Crete

The site of one of the earliest civilizations in Greece and of the Minoans during the Bronze Age.

Date: 3000 b. c.e.-700 c. e.

Category: Cities and civilizations Locale: Mediterranean Sea

Background The island of Crete (KREET) is located southeast of mainland Greece, midway between the Greek mainland and Africa or Asia Minor, and bounded on the north by the Aegean Sea and on the south by the Mediterranean Sea. Crete is about 152 miles (250 kilometers) from east to west at its greatest width and 35 miles (57 kilometers) from north to south at its greatest length. Crete is very mountainous but also has grassy plains.

History The earliest evidence of agriculture in Greece is found at Knossos on Crete and in Thessaly. Neolithic sites on Crete containing evidence of agriculture date back to the seventh millennium b. c.e. Later in the Neolithic period, sites show signs of trade with other peoples across the Aegean. Being an island, Crete was less susceptible to movements and invasions than mainland Greece, and contact with Anatolia, Egypt, and the Near East accelerated the development of a Bronze Age civilization around 2600 b. c.e. At about this time, it appears that settlers from Egypt or Libya came to Crete. These settlers, however, were not Egyptians or Semites but probably Indo-Europeans.

Crete was home to the Bronze Age Minoan civilization, first discovered by archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1894. Evans excavated the site of Knossos in the north central area of the island from 1900 to 1941 and partially reconstructed its palace. Evans named the Bronze Age civilization that he discovered “Minoan,” after legendary King Minos. One of Evans’s major accomplishments was recognizing that the Mycenaean civilization had its roots in the older Minoan civilization. Evans divided the civilization’s chronology into Early Minoan (c. 3400-2100 b. c.e.), Middle Minoan (c. 2100-1500 b. c.e.), and Late Minoan (c. 1500-1100 b. c.e.).

Smaller palaces with ground plans similar to the one at Knossos were built at Phaistos, Mallia, Gournia, Khania, and Kato Zakro; all are in an enclosing valley near the sea. The preferred chronology for Minoan civilization during the latter half of the twentieth century is based on the dates of the building of the palaces on Crete, their destruction by an earthquake, their rebuilding, and their eventual final destruction. This chronology is as follows: Pre-Palace period (c. 3100-1925 b. c.e.), Old Palace period

The throne located in one of the many elaborate rooms in the ruins of the Palace of Minos at Knossos. (Courtesy, Hellenic Ministry of Culture)

(c. 1925-1725 b. c.e.), New Palace period (c. 1725-1380 b. c.e.), and PostPalace period (c. 1380-1000 b. c.e.).

The fall of the Minoan civilization is attributed to the eruption and implosion of the Aegean island of Thera (modern Thira) north of Crete. Archaeological remains were first discovered there in 1866. It is theorized that the implosion of Thera (c. 1623 b. c.e.) caused a massive tsunami that destroyed the Minoan fleet, leaving the island vulnerable to Mycenaean occupation. After 1380 b. c.e., the palaces on Crete—with the exception of the palace at Knossos—were damaged by fire and sword. After the fall of the palaces, there is evidence of Mycenaean occupation on Crete. The written script switched from Linear A to Linear B, which was used on the mainland, and the art became more symmetrical, less colorful, and distinctly Mycenaean. The governance of the island changed to city-states ruled by an assembly consisting of noblemen. Minoan civilization seems to have continued, however, on the western end of the island at Khania. Around 1100 b. c.e., the palace at Knossos was destroyed by the Dorians or by the Sea Peoples, according to legend, corresponding to the fall of Mycenaean civilization on mainland Greece.

Not much is known ofCrete between about 1100 and 700 b. c.e. Possibly Mycenaean refugees from the mainland and the Peloponnese settled there during this period, and during the eighth century b. c.e., Greek culture emerged on Crete, which became one of the Greek colonies. Likewise, not much of significance occurred on Crete during the Greek Classical and Roman eras. In 67 b. c.e., Rome conquered Crete and the island was integrated into the Roman province of Cyrenaica, with Gortyn as the capital. The Romans built majestic structures at Gortyn, including the Praetorium and the Odeion. The law code of Gortyn, carved in blocks, was found next to the Odeion. In 324 c. e., Crete was annexed into the Eastern Roman Empire, and Christianity was established on the island, which would become an important center for icon painting during the Middle Ages.

Architecture and City Planning The palace at Knossos was built around 1700 b. c.e. on the ruins of an earlier palace, which had been built around 2000 b. c.e. and was destroyed by an earthquake. Both palaces were asymmetrical and labyrinthine in plan, with three or more levels connected by shafts that provided the lower levels with ventilation and light. The second palace was larger than the first. Evans partially reconstructed what he called the “Palace of King Minos” at Knossos, which, including its porches and outbuildings, covers six acres (or roughly two and a half hectares) of land, and he restored many of its fresco paintings.

The unfortified palace was located about three miles (nearly five kilometers) from the sea and was the center of a thriving city of approximately eighty-two thousand people. Although the palace was unfortified, access to it was limited. Its main entrance was on the eastern end through a set of mazelike corridors. Most likely, the legend of the labyrinth originated with this entrance. The northern entrance to the palace went off into the hinterland, and the southern entrance led to a porch.

The palace was composed of distinct areas such as public areas with a throne room, living areas with such amenities as bathtubs and a toilet opening to a drain, and storage areas with giant storage jars (pithoi). The drainage system in the palace, with its open stone drains and clay pipes, is remarkably sophisticated. Evans’s reconstruction includes red, cast-concrete, downward-sloping columns to replace the original wooden ones, and a grand staircase. The center of the palace was a large, rectangular court measuring 161 by 89 feet (49 by 27 meters). At the northwest corner of the palace is a stepped theatrical area.

Law In 1884 in Prinia, the site of an important Archaic sanctuary dating from the seventh century b. c.e., inscriptions were found of the law code of Gortyn (700-600 b. c.e.) dealing with family law, inheritance, slavery, and punishments for crimes. This is the oldest law code known in Europe.

Language and Literature No literature from ancient Crete survives, but there are numerous references to Minoan cities in Homer’s Iliad (c. 750 b. c.e.; English translation, 1611), and Crete figures heavily in Greek mythology. In his Geographica (c. 7 b. c.e.; Geography, 19171933), Strabo wrote that Crete was the birthplace of Zeus, who was born in a cave on Mount Ida. (Other legends relate that the cave was on Mount Dicte.) The Cretans viewed Zeus as a seasonal god who died and was reborn again the next season. His legendary tomb is located on Mount Juktas.

Legend relates that Zeus mated with the mortal Europa, who gave birth to three children: Minos, king of Crete, who is mentioned by Homer; Rhadamanthys, another king of Crete; and Sarpedon. Minos’s wife, Pasi-phae, aided by Daedalus, mated with a bull and gave birth to the monstrous Minotaur—a creature half man and half bull, who lived inside the laby-

Theseus at the Minotaur's labyrinth. (F. R. Niglutsch)

Rinth. Every year King Minos demanded that the Athenians sacrifice seven youths and seven maidens to the minotaur until it was slain by Theseus, aided by King Minos’s daughter, Ariadne. The princess fell in love with Theseus and supplied him with thread, with which he found his way out of the labyrinth.

The creator of the labyrinth was the Athenian Daedalus, who lost favor with the king and was imprisoned in a tower. He fashioned wings from feathers and wax in order to escape Crete but lost his son Icarus in the attempt. Icarus flew too close to the Sun, which melted the wax, and he fell into the sea and was drowned. Minos was also regarded as a wise king and lawgiver and was one of the judges in the underworld. Heracles fought the Cretan bull as one of his twelve labors. In his Ethika (after c. 100 c. e.; Moralia, 1603), Plutarch says the word “syncretism” (Greek synkrTtizein) is derived from syn (“together”) and krete (“Crete”) because the Cretans often quarreled among themselves but united against enemies.

Religion and Ritual Although there is not much firm evidence about religious practices on ancient Crete, artwork yields clues. For example, a Minoan frescoed sarcophagus found in a tomb at Hagia Triada indicates a blood sacrifice associated with funerary rites. One side of the sarcophagus portrays a bull being sacrificed, with its blood draining into a rhyton (a slender, conical ceremonial vessel), as a female (priestess?) worships in front of an altar and a man plays the double flutes. The other side shows men carrying models of two bulls and a boat; men and women carrying vases and pouring a liquid into a bowl flanked by columns topped by double axes; and a shrouded man who has been interpreted as the spirit of the deceased. This indicates belief in an afterlife. In addition, small figurines made of faience (earthenware with opaque glazes), have been found in altars in the Minoan palaces. These figurines are women wearing bellshaped skirts and bolero-style jackets, with their breasts exposed. They are called “snake goddesses” because they are handling snakes and have divine qualities, such as their tall, distinctive hats. Snakes have chthonic associations, so the figures are generally believed to represent fertility goddesses or priestesses involved in fertility rites.

Sports and Entertainment A fresco from the palace at Knossos portrays three young people playing a “bull-leaping” game, which is theorized to have taken place in the theatrical area of the palace. Figurines in the palace also portray participants in a bull-leaping game, and other frescoes portray spectators filling the theatrical area, watching some sort of event, perhaps the bull sport.

Visual Arts Fresco paintings within the palace at Knossos primarily depicted curving vegetal and sea life, processions, double axes, and bulls. Evans’s reconstruction attests to the highly decorated character of the interior spaces of the Cretan palaces. The fresco fragments found at the palace at Knossos were all in the lowest level, so the location of the frescoes in his reconstruction has been questioned. A Blue Dolphin fresco that he believed was located in the queen’s apartment, for example, may actually have been located on the floor above. The most famous fresco from the palace portrays three young people playing a bull-leaping game. The boys and girls are indistinguishable, except for the darker tone of the boys’ skin. Both girls and boys are portrayed in Minoan art with long wavy hair and thin, girdled waists. Men portrayed in art are beardless, in contrast to those in Mycenaean art.

Other artwork associated with the Minoans includes snake goddesses, animal idols, Kamares ware, stoneware, and octopus vases. Kamares ware

Is found only at the palace at Knossos and in the Kamares cave (after which it is named). Kamares ware is wheel-thrown pottery decorated with a white-on-black design, often with yellow or red accents. The painted decoration is usually organic in nature, with stylized sea life or floral motifs. Other terra-cotta vessels of the New Palace period are decorated in a marine style, with black figures on a white background, and populated with curving, organic octopuses and other sea life. In the Post-Palace period, the designs stiffen and become symmetrical. Finely carved stoneware created in Crete is usually made of serpentine. Surviving pieces include lamps, chalices, rhytons, and small seal stones incised with designs. The most famous Cretan stone pieces include the Harvester Vase from Hagia Triada and the Bull’s HeadRhyton from Knossos. The Minoans also created fine bronze and gold items, including cups and jewelry.

War and Weapons The Minoans do not appear to have been a warring civilization. During the Bronze Age, Crete was probably a thalassocracy (maritime power), as evidenced by representations of fleets of ships in a fresco at the palace at Knossos and by its unfortified palaces. Also, the Minoan civilization’s demise has been linked to the destruction of its fleet.

Women’s Life Women are depicted more frequently than men in Mi-noan frescoes, which leads to the theory that women may have had a relatively high status in Minoan society. At one time, it was theorized that Minoan Crete was matriarchal. Snake goddess figurines suggest female participation as priestesses or as divinities in Bronze Age Crete.

Writing Systems The first writing used on Crete was hieroglyphic, as seen on the Phaistos disk (discovered in 1908) in the archaeological museum in Iraklion (Heraklion). Two subsequent scripts dating to the Bronze Age have been discovered on Crete: Linear A, used during the New Palace period, and Linear B, found only at Knossos on Crete and on the Greek mainland. Linear A is found primarily on clay tablets that yield mainly inventories. It is largely a syllabic script consisting of seventy-five signs and a number of ideograms. It has not been deciphered. Linear B, deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952, appears to be an early form of Greek. It consists of eighty-seven symbols and a number of ideograms and may have been derived from Linear A. The Linear B tablets discovered on Crete are mainly lists and inventories. No written records of Minoan political or social history exist.

Current Views Much of Crete has not been excavated, although the palaces and royal tombs, whose artifacts reflect the wealthiest elite, have been studied. Excavations in the later twentieth century shed light on the palaces at Phaistos and Kato Zakro, a small town of Gournia, the ancient road systems of the Minoans, the cities of Mallia and Palaikastro, necropolises at Arkhanes and Armeni, and Minoan drydocks at Kommos. However, the basic outline of Minoan civilization and chronology laid out by Evans’s excavations remains largely unchanged.

Excavation continues at the smaller Minoan palaces at Phaistos, Mallia, and Kato Zakro, which have not been reconstructed as was the palace at Knossos. Evans’s archaeological methods and reconstructions have been much criticized, but the reconstructed palace at Knossos has also been praised as bringing Bronze Age culture to life for the modern visitor.

Further Reading

Biers, William R. The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction. 2d ed.

Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996.

Chadwick, John. Reading the Past: Linear B and Related Scripts. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

Farnoux, Alexandre. Knossos: Searching for the Legendary Palace of King Minos. Translated by David J. Baker. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996. Fitton, J. Lesley. Minoans. London: British Museum Press, 2002. Higgins, Reynold. Minoan and Mycenaean Art. Rev. ed. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997.

MacGillivray, J. A. Minotaur: Sir Arthur Evans and the Archaeology of the Minoan Myth. New York: Hill & Wang, 2000.

MacKendrick, Paul. The Greek Stones Speak: The Story of Archaeology in Greek Lands. Toronto: W. W. Norton, 1983.

Metropolitan Museum of Art. Greek Art of the Aegean Islands. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979.

Sally A. Struthers

See also: Art and Architecture; Gortyn’s Code; Government and Law; Linear B; Mythology; Religion and Ritual; Strabo; Thera.