The Minoans (Greek: Μυκηναίοι) were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilisation in Crete in the Aegean Sea. They flourished from approximately 2700 to 1450 B.C.E. when the Mycenaean culture superseded their culture, which drew upon the Minoans.
Based on depictions in Minoan art, Minoan culture is characterised as a matrilineal society centred on goddess worship.
The term “Minoan” was coined by British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans after the mythic “King” Minos, which was associated with the labyrinth, which Evans identified as the site at Knossos.
Though unsure, it is possible that Minos was a term used to identify a specific Minoan ruler. It could also have been used to describe the current ruler of the Minoan civilisation.
What the Minoans called themselves is unknown, although the Egyptian place name “Keftiu” and the Semitic “Kaftor” or “Caphtor” and “Kaptara” in the Mari archives, both referring to Minoan Crete is suggestive.
The Minoan Civilisation was a flourishing culture that engaged in trade and commerce with a developed agricultural polity. Men and women appear to have enjoyed the same social status.
It has even been surmised that women’s role may have contributed to the civilisation’s demise, attracting the animosity of others for whom women were relegated to more ‘menial roles.’
Greek civilisation and myth would draw on that of the Minoans. Archaeology on Crete has shed light on aspects of Homer’s epic.
A much-debated question is what caused the demise of this ancient civilisation. One possibility is that life became too comfortable, too much was invested in luxury items, and too little in what was needed to sustain society.
The Minoans appear to have been a peaceful, trading people rather than warriors who aimed at conquest, so it is possible that the Mycenaeans defeated them.
Other theories include annihilation by volcanic eruption.
This article first appeared in The History Hub.
READ MORE: Myths & Legends: The Gods Of Ancient Greece.