Ancient Crete

The Fascinating History of Crete

Ancient Crete - the birthplace of European civilisation.

Late Neolithic Age 6500 – 3000 BC
Little is known about this age. It seems that a great number of late neolithic deposits at the site of Knossos in Crete may have been cut away by later inhabitants in the redevelopment of structures. This sadly has destroyed much of what we could have studied today.

Early Bronze Age 3000 – 1900 BC
The Minoans are known as the founders of Greek civilisation and the first European civilization. By around 2500 BC, the Cretans mastered boat building and sea navigation to the level where the seas no longer represented boundaries for them.

The Minoans far-reaching sea trends have been confirmed by the existence of creative wares and written records. There is evidence that the Minoans travelled as far as Britain and Ireland, from where they sourced tin. This was used in their metal alloys to produce bronze. It seems this mineral was not available on the mainland or Crete. The nearest known tin mines of this age were as far as Spain, Britain, central Europe and Iran.

The records of the ancient Minoans also show signs of the surrounding cultural and artistic ideas, such as fresco art influences from Egypt and gold smithing knowledge from Syria.

This period was known for social upheaval, external dangers and migration from mainland Greece and Asia Minor. During this time the Minoans established colonies on the islands of Thira, Rodos, Melos and Kythera.

The Cretan travels in Africa sees them go as far as Ethiopia. The records also show them sailing the rivers Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia.

A great demand in this region developed for Minoan silverware, with texts found at Mari located in the middle Euphrates in Mesopotamia, mentioning the much-loved works of the Cretans.

In the Messara in Crete a seal of hematite was found from the Hammurabi dynasty dated from the 18th century BC, supposedly brought back from travels.

The Egyptians have written during this period of the Minoans, referred to as Keftiu, transporting Phoenician cedar to Egypt on board their ships, giving us the insight that the Egyptians did not navigate the seas, but traded with the Cretans for this service.

Cretan crafts and earthen wares have been found in tombs in Africa and Egypt, in Illahum, Abydus and Harageh.

In Cornwall, the Cretans had left behind decorative double headed axes diplo pelekia. They also travel as far as the Baltic shore in search of amber. Many endemic pieces where crafted from this majestic material.

This creative period in ancient Crete coincides with the dawning of a new era in Egypt. It was during this period that the Egyptians first erected pyramids, the first being that of King Djoser in Saqqars.

Middle Bronze Age 1900 – 1600 BC
This age is also known as the Protopalatial Minoan age. This is the great Paleo Anactoro period of Crete, where the first palaces of Knossos, Malia and Phaistos were erected with both great ingenuity and beauty.

During this productive and creative time we see the culture develop into what would later be called Minoan.

The Cretans developed a de-centralized culture based on the abundance of the land's natural resources, and on intense commercial activity.

While the island is now mostly bare and deforested, in this ancient time timber was one of the natural resources that was harvested and exported to Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, the Aegean Islands and the Greek mainland.

Ancient Crete's rich farming lands produced foods such as currants, herbs and olive oil, as well as cypress wood, wool, wine and purple dye.

Bronze Age 3000 – 600 BC
We notice that copper was known in areas such as ancient Crete or Eutrere in Boetia prior to 3000 BC, although was not used as its use was limited due to the technologies of the time.

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