We have been considering the ancient Cretan civilization for quite a long time, and we only have a cursory (and it will not work in detail, it is necessary to translate the monograph of Arthur Evans!) To consider it from the point of view of everyday life. That is, what they ate, how they slept, what they wore, what social position who occupied. And that's where we'll start …
As you know, the Cretans preferred to fight not on land, but at sea. Nevertheless, frescoes have come down to us, very accurately depicting the Cretan warriors. And from their weapons it is clear that they fought in a phalanx formation. Why else would they need long spears and such rectangular shields? But they also knew eight-shaped shields, drawings of which were found even in the Palace of Knossos. The characteristic weapon of the Minoans was also double-sided axes-labrys. Drawing by J. Rava.
Tombstones of the Cretan warriors of the Achaean conquest period.
For example, the total amount of archaeological evidence suggests that women in ancient Crete occupied a very important, if not dominant position, primarily in the practical religion of the Minoans. Their main goddess was Potnia ("lady" or "mistress"). It is possible that she was only the female form of the male god Potidas or Potidanus, after whom the god Poseidon was later named (a Greek god closely associated with Crete in later times). The feminine form of Poseidon is also found in the name Poseidaia. Another goddess was apparently named Diktinna ("Sweet Maiden").
They also find such helmets and cuirasses with a belly in Crete. On the left there are figures of horsemen. But this equipment is already characteristic of the relatively late history of Crete. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
Nice helmet, isn't it?
Largely on the basis of what may be considered cult shrines and sanctuaries, it has been established that other goddesses existed - goddesses of caves, goddesses of trees, goddesses of pigeons, goddesses of snakes, but it remains unclear whether the Minoans actually worshiped them as individual, specialized deities or these were the hypostases of one Great Goddess.
As soon as piercing "rapiers" replaced the cutting swords, so the ancient Minoan culture and died out. The professional squads replaced the army of peasants, who found it easier to chop than to chop. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
Shield Umbon. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
The predominance of goddesses (or Great Goddesses) is confirmed by the dominant role of priestesses in religious ceremonies and the presence of women in ritual contexts. Women far outnumber male priests and male servants, for example, in the paintings on the four sides of the Agia Triadh sarcophagus.
Since women played a very important role in Minoan society, a lot of female jewelry is found on the island. Pin. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
Moreover, men are rarely seen depicted in command positions, despite attempts to identify them in such murals. Even the male figure at Knossos, which Evans called the "priest-king", is now believed to be composed of fragments of several different figures, that is, it is a reconstruction. The only thing that seems relatively proven is that one or more of the figures from which he "blinded" her were men.
Images of women are more common than images of men in Minoan archaeological sites, both in Crete and in later excavations on the island of Tera (Santorini). Everywhere women in frescoes are depicted either as separate figures, or shown in groups.
Gold plaques. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
One of the most striking depictions of the status of women in Minoan society is the famous Toreador Fresco, in which young women, shown with white skin and dark-skinned men, engage in a dangerous sport, simply tumbling on the back of a bull.
Gold heads of bulls. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
While it is difficult to know exactly what these figures are doing, the context and their affinity to the bull clearly denote a game or ritual that demonstrates courage, dexterity and skill - qualities that in any other modern Eastern Mediterranean culture would be considered as being exclusively in the realm of male prerogatives. The fact that they are also displayed on frescoes by young women testifies to the fact that women occupied a significant place in society on the ancient island of Crete.
Curled up cats. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
As for farming, the Minoans raised sheep (what the Cretans are doing now, by the way!), Pigs, goats, sowed wheat, barley, peas and chickpeas. They cultivated crops such as grapes, figs, olives and poppy seeds (for seeds for baking, probably, but perhaps also for the production of opium, who knows?). The Minoans managed to domesticate bees, but today's Cretans successfully continue the ancient tradition of honey collection and do not add sugar to honey! But lettuce, celery, asparagus and carrots were still wild crops. Pear, quince and olive trees also grew on the island, and their fruits were very popular. The Minoans brought from Egypt a date palm and … cats (most likely for hunting). That is why today Abyssinian cats are widespread in Crete. They are tall, on long legs, narrow-faced and with large ears. A very unusual color - longitudinal, not transverse, like ours, stripes, reminiscent of a pattern on a moire ribbon. They also adopted pomegranates from the Middle East, rather than lemons and oranges, as is often believed.
Signet rings. Some are smooth. Others are richly decorated using grain and filigree techniques. That is, the Minoans already owned this technique. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
The Minoans very skillfully used the practice of simultaneously growing several crops at once. Theoretically, this method of agronomy made it possible to preserve soil fertility and protect any of the crops from low productivity. The decoded Linear B tablets directly speak of the importance for the Minoans of orchards (i.e., growing figs, olives and grapes), the products of which were processed.
The peasants used wooden plows for plowing, tied with leather belts with wooden handles, into which they harnessed pairs of donkeys or oxen.
A pitcher with an octopus. This is not Crete, but Cyprus. But the culture is one. On the left are anchor stones. (Larnaca Archaeological Museum)
For the Cretans, marine resources also had a certain value. So, among the gifts of the sea, edible mollusks and, of course, fish were eaten. But scientists believe that these natural resources were not so popular in comparison with grain, olives and livestock products. They diversified the Cretan table, but no more. However, as now. That is, the sea was nearby, but the Cretans still preferred to feed on the gifts of the land, and not water. This is indicated by the construction of agricultural terraces and dams on the island of Psira in the late Minoan era. They required a lot of labor, but they were built. This means that they saw their benefit for society.
The Cretan table also included game. The Cretans hunted wild deer and wild boar and ate their meat along with the meat of livestock. Boar tusks were also used to make helmets. But today there is no more such game in Crete.
The head of some beast. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
The Minoans also traded in saffron, as evidenced by the minor remains of a well-known fresco depicting saffron pickers on the island of Santorini. Alas, but archaeologists are lucky with the finds of much more durable antiquities: these are characteristic ceramics, copper, tin and the finds of jewelry made of gold and silver, impressive in their luxury. But from the reserves of ancient saffron, no matter how great they are, absolutely nothing remained.
Fish tank. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
Minoan products diverged through established trade relations with mainland Greece, as well as with Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and lands westward to the coast of Spain.
Since Crete is warm all year round, the clothes of the Minoan men (even warriors!) Were loincloths and short skirts. Women - dresses, short sleeves and layered skirts with ruffles. Dresses of the same cut as those of the Cretans were not found anywhere else. They were open to the navel and left the chest exposed. Women also wore a strapless bodice. In the patterns on the clothes, the emphasis was on symmetrical geometric ornaments. Given the fragility of an organic material such as fabric, it can be assumed that other forms of women's dress have existed, but there is as yet no archaeological evidence of this.
Altar stone for the home. (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
The first palaces in Crete appeared at the end of the Early Minoan period in the third millennium BC (Malia). Although it was previously believed that the construction of the first palaces took place simultaneously and they were all dated to the Middle Minoan period - i.e. around 2000 BC (the date of the construction of the first such palace at Knossos), today it is generally accepted the point of view that they were built over a much longer period, and in different places at different times. The main palaces are at Knossos, Malia and Festa. Some elements of their architecture characteristic of the Middle Minoan period (Knossos, Festa and Mallia, for example) also took place in the structures of the early Minoan period. These include the multilevel western courtyard and the special decoration of the western facades. We see an example in the “House on the Hill” in Vasiliki.
The palaces simultaneously performed several functions at once: they served as administrative centers, served as temples, workshops and even warehouses in which supplies of olive oil and grain were stored.
Ceramic chests. Original, isn't it? (Archaeological Museum of Heraklion)
Palace architecture was characterized by such architectural features as: white stone masonry, columns expanding upward, open courtyards, "light wells" instead of windows, stairs and the presence of various reservoirs. The Minoans had plumbing and sewerage systems in their palaces, as well as used bathrooms and swimming pools, that is, bodily cleanliness and waste disposal were at their best.
Later palaces were multi-storey buildings. For some reason, the western facades were built from white sandstone and the Palace of Knossos is a vivid example of this. The palace architecture of the first palace period is defined by the “square in square” style, while the buildings of the second palace period are characterized by a significantly larger number of different interior spaces and many corridors.
Awesome sized jug, isn't it? And imagine that he is poured all over with olive oil! The height of the girl standing nearby for the scale is 176 cm. (Archaeological Museum of Larnaca, Cyprus)
Experts point out that the general architectural appearance of the palaces of the Middle Minoan period was very much dependent on the area surrounding them. In fact, the Minoans inscribed their buildings in the relief. So, the buildings of Festus of this time were built in accordance with the relief of Mount Ida, and Knossos - Mount Yukta.
The Cretan civilization also gave us boxing. Young "boxers", Akroliti, 1600 - 1500 BC NS. (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)
Among the most significant contributions of the Minoans to the art of building were the unique appearance of the columns, which were wider at the top than at the bottom. They are usually called "inverted" because most of the Greek columns are just wider at the bottom, which was done to create the illusion of their greater height. The columns were wooden and were usually painted red. But there were also black columns. They were placed on a round stone base and were also crowned with a round, "pillow-shaped" detail as a capital.
Many buildings, called "villas", were also found in Crete. In fact, these were many times smaller copies of large palaces. These villas were often richly decorated (as evidenced by the frescoes of the villas in Agia Triada).
I had an interest in Cretan ships for a very long time. Here is a page from the book "For those who like to tinker", published by "Enlightenment" in 1990, which shows projections of a Minoan ship, reconstructed from the frescoes found on the island.
There are several versions of the death of the Minoan civilization. So, between 1935 and 1939, the Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos put forward the hypothesis of the Minoan eruption. This eruption, which happened on the island of Thira (or Santorini), was one of the largest cataclysms of its kind in the history of earthly civilizations. About 60 km³ of volcanic products were released. Whole islands were found under the layer of pumice. Therefore, the eruption is believed to have a very serious impact on the Minoan culture of Crete, although the extent of this disaster is still debated. Careful inspection of the area suggested that no more than 5 mm (0.20 in.) Of ash fell throughout Crete. That is, it seems to be a little. But the tsunami caused by the eruption of Tire destroyed a large number of Minoan settlements on the northern coast of the island. Nevertheless, the Minoan civilization, although it suffered a strong blow, did not die. In the late Minoan period, the wealth of burials did not diminish, although the influence of Knossos on the island diminished.
But then the Mycenaean conquest took place. The Mycenaeans were a military civilization. Burials found in Crete contain Mycenaean armor and weapons, showing the influence of the Mycenaean military culture after the eruption.
Some authors adhere to the point of view that the Minoan civilization exceeded the threshold of the assimilation potential of the environment. Deforestation for firewood for ceramic and metallurgical furnaces has led to a shortage of water, and then there is volcanic ash. The result was famine, mass death of the population and the invasion of warlike aliens from the mainland.
