The Prehistory of Greece: c 10,000 - c 1550 BC
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The golden age of Minoan Crete
The period 1950 to 1400 BC was the golden age of Minoan Crete. However, during this time Knosós was twice destroyed by earthquakes in c. 1730 and 1570 BC. Knosós stands on a geological fault. Nonetheless, these natural disasters did not impede the progress of Knosós. Houses were two-storey and flat-roofed, and the size of the town was comparable to those in Egypt; combined with its harbour at Amnisos the population was likely to have been around 100,000. The economy was based on agriculture and trade. Crete traded with Egypt and Syria; for example, metal vases of the Middle Minoan period have been found in Egypt and can be dated to the reign of Amenemhat II, 1929 - 1895 BC. In the West Crete also traded with Ischai on the Bay of Naples and with the Lipari islands. They may also have traded with Britain. However, their main trade was with the Greek mainland where Mycenae acted as the entrepot. Homer tells of a great king Minos of Knosós who was highly respected and was said to converse directly with Zeus. Homer places him two generations before Troy - around 1250 BC; but if the figure is historic it is more likely to be associated with the heyday of Minoan Crete, c. 1400 BC. There are also numerous place names around the Aegean called "Minos" indicative that Crete at that time was also a naval power. In the opinion of Evans, Minos was a pre-Hellenic Cretan, that is, non-Greek.
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Contents of
The Prehistory of Greece: c 10,000 - c 1550 BC
1 The Neolithic Age in Greece
2 The Early Helladic Period
3 Troy I
4 Migrations into Greece c. 2500 BC
5 Minoan Civilisation
6 The Greek migration
7 Megaron
8 Middle Helladic Age
9 The Aegean Bronze Age: The Minoan Civilisation: c. 2000 - 1550 BC
10 The golden age of Minoan Crete
11 Volcanic eruption on Thera c. 1600 BC
12 Crete and Mycenae
13 The amber route
14 The Religion of Minoyan Crete
15 The Linear B Tablets of Knosos
16 Relations between the mainland and Crete
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