How much do we really know about Minoan culture? How much is creative imagination?

 Guest post by Giota Detsi

Truth be told, we have a lot of unanswered questions about the Minoans (Were they really called that, for instance?). However, the popularity of this civilization has led to the creation of false stereotypes. In our search for the truth from myths (and assumptions!) our assistants will be the usual; archaeological finds, anthropology, genetics, Greek myths, and ancient texts.

Truth be told, we have a lot of unanswered questions about the Minoans (Were they really called that, for instance?). However, the popularity of this civilization has led to the creation of false stereotypes. In our search for the truth from myths (and assumptions!) our assistants will be the usual; archaeological finds, anthropology, genetics, Greek myths, and ancient texts.

 The name-Minoan civilization- is a product of creative imagination. In fact, we don’t know what the Minoans called themselves. From the Egyptian archives, we get the name Keftiu (that reminds us of Crete) but the name of their homeland is still under discussion.

 We definitely know their origin; at least three-quarters of their population came from the first Neolithic farmers of western Anatolia and the Aegean, and most of the remainder from ancient populations like those of the Caucasus and Iran. 

 We know the time period that the Minoan civilization arose, thrived, and declined. It emerged in the 3rd millennium BCE, reached its peak in the 2nd millennium BCE, and vanished in the Bronze Age collapse, around 1150 BCE.

 The Minoans were international merchants and seamen; they were highly involved in metal trading and Minoan artifacts are found around the Mediterranean coast (much of it from Egypt and the Levant, fewer items on the West coast). How far did they travel? We can’t tell for sure although there are indications of Minoan presence as far as Scandinavia. The indirect trade between the Minoans and the British islands and the Baltic region is proven by the Welsh tin and the Baltic amber they used.

Bronze was imported to Scandinavia from the East Mediterranean. At the same time, amber from the Baltic appeared in Minoan graves and petroglyphs of very large sea ships have been found in today’s Sweden. Back in 1700 BCE, only the Minoan ships fit that depiction.

The Minoans were great craftsmen and engineers. This is undisputed as the Minoan ceramics, jewels, artifacts, and constructions unearthed are astonishing.

This little gold pendant from Malia (~1800 BCE), IMO, is the epitome of the Minoan micro-jewelry and is hauntingly beautiful. If you ever visit Crete, go to the Heraklion Museum.

The palatial complex at Knossos. The main Minoan cities were unique as they were built in a form of complexes including the royal residence, shops, workshops, warehouses, residents, and more. The interior facilities had no match for many millennia ahead…

There are strong indications of advanced technology. Otherwise, how could they make items like this 1.3 inches agate seal with microscopic carved details?

The Greek legends about Daedalus and his achievements (the construction of the Labyrinth, the robot Talos, and the flying device/wings) enhance this notion. The Greeks showed great respect for the Minoan technology although they seemed relieved when they got rid of them!

The lack of deciphered scripts (apart from an interesting metric system) doesn’t allow us to make solid conclusions about their scientific knowledge.

Let’s sum it up till now; the Minoans are (for sure) olive skin and dark-haired people, travelers, merchants, craftsmen, and probably primitive scientists. This was the easy part, as all the above facts came directly from excavation findings or lab analysis.

 The discussion of topics such as the Minoan regime, religion, and society are tricky, because the lack of written texts and references can’t be replaced by archaeology.

However, there are two commonly believed assumptions that archaeology has debunked.

Were the Minoans a peaceful people?

Sir Arthur Evans claimed that there weren’t any fortifications on the island and very few weapons were found in the Minoan cemeteries, so, they must be a peaceful society. This is not true. In the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE the Minoans conquered the Cycladic islands, and Greek myths talk about fierce rivalry between them and the Mycenaeans. And there were fortifications on the island, unearthed by Sir Arthur Evans!

Evans was a skilled archaeologist, applied pioneer methods, and did remarkable, monumental work on Crete and was the single most influential person to have shaped modern understanding of the Minoan civilization. Why did he disguise the truth? The explanation has a political origin. The discovery of the warlike Mycenaean world by an amateur archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, launched the prehistoric Aegean to take center stage.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Mediterranean and Balkans were ravaged by conflict between the weakening Ottoman Empire and subject nations struggling to gain independence. Sir Arthur had already experienced first-hand the terrible ethnically- and religiously-driven conflict in the Balkans, and again on Crete, and hoped his excavation at Knossos could reveal the oldest European civilization to be a place of peace and unity.

The impact of Evan’s vision can be seen at its most literal at the site of Knossos as his arbitrary “reconstitutions” are criticized by many scholars but visitors remain enchanted by them.

Were the Minoans a cheerful society?

The truth is that the colorful frescoes and pottery depict scenes of smiling people engaged in everyday activities. But the Minoans had a nightmare, the earthquakes!

This is Crete, a mountainous island of ~8,500 km2 in the middle of the Eastern Mediterranean.

It lies within the uplifted fore-arc section of the Hellenic subduction margin. In simple words, it is exactly where the African oceanic plate runs into and slides beneath the continental Eurasian one. As a result, it is the most seismically active region of Europe, the island is literally trembling, a fact that the Minoans took seriously during construction. Their anti-seismic constructions were ahead of their contemporaries.

When the anti-seismic skills were not enough, the Minoans asked their deities for protection, offering them the ultimate sacrifice, human lives!

Those were the Minoans…bright and dark, victims and killers. More than a hundred years after they entered the world of history, emerging from mythology, they still keep a lot of secrets and surprises from us. This only makes them even more fascinating….