What Was The Writing System Of The Minoan Called?

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	The Minoan Civilization Ancient Aegean Bronze Age Civilization

The Minoans, Europe's first civilization.

Location of Crete, Greece and the Aegean Sea

The Minoan civilization thrived on the island of Crete, and the smaller islands in the vicinity of Crete, like the island of Thera to the north. The English archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, named the civilization after the legendary Cretan king, Minos, who was said to have kept a monster, called the Minotaur, in a complicated maze, called the Labyrinth, under his palace at Knossos. The Minoans are not Greek, but they are part of the Greek history. By trading with the early Greeks, the Minoans spread their ideas and art to the Greek mainland.

Crete is located in the Mediterranean Sea, with the Aegean Sea on its northern shore. Crete is sometimes called the, "stepping stone to the continents," since it is located within reach of Europe, Asia, and Africa by boat. Indeed, we have evidence that the Minoans traded with ancient people on all three continents. The Minoans had a surplus of olive oil, which they traded for Egyptian gold, copper from the nearby island of Cyprus, and tin from Turkey and Afghanistan. The Minoans were not only farmers of olives, but fine craftsmen, making pieces of jewelry, pottery, seals and figurines. Their bronze work places this civilization in the Bronze Age.

Life in a Minoan palace
Women play a board game in a Minoan palace

At the height of their civilization, between 2,000-1400 BC, the Minoans developed a palace-centered civilization. The Minoan cities of Knossos and Phaistos are two examples of palace cities. Palaces acted as the economic and religious centers of the island. Palaces were large and three to five stories tall. Interestingly, there were no defensive walls around palaces. The Minoans must have lived in peace on the island and relied on the sea and a navy for protection from outsiders.

Akrotiri was the large settlement on Thera. On Thera, a large volcanic explosion could have led to the ending of the Minoan civilization. It also preserved the Minoan city of Akrotiri by covering it with volcanic ash, creating a kind of Minoan time capsule. Some people think that Thera was Plato's Atlantis, an advanced civilization that the Greek philosopher talked about being, "swallowed by the sea." The Minoans had a high standard of living, and it shows in the ruins of the beautiful palaces and homes.

The Minoans had at least two different writing systems. The earlier is hieroglyphic, similar, but not the same as the Egyptian writing system. One example that has survived is the Phaistos Disc, discovered in the ruins of the city of Phaistos. The later system of writing is called Linear A. Linear A is written on clay tablets along lines, like our writing. As of now, no one has deciphered the mysterious Phaistos Disc or Linear A, therefore the Minoan language remains a secret. One other script, called Linear B was also found on the island of Crete. We will learn more about Linear B in the next online chapter.

Bull Leaping, bronze figurine. Minoan bronze did not have enough tin, which made the casting weak. You can see where both the jumpers, and the bull's legs, have snapped off.

Without a written history, what we know about the Minoans comes from the artifacts and frescoes that have survived through the years. Frescoes indicate that men and women attended meetings and parties together; this suggests that women enjoyed equal social status to men. If this is true, the Minoans were far ahead of their time. The artwork also tells us that the Minoans enjoyed spectator sports. Both men and women attended and performed in these sporting events. The most popular, and intriguing, is bull leaping.

The Minoan religion seems to be centered around a goddess, as many similar goddess figurines are found throughout Crete. She is sometimes referred to as the snake goddess, because her figurine is holding two snakes in her outstretched arms. The bull seems to be important to the Minoan culture. Bulls were originally brought to the island by people. The palaces of the Minoans have many carvings of the bull's horns. Another possible religious item is a double-sided axe, we call the labrys.

There is discussion as to why this advanced civilization disappeared. Clearly there were natural disasters, including earthquakes and the volcanic explosion on Thera, which caused a tsunami that hit the northern shore of Crete, but the civilization, though weakened, recovered. The invasion of the Mycenaeans, a warrior people and the first Greeks, seems to have ended the Minoan civilization. We will learn more about the Mycenaeans in the next online chapter.

Minoan craftsmen were particularly skilled at the art of seal engraving. Though small, Minoan seal stones often show scenes that are both beautifully carved and an insight into this ancient culture. - British Museum

Terracotta Tomb
This terracotta coffin comes from a Late Minoan cemetery. The cemetery lay to the north of the town that surrounded the palace at Knossos. Minoan burials were placed in tombs and were frequently made in coffins that were either shaped like bathtubs or chests. - British Museum

The Blue Dolphins
This Minoan Fresco is called "The Blue Dolpins." Minoan art was often centered around nature, and particularly, the sea.

The palace of Knossos, as it may have looked during the height of the Minoan civilization.

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