Minoans: The Ancient Badasses You've Probably Never Heard Of

Who Were the Minoans and Where Did They Go?

The Minoans were a very spiritual and ritualistic culture. Nature and harmony were important themes throughout their history. This society was very advanced for their time, and had a flourishing economy based upon intense commercial activity revolving around their abundance of natural resources. The Minoan civilization goes back before 2600 BCE, but little is known about them before then (“History of Minoan Crete”). One of the biggest mysteries though, is why their advanced and thriving society crumbled around 1450 BCE. No matter the reason for their fall, the Minoans made considerable contributions to the development and growth of Western civilization as it is recognized today.



The people of Minoan Crete were very in tuned with nature. This becomes obvious when looking at their unique art and architecture. Spirituality and ritualism was a significant part of their lives. They loved to celebrate life and the natural world by holding many religious festivals, mostly in honor of the natural elements, and their goddesses and gods. Apparently the ritual celebrations were held in sacred caves, sanctuaries, palaces, villas, and on mountain peaks. These festivals consisted of animal and bloodless sacrifices, and processions that were intended for worship of the great female nature goddess (“Minoan Culture”).The Minoan’s art and spirituality obviously go hand in hand, which gives us a better understanding about the character of the people, and the workings of their society. Their art, no matter what medium, was always very stylized, included curvilinear forms, and conveyed energetic and active scenes. People were depicted on frescoes and in sculptures with long limbs, broad shoulders, and narrow waists. Women were usually shown bare-breasted and dressed in large layered skirts to emphasize their hips (“Minoan Sculpture” Boundless).
The materials they used to create their works of art speak a lot about their economic circumstances, as many of the materials were obtained from trading with other societies. Many of the sculptures were made from materials such as ivory, bronze, gold, and faience. Materials like faience (quartz ceramic), which is found in various sculptures, were shipped raw from Egypt to Crete. However, many of the sculptures were produced in bronze, a vital material in Minoan culture, which is significant because it shows that they created these works using a lost-wax casting technique (“Minoan Sculpture” Boundless).
One of the most prominent symbols seems to be of the bull (“Minoan Culture”), as many paintings and sculptures depict bulls and the act of bull-leaping. According to an insert on The British Museum website, the Minoans chose to frequently depict bull-leaping because it was most likely part of ritual activity. Bull-leaping sculptures and frescoes illustrate a bull in a “flying gallop” and an acrobat flipping over its back (about to launch off the bull).
Bull-leaping demonstrates how the Minoans frequently portrayed a high degree of movement in their art. Furthermore, it’s conceived that bulls hold religious importance to the Minoans because they are a symbol of strength and power (The British Museum). Other forms of art exhibiting the bull include ritual objects such as the bull mask and bull horns. According to the article “Minoan Culture” on Ancient-Greece.org, this attraction to the bull is relevant to games such as “taurokatharpsia” that revolve around the animal and the sacrifice of the bull, which was a fundamental component in Minoan religious festivities. It is thought that this symbolizes human interaction with powerful nature elements, and man’s “triumph over them through skill and power” (“Minoan Culture”). Other traditional symbols represented in their art, were of their goddesses or priestesses. A good example of this can be seen with the figure called “Snake Goddess,” which is a sculpture of a woman holding snakes in her hands with open arms, and a cat sitting on her head. While the purpose of the statue is unidentified, experts believe that she represents a Minoan earth goddess or priestess and that the chthonic animals (the snake and feline) accompanying her are also symbols of earth deities (“Minoan Sculpture” Boundless).
Aside from their fascination of themes like goddesses and bulls, the Minoans also loved to create scenes of marine life on Kamares-ware (pottery made from fine clay) and frescoes. Minoan Kameres-ware depicts marine scenes and abstract flowers, geometric lines, and shapes. It is clear just from observing their art, that the Minoans were devoted and inspired deeply by the nature of the sea as well as the earth (“Minoan Painting” Boundless).
During the time, the Minoan civilization was, what author Matthew Zuk describes as, the “powerhouse of the Mediterranean Sea” and one of “the most powerful civilizations of the ancient world”. They are one of the most advanced civilizations ever discovered, and based on many archaeological discoveries proves to be a civilization of equal or greater level of advancement than that of the Romans of 1,400 years later! Sites such as the Palace of Knossos on the island of Crete, the town of Akrotiri, the Palace at Zominthos, perfectly demonstrate the level of sophistication that the Minoans had. These places contain architectural features that were unparalleled for their time, like plumbing, drainage, use of light reflection and air management, massive structures, strategic location, and seismic resistance. On another note, these sites were also great sources for important cultural artifacts that tell us a great deal more about their society (Zuk). The most impressive of all the ruins is the Palace of Knossos, which had a far-reaching drainage system and water supply throughout the structure. Even the toilets were of ingenious design, where waste would drop down a clay pipe to the subterranean sewage system below the town into a cesspit. Astonishingly, the pipes were created in a particular way that drew the pungent smells down the pipes away from the people! Aside from great plumbing, Knossos also possesses a very clever configuration for lighting and air control. The Minoans used the central staircase to as a light well to illuminate the inner rooms of the palace, and used a creative system called the “peer and door partitioning,” which is an arrangement of rows of pillars holding wooden shutters that can open or close to regulate air flow within the inner rooms (Zuk).
The town of Akrotiri on the island of Thera (just outside the Palace of Knossos) provides concrete evidence that there were ancient Minoan towns (other than palaces) outside of Crete, and contains astounding technological achievements.
In Akrotiri, there was the presence of a system that allowed fresh water to run through every building, even to second floors. Akrotiri also had a sophisticated sewage system just like the Palace of Knossos.
Zominthos, a large palace, is significant because it covers an area of 17,000 square feet and boasted at least two or three floors and the entire place had ceramic water conduits for their central drainage system. Zominthos was distinct and special because of the location at which it was built. It is a special structure that provides further evidence of how advanced the Minoans were because of the high elevation at which the complex was built. The nature of the structure was strategically constructed to withstand the harsher environment, and even control the surrounding area. This is significant not only because it reinforces the implications that ancient man was highly intelligent, but also because it shows that the Minoans had the ability to adapt to higher altitudes and colder weather (Matthew Zuk). The Minoans weren’t just highly advanced in terms of architecture; they were also master craftsmen when it came to the art of metalworking, and created beautifully skillful jewelry which was not only worn by the people, but also exported all over the area. Because of this, all over the ancient world they were highly renowned in the art of metal-smithing (“Minoan Civilization”). Aside from metalworking the Minoans were renowned for their sophisticated stone, ivory and faience work, because of the high degree of craftsmanship in such works as dynamic ivory sculpture, tiny carved gold rings and seals, alabaster jars, and more!
The Minoan civilization was indeed an astoundingly advanced civilization, but they wouldn’t have reached their degree of sophistication without one of the most important facets of human-kind, language and writing. In their early days the Minoans used hieroglyphics writing, but then later developed a more complex writing system. Their main language is called Linear A by archaeologists, historians, and linguists. The interesting thing is that Linear A still hasn't been deciphered. Apparently Minoans also used Linear B. The two languages are very similar, but are not the same. Linear A is more like Sanskrit and more like the language from ancient India, whereas Linear B is an ancestor of the Greek language. These scripts were most commonly found on clay tablets, but writings have also been found on discs, such as the "Phaistos Disc" (HistoryWiz). Moreover, Matthew Zuk’s article states that the Minoans had the first written language in Europe, with a sophisticated code of laws too.
What we do know about the Minoan government and economy is actually very interesting and ties in with their culture. They were obviously a sea-faring culture (as they were on an island) that traded and had contact with many foreign societies throughout the Mediterranean and Aegean, which is clear because of their Egyptian and “Near East” influences.
Their culture was based on intense commercial activity, and they exported a variety of goods including pottery, olive oil, wine (Cartwright), timber (cypress wood), currants, wool cloth, herbs, and purple dye (“History of Minoan Crete”). The imported just as many goods too, such as ivory, gold, silver, precious stones, and other raw materials. Interestingly, they also imported tin (used in bronze alloys), which is incredibly impressive considering the closest mines of their day were located in central Europe, as far as Spain, Britain, and Iran (“History of Minoan Crete”).
Furthermore, the Minoans had developed a considerable naval power. For hundreds of years they existed in contact with all the most important civilizations of the era, without being threatened by any external forces (“History of Minoan Crete”). The Ancient history Encyclopedia article by Mark Cartwright states that no fortifications in the settlements have been found, which implies that the Minoans lived fairly peacefully in coexistence with different communities. Nonetheless, weapons have been discovered like daggers, swords, arrow-heads, and defensive equipment, which is evidence that they were either not always peaceful, or perhaps had those items for authoritative purposes.
Evidence clearly tells us that the Palaces of the Minoan civilization were imperative to localized control, as a power structure, as well as a gathering place, and storage place for items such as wine, oil, grain, ceramics, and precious metals. Aside from that, the many palaces of the Minoan society also acted as local administrative, trade, religious and even possibly political centers (Cartwright). The Neopalatial era (1700-1400 BCE) was the period where there was economic unity throughout the island, and Minoan Crete was in its “golden age.”
Unlike most civilizations in the ancient world, women played a powerful role in Minoan society. Also, gold artifacts, seals, and other items found tell us that there was a very affluent upper class. This period was also when a paved road network was immensely expanded to connect most of the major palaces and towns, most likely for ease of trade and transportation.
Towards the end of this period, we saw the rise of other prominent societies such as the Mycenaeans. Due to the rise in competition, the Minoans became more militaristic, which is speculated since large quantities of weapons were found for the first time in royal tombs around this time (“History of Minoan Crete”). While there were many times when palaces were destroyed throughout ancient Minoan history, the always seemed to rebuild and move one. However, during this last period, the flourishing culture eventually came to a halt, and for reasons that are still highly debated today. Some sources, like the article “History of Minoan Crete,” speculate that they met their end after most of the palaces and villas of the country side were destroyed in the mid 15th century, especially after the Palace Knossos fell. There is evidence in Linear B clay tablets that suggest the Mycenaeans moved in and controlled the island, but long after the Minoans abandoned these sites. Some scholars also ascertain that other likely causes could be either an invasion of outside forces, or a massive eruption of the Thera volcano (“History of Minoan Crete”), though the exact date of any cataclysmic eruption is disputed (Cartwright), and if the Minoans were invaded or assimilated scholars don’t yet know which society is the culprit.
The Minoan civilization was truly an awe inspiring one to say the least, with their beautiful art, sophisticated architecture and technology, generally peaceful way of life, and expansive trade system. What made this culture different and why were they so spiritual? I believe it's because they lived on an island and nature was hugely integrated into their society, because they were surrounded by it. Imagine living on Crete in the ancient world, surrounded by the powerful and mysterious ocean. They basically worshiped Mother Nature, or should I say, the Mothers of nature. Male gods were minor, while goddesses were largely important and powerful and are seen more in Minoan art. The article “Minoan Culture” explains it perfectly, that the Minoans "deified the natural world and found in it a logical order that allowed man to live in harmony with the natural environment." They found beauty and wonder in animals and elements. With the deification of the natural world, ritual seems to follow. They would hold ritualistic festivals, during which, the people used a mixture of "music, dance, and prayer to achieve a state of religious ecstasy that put them in touch with the supernatural". To me it seems like they wanted to have fun and celebrate the things in life that were most important to them, also I'm sure, in hopes of pleasing the goddesses and gods. It is a true shame that their marvelous, extraordinary society had to come to such a mysterious halt. Cartwright, Mark. "Minoan Civilization."
Ancient
History Encyclopedia. 2 Sept. 2009. Web. 9 June 2014. "History of Minoan Crete." Ancient-Greece.org. Web. 9 June 2014. "Linear A - the Minoan Language - HistoryWiz Ancient History." HistoryWiz Ancient History.Web. 14 June 2014. "Minoan Bull leaper." British Museum. Web. 19 June 2014. "Minoan Culture." Ancient-Greece.org. Web. 9 June 2014. "Painting - Boundless Open Textbook." Boundless. Web. 19 June 2014. "Sculpture - Boundless Open Textbook." Boundless. Web. 19 June 2014. Zuk, Matthew. "The Minoan Civilization: Proof of Advanced Nature." The Genius of Ancient Man. 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 June 2014.