Research Paper On Minoan Civilization

One may ask, who are the Minoans? Well they are considered by many Historians and Archeologists to be the first great European Civilization. Some people believed that this was the mythical land of Atlantis. They were located near the Aegean Sea and lands such as Greece, Troy and Asia Minor. One interesting fact is that these people never called themselves the Minoans. There wasn’t any name listed in the history books for these people but the Ancient Crete Civilization. They were known as the Crete Civilization because they lived on the island of Crete which is now part of Greece. It wasn’t until a 19th century British Archeologist, Sir Author Evans gave them the name, The Minoans. He gave them this name because he believed he had found the legendary palace of King Minos. There has been many civilization collapses over the World’s history, but most can be explained in great detail. There are some that are very mysterious and not definitively explained. The collapse of the Minoan people happens to be one of those mysterious collapses which ranks 3rd in the top ten most mysterious collapses of the world and is still to this day debated on what actually caused their demise. There are many factors that go into the collapse of a civilization, but this kind of catastrophe doesn’t just happen in a blink of an eye this is something that happens over a long period of time. This paper will touch on the climate and environment, the time period and culture, how they became

(Bright, Hilda, and Helen Pocock.) The Minoans were the first advanced society in Europe 's history. The Minoans were found throughout mainland Greece and throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the island of Crete. Around the year 6500 the Cretans were documented in hunting, fishing, and engaged in pagan worship. In the year 3000 B.C. and the years following, immigrants from Northern Africa came to Crete. They were skilled in Bronze making. This would soon lead to the Bronze Age and the Greek empire would grow and become more powerful. In the years after 2000 B.C. is when most of the palaces and the other artifacts that are still visible today were made. (Kyriakopoulos, Victoria. pg. 23-24)

Civilization flourished during the Neolithic period (7,000-3,000 BCE) (Orfeas Organisation-Greece, n.d.). The Bronze Age (3,000-1,100 BCE.), “saw major advances in social, economic, and technological advances that made Greece the hub of activity in the Mediterranean” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). During this time period, there were three different civilizations that identified people at this time. These three civilizations were called the Cycladic civilization which was developed in the Aegean Islands; the Minoans which occupied Crete; and the Helladic which was the civilization of the Greek midland (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Helladic civilization was also called the “Age of Hero’s”, during the Mycenaean era. The Helladic civilization was the source of the mythological heroes such as Hercules, and epics such as the Odyssey (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The considered first most advanced civilization in Europe was the Minoans (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Mycenaean philosophy (para. 2) “had a great deal of influence with its legends and Greek language on what later became the splendor of Classical Greece” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The culture that outlasted the Cyclades and the Minoans where the Mycenaeans. They had lengthened their impact over the mainland, Aegean Islands, Crete and the shore of Asia Minor by the end of the 10th c.

The Greeks created first democracy in the world. People voted for their leaders, and were involved in public life. Greeks philosopher provided the origin of western philosophy, medicine, and natural sciences. Greek architecture is evident in every court in the U.S. Greeks invented drama. Drama is the form of tragedy and comedy. Minoan culture around (2000 B.C.E. - 1400 B.C.E.) was earliest civilization in the Aegean region emerged on the large island of Crete. By 2800 B.C.E., to make weapons they used metals, especially bronze. Minoan had many trade networks. The peasant paid high taxes. Mycenaean culture around (1600 B.C.E- 1100 B.C.E.) was highly militaristic society. The king collected taxes and controlled bronze and wooden production. The

Minoan civilization was advanced for their time and they had many great achievements. As a result of being an island nation, they built a large sea empire based on trade. There were two versions of Minoan writing: An older script called Linear A, which has never been deciphered. Newer than Linear A, but much older than ancient Greek, which it is the earliest form of, was Linear B, which has been deciphered. The center of their empire was a huge palace located in a place called Knossos. Knossos had a working plumbing system. The palace was between 3 and 4 stories tall, which was large for the time. The minoans painted frescoes on walls of the palace and created art on

The Minoans were a civilization who flourished from 3000 BCE until 1100 BCE on the island of Crete, were greatly influenced by the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Syrians and the Anatolians (Britannica Encyclopedia). This civilization made major contributions to Western European development in the areas of language, architecture and art. It was the famous archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans who made the astounding discoveries at Knossos in the early 1900’s that introduced to the world the fascinating and wonderful sophistication of these early Greeks (Britannica Encyclopedia). The history of the island has been molded by its proximity to the Aegean Sea. Its geographical location gave it control over the sea and the lucrative trade routes. The Minoans traded with Egypt, the Levant, the Aegean, and beyond to Italy, and Sicily.

Minotaur: The Minotaur is a half-bull, and a half-human monster that was born from the union of Minos’s wife, Pasiphae, and the Cretan bull. He lived in the Labyrinth made by the architect, Daedalus, and eat the children that are offered as a sacrifice by Athens.

Which was located on the north coast and had been occupied in the Neolithic period but the had been built over with multiple Bronze Age Structures. Evans called the complex a “Palace, a some believed to have been the home of the mythical King Minos. It was because of this theory that he named the culture found on the island, Minoan. These palaces are now considered by some to have been the administrative centers and living quarters of hereditary rules while others believe that Crete was not ruled by kings but a confederation of aristocratic

Centralized power in myriad amounts of ancient cultures serves as a ‘norm’ for most. In times during the Minoan civilization, and the Mycenaean civilization, the idea of having a centralized power, or at least some sort of hierarchy that is evident, had had multiple disputes to whether or not such a government was favored. Minoans and Mycenaean’s often had problems with such centralized powers, that it caused a focal discussion of whether or not a hierarchy of such should be established. For both sides of the argument, there served multiple points of validity for and against a centralized government, especially referring to shipping goods, the manufacturing and usage of the goods, and the culture behind either one.

contact with the gods when statues of the gods were carried through the streets to be

The Minoans lived on the Greek island of Crete. Their civilization was advanced for its time, they had running water and flushing toilets. They had a strong navy and they were ruled by a king. They created beautiful artwork and statues. Their capital was Knossos. The Minoans had a written language, we have learned much about them from their written records.

The Minoan society was located on the island of Crete around 2200 BCE. They were the center of maritime trade during this time as well. The Minoans used an undeciphered syllabic alphabet called Linear A. A decline in their society was caused by a series of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,and tidal waves. Foreign invasions started to take place because they wanted the Minoans riches. They were almost completely dominated by foreign forces by 1100 BCE. The Mycenaean people flourished around the same time as the Minoans. The Mycenaean took Linear A and mixed it with their own language to for a written language known as Linear B. There was military expansion throughout the region, and they engage in a conflict with troy, called the Trojan War around 1200 BCE. Because of this war, there was chaos throughout the region from about 1100 to 800 BCE. This causes political instability in the area, so people migrate out, and the Mycenaean civilization disappears along with Linear A and Linear B.

Did you know Mesopotamians are responsible for many innovations that have left an imprint for all following decades to come? Mesopotamia is known as the earliest time birthplace of human civilization. It is the birth to the sprawling and advancing tradition of jewel making. The jewelry might even give us a hint about there Mesopotamian enormous wealth, jewel use of Mesopotamia was not confined only to nobility, royalty and religious leaders as was the case in similar civilizations of that time (most notably Egypt). There were over 459 items of gold and silver jewelry weighing around 22.5 kilograms! These included a single gold crown and diadem, 14 amulets, 79 earrings, 90 necklaces, 30 rings, and 15 gold or rock-crystal vessels. Mesopotamian

Ancient civilizations have had profound effects of what we know as the modern world today. The primary purpose for anything that lives is to survive. Throughout history animals, plants and humans have adapted to their surroundings. All living things have changed throughout time. The thing that differs humans from rest is, humans are more cognitively advanced. Over the course of time the shape and size of the human skull has changed. The size of the human brain has increased, which has allowed humans to adapt more to their surroundings. To survive, humans were making tools for hunting and to cut with. The closer you lived to the equator the darker your skin may have been, so you could adapt to the intensity of the sun’s rays. If you lived further

History Of Architecture The famous PAX MINOICA - prevailed throughout the island, which facilitated the great cultural development, the charming, refined way of life of the Minoans. A variety of pottery styles developed: the marine style, with its lively motifs derived from the world of the deep sea (octopuses, tritons, star fishes, sea-snails, rocks,