MINOAN CIVILIZATION
existed in the 2nd millennium BC, with its center on the island of Crete. The first great civilization on European soil, the predecessor of the culture of ancient Greece. Crete is located in the Mediterranean Sea 100 km south of mainland Greece. It is a narrow, mountainous island stretching from west to east with a favorable climate for agriculture, fairly fertile soil and excellent shallow harbors along the deeply indented northern coast. Here, having originated ca. 4000 years ago, a civilization developed, flourished and died out, now known as the Minoan. The Minoans were a seafaring people, with a highly developed and complex religious system and strong trading traditions. During the era when the Minoans reached their maximum power, their fleets sailed from Sicily and Greece to Asia Minor, Syria, Phenicia and Egypt. Minoan artisans produced not only mass production, but also ceramics with amazingly beautiful paintings, and an extremely diverse range of carved gems for religious purposes and decorations; they built magnificent palaces, and painted the walls with exquisite frescoes. The archaeological discovery of the Minoan civilization did not take place until 1900, despite the fact that Greek myths and literature were from the very beginning filled with tales of the wealth and power of Crete. At the dawn of Greek literature, Homer's Iliad mentions King Minos, who ruled the city of Knossos several generations before the Trojan War. According to Greek myth, Minos was the son of the Phoenician princess Europa and the god Zeus, who, transforming into a white bull, kidnapped her and took her to Crete. In that era, Minos was the most powerful sovereign. He forced Athens to regularly pay him tribute, sending young men and women who became food for the bull-headed monster Minotaur. Athens was freed from this duty after the hero Theseus killed the Minotaur with the help of Minos' daughter Ariadne. Minos was served by the cunning master Daedalus, who built a labyrinth where the Minotaur was caught. In the 19th century few serious scholars believed that these legends had any historical basis. Homer was a poet, not a historian, and it was believed that great cities, wars and heroes were entirely the product of his imagination. However, Heinrich Schliemann believed Homer's account of the Trojan War. In 1873, he discovered the ruins of Troy in Asia Minor at exactly the place where Homer had placed Troy, and in 1876 he repeated the same thing in Mycenae, the city ruled by King Agamemnon, who led the united Greek army against Troy. Homer's prestige was restored. Schliemann's discoveries inspired the wealthy English antiquarian and journalist Arthur Evans, who decided that since Troy really existed, then Knossos could also exist. In 1900 Evans began excavations on the island. The result was the discovery of a colossal palace and an abundance of paintings, pottery, jewelry and texts. However, the discovered civilization was clearly not Greek, and Evans called it Minoan, after the legendary king Minos.
The emergence of the Minoan civilization. The first inhabitants of Crete who left material evidence were farmers who used stone tools, who appeared here long before 3000 BC. Neolithic settlers used adzes and axes made of ground stone and produced beautifully polished and decorated pottery. They grew wheat and raised cows, pigs and sheep. Villages appeared before 2500 BC, and the people who lived here engaged in trade (both by sea and land) with their neighbors, who taught them to use bronze, probably c. 2500 BC The Early Bronze Age culture of Crete posed a puzzle to those who studied the Minoan civilization after Evans. Many scholars continue to follow Evans and call this period the Early Minoan, dating it from approximately 3000 to 2000 BC. However, all excavations in Crete have consistently revealed that fully developed Minoan cities (such as the palace cities of Knossos, Phaistos and Mallia) are located directly above the remains of Neolithic culture. The first palaces on Crete, along with a new culture, suddenly appeared c. 1950 BC, in the absence of any traces of the gradual development of urban culture in Crete. Therefore, archaeologists have reason to believe that we can talk about the “Minoans” only after 1950 BC, but as for the so-called. the early Minoan culture can be doubted whether it was Minoan at all. But how did this urban revolution take place ca. 1950 BC? Probably, the Minoan civilization received an impetus from outsiders - powerful seafaring peoples who conquered Crete and established a thalassocracy here, a power based on dominance of the seas. Who these newcomers were remained a mystery until the decipherment of the Minoan script, known as Linear A. The Minoan language, as revealed by Linear A, turned out to be a West Semitic language, the type spoken in Phenicia and surrounding areas. It is known that until the 18th century. scientists agreed with the evidence of the ancient Greeks, who spoke of their cultural dependence on the ancient Near East. For example, the Greeks called their alphabet Phoenician, or Cadmus letters - after Cadmus, a Phoenician prince who founded a dynasty in Thebes. The Minoan newcomers were seafarers from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. They brought most of the innovations to Crete and established extensive cultural and trade relations with the entire Mediterranean. By the end of the 3rd millennium BC. The eastern Mediterranean became the center of world history. Along its shores there had already been a fusion of impulses emanating from Egypt, Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, and a whole group of peoples, extremely diverse in ethnic origin and language, were forming new combinations. Such a composite culture was also characteristic of newcomers already involved in the system of trade relations. For example, Ugarit, a busy port in northern Syria, conducted active trade with Crete, thanks to which there was an influx of new ideas and practical skills not only from the shores of Syria and Palestine, but also from Egypt and Mesopotamia. The personal names of the Minoan texts come from throughout the Near East. Common West Semitic names found here include Da-we-da (David) and Gu-pa-nu (Gupan); the name Gupan also appears in texts from Ugarit. The Phoenician goddess Tinit appears as Ti-ni-ta. The Northwestern Semitic god Yam(mu) is written here as Ya-mu. At least two names found on the Linear A tablets, Da-ku-se-nй and Su-ki-ri-te-se-ya, are Hurrian, i.e. belong to a non-Semitic people who occupied a prominent place throughout the Middle East, from Asia Minor to Egypt, throughout the 2nd millennium BC. Egyptian names are also found, such as Ne-tu-ri-Re (meaning "Sun is divine"). Minoan art shows close connections with Egypt: some frescoes depict Egyptian reeds and Egyptian cats. The Minoan religion was closely associated with Canaan. Unlike the Greek Zeus, the Cretan Zeus is born and dies like Baal (Bel) of the Canaanites. It was generally accepted that a charming goddess with raised arms spread to the sides and bare breasts, dressed in a frilly skirt, headed the local pantheon in Minoan Crete. Before Linear A was deciphered, such interpretations were generally uncontested. However, an extremely important result of archaeological excavations was overlooked. There are absolutely no cult statues in the palace sanctuaries; Moreover, there is not even a pedestal on which such a statue could be placed. Archaeological evidence from Jewish sanctuaries indicates that the results of excavations in Crete may be interpreted differently. The Minoan U-shaped "horns of dedication" cannot be separated from the Jewish altar horns mentioned in Psalms 117, 27 and preserved at the corners of stone altars of excavated Jewish sanctuaries. Archaeologists have found figurines depicting the naked fertility goddess Astarte in the homes of ancient Jews up to the period of the destruction of the first Temple (586 BC. ). However, we know from the Bible that the official cult of Yahweh was aniconic (i.e., not associated with images), and no cult statues of Yahweh (identified with El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon) have been found. While the Minoans were more polytheistic than the ancient Hebrews, Linear A tablets found at Agia Triad suggest that most sacrifices were made not to goddesses, but to the male deity A-du (pronounced Ah-duu or Hah -duu"), which was in the Ugaritic texts another name for Baal, the most active god in the Canaanite pantheon. In Hesiod's Theogony, the first king of the gods was Uranus, who was succeeded by Kronos. This latter gave birth to Zeus, who replaced him, who was born on Mount Dikte in Crete. The prototype of this genealogy is the Hurrian myth of Kumarbi. Since Hesiod's story has a Hurrian source, since he places the birthplace of Zeus in Crete, and since myths usually carefully preserve the names of places, it is clear that this tale was not brought to Greece by travelers or visiting merchants, but arrived with the Hurrians, who settled in Minoan Crete. Throughout their glorious history, the Minoans have experienced both ups and downs. Outside the Aegean Sea basin, 11 colonies that belonged to them are known, widely spread across the eastern and central Mediterranean. During excavations, their palaces were discovered in the eastern part of Crete - in Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia and Zakro. Minoan finds (including texts) made near Chania suggest that there was a palace in the west. Objects related to the Minoan civilization were also discovered on other islands of the southern Aegean Sea, most notably Thera, Melos, Kythera, Keos and Rhodes. The most important are the excavations carried out at Fera. As a result of a volcanic explosion in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. the middle of the island disappeared, and the rest of it was covered with volcanic ash, which buried the city that existed here. The catastrophe that befell the Minoans preserved significant fragments of their culture intact. The frescoes at Fera are extremely remarkable. Particularly noteworthy is the depiction of ships, which depict both a pleasure boat trip of the nobility and a warship in the heat of battle. Judging by the inscriptions from which we draw information about the life of Crete, it seems doubtful that the vast Minoan "empire" was ruled from a single center. Much more plausible is the assumption that the Minoan state was formed by a confederation of city-states such as Knossos, Mallia and Phaistos. We know the names of several kings, the most famous of whom was Minos. This name was borne by at least two kings, and it is possible that the word "minos" became a general designation for the ruler. Although the center of Minoan civilization was Crete, the culture spread to many islands and coastal areas of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea as a whole, as well as to at least one inland area beyond the Jordan. The powerful culture of seafarers does not lend itself to precise localization: archaeological evidence, and in some cases written sources found in very remote areas, speak of the relations that the Minoans maintained with the regions of Greece, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Babylon and others countries. Most of the graphic images of the Minoans discovered outside the sphere of the Minoan civilization are concentrated in Egypt. Thus, the paintings in the tomb of Senmut, the architect and confidant of Queen Hatshepsut (reigned c. 1503-1482 BC), depict Minoans bringing gifts. The Minoans conducted active trade, their large merchant fleet went to sea with valuable cargo - ceramics, metal products, wine, olive oil, in order to exchange them overseas for copper, tin, ivory and gold. Minoan trading ships typically had a high bow, a low stern, and a projecting keel. They were propelled by oarsmen sitting in two rows and a sail. The successes of the Minoans in the field of military affairs were not limited to the fleet. For a long time, the Cretans were famous as skilled archers and slingers. Their compound bow was so well known that texts from Ugarit say that it was made by the god Kothar-va-Hasis in Crete.
Life Judging by the pictorial
the art of the Minoans themselves, they were graceful and cheerful people. Both men and women wore long hair, but women styled it in especially varied ways, styling it in ringlets and curls. The men's clothing consisted practically only of a wide leather waist belt and a leather codpiece. Women wore long, colorful skirts with frills, and a bodice that left their arms and chest bare.
The urban community consisted of the upper class (which included the royal family, nobility and priests), the middle class and slaves. As one might assume, women were equal to men in their position in society; they participated in all types of activities, including the most dangerous types of athletic activities. Farmers living in rural areas grew wheat and barley, as well as olives, almonds and grapes. In addition, they produced wool and flax for textile production. In the cities there were sophisticated craftsmen, carvers of precious stones and ivory, painters, goldsmiths, and manufacturers of stone vases and goblets. Dancing and athletics such as fist fighting were popular. The main sport was bull jumping. A young man or woman would stand in front of the charging bull and grab it by the horns; when the bull swung its head, the jumper did a somersault over the horns, pushed off the bull's back with his hands, and landed on his feet behind the bull.
The most complete picture of life in Minoan Crete was provided by archaeological excavations carried out in Gournia, a city in the eastern part of Crete. A palace, a public square, a sanctuary, and a characteristic labyrinth of houses built from rubble stone and mud brick have been discovered here.
Religion. The Minoans worshiped many gods, some of which can be traced back to ancient times. Our information about these gods is scanty, but by noting similarities with more famous gods in other regions of the Middle East, we can draw conclusions regarding the Cretan gods themselves and the nature of worship. Thus, in the mountain sanctuaries they worshiped the widely revered god (Y)a-sa-sa-la-mu (pronounced “ya-sha-sha-la-muu”), whose name means “He Who Gives Welfare.” At least six Minoan cult objects are dedicated to him - stone tables for libation, etc. The most widely known Minoan deity is the goddess, usually depicted in a frilly skirt, with raised arms spread to the sides, with snakes often entwined around her body and arms. Her figurines became a symbol of the Minoan civilization. This goddess, like Yashashalam, may also be of Semitic origin, since she appears on cylinder seals from Mesopotamia earlier than the images from Crete. Sometimes Minoan artists depicted her standing on a mountain surrounded by animals.
The name Dagon, mentioned in the Bible as the god of the Philistines, appears on Minoan tablets in the form Da-gu-na. This is also a widely revered Semitic deity: Ugaritic myths call him the father of the fertility god Baal. Some beliefs common in Minoan Crete survived until antiquity. Hesiod and other Greek poets mention myths that say that the god Zeus was not only born in Crete, but died and was buried there. The story of Zeus usurping the power of his father Kronos is almost an exact parallel to the myth of the Hurrian storm god Teshub, who in exactly the same way displaces his father Kumarbi. Hesiod associates this event with Crete, and his account includes many of the unsavory details of the original, leaving no doubt as to the source of the later myth. A common feature characteristic of the Minoan religion was the worship of nature - sacred trees, springs and stone pillars. Unlike many ancient inhabitants of the Middle East, the Minoans did not erect majestic temples to their gods. They performed joint religious actions on palace grounds, in cave sanctuaries, in house temples, in chapels built over the sources of streams, but primarily in sanctuaries on the peaks. Small temples built on mountain peaks are a characteristic feature of the Canaanite religion, and may be compared to the "high hills" upon which the prophets of Israel furiously attacked, because of their practice of worship. The bull played an important role in Minoan religion. Greek myths associated with Crete often revolve around a bull, as in the case of Zeus' abduction of Europa or the legend of the Minotaur. Minoan altars and the roofs of sanctuaries often had horn-like projections, which may have come from the horns of the sacred bull and were usually called horns of dedication. Even the Minoan bull jumping had, in addition to the athletic, also a religious side.
Art. Minoan art is the most joyful and radiant of all ancient arts. In the relief image of a vase from Agia Triada we see a procession of farmers at a harvest festival. A typically Minoan detail on this vase is the image of a drunken reveler, buried in the ground and sleeping. Minoan frescoes invariably amaze with their freshness and naturalness. Boys and girls carefreely jump over the horns of bulls rushing at them; a Cretan goat jumps on the rocks; dolphins and flying fish glide through the waves. An important artistic convention introduced by the Minoans was the depiction of animals galloping. This technique, which so successfully depicts the swiftness of movement, spread from here to Egypt, Persia, Siberia, China and Japan. The Minoans also used static patterns - zigzags, cross-hatching and other linear means known from Middle Eastern painted pottery. Bright, saturated colors were used in Minoan art not only in frescoes, but also in architecture and on pottery made on the potter's wheel. The fact that the Minoans often painted men red and women yellow was not just a convention. Following a widespread ancient custom, Minoan men painted their bodies red for ceremonial purposes, while women painted their bodies yellow. This is exactly how people are depicted on the sarcophagus from Agia Triada, where they carry calves and other gifts and play lyres on the occasion of the prince’s funeral. In addition, the Minoans produced an extremely diverse range of pottery, seals, stone vessels, metal tools and jewelry, thus continuing the indigenous craft traditions that preceded the rise of the Minoan civilization.
Architecture. The most remarkable examples of Minoan architecture are found among the remains of palace cities, such as Knossos and Mallia in the north, Phaistos and Agia Triada in the south of Crete. The Minoans, in fact, were not involved in urban planning. The head of the community chose the best place for his palace, and his relatives and retinue built houses around the palace. For this reason, cities had a radial layout, with streets originating from the palace in the center and connected by more or less concentric alleys.
Palace cities were usually located inland, and were connected to port cities by paved roads. A notable exception to this rule is Mallia: the coastal plain here is so narrow that Mallia was also a port. The largest Minoan palaces are colossal labyrinthine systems of rooms; perhaps they served as a model for the Minotaur’s labyrinth. This “accumulative” principle of construction has become characteristic, probably, since the late Neolithic, when the first villages appeared on Crete. Minoan buildings were several stories high (which is how they are preserved on Thera) and had flat roofs. Palaces could be built from cut stone, but the lower floors of ordinary houses, as a rule, were built from rough stone. Raw brick was used for the upper floors, sometimes even during the construction of a palace. In some cases, to provide at least partial protection from earthquakes, the walls of palaces were strengthened with interlocking wooden ties. Among the Minoan palaces, the most famous is Knossos (Palace of King Minos). The original appearance of the palace can be guessed from the appearance that the palace acquired ca. 1700 BC, when it was destroyed by an earthquake or series of earthquakes and then rebuilt. The palace, built around a large rectangular open courtyard, was almost square in plan, each side measuring approx. 150 m. The halls and state rooms were located at least two floors above the courtyard. A beautiful and majestic staircase, formed by many flights, built after the first destruction of the palace, led from these chambers down into an open courtyard, on the sides of which were erected two rows of rather short columns, gradually tapering from a wide top to a narrow base. The light well in this courtyard is a typically Minoan solution to the problem of illuminating a large number of interior spaces. The paved road leading from the palace was carried along a viaduct made of huge stone blocks across a deep ravine and connected to the large road that crossed the island, which led from Knossos to Festus.
In the Throne Room there is a unique throne made of plaster, flanked by frescoes depicting griffins. A wooden throne once stood in the Hall of Double Axes located in the residential part of the palace (so named because a mason’s mark was discovered on the stones of its light well - an ax with two blades). In fact, it was a deep portico, facing east. A narrow passage leads from it into a small, elegantly decorated room called the Queen's Megaron, with two light wells - on the western and eastern sides. Next to it there was a small swimming pool for ablutions, and along a long corridor one could get to the toilet room: water supply and sewerage were connected here.
The earthquakes that destroyed the Palace of Knossos did not cause significant damage to the palace in Mallia, and therefore its reconstruction was much less significant. The Phaistos Palace, which was built between 1900 and 1830 BC, was so damaged by earthquakes of ca. 1700 BC, that they did not even begin to restore it, it was simply abandoned, and a new palace was built nearby, in Agia Triada.
Writing and language. The earliest Cretan writing is pictographs, usually on clay tablets, dating back to around 2000 BC. These pictograms are usually called Cretan hieroglyphs. They appear to be mostly of local origin, although some symbols are similar to Egyptian ones. We find a special and one-of-a-kind pictographic letter, presumably of a later type, on the so-called. The Phaistos disc, a round clay tablet (diameter 16 cm), on both sides of which pictograms are pressed using seals. Deciphering the linear script associated with these pictograms in the future raises hopes for solving the riddle of the disk.
Hieroglyphs were replaced by linear writing, developed on their basis; this happened in Knossos ca. 1700 BC, in Festus somewhat earlier. This script, called Linear A, still retains traces of its pictographic origins; it appears on a number of clay tablets dating from 1750 to 1400 BC. Around 1450 BC at Knossos, along with Linear A, Linear B also began to be used. Texts written in Linear B were also discovered in continental Greece, and this led many scientists to believe that some form of Greek corresponded to this writing. The themes addressed in the Minoan texts, written both on clay tablets and on stone religious objects, are mainly economy and religion. About 20 cult objects come from different places scattered throughout central and eastern Crete. More than 200 household tablets, mostly receipts and inventories, were found in several places in the eastern half of the island. Far superior to all others is the collection of tablets from Agia Triada - approx. 150 economic and administrative clay documents.
Mycenaeans and the decline of the Minoan civilization. At some point after 1900 B.C. From the Balkan region, or perhaps from more distant regions in the east, Greek-speaking peoples invaded continental Greece. Spreading from Macedonia to the Peloponnese, they founded many cities, such as Pylos, Tiryns, Thebes and Mycenae. These Greeks, whom Homer calls Achaeans, are now commonly called Mycenaeans. The warlike Mycenaeans were at first relatively uncivilized, but from about 1600 BC. they entered into various contacts with the Minoans, as a result of which their culture on the continent underwent dramatic changes. Period from 1550 to ca. 1050 BC in Crete, some scientists call it Late Minoan. Around 1400 BC The Mycenaeans captured Knossos, and from that moment on, Crete was the birthplace of the united Minoan-Mycenaean culture. We primarily associate Linear B with this date and the following two or three centuries: the Mycenaean Greeks adapted the Cretan script to their own language. Between 1375 and 1350 BC the power of the Minoans was undermined. The Thera eruption covered eastern and central Crete with a thick layer of volcanic sediment, rendering the soil barren. The eruption also caused a devastating tidal wave, which caused a lot of trouble not only in nearby Crete, but throughout the entire eastern Mediterranean. Another factor that contributed to the decline of the Minoans was the constant influx of Mycenaeans from the continent. Mycenaean culture continued to flourish. The Trojan War occurred ca. 1200 BC, and Homer mentions that King Idomeneo of Crete arrived with a force of Mycenaeans to help the Greeks. The collapse of the Mycenaeans occurred around 1200 BC, when they were defeated by the invading Dorians, the last Greek-speaking people to come to Greece from the north, after which Greece itself and Crete entered the so-called period. "Dark Ages", which lasted over 300 years. Whatever the details, it appears that the collapse of the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures provoked a series of mass migrations of the so-called. "Sea Peoples" who crushed the Hittite power in Asia Minor, threatened Egypt and changed the course of history in the Middle East. One of the most important of these migrations was that of two Aegean peoples, known to history as the Philistines and Danites, who threatened the Nile Delta during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses III (c. 1194-1162 BC). The Egyptians eventually repelled this attack, after which these peoples traveled northeast to settle on the southern coast of Palestine (a word derived from "Philistia"). The Philistines constantly fought with the Jewish tribes, but the Danites broke away from them and moved into the depths of the continent; they later united with the Jews, forming the tribe of Dan. The Philistines and Danites, former allies, became inveterate enemies. Samson, the greatest Danite hero in the fight against the Philistines, appears in the Bible as one of the "judges" of Israel. Minoan history has a very interesting afterword. In two cities of eastern Crete, Pres and Drer, pockets of Minoan Semites survived, who lived side by side with Greek neighbors. Two linguistically different communities in both cities left inscriptions. Scholars have given the non-Greek language its proper name: “Eteocritan,” which means “genuinely (or originally) Cretan.” Both inscriptions are composed using the same familiar letters of the Greek alphabet. Among the inscriptions from Drer there are two Eteocritan-Greek bilinguals. Eteocritan texts date from c. 600-300 BC Even in Roman times, it was widely known that the old non-Greek language on Crete was a Semitic language. In a literary hoax dating back to the 4th century. AD, notes on the Trojan War by Dictys of Crete, allegedly a companion of the Cretan king Idomeneo, claim that their original, written in “Phoenician letters,” was found by shepherds in the tomb of Dictys near Knossos. This is the last fragment of the Minoan civilization that has reached us.
Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .
Early Minoan period (XXX–XXIII). The original population of Crete is usually called the Minoans, who created a very developed archaeological Minoan culture. At the beginning of the 3rd millennium, in Crete, as in many parts of the globe, the production of copper, and later bronze, was developed. From the second half of the 3rd millennium, cities appeared on Crete, as well as private property. The first kings begin to rule on Crete ( basilei), who lived in cities Knossos, Mallia and Phaistos.
Middle Minoan period (XXII–XVIII). Wheat is already being sown in Crete. Horticulture and viticulture are developing; They raise small livestock, mainly sheep and goats.
The potter's wheel is widely used in the craft, bronze casting is developing, and jewelry production is reaching a high level. The construction industry is being improved: large structures are being built in Knossos, Mallia and Phaistos, according to which the Middle Minoan period is designated as "the period of old palaces" . “Palaces” were centers around which, like around temples in the East, the economic life of the island’s population was concentrated. The peculiarity of Crete at this time is the complete no traces of combat. The settlements, despite their massiveness, were not specially fortified.
External relations Crete mainly carried out with Asia Minor and Egypt. In Asia Minor, the Cretans traded with the population of the famous Troy and the Hittites, and in the Eastern Mediterranean - with Cyprus and the Syrian kingdoms. Trade relations with Egypt were very developed: timber, painted dishes and other things were imported from Crete to Egypt, where the 12th dynasty ruled (XIX–XVIII centuries BC). The pharaohs sent ambassadors to Crete and had their permanent representation on the island.
Late Minoan period (XVII–XII). Near 1700 The fire and destruction of the large above-mentioned palaces in Knossos, Phaistos and Mallia are archaeologically recorded. The fire was associated with an earthquake or internal strife, which could coincide. In their previous form, “palaces” cease to exist. They are rebuilt, so the beginning of the Late Minoan time ( XVII–XV centuries BC) also called period"new palaces" , when the Cretan states experienced maximum prosperity.
Actively developing shipbuilding– the period of Crete’s dominion at sea begins, thalassocracy. Cargo and warships are being built (the military had rams installed on their bows). Greek legislators of subsequent times referred to Minos as the creator of the most ancient laws of Greece. The king combined the functions of a priest and a secular ruler, so Cretan society can be calledtheocratic . All representatives of the royal dynasty bore the name of Minos.
A network of roads is being built in Crete - one of the first indicators of production growth. The development of ties with Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean continues: in Ugarite(Syria) there was a whole settlement of Cretan traders.
Creto-Mycenaean writing. Already in the 3rd millennium BC, picture writing was recorded on Crete - pictography, – later evolved into ideographic. WITH XVIII V. BC, on the basis of this tradition, real Cretan writing appears, called Linear A. It represented syllabic writing, in which the sign meant a syllable. Letter A has not yet been deciphered. WITH XV century, another type of writing appears - Linear B. Letter B is proto-Greek, although it contains a certain number of pre-Indo-European words. One sign, as in letter A (the connection with which is obvious), meant a syllable; at the end of each line there could be ideograms- schematic drawings that explained what was written.
The Cretan-Mycenaean script is called linear because it consisted of lines written on clay tablets.
The death of the Cretan civilization. In the middle XV V. A catastrophe occurs in Crete. It is explained by an earthquake caused by a powerful volcanic eruption Santorini, located 110 kilometers north of Knossos, on the island Fera. It is possible, although doubtful, that this caused the earthquake in Crete. On the other hand, the eruption could create a large wave - a tsunami that washed away the palaces. And after the disaster, the Achaeans could come to Crete to plunder. There is a mystery going back to this incident. Atlantis.
After the disaster, Crete never recovered. Unlike the previous cataclysm, when the palaces were rebuilt, Crete ceases to exist as an independent large state: its era is ending. After the destruction of the palaces, the northeastern part of Crete is populated by the Achaean population, who moved from mainland Greece - the Cretan civilization, although it continues to exist until XII century, however, is no longer independent.
The long Neolithic period on the island was replaced by the brilliant Minoan era, whose name comes from the name of the mythical king Minos, ruler of the kingdom and the palace of Knossos.
The Minoan civilization was established and flourished from 2900 BC. to 1100 BC, a period of more than 1500 years.
The Minoan period is divided into four main periods:
Pre-palatial period (3300 - 2000 BC)
Old Palace period (2000 - 1750 BC)
New Palace period (1750 - 1490 BC)
Post-palatial period (1490 - 1100 BC)
The excavations of the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans shed light for the first time on a culture whose existence was previously known only from the Homeric epic and the Greek myth of the Minotaur.
The Minotaur, half man and half bull, devoured young men and women who were brought to him as tribute from mainland Greece.
Evans, at the beginning of the last century, found the ruins of the Palace of Knossos, which existed on the island of Crete since 1700 BC. and after.
The Palace of Knossos had a water and sewer network that was more advanced than any other built in Europe during the Roman era. The walls were elaborately decorated with frescoes depicting the Minoans as a happy and peaceful people who lived in harmony with nature, had an obvious penchant for dancing, and enjoyed large public festivals and sporting events.
The structure of the Palace of Knossos seemed chaotic and complex to the first visitors and perhaps this fact gave rise to the myth of the famous labyrinth.
What was not suitable for growing grain crops was ideal for vines or olives. From then until today, oil and wine are the main agricultural products grown and exported from Crete
Sea
The Minoans soon realized that the sea that surrounded them and which they still feared was in fact their new best friend. The sea was an effective deterrent to invasions than any of the fortifications.
During the development and prosperity of civilization, the Minoans did not have to build walls around their cities. Thanks to the sea, the Minoans established cultural ties with other countries. Gradually they became virtuosos in shipbuilding, and the Minoan civilization became one of the first civilizations to base its development on the commercial fleet. The Minoans quickly colonized the nearby Aegean islands, the Cyclades, and began trading with Egypt and Syria. It is believed that they arrived in Sicily. Profits from trade and accumulated experience allowed them to build large ports, aqueducts and impressive palaces.
The Minoan sailors were selfless and their ships were more advanced.
The frescoes depicted ships with a high bow, a short stern, a large mast in the center of the square cloth, and a large blade at the stern for the rudder.
And when the wind blew, more than 25 oarsmen on each side of the ship provided it with the necessary strength to move. High bows cut through the waves, and heavy and reliable hulls made them stronger and more stable during storms. Even the arrogant Egyptians admired the maritime abilities of the Minoans. In an Egyptian tomb, a fresco depicts a group of Minoans, whom they called "keftiu", bringing gifts to the pharaoh. It is likely that the pharaoh of Egypt hired the Minoans and their ships to transport Lebanese cedar to his country.
Character
The Minoans developed an effective central authority to manage and monitor trade transactions. The registers were written on clay tablets, initially with a writing form that looked like Egyptian hieroglyphs and after 1700 BC. - using a syllabic script known as linear.
Perhaps because of their isolation, the Minoans fought less than other peoples of the time. They never covered the walls with scenes of battles or military exploits or described military exploits.
Their favorite topics were man in his daily life or religious and sporting events, as well as images of nature - flowers, fish, birds and dolphins.
Nor did they build statues or large mounds to satisfy vanity or to emphasize someone's power. Instead, their art is dominated by portraits of charming people with long black hair, tall and slender, wearing beautiful, colorful costumes. Women in particular are depicted in colorful, stunning dresses that leave their breasts exposed, perhaps as a sign of beauty, health and fertility. The Greeks assumed that the Minoans were the origin of dance.
Minoan art is spontaneous and light, full of rhythmic movements. If you believe what is depicted on the frescoes, the Minoans were probably the happiest people of the Bronze Age.
Society
Women in Crete enjoyed more freedom than women in any other culture of this era, even more than in Egypt. Frescoes in the palaces depict them as free-spirited, dressed in elegant dresses, wearing makeup and enjoying public celebrations with men, or even taking part in sporting events and competitions.
The wall painting is characterized by the depiction of a public celebration ceremony, when crowds gathered in the square of the Palace of Knossos to watch athletes perform difficult and risky bull jumps.
Perhaps Homer intuited when he stated in the Iliad that Crete had 90 cities. However, during the zenith of the Minoan civilization (1700 - 1200 BC), the population on the island reached 250,000 people and 40,000 of them lived in Knossos.
The cream of Cretan society consisted of the noble aristocracy, priests and priestesses.
The middle class consisted of artisans, merchants and office workers, and the working class of that time consisted of farmers, shepherds and laborers. The last social class is the serfs. The latter, despite their humble position, lived better than slaves in any other Bronze Age civilization.
Crete has never experienced the social unrest and upheaval that affects most societies.
A thousand years later, Aristotle would say that the serfs of Minoan Crete received all the privileges of Minoan citizens, with the exception of two: they could not bear arms and could not take part in sports and gymnastic events.
We do not know whether all or most of the Minoans were able to live in large houses, but we are sure that many of them lived comfortably, decorating their homes with beautiful pots and gardens. There were no fireplaces for cooking in their houses. For cooking, they used separate ovens made of clay or bronze. They ate better than their contemporaries, the Egyptians of Mesopotamia. They made bread from a mixture of wheat and barley flour. Their gardens supplied lettuce, lentils, beans, peas, plums, quinces and figs. Their cows and goats provided the necessary quantities of milk from which they made their cheese. Well, the sea supplied them with octopus, squid, mussels and many types of fish. They drank mainly wine, however, due to the gradual increase in the cultivation of grain, at some point it became scarce and beer appeared.
Religion
Minoan culture, religion and politics were interconnected. The throne room of King Minos, beautiful but not particularly luxurious, was a place where, in addition to politics, religious ministers often performed important ceremonies. Sporting events also had the character of religious rituals.
The sacred animal of the Minoans of Crete was Tavros. Works of art depicting the sacred animal were everywhere throughout the palace... vases in the shape of a bull's head were used in ceremonies. The most popular sport is the bull jumping ceremony, where athletes grab the animal by the horns and perform a complex somersault along the entire body of the animal.
It is possible that King Minos wore a mask with the head of a bull, and this was a fact from which the Greeks later formed the image of the Minotaur.
We have little information about the Minoan religion in contrast to what we know about the corresponding religions of this period in the Middle East. There were no large temples or large cult statues of gods here. The main Minoans were the Great Mother Goddess, which perhaps explains the important place of women in Cretan society. Many of the statues are of women, fashionably dressed, in fancy dresses that expose their breasts, with impressive hairstyles. They often hold two snakes in both hands. This may have been an inspiration for subsequent Greek deities such as Athena, Demeter and Aphrodite. Sometimes the Mother Goddess appears with a young man who may be her son.
Ceremonies, sporting events and bulls were sacrificial in nature to allow the Mother Goddess to protect them from a series of disasters such as sunken ships, disease, agricultural failures, especially earthquakes. Such destructive earthquakes occurred in the eastern Mediterranean at regular intervals - usually such large earthquakes occurred every fifty years, and each time they buried entire cities under ruins.
The Minoans never forgot about this natural phenomenon and explained it by the existence of the huge Tavros, who lived underground and shook the world with his roar.
End of the Minoan era
Despite the sacrifices, the Minoan civilization disappeared after another natural disaster. A series of earthquakes and tremors have caused so much destruction and so many deaths that the smooth development of society on the island is interrupted. Fighting broke out between Knossos and other major Minoan cities. In the end, Knossos emerged victorious, and the other palaces on the island were destroyed. On the mainland, the Achaeans, who learned the secrets of Minoan navigation, found opportunity and understood much of the organization of the colonies of Minoan Crete, limiting economic and political power.
Around 1160 BC an even greater element came when everything that had happened before seemed insignificant. The Santorini volcano exploded 70 nautical miles north of Crete. The explosion was so large that two-thirds of the island disappeared, and the blast wave created a huge tsunami that hit the densely populated northern coast of Crete, causing widespread destruction and death. The Minoan fleet was destroyed, and the island naturally remained unprotected.
The survivors on the island were scattered in isolated settlements. Around 1100 BC The Dorian Greeks began landing on the island, whose ships began to dominate the Mediterranean Sea. The palace of Knossos was occupied by new invaders, who gradually began to displace the old inhabitants and take power on the island into their own hands.
A new era has begun not only for the island, but for all of Greece and the Mediterranean...
Minoan civilization - refers to the Aegean civilization of the Bronze Age of the island of Crete (2700-1400 BC). The main centers of culture and civilization were the so-called palaces - complex economic and political complexes, the largest of which existed in Knossos, Phaistos, Zakros and Tylissa.
Fragments of the Knossos Palace
The culture is named after the mythical king of Crete Minos, the owner of the labyrinth built, according to legend, by Daedalus.
The Minoans conducted active maritime trade (the island was located at the intersection of the main sea trade routes) and maintained friendly relations with Ancient Egypt. None of the palaces had fortifications: obviously, the inhabitants of the island felt completely safe.
Minoan civilization. Ancient Crete and its inhabitants
During the Middle Minoan period, the influence of the culture spread to mainland Greece, and during the same period the Cycladic culture was assimilated by the Minoans. The invasion of Crete by the Achaean Greeks did not lead to the decline of culture, but to a new stage in its development - the emergence of a mixed Mycenaean culture, the influence of which extended to mainland Greece, Crete, the islands of the Aegean Sea and a number of territories in the eastern Mediterranean. The native Cretans continued to play at least an important cultural role in Mycenaean Greece. After the Dorian invasion, the Minoan culture completely disappeared, and the indigenous population of Crete was assimilated by the Greeks no later than the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e.
Heritage of ancient civilizations. Minoan culture
Early period of study
At the beginning of the 19th century, historical information about Minoan Crete was collected and analyzed by Robert Pashley. Since Crete belonged to Turkey in those years, he did not have the opportunity to conduct excavations, but he managed to establish the exact location of the city of Kydonia.
The first excavations of the Knossos Palace began in 1878 by the Cretan collector of antiquities Minos Kalokerinos, but the excavations were interrupted by the Turkish government. G. Schliemann, having heard about the antiquities of the island, also wanted to conduct excavations there, but after a scandal with the illegal export of gold treasures from Turkey, the Ottoman authorities, who were in charge of Crete at that time, refused him.
The official date of the discovery of the culture is considered to be March 16, 1900, when the English archaeologist Arthur Evans began excavating the Knossos Palace.
In 1900-1920 intensive excavations of Crete were carried out, on the materials of which historians’ ideas about the Minoan civilization were based for a long time. The excavations were led by Federico Halberr, Luigi Pernier, John Pendlebury and a number of other archaeologists.
After deciphering the Cretan script
A tablet with an inscription in Cypriot-Minoan script.
A significant breakthrough in the study of Minoan civilization occurred after the 1950s. M. Ventris, with the participation of J. Chadwick, deciphered the later version of the Cretan script - Linear B. As a result, information was obtained about the later period of the Minoan civilization - the Mycenaean civilization, in which the Achaean Greeks played a dominant role, but the cultural role of the Minoans was still strong.
To this day, the question of when the Achaeans and Pelasgians took a dominant position in the Minoan civilization remains controversial; both legendary tradition and archaeological evidence indicate that this happened in Crete, before the center of power moved to Mycenae. W. Ridgway disputed the correctness of the term “Minoan civilization” created by Evans, pointing out that the legendary king Minos was not a “Minoan”, but an alien from mainland Greece; Ridgway's point of view also has modern supporters.
Chronology
The chronology of the Minoan civilization was proposed by A. Evans at the beginning of the 20th century, who divided Minoan history into the early, middle and late Minoan periods (the latter basically coincides with the existence of the Mycenaean civilization). An alternative division of Minoan history into palace periods was proposed by the Greek archaeologist N. Plato.
Preminoan period of Crete
There are no traces of people in Crete until the Neolithic. Already in the early Neolithic period, rock-cut dwellings appeared on Crete, later used as tombs. Especially many of these rock dwellings have been preserved near the city of Matala.
Caves on Matala Beach
Anatolian origins of Minoan culture
Early Minoan culture is not a direct descendant of the Neolithic culture of Crete, but was introduced from the east through Anatolia. Analogues in Mesopotamia have early Minoan clothing, architecture, carved seals, cult images, and many other features of Minoan culture.
The cult images of the bull and the “oranta” goddess (with raised hands) characteristic of the Minoan culture are found in the east of Anatolia already in the ceramic Neolithic era. In the 4th millennium BC. e. In Arslantepe, cylinder seals appeared, later widespread among the Minoans, and in the 3rd millennium BC. e. A palace is being built in Beyjesultan, the architectural features of which are reminiscent of later Minoan palaces.
Cylinder seal from Arslantepe
According to one hypothesis, the bearers of the Minoan culture are descendants of the Halaf culture, which continued the traditions of the Neolithic proto-cities of Anatolia, which, under the pressure of the ancestors of the Sumerians (Ubaid culture), migrated to the West and later moved to Crete. Such characteristic elements of Minoan culture as the cult labrys hatchet or soapstone seals were inherited from the Halaf culture.
Labrys as a symbol of Minoan culture
Beyond the scope of this hypothesis, the question remains about the emergence of seafaring traditions among the Minoans, which were absent in the Halaf culture. The influence of the neighboring Halaf culture of Fikirtepe (the cult of the “Oranta” goddess, ornament, design of residential buildings) can also be traced.
Influence of mainland Greece (Pelasgians)
On the other hand, Minoan culture was influenced by the culture of mainland Greece (“Pelasgians”). Homer mentions the Pelasgians as a people who inhabited Crete along with the Cretans themselves. The ornaments of Minoan vase painting are much more similar to the ornaments of the ceramics of mainland Greece (in particular, the Vinca culture) than with the rather poor ornamentation of the Ubaid culture.
"Pythos with medallions" in the Knossos Palace. Named for their convex disks, they belong to the Middle Minoan III or Late Minoan IA period. (photo Harrieta171)
In addition, in the names of settlements of ancient Crete there are suffixes characteristic of mainland Greece -ss-, -nth-, etc.
Cultural connections
Fresco of the Palace of Knossos Prince with lilies, dated around 1550 BC. e.
In the ancient period (late 3rd millennium BC), the Minoans apparently maintained contact with the Ocieri culture in Sardinia. The ancient tradition considered the inhabitants of Sardinia to be from Crete, which, however, gives historians little information, since Sardinia was replaced by several cultures of different origins.
According to Homer, in addition to the Minoans themselves (autochthonous Cretans, Eteocritans), Pelasgians also lived on Crete (according to Herodotus and others, who arrived from Asia Minor or Greece), as well as the Kidones (a small people, possibly related to the Minoans - from them the name comes city of Cydonia). Back in the first half of the 20th century. many famous researchers of Crete, despite such a clear indication, confused the Pelasgians with the Cretans themselves. Later, the Achaeans (Greeks) entered the island.
The identity of the Minoan (Eteocritan) language has not been established. Partial decipherment of the Cretan script made it possible to identify some morphological indicators (the language, apparently, is neither Indo-European nor related to Etruscan). The Phaistos Disc, as well as everything written in Linear A, cannot be deciphered.
Phaistos disc.
Ancient Egypt was an ally of Crete for many years. On the contrary, contacts of Crete with Egypt's rivals (the civilizations of Mesopotamia, the Hittite kingdom) are not attested.
Some of the Minoans moved to Cyprus and Ugarit, where their colonies were founded. Later, the Minoans in Cyprus were subjugated by the Teucrians (one of the “peoples of the sea”), and in Ugarit they were assimilated by the Semites.
Crete is not mentioned in the Hittite-Luwian inscriptions of Asia Minor; Apparently, Crete was not in contact with the Hittites, but with small states located along the western coast of Anatolia. Inscriptions believed to be of Cretan origin have been discovered in Troy. The Cretans colonized a number of Aegean islands (particularly the Cyclades), but their expansion appears to have encountered Pelasgian rivalry.
Contacts with mainland Greece, apparently, were few and developed after the capture of Crete by the Achaeans.
Sunset
The Minoan civilization suffered greatly as a result of a natural disaster - a volcanic explosion (between 1628 and 1500 BC) on the island of Thera (Santorini), which generated a powerful earthquake and a catastrophic tsunami. This volcanic eruption may have served as the basis for the myth of the destruction of Atlantis.
Boxing boys (fresco from the island of Santorini)
Previously it was assumed that the volcanic eruption destroyed the Minoan civilization, but archaeological excavations in Crete showed that the Minoan civilization existed for at least about 100 years after the eruption (a layer of volcanic ash was discovered under the structures of the Minoan culture).
"Fisherman". Minoan fresco from Thira
To this day, the exact cause of the fires that finally destroyed the Minoan palaces in 1450 BC is unknown. e.
RUINS OF THE MINOAN CIVILIZATION
After the eruption, the Achaeans seized power on the island. This is how the Mycenaean culture (Crete and mainland Greece) arose, combining Minoan and Greek elements. In the 12th century BC. e. The Mycenaean culture was destroyed by the Dorians, who eventually settled Crete. The invasion of the Dorians led to a sharp cultural decline, and the Cretan script fell out of use. The Minoans hid from sea raids in highland settlements such as Karfi. Nevertheless, the Eteocretan language (the language of the autochthonous Cretans), like the Minoan cults, continued to exist for a long time. The last monuments of the Eteocritan language, written in the Greek alphabet (one inscription also in Linear A), date back to the 3rd century. BC e. (a thousand years after the disappearance of the Minoan civilization).
Heritage of ancient civilizations. Santorini and Thira
State
The Minoan civilization was a state. The presence of a single ruler (king or queen) has not been proven, which sharply distinguishes it from other Mediterranean states of the Bronze Age.
The Minoans traded with Ancient Egypt and exported copper from Cyprus. The architecture is characterized by reinterpreted Egyptian borrowings (for example, the use of columns).
The Minoan army was armed with slings and bows. A characteristic weapon of the Minoans was also the double-sided labrys axe.
Like other peoples of Old Europe, the Minoans had a widespread cult of the bull.
The Minoans smelted bronze, produced ceramics, and built multi-story, up to 5-story palace complexes from the mid-20th century BC. e. (Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia).
Like other pre-Indo-European religions in Europe, the Minoan religion was not alien to the remnants of matriarchy.
"Pillar Shrine" within the Minoan palace of Cnossus, Crete. 16th century BC e.
In particular, the Goddess with snakes (possibly an analogue of Astarte) was revered.
Culture and technology
The Minoans built water pipes and sewers in their palaces. Used the baths and pools.
Painting. One of the most popular motifs in late Minoan art was the octopus.
Religion. There was no temple in the religious tradition of the Minoans. Religious rituals were performed outdoors or in the palace. The sacrifice of bulls is widespread.
Minoan_civilization
The center of the empire was the large island of Crete. Possessing a powerful fleet, the Minoans traded with the countries of Europe, the Middle East and Egypt. Their technology was advanced: writing, metallurgy, pottery, solar heating, plumbing and sewerage were well developed.
Minoans in ancient Greek myths
It is still unknown what the Minoans called themselves. Legends about them were told by the Greeks, in particular, about King Minos, the ruler of Crete at a time when the Hellenes were subordinate to the Minoans and paid them tribute. The huge palace complex of Knossos, the largest building in Europe at that time, was described in Greek myths as a labyrinth.
Minoan festivals, in which young acrobats performed performances jumping over bulls, turned into sacrifices to a half-bull, half-man called the Minotaur in Greek stories. In Greek myth, the Minoans owed much to the inventor Daedalus, Leonardo da Vinci of that era, who had a royal palace and a flying machine. This legend indicates that the Greeks were deeply impressed by the inventions and technology of the Minoans.
But the Hellenes kept silent about what happened to the Minoan civilization.
Archaeological excavations indicate that the palaces on the island of Crete were destroyed by an earthquake, after which a period of decline ensued. Several generations later, the palaces were burned by the Mycenaeans, the predecessors. The Mycenaeans captured Crete in 1450 BC. and adopted their writing, architecture, and architecture from the Minoans. It is known that the Mycenaeans took part in the Trojan War in 1200 BC.
Destructive volcano 1600 BC.
One hundred kilometers north of the island of Crete is the Thira volcano. Natural disaster that occurred in 1600 BC. during a volcanic eruption, contributed to the decline of the Minoan civilization.
The exact time of the Minoan Empire's demise is unknown, but earthquakes and famine may have weakened it to such an extent that they were easy to conquer 50-100 years later.
Modern calculations show that the eruption of the Thira volcano in the Aegean Sea in 1600 BC. 4 times stronger than Krakatoa, which claimed the lives of 36,000 people. This was not just an eruption. The center of the island literally flew into the air and then was torn to pieces in a huge explosion.
The C-shaped ring of islands called Santorini are the remains of the ancient island of Thira, where the Minoan civilization once lived. This ring surrounds the underwater crater of the volcano with a diameter of 11 to 19 km. A column of ash from the volcanic explosion rose to a height of 10 km, falling onto the eastern Mediterranean. The island of Crete also suffered from earthquakes.
The volcanic eruption triggered a devastating tsunami. There are many disagreements in the calculations, but the height of the giant waves reached several hundred meters. The disaster was more destructive than the disaster in Indonesia in 2004 and Japan in 2011.
Knossos and other high-lying settlements on Crete survived, but were isolated, losing their fleet and coastal cities.
The death of the island of Thira
The main cities of the ancient island of Thira are forever wiped off the face of the Earth. But excavations at Akrotiri, a Bronze Age settlement on the outskirts of Santorini, indicate that it was not the only city on the destroyed island. The frescoes tell about this.
Akrotiri was buried under a layer of ash, like Roman Pompeii, but the inhabitants managed to leave the city before the disaster. The settlement was preserved in excellent condition, but no remains of people were found in it. The houses do not contain jewelry and other valuables, which are visible in the frescoes of elegant ladies.
It can be assumed that the volcano woke up gradually. So the city residents received a preliminary warning and prudently left the settlement. Perhaps they managed to swim to Crete and escape in one of the cities on the hill.
Given the scale of the disaster, it is not at all surprising that the memory of the destruction of Thera lives on in the legends of Atlantis, told by Plato a thousand years later.
