The History of Minoan Crete and the Mycenaeans

     We did not really learn about the existence of Minoan Crete until about 1899 when the city of Knossos was excavated.  Other cities were found around the island of Crete as well.
     They were a civilization with lovely pottery, palaces, and frescoes.  Their art seems to focus on daily life.  As for the palaces, they are thought to have originally been religious centers and later used for royalty.
     The Minoans are thought to have been a peaceful people focusing in trade instead of war.  But it does appear that they took part in human sacrifice.
     They had a "palace economy" where the people would manufacture the goods and the government would decide where everything went.
     We are not familiar with their literature because their language is written in a text called "Linear A" which we cannot decipher.
      They are thought to eventually be invaded by the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece.


     We will now talk about Mycenaean Greece.  It was thought that Greek history began in 800 BC but that theory was proved wrong by a man named, Heinrich Schliemann who lived from 1822-1890.  He loved the Homeric epics and decided to go to Turkey to find the city of Troy.  He does find Troy and excavates it.  He found evidence of destruction and he wondered if that could possibly be evidence of a Trojan war.  It was not enough however, and we still are not sure if their ever was a Trojan war.
      The Mycenaeans appear to have had independent cities and each one was probably ruled by one king.         The Mycenaeans seem to have been a warlike people quite unlike the Minoans of Crete.  The Mycenaeans did however absorb some of the Minoan culture which can be seen in their craftsmanship.
      The Mycenaeans used a form of writing called "Linear B" which we have deciphered and have learned that it is an early form of Greek.
      We think that a lot of Greek religion originated in Mycenaean times.
      We will now come to the demise of Mycenaean Greece.  Here are some theories on what happened to Mycenaean Greece.  Some believe that there was internal conflict.  Others think that environmental factors were involved.  There are also other theories but I will not mention all of them.
      Now we will move on to the Mycenaean Dark Age, (1100-800 BC) where we find next to nothing concerning outside trade, literacy, or anything else.   There is however, some controversy on if their ever was a "Dark Age". This minority is convinced that we have the dating systems wrong and that we are adding time that was never there.
     Thank you so much for reading "The History of Minoan Crete and the Mycenaeans" and please let me know what you think!