history and culture. Some of the information is debatable, but the photographs are well worth investigating. Lisarow High School Ancient History Beginners Guide 3 : beginners guide Carnovale Knossos

Understanding the Minoan Palaces www.athenapub.com/11palace.htm Interesting article by Louise A Hitchcock, from the Athena Review, in which she reveals the insights into the functions of Minoan palaces that scholars have been able to make from new discoveries and a reconsideration of existing evidence.

The Palaces of Minos at Knossos www.athenapub.com/11knoss.htm Colin F Macdonald of the British School of Archaeology at Athens investigates detailed developments in palace architecture to understand how the function of the palaces changed over time.

Knossos www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/europe/ knossos.html Account of the discoveries made by Arthur Evans at the largest Minoan palace so far discovered on Crete.

The BSA at Knosós www.bsa.gla.ac.uk/knosos/index.htm Somewhat academic website on the Minoan 'palace', from the British School at Athens. However, the virtual tour – during which you can look at various parts of the site as 360-degree panoramas – is terrific. Other excavations

Gournia www.museum.upenn.edu/mellon/gournia/index.html University of Pennsylvania Museum Archives website that contains all the archaeological records of the 1901-04 expedition to Gournia on Crete, carried out by Harriet Boyd Hawes. Go to 'Document Archives': under 'Container List', you will be able to download images of all Boyd Hawes' correspondence and read it.

Mochlos Archaeological Excavation www.uncg.edu/~jssoles/Mochlos/first.html Account of the archaeological work being carried out by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on a small island off Crete, once the site of late Minoan and Mycenaean settlements. Lisarow High School Ancient History Beginners Guide 4 : beginners guide Carnovale Cretan Minoan Finds www.archaeology.org/online/news/minoan.html Account – from Archaeology magazine – of the discovery of the fourth-largest Minoan palace and the oldest positively dated (to the 17th century BC) fresco fragment to be found on Crete.

Discoveries at Khania in western Crete www.athenapub.com/11khania.htm An account of the discovery of a major Minoan ‘palace’ at Khania (also known as Kydonia).

Fuel for thought? Beeswax in lamps and conical cups from Late Minoan Crete http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/071/Ant0710979.htm Abstract of an article from the journal Antiquity, which describes the research done on lamps and cups from a Minoan site that reveals that beeswax was used as a form of illumination. The end of the Minoans?

The Fall of the Minoan Civilisation www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/minoan_01.shtml Fascinating article on the BBC History website in which Jessica Cecil describes the theory of vulcanologist Dr Floyd McCoy about how an enormous eruption on the island of Thera spelled disaster for Crete, some 60 miles away.

Santorini, Greece http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/ europe_west_asia/santorini.html Account of the volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini (Thera), which may have seriously affected Cretan civilisation, leading to its disappearance about a century later – and which might be the origin of the legend of Atlantis. Good photographs.

The Waves that Destroyed the Minoan Empire (Atlantis) www.drgeorgepc.com/AtlantisDestruction.html Don’t be put off by the amateurish design of this site. There is plenty of good information here, provided by earthquake and tsunami expert Dr George Pararas-Carayannis The excavators

Sir Arthur Evans www.dilos.com/location/13407 Biography of the second, and most important, excavator of Knossos. Lisarow High School Ancient History Beginners Guide 5 : beginners guide Carnovale Sir Arthur Evans and the Excavation of the Palace at Knossos www.athenapub.com/11evans.htm Article from the Athena Review that gives an account of Evans' life plus an assessment of his achievements.

Harriet Boyd Hawes http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-08-14.html Long review, in the online Bryn Mawr Classical Review, of the book Born to Rebel, a biography of Boyd Hawes written by her daughter Mary Allsebrook, which tells the story of the pioneer archaeologist on Crete.

Heinrich Schliemann www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/ pqrst/schliemann_heinrich.html Basic account of the archaeologist whose work – and interest in Knossos – eventually led to others making discoveries there. The riddle of Minoan writing

Bronze Age Writing on Crete: Hieroglyphs, Linear A, and Linear B www.athenapub.com/11mnwrit.htm Short article from the Athena Review that discusses the different types of ancient scripts found on Crete.

Linear A and Linear B Compared http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~perlman/myth/linb.htm Brief but illuminating article showing the difference between the two types of ancient forms of writing in Minoan Crete. Good illustrations.

The breaker of the Knossos code www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique? e=C&f=13211&m=A28&aa=1&eidos=S Short biography of the complex man who deciphered Linear B The riddle of Minoan writing

Bronze Age Writing on Crete: Hieroglyphs, Linear A, and Linear B www.athenapub.com/11mnwrit.htm Short article from the Athena Review that discusses the different types of ancient scripts found on Crete. Lisarow High School Ancient History Beginners Guide 6 : beginners guide Carnovale Linear A and Linear B Compared http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~perlman/myth/linb.htm Brief but illuminating article showing the difference between the two types of ancient forms of writing in Minoan Crete. Good illustrations.

The breaker of the Knossos code www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.print_unique? e=C&f=13211&m=A28&aa=1&eidos=S Short biography of the complex man who deciphered Linear Myths and legends

Timeless Myths: Minoan Crete www.timelessmyths.com/classical/crete.html A complete rundown of all the Greek myths connected to Crete, from earliest times to the death of Minos.

Myths of Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe www.sacred-texts.com/cla/moc/index.htm Article on how little is known of the Minoan religion, plus the full text of a 1917 book that stretches this lack of knowledge to fill 300 pages. Demonstrates the excitement caused by the discoveries made at Knossos and elsewhere on Crete early in the 20th century.

Minoan Religion and the Minotaur: A question www.fjkluth.com/minos.html Long, discursive article (by a 'professional computer-based educator') that looks at how the story of Theseus and the Minotaur may relate to the destruction of the goddess-centred culture of Crete and its replacement with the more god-dominated religion of the mainland. See also an article on Minoan Culture by the same author, illustrated with bizarre photographs of Barbie dolls dressed up as Minoan priestesses.

Origins of Atlantis www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/thera/atlantis.html Comparisons between Plato’s story of Atlantis and what is known about Minoan civilisation and its disappearance.

The Phaistos Disk www.crystalinks.com/phaistosdisc.html Pottery disc dated to about 1600 BC, discovered at Phaistos on the south coast of Crete. Covered in symbols, it has led to dozens of theories as to its origins and meanings, most of which are discussed on this site. Lisarow High School Ancient History Beginners Guide 7 : beginners guide Carnovale Minoan Luni-solar Calendric Stone www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi62.htm Circular stone found at the 'palace' at Malia on the north-east coast of Crete, which, according to this website, is a calendar. See another website about Malia for a description of this 'kernos' as an altar on which offerings to the gods were placed. Sidelights

Minoan Crete: Sport http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/ olympics/prehistory/minoan.html Brief account of the evidence for Minoan sports, including boxing, wrestling, acrobatics and the famous bull-leaping.

History of Sex: Minoans of Crete www.bigeye.com/sexeducation/minoans.html Short (and badly designed) article on what little is known about relations between the sexes in Minoan Crete, primarily the ascendancy of goddesses through most of its history.

Consciousness-related Issues in Minoan Archaeology: Social functions gleaned from a cross-cultural perspective www.cwis.org/fwj/41/minoan.html Highly academic but still quite interesting article from Joan Stanley- Bakerstrong, who 'review[s] some of the archaeological evidence found in "Minoan" Crete, not from an Aegean archaeologist's perspective, but from that of a student of East Asian art history and, in a cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary context, attempt[s] to identify examples of concrete manifestations of what may be gender-related aspects of human consciousness'.

Minoan Crete: African-influenced forerunner of European civilizations www.cwo.com/~lucumi/crete.html Article by Runoko Rashidi that delineates the evidence for a north African origin for the Minoan Cretans.

The History of Plumbing – Crete www.theplumber.com/crete.html Details of Minoan sanitary systems, which, it seems, were remarkably similar to modern-day ones.