Knossos. Knossos is the largest of the “palaces” erected by the Bronze Age Minoan civilization on Crete. Our present interactions with Knossos are the result of the work of Arthur Evans, who excavated the site beginning in 1899. His and later works revealed a highly complex civilization, of which previous material evidence was almost nonexistent. Evidence of Bronze Age materials associated with Minoan development on Crete begins in the last part of the third millennium B.C.E. The palaces were first erected around 1900 B.C.E., and destroyed by earthquake around 1700, the “Old Palace” period.
The rebuilding of the palaces initiates the “New Palace” period in the historical framework used by most, which lasted until another main destruction just before the 14th century, and the subsequent evidence of occupation by Mycenaean peoples. The palace itself is a huge and sprawling architectural complex, like other Minoan palaces, which is thought to have had a wide variety functions in Minoan society. Minoan art. Minoan art, an introduction (article) Minoan Civilization | TimeMaps. This article covers the society, economy and culture of the Minoan civilization.
For more on its history, and its place within the broader story of Greek history, see the article on the history of Ancient Greece. Introduction The Minoans have an important place in world history, as building the first civilization to appear on European soil. Minoan civilization emerged around 2000 BCE, and lasted until 1400 BCE. It was located on the island of Crete, which is now a part of Greece. The Minoans were famous for the magnificent palaces they built, above all at Knossos.
There was, if fact, never a people who called themselves the “Minoans”. The rise of a Bronze Age civilization Neolithic (Stone Age) farming villages began to appear in Crete sometime from 7000 BCE. As an island in the eastern Mediterranean, Crete enjoyed a strategic location between the centers of civilization in the Middle East and the sources of much-needed minerals in the Balkans, Italy, and as far west as Spain.
High culture. Greece: Secrets of the Past - The Minoans. It is virtually impossible to talk about early Greek history without at some point introducing the Minoans. The Minoans were not Greeks nor do they appear to be closely related. What seems clear however is that they helped to shape the early Greek civilization, later immortalized by Homer and other Greek poets. The Minoans have left a stunning visual legacy (paintings, sophisticated palaces and varied artwork) as well as large quantities of written records. Unfortunately, unlike the writings of the Egyptians, Hittites and Babylonians which shed light on such things as social organization, religious beliefs and historical events, those Minoan writings discovered so far are simply inventory records- detailed, plentiful but not as enlightening as one might hope.
An added complication is that scholars have been only been able to decipher a small portion of their written language People had leisure time and devoted a good portion of it to sports, religion and the arts.