History Summarized: Minoan Greece

The classical Greeks weren't the first kids on the Aegean block. Long before Athens' golden age, before Homer, and even before the Trojan War, there was a civilization on the island of Krete. The land of King Minos was home to beautiful palaces, a fascinatingly-complex economy, and something approximating Bull-Cthulu. It's a fun time, let's jump in.

SOURCES & Further Reading: "The Greeks: An Illustrated History" by Diane Cline for National Geographic, "The Greeks: A Global History" by Roderick Beaton, Lectures from The Great Courses Plus — "Being Minoan and Mycenaean" from "The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World" by Robert Garland, and "Minoan Crete" & "Schliemann & Mycenae" from "Ancient Greek Civilization" by Jeremy McInerney. And I have a university degree in Classical Studies.

Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.

[michaelscott]

"Guys, I found remnants of this Ancient Greek culture!"
"Oh, that's a lot of bull."
"Well, you're not wrong..."

[cesareiannuzzi]

There is actually a more accepted theory that the palaces weren't actually the houses of the kings but only an economic/religious centre. The reason why it is called a palace is because Evans thought it was, seeing as it was a big structure. His theories, for instance, why some rooms where for royalty are flimsy at best

[tbarryvii]

If the Minotaur was meant to represent the Minoans tendency towards human sacrifice and cannibalism I wonder if Ariadne as the one who is most attached to the minotaur is meant to represent women's roles as the ones performing the sacrifice? It would line up nicely with the myriad of frescos depicting women engaging in ceremonial duties and could explain why she was abandoned by Theseus afterward

[joeevans]

It's just fascinating that the story of Theseus and the Minotaur is part of a long cultural memory of Minoan Crete even after it collapsed

[Stoneworks]

The relation between real history and mythology makes me so happpy, so thank you for featuring it so heavily here! :D

[AskMia]

I knew about the labyrinth being based on Minoan architecture from a history channel show that was trying to find THE labyrinth. There were a lot of promising caves, but nothing like what the myth describes. Then it went into this theory that, since the Greeks were all about that symmetry in their buildings, the intricate and frequent turns in Minoan hallways would be arcane and unsettling to the Greeks, maybe SO unsettling, that it turned into the myth of the labyrinth.

I'm sure i got some details wrong, but i always found that theory I was super into ancient Greece as a kid, and i miss when the history channel actually covered historical things....

[errorcrj]

The glorious unity of the two biggest things on this channel: history and mythology (which in this case is secretly an embellished historical account) to explain one of the most mysterious civilizations?
Anthropology (and this channel) has blessed us

[calistakibak]

The eruption of Thera was insanely large, with accounts of ash clouds being found from China, and I believe Egypt too, at the time. The effects from a volcanic eruption like acid rain or ashfall can lead to widespread crop failure (lowering pH of soil and introducing too much sulfur), which can lead to starvation and cannibalism. Ashfall is also extremely dangerous for a nation dependant on its navy (and the visibility of naval people) for protection. Even now, flights are canceled when there is a volcanic eruption that spews too much ash (ex Iceland). If we are assuming that they had plumbing, based on their ability to create flushing toilets, storm drainage systems that still work, and terracotta pipes, it is likely that the ash would make its way into their clean water as well. Cleaning ash out of the entire sewer system is unlikely to have happened, so the health of the people of Krete was likely at risk. If there is widespread damage to land and technology, it's possible that the economic situation also suffered. Trade between islands could have been more difficult due to visibility issues. In a situation where your technology, health, and economy deteriorate, people are most likely going to suffer trauma, which could be another reason for further societal collapse. I believe the aftereffects from the volcano, not the initial blast, destroyed the Minoan culture.

[grapeshot]

Yeah everybody likes a good mystery that's why I Scooby-Doo is still going strong after 50 years.

[bradythomas]

I actually heard an idea that because of the fact that the Minoans were a maritime empire, they caused deforestation on Krete. They cut down all the trees or at least did not new ones fast enough and ran out of wood to help build or repair ships. Is the main cause no, the Mycenaean conquest is much more final then running out of building material, but I though it would interesting to mention this theory

[Fortzon]

The theory that myth of the Minotaur might be a retelling of a Mycenaean invasion of Minoan Crete makes me wonder how much modern wars might mutate over 4 millennia.

[jjkthebest]

I really like these really ancient civilisations. When I think of a really old civilisation, the roman empire is the first that comes to mind. But then I consider that these guys were almost as old to the romans as the romans are to us, and it just fills me with awe.

[Mech]

The Minoans are perfect showcases of two of my favorite adages from my field;

"When in doubt, it's ritual."
"Archaeology is like building a fully functioning DeLorean based on one hub cap and a vague description of Back to The Future 2."

[merrittanimation]

Mycenaean Athenians: "You guys are pirates!"
Minoans: "We prefer the term "Freelance-traders"."

[elleelle]

as someone who has actually been to knossos and in the History museum there, I can say that they are really obsessed with bulls, I decided to count the amount of bulls there, and it ended up being like roughly 140ish, which is a lot

[andrewk]

The irony is that I was told in a class on Greek history that the Minoans actually taught the Mycenaeans how to build ships and travel by sea shortly after the proto-mycenaeans arrived in mainland Greece, which the Mycenaeans adapted for warfare purposes and then invaded the Minoans.

Totally different characterization of the Minoans, in your interpretation the Minoans were more unjust rulers over the Mycenaeans, but my Greek history professor's interpretation is that the Minoans were peaceful and their cooperation with the Mycenaeans led to their demise. I like that we have totally different ideas of what they were, because the Minoans really are an engima.

[rotciv]

Wow, if the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur had such seemingly strong basis on real events, one could even say that the original "Minotaur" could be explained as being a Minoan champion or warrior wearing a bull helm that Theseus slew, and over the ages the story was warped to it's current state due to how negative Greece's lingering perspective on the Minoans was that they demonized what was probably just an important warrior guy into a monstrous abomination.

[herddragon]

"a mythological game of telephone"....

wait i just wrote the exact same line in my essay about the evolution of more modern folklore.
the minoans are definitely an interesting part of history.

[ElizaGlide]

Yeah, that whole “recreation” trend in early archaeology was/is still a pain to all archaeologists. Worse still, it wasn’t just temples either. That Minoan priestess statue of the woman on the right, or the “Snake Goddess, ” was extremely well-preserved, only missing one of her arms at the elbow and her head, and the jerk who dug it up just created the head and arm from whole cloth. The cat-thing on her head was a completely different relic he thought *might* have been part of the Snake Goddess statue.

Say what you want about Howard Carter. At least he never took a broken artifact and filled in what he reckoned the missing piece looked like.

[MollyFiddler]

Hey! I'm a native and I really liked your video! I've visited the Palace of Knossos and Archeological Museum in Hereaklion a thousand times and I wish that everyone here who say that Minoans are their favourite civilization has the chance to visit them too!! They're breathtaking! The Octopus vase is one of my favourite exhibits! Keep up the good work! 🐂