Hidden truth about Minoan Civilization: In the Search of Lost Civilizations | Dark matter
Minoan Civilization
On the island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean, the Minoan Civilization flourished between the years 2000 and 1500 BCE. The Minoans made a significant contribution to the advancement of Western European civilisation through the creation of distinctive works of art and architecture as well as the dissemination of their ideas through interactions with people from other Aegean cultures.
Minoan Crete is known for its labyrinth-like palace complexes, vivid murals that portray scenarios like bull-leaping and processions, beautiful gold jewelry, attractive stone vases, and ceramics with bright marine life motifs.
Arthur Evans & Discovery
Early 20th century CE native Cretans' charms made of carved seal stones first brought the possibility of an ancient civilization on Crete to the attention of the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Evans conducted significant excavations at Knossos between 1900 and 1905 CE, confirming ancient literary and mythological reports of a sophisticated Cretan civilization and possibly the location of the legendary labyrinth and palace of King Minos. Evans was the first to use the term "Minoan" to describe this legendary Bronze Age ruler. Evans split Crete's Bronze Age into three distinct phases based mostly on variations in pottery patterns after observing what he thought to be the rise and fall of a single society there:
- Early Bronze Age or Early Minoan (EM): 3000-2100 BCE
- Middle Bronze Age or Middle Minoan (MM): 2100-1600 BCE
- Late Bronze Age or Late Minoan (LM): 1600-1100 BCE
The aforementioned categories were then improved by giving each group a numbered subphase (ex. MM II). The Early Bronze Age now starts around 3500 BCE, and the Late Bronze Age around 1700 BCE because to improvements in radio-carbon dating and tree-ring calibration methods. The events that take place in and around the main Minoan "palaces" are the center of Platon's alternative to this system of divisions. There are four phases to this plan:
- Prepalatial: 3000 - 2000/1900 BCE
- Protopalatial: 2000/1900 - 1700 BCE
- Neopalatial: 1700 - 1470/1450 BCE
- Postpalatial: 1470/1450 - 1100 BCE
Both of these theories have since been refuted by more contemporary archaeology, historical, and anthropological perspectives that favor a more multilinear development of culture on Crete with a more complex scenario involving conflicts and inequalities between settlements and that also takes into account their cultural differences in addition to their obvious similarities.
Minoan Palace Settlements
Minoan settlements, tombs, and cemeteries have been found all over Crete but the four principal palace sites (in order of size) were:
Large, intricate palace buildings appear to have served as regional commercial, administrative, religious, and possibly political hubs at each of these locations. Due to a dearth of archaeological and literary evidence, it is unclear how the palaces relate to the power system that existed within them or throughout the entire island. However, it is certain that the palaces exercised some level of regional control, especially when it came to acquiring and storing excess supplies of goods like wine, oil, grain, precious metals, and ceramics. Small villages, cities, and farms were dispersed over the area, which appeared to be governed by a single palace. These remote towns were connected to the city center and one another via roads. A greater regularity in construction and the usage of Linear A writing across numerous palace sites are indications that the palaces were independent of one another until 1700 BCE, after which they came under the control of Knossos, according to historians.
The lack of fortifications in the settlements implies that the various communities coexisted quite peacefully. But the existence of weapons like swords, daggers, and arrowheads as well as protective gear like armor and helmets would also imply that peace may not have always been experienced. Regular guardhouses and watchtowers have also been found along Minoan highways, indicating that banditry at least worried the unprotected traveler.
The palaces themselves were built throughout two eras. The original palaces were built about the year 2000 BCE, and after devastating earthquakes and fires, they were reconstructed around the year 1700 BCE. These second palaces were still standing when they were finally destroyed between 1500 and 1450 BCE, possibly due to an invasion, fire, earthquake, or a combination of all three. enormous courts, colonnades, ceilings supported by tapered wooden columns, stairs, religious crypts, light wells, complex drainage systems, enormous storage magazines, and even "theatre" sections for public performances or religious processions were all features of the palaces, which were elegant, imposing buildings.
Up to four stories tall and covering thousands of square meters, the complexity of these palaces, the bull-leaping sport, the worship of bulls as shown by the presence of sacred bulls' horns throughout, and the depictions of double axes (or labrys) in stone and fresco may have all contributed to the creation of the legend of Theseus and the labyrinth-dwelling Minotaur that became so well-known in later classical Greek mythology.
Religion
Although little is known about the Minoans' religion, art, architecture, and artifacts provide details. These include representations of religious rites and ceremonies, such as the offering of food and drink, processions, feasts, and athletic competitions like bull-leaping. Natural forces and nature in general appear to have been worshipped in such artworks as a masculine figure cradling multiple animals and a voluptuous feminine mother-earth goddess figure. In addition to the previously mentioned wells and conduits for the pouring of libations, palaces often have open courtyards for large gatherings. Bulls have a significant role in Minoan art, as has already been established. Their horns are used as a decorative element in ceramics, jewelry, and frescoes as well as an architectural component on palace walls.
Material Culture
The existence of writing—first, Cretan Hieroglyphic (c. 2000–1700 BCE) and then Linear A scripts (both yet untranslated), mostly discovered on various kinds of administrative clay tablets—evidences the sophistication of the Minoan civilisation and its potential for trade. Another significant method of record keeping was the imprinting of seals on clay.
The range and caliber of the Minoan people's artistic endeavors serve as another illustration of the culture's high level of development. Pottery remains show a variety of containers, from enormous storage jars (pithoi) to paper-thin cups. Initially formed by hand-turning, ceramics are now increasingly produced using potters' wheels. In terms of ornamentation, the Kamares ware was followed by the later Floral and Marine styles, which included bright naturalistic representations of flowers, plants, and marine life. Three-handled amphorae, tall beaked jugs, squat round containers with a fake spout, beakers, little lidded boxes, and ceremonial pots with figure-of-eight-shaped handles are examples of common ceramic shapes. Similar vessel types and rhyta were also crafted from stone.
There are many bronze and other material figures, but large-scale figure sculpture has not survived. The clothing of the time is depicted in early clay types, with ladies wearing long flowing gowns and open-fronted jackets and males wearing belted loincloths. A jumping acrobat in ivory and the previously mentioned serpent goddess in faience are prominent pieces that show the Minoans' passion of catching people in dynamic stances.
Magnificent frescoes on the walls, ceilings, and floors of the palaces also illuminate Minoan religious, social, and burial customs and reflect their admiration for the sea and the natural world. Scales for the subjects range from micro to larger-than-life. Because of their passion for nature, the Minoans were among the first civilizations to paint scenes of natural landscapes devoid of any humans. Along with humans, animals were frequently portrayed in their natural settings. Examples include fish, dolphins, birds, and monkeys. Although Minoan frescoes were frequently surrounded by decorative borders with geometric patterns, the main fresco occasionally extended past standard bounds like corners and spanned multiple walls in a single room, enveloping the observer.
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