The Minoans: The Forgotten Sea Empire
Dean Bohus
How can I ignite a passion for history in my students? That’s a question I found myself asking when I was teaching at Trenton Central High School while doing my first clinical experience at The College of New Jersey. Naturally, I began with looking back at my high school teachers trying to remember what they did that allowed me to not just passively learn, but to explore my interests as well. The paper that follows this introduction was my capstone paper I wrote while at TCNJ studying history. It covers a people known as the Minoans. These seafaring people of the Bronze Age are not likely to be found in any high school history textbook. However, I decided to write about the Minoans in such length because of a project I did in my English class in high school. (Yes, you read that right, my English class.)
My English teacher at the time, Ms. Lutz, had allowed the class to do a presentation on a topic of our choosing. As a person who found English to be very boring and history much more interesting this project excited me as I was able to dive deeper into a topic I was interested in. I ended up settling on the Minoans as I had only heard their name once briefly in a video discussing Crete. Ms. Lutz’s English project allowed me to have choice in my learning all while developing my presentation making skills and teaching me how to do proper research. If the goal of your lesson is to develop student research and presentation skills then focus on that. Students will be much more willing to speak in front of the class if they are passionate about the subject. That little bit of research at the high school level might even turn into a capstone paper one day. So why is this important? How does this help me create passion for history in the classroom? Give your students some agency in what they learn. Let them tell you what they find interesting about U.S. or world history and let them explore that interest in your class. This also shows us history does not have to be confined to the history classroom instead other subjects can use history as a backdrop to explore concepts and develop new skills.
During the Bronze Age trade flourished in the Mediterranean. Few people were as well situated to capitalize on this fact then the inhabitants of the Island of Crete. The people of this island during the 3rd to 1st millennia B.C.E.E. are known to modern historians as the “Minoans”. Who were the Minoans and what did they do? The Minoans really excelled at creating high quality products. At first mastering pottery allowed them to create vessels for holding agricultural products like olive oil. When faced with a lack of valuable metals and materials like copper and tin, on the island, they were forced to turn to trade to get rarer resources. This trade centered around providing olive oil and other goods in exchange for these precious resources which could be used in the creation of desirable specialized products. This operation eventually expanded to become an intricate sea trading network that encompassed large portions of the Mediterranean and beyond. Minoan products have even been found as far as the Indus River Valley. However, material goods were not the only thing traded by the Minoans. Culture was readily exchanged as well both willingly and as a side effect of trade. Minoans managed to spread their culture while incorporating elements from foreign cultures that proved beneficial. While much information about the Minoan civilization has been lost to history, the vastness and importance of their trade empire economically and culturally can not be overstated. Many civilizations of this time like the Phoenicians, Sumerians, and the Harappans of the Indus rRiver valley tend to overshadow the Minoans but they should be seen as cultural equals to these complex societies. Their central geographic location, coupled with a need to trade for raw materials as well as fostering skilled artisans enabled the Minoans to become a Bronze Age thalassocracy with influence on many civilizations.
The Bronze Age in Crete is generally considered to have lasted from around the 3rd millennium B.C.E. to the 1st millennium B.C.E.[1] The Minoans received exposure to metallurgy and bronze making from the east. The Island of Crete is the largest in the Aegean Sea and also the furthest south. This geographical position made Crete a natural stop on the many trade routes of the Mediterranean. Crete was perfectly positioned to receive sea trading merchants from all their neighbors. Mainland Greece to the northwest, the Cyclades to the north, Anatolia to the northeast, Egypt to the southeast, Cyprus to the east, and even further east Syria. This places Crete in the middle of some of the most important civilizations of the Bronze Age. The innovations of the Bronze Age first began in the east and it is no wonder how the Minoans gained access to this knowledge. While the Minoans were influenced heavily by the cultures that they came in contact with, the Minoans developed a distinct culture of their own. This is contrary to what historians of the past once believed. Historians used to think that the Minoans were not a distinct culture but instead a more of a imitator of Anatolian, Syrian, and Egyptian customs. This can not be further from the truth; instead the Minoans created a highly advanced culture which spread its influence to the furthest reaches of the known world at the time.[2]
Even in the 21st century when writing about Minoan cultural spread, archeologists like Cyprian Broodbank and Evangelia Kiriatzi write that the “Minoanization” of surrounding islands and the Mediterranean remain controversial.[3] Cultural spread was not the only highly contentious aspect of the Minoan civilization. An article by Chester G. Starr really exemplifies how some scholars used to feel about the Minoans having large influence in the Mediterranean or even the Aegean. Writing in 1955 Starr confidently writes off the Minoan thalassocracy stating
The Minoan thalassocracy is a myth, and an artificial one to boot. It is amazing that the patent falsity of the basic idea has never been fully analyzed, for neither logically, archaeologically, nor historically can the existence of a Cretan mastery of the seas be proved.[4]
As the history of the Minoans becomes more and more clear through archeological finds Starr’s article appears more and more outdated. While he recognizes the fact that trade between Crete and Syria as well as trade between Crete and Egypt existed, he heavily downplays the Minoan involvement in this trade. Proclaiming instead that Minoans were nothing more than intermediaries between great powers.[5] Starr even writes off Minoan control of the Aegean by saying that they would not be able to field the required number of ships.[6] The idea of Minoan colonies is also completely downplayed as nothing more than a few factories created by Minoans for native populations of those islands to gather and produce products.[7] Early and mid 20th century historians certainly did not see the Minoans to be as capable as they were.
In 1962 an article by Robert J. Buck continues to echo this sentiment. Buck writes “No matter how prosperous Crete may have been, there was simply no place in the Late Bronze Age for a Minoan thalassocracy.”[8] His reasoning is that Crete did not have the industry capable of producing enough goods for a large overseas market.[9] It was not until the 1990s that scholars began to find more evidence that Crete could have held an empire of the sea and the Minoans were their own advanced culture.[10] Today the topic is still debated and the true scale of the Minoans’ influence is not completely clear. Evidence gathered in this paper however points to the existence of a heavily influential Minoan thalassocracy.
Trade was what built this Empire and was the primary way that Minoans spread their culture. The geographic location of Crete was not the only factor that led to the Minoans creating a trade empire. The Minoans had access to plentiful land to produce agricultural products in large quantities. Grapes, olives, pears, etc. were vital to the Minoan economy and way of life. Grapes were used to produce wine and tablets found at Knossos, the Minoan capital, reference 420 grape vines in the area and tablet “GM 840” records over 14,000 liters of wine that were brought to Knossos as a product of the last harvest.[11] Olives were also fundamental to the people of Crete and the Mediterranean and were always in high demand. Olives and olive oil took a long time to spoil, were used in cooking, washing oneself, burned in lamps, and were used as body oil. Olives were enjoyed both in their pressed oil form and regularly eaten without being pressed. These many different uses for olives made it a major crop of the Minoan economy. More tablets found at Knossos document 9,000 liters of olives being produced in just the Dawos area of the Messara plain of Crete.[12] Pears were also grown and might have even been native to Crete with Minoan trade being the reason the fruit spread throughout the Mediterranean.[13] While having an abundance of agricultural products is certainly good, the Island of Crete was lacking valuable metals that were the building blocks for societies of the Bronze age. Metals like copper, tin and gold were not found readily enough to support the demand on the island and this forced the Minoans to turn to their neighbors to acquire these metals.
Copper and tin were combined to create the alloy of bronze, a vital resource of the time. The island of Cyprus to the east was a large supplier of copper to the Mediterranean and made a perfect trade partner for the Minoans. Copper ingots from Cyprus were found at the Minoan palace-temple of Zakro confirming trade between the two islands.[14] It seems connections between Cyprus and Crete date back to the early and mid-Bronze Age.[15] Minoan pottery has been found on Cyprus in important places like palaces and ingots of various metals traded to the Minoans by the Cypriots have been found on Crete.[16] Some Cypriot pottery had even been found in the port of Kommos on Crete. All of these connections show a healthy trade relationship between the two islands. It is also clear that the Minoan and Cretans developed some kind of rapport as the Cypro-Minoan script begins to appear on traded items. The Cypro-Minoan script was a shared syllabary that the two islands utilized in trade with one another.[17] While the script remains undeciphered it allows archeologists to tell when items have come from Cyprus. Lead, copper, and tin ingots have been found bearing Cypro-Minoan markings with Cypriot lead mines being identified as far as Sardinia.[18] These are the kinds of metals that Minoans would have been in heavy need of and thus this close relationship between Cyprus and the Minoans makes sense. The Minoans would have used these metals to manufacture all kinds of various products. Cypriots were getting their lead from mines in Sardinia to trade that lead to the Minoans who then used lead to create objects that were sold overseas to places in Anatolia and Egypt. This is a perfect example of how interconnected Mediterranean civilizations were in the Bronze age and is not dissimilar to trade in the modern day.
Evidence of overseas trade is easy to spot all around Crete. For example, in the city of Myrtos imported metal objects, stone vessels, and obsidian have been found. Within the city, pottery and textiles were produced which could have been exported in exchange for these goods. Myrtos, like many Minoan cities, was located near the coast and many of these cities had their own ports and had more access to the outside world than might be expected.[19] Minoans most likely constructed their cities with trade as a central tenant. This is evident by the distribution of settlements around the island. The west side of Crete is almost completely barren of settlements while the north, south, and east have plenty of large cities. When looking at this from a trade point of view it makes sense as Minoans would have been primarily trading with the Cycledies to their north, Anatolia, Cyprus, and Syria to the east, and Egypt to the south. While Minoan pottery has been found west, in places like Malta for example, Minoans seemed to be more focussed on conducting their business in the eastern Mediterranean. Ports and harbors did not only exist in large cities. Evidence of Minoan ports have been found in many coastal regions of Crete and on nearby islands like Dia and Thera.[20] Having ports scattered throughout the sea allowed Minoan sailors to have many points where they could stop and rest. It is also crucial for long range seafaring as these journeys could be very dangerous and various weather conditions could spell disaster for ships and their crew. Having ports along the way to their destination allowed ships to take stops and wait for more favorable weather and wind conditions if needed.
Minoans traded in many different kinds of products and were not limited to their agricultural surplus of olives and wine. In fact, skilled artisans were highly valued in Minoan society and were some of the most adept in the Mediterranean. Vathypetro, a Minoan building in the Cretan countryside, gives historians a glimpse into the industries Minoans engaged in. The building is dated to 1580 B.C.E. and had a wine press, clay loom weights for weaving, an oil press, 16 storage jars, multiple potters wheels, and a farm on the property.[21] Rodney Castleden, author of Minoans:Life in Bronze Age Crete suggests that it could have been a summer residence for the king, wealthy landowner or just as likely a communal industrial and agricultural center where Minoan artisans and farmers in the area could work. It is clear that Minoan goods were highly valued as they have been found all over the Mediterranean and beyond. Other cultures also show clear inspiration taken from Minoan frescoes and pottery showing the scale of Minoan influence. The largest potency of this influence is seen in Minoan colonies and close neighbors like the Mycenaeans. However, very proud and ancient civilizations like Egypt have shown to have respected the Minoans to a certain degree and had interest in their art and products.
At some point Minoans began to make changes to their social structure to prioritize artisans and the manufacturer of luxury goods. This can be seen in the Minoan palace-temples. In Minoan society towns littered the countryside but in large cities there were often massive palace-temples where the elite and priests would live and in the case of Knossos a king or some kind of central authority. The main temples were located in Knossos, Kydonia, Phaistos, Zakro, and Mallia.[22]
Archaeologists have been able to discover that at some point before 1700 B.C.E. Minoan craftsmen and artisans concentrated within these temples. It seems that artisans were gathered to collectively work as full time specialists paid by the state. This proximity to other skilled specialists allowed them to share ideas and learn from each other creating ambitious works for domestic use and for transportation overseas.[23] At Phaistos within the store rooms some pithoi made by these craftsmen survived to this day.[24] Castleden describes the work made by these specialists as reaching “levels of technical skill and artistry so high that some of their works rank among the finest ever produced in Europe.”[25] It is no wonder why Minoan products were sought out all through the Mediterranean and beyond. By focusing their talents together and producing artwork that surpassed anything that their competitors were producing they found a lucrative market in luxury goods.
With the palace-temples being the concentrated point for artisans they also became trade hubs as a consequence of both having the skilled workforce needed to use these raw materials and being the center of bureaucracy in the region. Imported materials found include silver, tin, copper, ivory, gold, lapis lazuli, ostrich eggs and plumes, exotic stones, and more.[26] These materials were then worked on by specialists at the temples where the finished products were sold both to local markets and taken by seafaring traders to foreign markets. Having the temples act as the center of industry, trade, faith, and bureaucracy as well as having five of these temples spread around the island created an efficient and administratively run government. Some early theories about the Minoan government suggested that these temples were seats of different city-states like those of mainland Greece. However, consensus now is that each temple had a local bureaucracy that controlled a portion of the island, but in the end they were all subservient to the main seat of power in Knossos. Keeping a well run and organized government is vital for sustaining a far-reaching trade empire with connections around the world and it appears the Minoans recognized this. It is very possible that Minoans understood how to organize themselves into a more centralized state by looking at the Egyptians.
As the Minoans were looking towards the Egyptians for inspiration other less developed peoples were looking at the Minoans as an example of a developed culture. By looking at the ruins of a palace at the ancient site of Tel Kabri, located in modern day Israel, archeologists have noticed shocking similarities between this palace and Minoan palaces. For example, Minoan style fresco fragments have been found that seem to be mimicking the Minoan style. The palatial layout and construction of the palace also seems to coincide with the Minoans expanding their palaces.[27] It should not be so surprising that foreign merchants most likely visited Knossos or other palaces on Crete and were amazed at what they saw there. When they returned home the nobility of places like Tel Kabri wanted to emulate the great Minoan culture to give some kind of additional legitimacy to their own rule. This is an example of the Minoans having great influence on outside cultures without doing much to influence these people.
Additionally, by analyzing animal bones found at the site archaeologists could determine that the people at Tel Kabri started using meat cleavers to cut bone and extract marrow. This had occurred just slightly after the same development happened within Minoan society.[28] Again this showcases how trade partners of the Minoans benefited from not only the exchange of goods but also the exchange of ideas coming from Crete.
Egypt was one of the many civilizations that benefited from trade with the Minoans. This is evidenced by the many Minoan products found in Egypt. Most commonly found is Minoan pottery. Pottery from Crete has been found all over Egypt. In her article “The Perceived Value of Minoan and Minoanizing Pottery in Egypt” Caitlín E. Barrett discusses why Egyptians desired Minoan pottery and who in Egypt was buying it. Through her findings she concludes that people of nearly all strata had access to Minoan pottery and other Minoan products like cups for example.[29] Cretan pottery has been found in Egyptian homes and even graves indicating that it was used either practically or as display pieces. Essentially showcasing that they have exotic pottery from a distant land.[30] Its presence in Egyptian graves is also a strong indicator that Minoan pottery was quite well revered in some respects and that some Egyptians wanted to take it with them even in the afterlife. Minoans only imported a very small number of manufactured goods as they produced most, if not all, of these goods domestically. Of the manufactured goods imported to Crete almost all that have been found were Egyptian.[31] This really demonstrates the longstanding connection between these two cultures and the admiration they held for one another.
It can be deduced that Minoans had been visiting Egypt for many years, evidenced by the style of clothing the Egyptians portrayed Cretans wearing in their paintings. As Minoan clothing trends changed, as can be seen in Minoan artwork of themselves on Crete, these same changes are depicted in Egyptian iconography featuring Minoans. The Rekhmire paintings, located in the tomb of Rekhmire in the Egyptian city of Thebes, depict Minoan envoys wearing patterned kilts without cod pieces and a hemline sloping down towards the front.[32] Through cleaning an original coat of paint was revealed showing an older style of Minoan dress, kilts with codpieces and an upwards sloping hemline. This indicates that the Egyptians made clear efforts to update their portrayal of Minoans through the centuries. Wall paintings in the Tomb of Senmut also have Minoans depicted with the older style of outfit dating to the 1500s B.C.E.[33] At the same time on Crete in Minoan frescoes monkeys are painted blue which is a common feature of Egyptian portrayals of monkeys. A study published by the Cambridge University Press even suggests that the Minoans were the first Europeans to have contact with non-human primates.[34] The frescoes also often feature depictions of papyrus which was not grown in Crete but rather procured from Egypt. The presence of papyrus in these frescoes may also indicate Minoans trying to replicate features commonly seen in Egyptian art. These two features of Minoan frescoes can point to the Minoans certainly being influenced by Egyptian art. When added to the Egyptian portrayals of Minoans, a picture of two cultures with respect for each other and who came into contact with each other often starts to emerge.
Another piece of evidence that lets historians know that Egyptian and Minoan cultures came into frequent contact are inscriptions written by Egyptians discussing Minoans. One such inscription can be found once again in the Tomb of Rekhmire. Rekhmire was an Egyptian vizier, who was visited by the Minoans around 1470-1450 B.C.E.[35] and the inscription under a painting of the Minoan envoys reads “Princes of the Land of Keftiu (Crete) and of the isles which are in the midst of the sea.”[36] The isles mentioned most likely refer to the other islands of the Aegean. The mention of “the isles” in this inscription is good evidence that the Minoans had established colonies, trade posts, and had built an empire in the Aegean by the 15th century B.C.E. Another inscription at the base of a statue in the funeral temple of Amenhotep III lists nine place names. Four were located in Pylos, a Mycenaen kingdom and four were cities on Crete: Knossos, Amnisos, Lyktos, and Dikte.[37] The final place name was the island of Kythera which was a Minoan colony.[38] The purpose of this inscription is not entirely known but it is possible it relates to trusted trade partners or cities in which trade deals were made within Amenhotp’s lifetime.
Cultural exchanges between the Minoans and Egyptians were not entirely one sided. Some evidence from a discovery in 1991 suggests that Minoans had substantially more influence over Egyptian culture than previously thought. In Tell el-Dab’a a Minoan style fresco was uncovered depicting a bull leaping, among other things. The bull is a common trope in Minoan art work and often associated with Crete even in the present day. In an article by Sara Cole she looks into the techniques used to determine if this fresco was Minoan or Egyptian in origin. Looking at the fresco a lime plaster was used which corresponds with frescoes found in Knossos and Akrotiri, Minoan cities. In contrast Egyptian wall paintings utilized a gypsum plaster.[39]
Another indicator that this fresco is Minoan in origin are the proportions. Egyptians utilized a grid to create proportions unique to Egyptian art; they also had particular proportions for human beings. There is no evidence of these proportions or grid being followed in the Tell el-Dab’a fresco.[40]
Furthermore, there is evidence that a string was used on the wet plaster to create borders which is an explicitly Minoan technique.[41] From these observations it is clear that the fresco was created using Minoan techniques and imagery. The question that arises becomes, is this merely an imitation of Minoan art or were Minoans hired to create this fresco for Egyptians? Cole argues the latter by looking at the pigments utilized in the fresco. All the pigments utilized are common in Minoan frescoes found in Knossos and elsewhere. By looking specifically at the Egyptian blue and the elements that comprise the pigment evidence for the fresco being a commissioned work come to light. The type of Egyptian blue used in this fresco contains a copper-tin alloy which had been used for centuries by Minoans and can be found in frescos on the island of Thera and in Knossos on Crete itself. This composition for Egyptian blue is not typically used by Egyptians and instead indicates that the painters most likely brought it with them from Crete.[42] It is clear that skilled Minoan artisans were valued enough to be hired even by the great powers of the time and that these painters were specifically sought out. While historians used to believe that Minoans merely imitated the cultures around them, this fresco proves that Minoan culture was valued by others and even the Egyptians looked at Minoan art as desirable.
Another specialized art form that Minoans became masterful at was faience. Faience is glazed pottery usually decorated with paintings. Between 1700-1400 B.C.E. Minoan faience had been perfected and the Minoans were able to create polychrome faience pieces with many different inlaid colors.[43] M.S. Tite et al. in The Journal of Archaeological Science look through electron microscopes to determine the colors of the weathered faience samples that have been recovered from Crete. As a consequence of severe weathering the Minoan faience recovered is often gray, white, and brown with most of the color washed away. However, through the use of electron microscopy “bright turquoise blue, purple and violet, and pale yellow-green and greenish turquoise”[44] have all been determined to have originally been visible on these pieces. Rodney Castleden looked at the faience industry as proof of collaboration between the different artisans within the temples. He comes to this conclusion by stating that faience is a craft that utilizes the “shared experience of many different crafts [which] implies collaboration.”[45] Potters and the pot painters or even the designers of the particular faience imagery could all be different specialists who came together to create faience works of very high quality. These works could then be exported and traded for a much greater value than the material used in its construction.
Minoan stone working was also highly desired around the Mediterranean. The Minoans used stone to make vases, buckets, jars, bowls, and lamps with incredible skill. They utilized highly creative designs for example, pot lids with the handles sculpted to resemble reclining dogs.[46] They used various and sometimes exotic stones from around the Mediterranean to create colorful masterpieces. Rosso antico from the Greek mainland, white-speckled obsidian from the island of Yiali, alabaster from Egypt, gypsum, limestone, serpentine, porphyry, black obsidian from Cappadocia, basalt from the Peloponnese, and more were all used.[47] Minoans even coated some of these stoneworks in gold leaf and their stoneworkers were extremely desired by other cultures.[48] The Minoan economy depended on workers like these to make highly desirable products for foreign and domestic trade. Gathering these stones from over the Mediterranean and creating beautiful stoneworks was only possible with the centralization of artisans within the palace-temples and a vast trade network. Taking Crete’s rather meager raw resources and utilizing them to trade for specialized materials like obsidian or serpentine to create high quality in demand masterworks was the formula which the Minoan government used to become extremely wealthy and renowned.
This wealth is evident even today when traversing the ancient ruins of the Minoan temple-palaces. Large frescos and decadent architecture can be seen as well as the monumental scale of the palace. The palace would have been multiple stories high and the upper floors would have held the more extravagant rooms like dining and banquet halls. The lower floors on the other hand were relegated to housing the workshops and storerooms.[49] There were guest and service stairways as well as kitchens and pantries where food would be prepared for guests.[50] The rooms would have also been beautifully decorated with painted walls, columns, and frescos. The Minoan nobility clearly wanted to show off their wealth when designing these palaces. The layouts of the palace themselves would also often be intricate and creative with none of the Minoan palaces being the same. It is no wonder that the story of Daedalus, an extremely skilled architect, takes place on the Island of Crete. It seems that Minoan architecture over time became somewhat legendary and constructions like the labyrinth of Knossos sparked myths to grow when the Greeks conquered the island. Another interesting aspect of the Minoan palaces are that they embody both function and form. They are extremely grandiose but still hold the storerooms for the goods waiting to be exported and also the artisans’ workshops. The palaces were not just residencies for nobility but also quite literally the economic heart of the island.
Artifacts made in these workshops, like a collection of 153 silver cups and one gold cup, have been found in the ancient Egyptian town of Tôd. The Egyptian deposit in which they were found has been dated to the 1920s B.C.E. and all the cups appear to have been made by Minoans made in a style used on the island from 2000-1900 B.C.E.[51] The cups were apparently offered to the Egyptians as tribute from a Syrian king. This shows that Minoan products were found in many places and were valued enough to be accepted as tribute. Gold itself was imported to Crete from Egyptian gold mines in the Sinai, the Arabian desert, and Anatolia. Skilled Minoan craftsmen worked this gold into cups, jewelry, sword hilts, statues, and more. They then took these products and sold them overseas at a large profit. Gold cups made by Minoan craftsmen were found at a burial in Vaphio on the Peloponnese as well.[52] Examples of Minoan products made of precious metals are rare especially on Crete itself as many would have been stolen and sold or melted down at some point. That makes any examples of Minoan products like these extremely useful to know the level of expertise Minoans had when working with silver and gold.
Another valuable resource imported by the Minoans was ivory. Ivory carving was done on Crete and might have been taught to the Minoans by the Syrians whose carvings share a lot in common with Minoan examples. An example of a Minoan ivory relief carving was found in an unlooted Mycenaean tomb. The carving was probably a decoration attached to wood furniture.[53] It features a scene of marine motifs such as argonauts, seashells, seaweed and rockwork.[54] Marine motifs seem to be very common across all mediums of later Minoan art. As the Minoans used the sea as their lifeblood this makes sense. Maybe the most common way Minoans used ivory though was in the creation of sealstones. Sealstones could be made of a couple different materials like stone, ivory, or bronze, but they served an important purpose in society. Sealstones were essentially the equivalent of today’s signature for the Minoans. Every person of importance or business man would have their own unique seal.[55] Many different designs have been found on Minoan sealstones, but they often featured animals like bulls, lions, birds, or marine life.[56] They also sometimes featured common patterns at the time like the swastika.[57] For a highly mercantile society sealstones were even more pertinent. Merchants could stamp pottery with their seal so you would know who the product was from; it was essentially a Bronze Age business logo.
As other specialized crafts developed, simple pottery did as well. Castleden calls Minoan pottery “the finest… in the civilized world.”[58] Minoan pottery featured elegant designs and would often be painted with intricate patterns and swirling shapes. Kamares are just one type of Minoan pottery and features a dark background with light colored designs overtop.[59] A Minoan pithos found in Phrygia showcases an optical illusion of six conjoined heads. The viewer is only able to see around two heads at a time as the concentric lines only appear to form heads when they are in your direct eyeline.[60] This kind of design where there are images hidden in minimalist patterns is not uncommon for Minoan pottery. A jug depicting birds made out of spirals and other flowing shapes shows how Minoan painters loved to play with perception by using highly creative and arctic designs.[61] Another common feature of Minoan pottery is the marine motif. Minoans loved showing marine life, especially animals like octopi and fish. The sprawling arms of an octopus provided great ways to fill up space on the pottery.[62] The marine motifs also fit with the seafaring nature of Minoan society and Minoans would have had plenty of experience with these animals to render them correctly.
Minoan trade did not end at Mediterranean civilizations. Instead, a new study suggests that Minoans had direct trade routes with the Indus River Valley civilization. Located in areas of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India it is clear that Minoans had quite the trading capability to be able to do business so far away. Minoans were not simple intermediaries in these trade deals, instead they were a main trade partner. This was unearthed by looking at weight measurements of each society and comparing them. Merchants trading with other civilizations would bring their weights and balance scales with them and allow these weights to be copied by the other party creating a uniform weight system between the two.[63] This practice probably started in Mesopotamia and spread from there.
Every time the weights were copied however it seems that they began to deviate from the original slightly. This made the weights a bit too heavy or too light and each time they were copied they would veer further from the original, like a game of telephone. Using this, archeologists could see which civilizations had identical weights to tell if there was a direct trade route between the two. The Minoans had four different measurements of identical weights with the Indus River Valley civilization. Some of these weights were recovered on Crete itself and some were from Minoan colonies. This shows that the Minoan colonies did actively participate in a lot of trade and that the colonies and Crete itself worked together.
The highest concentration of weights came from the city of Akrotiri on the island of Thera, modern day Santorini. Thera was a prominent Minoan colony and an important trade hub.[64] The route proposed by the authors of the study would be from a city named Shortugai, in modern-day Afghanistan, through Iran, and up to the city of Trebizond on Anatolia’s Black Sea coast.[65] There Minoan merchants would be waiting and goods would be exchanged. This is quite different to the previously held view of the scope of Minoan trade. It was previously thought that trade from India to Crete would have only been done with Mesopotamian peoples acting as middlemen.[66] Instead direct trade between India and Crete puts into perspective the scale of Minoan trade influence and connections. Knowing this, other proposed theories like Crete receiving its tin from Britain become more probable. No concrete evidence has been found of this though and the source of tin for the Minoans is still unidentified.
To sustain such a vast trade empire the Minoans needed a capable fleet of ships to transport their goods as well as a naval fleet to protect these goods from pirates. Thucydides actually credits the Minoans with creating the first ever naval fleet, writing
The earliest ruler known to have possessed a fleet was Minos. He made himself master of the Greek waters and subjugated the Cyclades by expelling the Carians and establishing his sons in control of the new settlements founded in their place; and naturally, for the safer conveyance of his revenues, he did all he could to suppress piracy.[67]
The veracity of this claim is hard to prove and it should be noted that Thucydides was writing roughly 1000 years after the Minoans were conquered by the Mycenaeans. Despite this, it does give a good idea of how Greeks thought of the Minoans even long after they were gone. From the quote some general truths can be garnered, the Minoans controlled the Cyclades and had a strong fleet to suppress piracy which gives credence to the Minoans being a thalassocracy. Island Empires always prioritize constructing a large naval force to protect their home island and overseas colonies. The early 20th century Japanese and the British Empire are good examples of this. In this regard the Minoans were no different. The exact scale of the Minoan navy is the real mystery that can only be solved if more archeological evidence comes to light.
Even though archeologists do not have many examples of Minoan ships outside of paintings, a very small number of confirmed Minoan shipwrecks have been found. The first of which was discovered by Greek archeologist Elpida Hadjidaki in 2004. The wreck was found on the seafloor off the coast of the island of Pseira.[68] The fact that this was only discovered so recently really shows how Minoan history is very much still being written. In 1976 Jacques Cousteau discovered some Minoan pottery in the shallows of the island to add to that Pseira was also known as a Bronze Age sea port.[69] Even though this seems like a prime location for a Minoan shipwreck to be located, the deeper waters surrounding the island were never explored until Hadjidaki’s team did a dive there. On the seafloor 209 ceramic amphoras were discovered, 80 of which were completely or nearly completely intact.[70] The layout of how they were discovered also provides significant information about what the original dimensions of the ship were. Hadjidaki estimates the ship to be 32 to 50 feet long.[71] This is consistent with iconography from Minoan frescoes of what a smaller Minoan ship should look like. Hadjidaki also suggested that this ship is most likely a local ship that did not do long distance journeys to procure overseas goods.[72] It makes sense the Minoans would have many classes of ships some larger for longer expeditions and others smaller to acquire local goods. Yet, the sheer amount of amphoras found on one singular ship gives an idea on how impressive the scale of Minoan trade was. The fact that this was a small local ship must be emphasized as their large ships could have carried possibly thousands of amphora most likely carrying olive oil and wine.
Many depictions of Minoan ships can be found on sealstones on Crete. Many of these vessels have only a single mast. Arthur Evans in his article The Early Nilotic, Libyan and Egyptian Relations with Minoan Crete suggests that a small Minoan ship with a crew of less than 12 could have traveled to Benghazi in Libya or Alexandria in Egypt easily.[73] He even claims that it is very possible that because of the favorable winds, current, and extensive Cretan forests providing good quality wood, the Minoans might have been the first people to traverse the open Mediterranean.[74] This would align with the claim made by Thucydides and gives even more of an explanation on why the Minoans became a thalassocracy. The extreme deforestation of the Island of Crete can be explained by Minoans using the island’s once extensive forests to build ships.
These ships must have been stopping at Minoan colonies along their voyages and the name of the Minoans themselves may lend a hand in finding out the extent of these colonies in the Mediterranean. Many bronze age port cities throughout the Mediterranean bear the name “Minoa”. These cities reach as far west as Sicily and are scattered throughout the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Minoans got their name in the early 20th century being named by historians after the legendary King Minos from Greek stories. Although this is the case, Castleden argues that it is very possible that Minos was the title of the Minoan king and the colonies were named after him.[75] It could make sense as an etymological remnant of Minoan rule. The location of these cities being coastal, having distinctly Minoan street plans, Minoan style of architecture, Minoan burial customs, and pottery shops in the Minoan style, all point towards these “Minoa” as being Minoan colonies.[76]
To clarify, not all Minoan colonies held the name Minoa. Instead, there is a significant list of other settlements that share all the characteristics of Minoan colonies. Kastri on the island of Kythera is theorized to have been the first Minoan colony with Minoan settlement dating back to before 2000 B.C.E.[77] Kastri was first excavated in the early 1960s and was determined to be a Minoan colony from the heavy presence of Minoan pottery and evidence of Cretan cultural practices. Another thing to note is the presence of what seems to be pottery belonging to a native population of the island.[78] By dating the pottery and looking at expansion of the settlement it can be seen that this native pottery style was slowly overtaken and eventually completely replaced by Minoan styles as the centuries went by.[79] This probably indicates either the expulsion of the native people of Kythera or their assimilation into Minoan society. The original excavation in the 1960s only uncovered a small amount of the total island while more recent excavations have been able to unearth much more land area.
Through these newer excavations Minoan presence on the island seems to have extended beyond just Kastri.[80] Though the question of whether the native population was pushed out or integrated into Minoan society has not been fully answered it does allow for some insight into Minoan colonial practices. It is clear that Minoans were not adverse to settling in areas where native populations were already residing. The Minoans likely colonized Kythera in order to have a rest stop for ships and to monopolize on trading routes coming through the west of the Aegean. Another reason for their settlement would surely be to extract any and all material resources that the island had.[81] It also leaves the possibility that Minoans incorporated other cultures into their own and at the apex of their expansion they had multiple ethnic peoples in their domain.
While Kastri might have been the first Minoan colony, perhaps the most discussed and important to understanding Minoan colonies is Akrotiri on Thera. Essentially the Minoan equivalent of Pompeii, a volcanic eruption buried the city in ash in the 16th century B.C.E.[82] This left the city relatively well preserved. Three large vessels found at Akrotiri contained wine and olive oil residues.[83] The storeroom they were found in also featured large windows and archeologists think that this could have been used as a storefront.[84] It makes sense that Akrotiri had such stores as it would have been a pivotal stop for ships travelling through the eastern Mediterranean and even for ships going to and from the Black Sea. The Minoan civilization’s emphasis on trade is particularly noticeable when looking at their colonies. Their colonies always tend to be on the coast and in places that are on busy trade routes. They also tend to colonize places where it would be to rest on long voyages or to wait for favorable winds for their ships.
As seen with Kastri, Akrotiri was not an uninhabited island when Minoans arrived. Likewise with Kastri, local pottery styles seemed to become more Minoanized over time.[85] It seems Minoan colonies did not always rely on many colonists travelling from Crete to settle in these far away cities. Instead what probably occurred was artisans were sent from the palace-temples to teach the Cretan way of producing pottery, making frescos, etc.[86] In exchange some kind of agreement would be reached to bring the cities closer to the Minoans politically. Over time the city becomes “culturally colonized” without the need for conquest or resettlement of native peoples.[87] Evidence from Akrotiri gives more credence to the theory that the people of Kastri were assimilated into Minoan society without being expelled to an unknown location or killed. Evidence like Theran cultural and artistic expression still being present in their pottery and frescos combined with strong Minoan influences.[88] It seems that as long as you were capable of providing the Minoans with artisan goods and were located in a coastal area along trade routes they were eager to integrate you into the broader Minoan trade empire.
Minoans established colonies not just on islands but colonies like the one at Miletus in modern day Turkey show that they would establish colonies on the continent as well. Ninety-five percent of the pottery found at Miletus has been made in the Minoan style or was imported from Crete.[89] On top of that, seven inscriptions in Minoan Linear A script have been uncovered. Miletus is not one of a kind and Minoan frescoes and pottery have been found at Iasos, Turkey and Qatna, Syria which could also be potential Minoan colonies.[90] Iasos is the more likely location of a Minoan colony compared to Qatna as it is on the Aegean and Minoan colonies seem to always be close by to water. These colonies likely were used to produce grain and mine for copper as well as other metals that the Minoans lacked on Crete. As the Minoans had a mostly export based economy they would have been trying to cut down on importing food and copper as much as possible.
Castleden provides his reasoning for why colonies were established which again goes back to a lack of resources simply saying they were established as a response to a surge in population on Crete that necessitated having to look overseas for new supplies of grain and other food sources.[91] It seems that local populations integrated with the Minoan culture eventually but the question of how Minoan colonies were initially founded is still a mystery. It is possible that the Minoans were able to peacefully establish colonies. Minoan art and culture was much more advanced than their close neighbors and it can be theorized that gaining access to some of this Cretan knowledge could have convinced local peoples to allow Minoan settlements on their islands.[92] Despite this possibility it is a bit optimistic and it should be remembered that during this time period violence was often used and it would not be out of place for the Minoans to utilize it as well. Regardless of how the colonies were formed, the Minoan culture was spread and colonies were established using Minoan cities as reference.
Through this the Minoan Empire only further expanded their trade dominance and influence on Mediterranean culture.Minoan influence in the Mediterranean has been greatly diminished by historians for decades. It is now clear that Minoans turned to trade due to lack of natural resources. By concentrating their artisans together and creating specialized government run workshops Minoans were able to use raw materials to create elaborate products that were works of art. These products created a high demand for Minoan goods which allowed the Minoans to become very wealthy building large palaces and establishing colonies all over the Mediterranean. They also dealt not just in material goods but cultural goods as well. As with all trade this was not a one-way exchange. The Minoans took inspiration from the best and oldest cultures at the time, like the Egyptians, while spreading their own culture simultaneously. Where they established colonies they also spread their culture and it is possible many different peoples considered themselves Minoan by the time the empire fell. Minoan ships were able to carry hundreds or even thousands of amphora long distances and Crete alone produced tens of thousands of litres of olive oil and wine a harvest. The quality and quantity of Minoan industry was clearly an accomplishment to marvel at. By the way their contemporaries and the Greeks wrote about them, it becomes clear that the Minoans carried some level of respect and influence that should grant them more than a footnote in our history books. It is clear the Minoans controlled an impressive Bronze Age thalassocracy that spread its products just as far as its culture and left an indelible mark on Mediterranean civilization.
References
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[1] Rodney Castleden, Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete, (Routledge, 1993), 4.
[2] Castleden, Minoans, 3.
[3] Cyprian Broodbank and Evangelia Kiriatzi, “The First ‘Minoans’ of Kythera Revisited: Technology, Demography, and Landscape in the Prepalatial Aegean,” American Journal of Archaeology 111, no. 2 (2007): 241–74, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40037274, 241.
[4] Chester G. Starr, “The Myth of the Minoan Thalassocracy,”Historia : Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 3, no. 3 (1955): 282–91, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434736, 283.
[5] Starr, “The Myth of the Minoan Thalassocracy,” 284.
[6] Starr, “The Myth of the Minoan Thalassocracy,” 284.
[7] Starr, “The Myth of the Minoan Thalassocracy,” 285.
[8] Robert J. Buck, “The Minoan Thalassocracy Re-Examined,” Historia : Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 11, no. 2 (1962): 129–37, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434736, 131.
[9] Buck, “The Minoan Thalassocracy Re-Examined,” 131.
[10] Castleden, Minoans, 3.
[11] Castleden, Minoans, 45.
[12] Castleden, Minoans, 46.
[13] Castleden, Minoans, 46.
[14] Castleden, Minoans, 113.
[15] Katarzyna Zeman-Wiśniewska, “Re-Evaluation of Contacts between Cyprus and Crete from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age,”Electrum (Uniwersytet Jagielloński. Instytut Historii) 27, no. 27 (2020): 11–32, https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.20.001.12791, 26.
[16] Zeman-Wiśniewska, “Re-Evaluation of Contacts between Cyprus and Crete,” 26.
[17] N. Yahalom-Mack et al, “Incised Late Bronze Age Lead Ingots from the Southern Anchorage of Caesarea,” Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports 41 (2022): 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103321, 1-2.
[18] Yahalom-Mack et al, “Incised Late Bronze Age Lead Ingots from the Southern Anchorage of Caesarea,” 3.
[19] Castleden, Minoans, 63.
[20] Castleden, Minoans, 40.
[21] Castleden, Minoans, 40.
[22] Castleden, Minoans, 77.
[23] Castleden, Minoans, 78.
[24] Castleden, Minoans, 77.
[25] Castleden, Minoans, 108.
[26] Castleden, Minoans, 109.
[27] Nimrod Marom, Assaf Yasur-Landau, and Eric H Cline, “The Silent Coast: Zooarchaeological Evidence to the Development Trajectory of a Second Millennium Palace at Tel Kabri,” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 39 (2015): 181–92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2015.04.002, 182.
[28] Marom, Yasur-Landau, and Cline, “The Silent Coast,” 190.
[29] Caitlín E. Barrett, “The Perceived Value of Minoan and Minoanizing Pottery in Egypt,”Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 22, no. 2 (2010): 211–34, https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v22i2.211, 226,211. 226.
[30] Barrett, “The Perceived Value of Minoan and Minoanizing Pottery in Egypt,” 226.
[31] Castleden, Minoans, 119.
[32] Castleden, Minoans, 12.
[33] Castleden, Minoans, 12.
[34] Bernando Urbani and Dionisios Youlatos, “A New Look at the Minoan ‘Blue’ Monkeys,” Antiquity 94, no. 374 (2020): e9, https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2020.29.
[35] Castleden, Minoans, 12.
[36] Castleden, Minoans, 12.
[37] Castleden, Minoans, 119.
[38] Castleden, Minoans, 119.
[39] Sara Cole, “The Wall Paintings of Tell el-Dab’a: Potential Aegean Connections,” Pursuit – The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 10 (2010): 112, https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=pursuit.
[40] Cole, “The Wall Paintings of Tell el-Dab’a”, 112.
[41] Cole, “The Wall Paintings of Tell el-Dab’a”, 112.
[42] Cole, “The Wall Paintings of Tell el-Dab’a”, 112.
[43] M.S Tite et al, “Colour in Minoan Faience,” Journal of Archaeological Science 36, no. 2 (2009): 370, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.09.031.
[44] Tite et al, “Colour in Minoan Faience,” 370.
[45] Castleden, Minoans, 95.
[46] Castleden, Minoans, 88.
[47] Castleden, Minoans, 89.
[48] Castleden, Minoans, 90.
[49] J W Graham, “Further Notes on Minoan Palace Architecture: I. West Magazines and Upper Halls at Knossos and Mallia; 2. Access to, and Use of, Minoan Palace Roofs,” American Journal of Archaeology 83 (1979): 49–69, 49.
[50] Graham, “Further Notes on Minoan Palace Architecture,” 49.
[51] Castleden, Minoans, 90.
[52] Castleden, Minoans, 93.
[53] K. Demakopoulou and S. Aulsebrook, “The Gold and Silver Vessels and Other Precious Finds from the Tholos Tomb at Kokla in the Argolid,”Annual of the British School at Athens 113 (2018): 119–42, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068245418000084.
[54] Demakopoulou and Aulsebrook, “The Gold and Silver Vessels and Other Precious Finds”.
[55] Castleden, “Minoans,” 95.
[56] John J Reich, “Twelve New Bronze and Iron Age Seals,”The Journal of Hellenic Studies 86 (1966): 159–65, https://doi.org/10.2307/629000.
[57] Reich, “Twelve New Bronze and Iron Age Seals”, 159.
[58] Castleden, Minoans, 118.
[59]Vessel (Pithos; Ht. 45cm.), ca. 1800 B.C, Terra cotta, Heraklion: Mus., Archaeological; From Dascylion, ancient capital of the satrapy of Phrygia during the Achaemenid period, https://jstor.org/stable/community.11656755.
[60] Vessel (Pithos; Ht. 45cm.), ca. 1800 B.C, Terra cotta, Heraklion: Mus.
[61] Vessel (Jug; Ht. 27cm.). ca. 1800 B.C.E. Terra cotta. Heraklion: Mus., Archaeological.; Found at Pazarli. https://jstor.org/stable/community.11656751.
[62]Three Handled Amphora: Marine Style Octopus, c.1500-1400 B.C, https://jstor.org/stable/community.13555696.
[63] Peter Zsolt Revesz and Bipin C. Desai, “Data Science Applied to Discover Ancient Minoan-Indus Valley Trade Routes Implied by Common Weight Measures,” Proceedings of the 26th International Database Engineered Applications, (New York: 2022), 150, https://doi.org/10.1145/3548785.3548804.
[64] Revesz and Desai, “Data Science Applied to Discover Ancient Minoan-Indus Valley Trade Routes”, 152.
[65] Revesz and Desai, “Data Science Applied to Discover Ancient Minoan-Indus Valley Trade Routes”, 152.
[66] Revesz and Desai, “Data Science Applied to Discover Ancient Minoan-Indus Valley Trade Routes”, 152.
[67] Castleden, Minoans, 116.
[68] Eti Bonn-Muller,“First Minoan Shipwreck,” Archaeology, Vol. 63, Boston: Archaeological Institute of America, 2010.
[69] Bonn-Muller, “First Minoan Shipwreck”.
[70] Bonn-Muller, “First Minoan Shipwreck”.
[71] Bonn-Muller, “First Minoan Shipwreck”.
[72] Bonn-Muller, “First Minoan Shipwreck”.
[73] Arthur Evans, “The Early Nilotic, Libyan and Egyptian Relations with Minoan Crete,” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 55 (1925): 199–228, https://doi.org/10.2307/2843640, 207.
[74] Evans, “The Early Nilotic, Libyan and Egyptian Relations with Minoan Crete,” 208.
[75] Castleden, Minoans, 117.
[76] Castleden, Minoans, 117.
[77] Castleden, Minoans, 117.
[78] Broodbank and Kiriatzi, “The First ‘Minoans’ of Kythera Revisited,” 241.
[79] Broodbank and Kiriatzi, “The First ‘Minoans’ of Kythera Revisited,” 242.
[80] Broodbank and Kiriatzi, “The First ‘Minoans’ of Kythera Revisited,” 259.
[81] Broodbank and Kiriatzi, “The First ‘Minoans’ of Kythera Revisited,” 267.
[82] Thera Excavation Storerooms (Greek repository, Akrotiri, contemporary),Three Vessels in the Storage Room of Sector A. at the Akrotiri Excavation Site, https://jstor.org/stable/community.31068453.
[83] Thera Excavation Storerooms, Three Vessels in the Storage Room of Sector A. at the Akrotiri Excavation Site.
[84] Thera Excavation Storerooms, Three Vessels in the Storage Room of Sector A. at the Akrotiri Excavation Site.
[85] Carl Knappett and Irene Nikolakopoulou, “Colonialism without Colonies? A Bronze Age Case Study from Akrotiri, Thera,” Hesperia 77, no. 1 (2008): 1–42, https://doi.org/10.2972/hesp.77.1.1, 37.
[86] Knappett and Nikolakopoulou, “Colonialism without Colonies?,” 38.
[87] Knappett and Nikolakopoulou, “Colonialism without Colonies?,” 38.
[88] Knappett and Nikolakopoulou, “Colonialism without Colonies?,” 36.
[89] David Keys, “Colonizing Cretans,” Archaeology, Vol. 57, Boston: Archaeological Institute of America, 2004.
[90] David Keys, “Colonizing Cretans”.
[91] Castleden, Minoans, 121.
[92] Castleden, Minoans, 121.
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