When Apostle Paul, a Roman citizen from Taurus (Adana today), sailed along the coast of Crete, he – like all other 275 passengers – had no idea that they travelled along the coast of Europe’s first civilization. By Roman time, the Minoans had been forgotten, their remains and treasures buried under meters of ash and dirt. Not until 1878 was Knossos rediscovered. The Cretan merchant Minos Kalokairinos had heard of some mysterious ruins near Iraklion and started the first dig. A more systematic excavation was launched in 1900, when British archeologist Sir Arthur Evans arrived. He coined the word Minoans.
Minoan Women from the Knossos Palace
In the nationalistic days before the First World War, Greeks enthusiastically welcomed Evans’ findings. Dreaming of building Greater Greece (Megali Hellas), the Knossos legitimized the government’s claim on Crete, the Hellespont (50% of Istanbul’s inhabitants were Greek) and large parts of Anatolia. Greek people had lived there for thousands of years thus these lands belonged to Greece – so the logic went. Except that the Minoans were not Greek speakers, did not migrate from Greece and their culture was not Greek. Ouups! Already by then politics and reality were often at odds.
Megali Hellas - over time Greece's territorial claims grew bigger
As we now know from genealogy, the Minoans’ ancestors migrated between 9’000 and 7’000 BC from Anatolia to Crete. They were light skinned neolithic farmers with dark hair and brown eyes. Coming from the Fertile Crescent, these “emigrants” brought their fruits (pears, pomegranates, plums, dates, figs, grapes), vegetables (onions, carrots, turnips, chick peas, lentils), cereals (barley, rye, emmer wheat) and domesticated animals (cattle, pigs, chicken, goat, sheep) to the island. On Crete’s fertile northern plains, these crops did well and resulted in significant food surpluses. At the time of the Minoans' arrival, the climate was more humid than today. Wines and olives added to the island's wealth. Given their quality, both became early export hits. That the Minoans produced fine pottery, also helped. Minoan amphorae wee found throughout the Mediterranean.
The Minoans had no Indo-European Genes as the Myceans nor
was their language influenced by Indo-European Idioms
The immense agricultural wealth enabled the development of a sophisticated artisanal class. The Minoans were well known for their excellent craftsmanship. The precision and beauty of their metal works and ceramics was highly appreciated. They were possibly the first who mastered the forging of iron and understood its magnetic properties. Minoan architecture was also highly sophisticated. Their “palaces” were vast complexes, never seen before in Europe. Their paintings and carvings lively, natural and beautiful. We can recognize ourselves in the portraits of young women and fishermen. The paintings even detail the jewelry the girls were wearing 4’000 years ago. That the Minoans also had their own scripture does not surprise either. Unfortunately, we are still unable to read Linear A.
The Minoan were Master Goldsmith for Jewelery
The sophistication of Minoan society is also demonstrated by their system of credit. Money as we know it, was not invented yet. Though they operated an elaborate system of credit which allowed citizen to withdraw food from the storage sites in the “palaces”. Some records of these debits and credits survived to this day and are the part of Linear A which we actually understand. The Minoans also had small clay tokens that looked like coins. They may have been used as "I owe you" in financial transactions.
The Function of these Minoan Tokens is still not entirely clear -
they could be IOWs for Items deposited at the Palaces
Last but not least, the Minoans brought a maternal society structure from Anatolia. On an island with abundant agricultural surplus, wars were rare. Palaces were not fortified. No Minoan castles were found. The horse based patriarchic culture of the Indo-Europeans from the steppes between Black and Caspian Sea reached mainland Greece (Mycenae) but not Crete. Female figures were the main Gods. Princesses run the “palaces” and the vital warehouses, priestesses the religious sites. Women and men both competed in the dangerous bull fights. Female fertility was seen as important as male virility. In this respect, the Minoan civilization was quite extraordinary and unique in Europe.
The Palaces served as Religious Centers, gathering places, storage sites and residences for the elites. Whether there were kings as the legends say cannot be confirmed
With the eruption of the Thora volcano in Santorini around 1625 BC, Minoan civilization was fundamentally weakened. It never fully recovered and 200 years later the Mycenean civilization took over. No major violent events are visible in the archeological strata. It seems Minoan culture just faded away. We possible will never know how this rule and religion based society disappeared – unless someone is able to translate Linear A.
Minon Fisherman from Akrotiri
During this summer's trip, we will visit the Minoan palaces of Sinia, Melia and Knossos but also the Archeological Museum of Iraklion which holds fabulous treasures. Cannot wait to see all the fine craftmanship .of the Minoans.
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