Article Analysis Essay on "The Minoans of Crete"

Introduction

This article is about Sir Arthur Evans' description of the Minoan civilization, on Crete Island, during the Middle Bronze Age. The distinctive architecture and art of the Minoans and their acculturation effect on other communities across the Aegean Islands have immensely contributed to the advancement of the Western European civilization. Traces of curved seal stones that were donned as ornaments by aboriginal Cretans during the early 1900s draw the attention of Sir Arthur Evans, a British archaeologist, who is impelled to excavate Knossos in search of possible ancient Crete civilization.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Through these excavations, Sir Evans unearths extensive ruins that are consistent with mythical and literary accounts of the presence of a cultured Cretan realm. Also, Evans discovered the possible location of King Minos' palace and the legendary labyrinth through his diggings. Based on varying stoneware styles, and the development and collapse of the integrated Cretan culture, Evans divided Crete's Bronze Age into the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages representing the periods 3000-2100 BC, 2100-1600 BC, and 1600-1100 BC respectively. However, sophisticated tree-ring calibration and radio-carbon dating approaches have since disputed and refined this phase system in the favour of a more intricate context characterized by a multi-linear growth of the Cretan culture and the diverse Cretan cultural similarities and differences.

From this article, it is evident that the Minoan and Western civilizations are intertwined by the East to West transition of cultural refinement aspects. For instance, the geometry that Cretans adopted when establishing their ritual centres, towns and cities is largely similar to that employed in the ancient Irish. This is backed by the fact that salt, from the Dead Sea, and sheep were at the centre of Minoan civilization while the Salt Line locations in Britain served as the footprint for the establishment of English houses and estates. Also, the Cretans are believed to be an integral component of the "megalithic cultures", which initially came from Europe's far west although geographical twists landed them in the middle of Semitic populaces in the Arab world. Virtually all tombstones (megalithic yards) dated to have been built between 3500 and 1500 BC in France and Britain had the same linear dimension, that is, 82.966centimetres. When this measurement is applied to the mathematics and geometry of monuments in Crete, it can be seen that the megalithic yard was a component of a carefully worked-out view that spread traversed Europe across a longer time period.

On another note, Sir Evans discovered that the intricate palace systems in the Minoan settlements of Zakros, Phaitos, Knossos and Malia were possible trade, political, religious and local administrative centres in Crete. However, the connection between these palaces and the underlying power frameworks remains unclear due to inadequate literary and archaeological evidence.3 Nevertheless, the palaces exercised some level of localised authority through collecting and storing excess ceramics, metals and grains. Historians also confirm that, up to 1700 BC, the palaces were autonomous from one another but afterwards relinquished their individual control to Knossos as corroborated by the homogeneity in architecture and the adoption of Linear A writings across several palace locations.3 The non-existence of buttresses in Minoan settlements signify the presence of a fairly peaceful environment among the various societies that lived on the island although traces of arrowheads, daggers, swords and other weaponry imply that this harmony was not always guaranteed.3

The Minoan religion is still superficially known even though illustrations of sacred rituals and ceremonies through processions, bull-leaping, food offerings, and pouring of libations may substantiate the Minoans' religious practices. Moreover, the Cretans seemingly revered natural forces as revealed by sculptures of a beautiful mother-earth deity figure holding some animals. The character of this goddess varied depending on the prevailing domain of life at any specific period. These religious aspects of the Minoans also reveal some kind of similarity to Western religious practices, particularly in France and Britain. The mother-earth idol was the master of animals in Crete while Christianity, the dominant religion across Western Europe, used the word God, which was derived from term goat, a domesticated animal. Likewise, Indians also adored the "Lord of Animals" who they referred to as Shiva-Pashupati to further substantiate the importance of animal figures in ancient religious practices not only among the Minoans but also in other cultured societies across the world.

Conclusion

Finally, the mysterious circumstances that led to the decline of the Minoan civilization are yet to be fully verified. The expansion of the Mycenaean civilization during the mid-second millennium BC in addition to proof of their social impact on Minoan trades and artefacts and evidence of fire incidences in 1450BC is believed to have spurred this demise. Additionally, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes may have also marked the culmination of the Minoan social refinement, with the Thera volcanic explosions, in the current Santorini Island, assumed to be particularly vital to the decline albeit with disputes of the precise date when the eruption occurred.3 Nonetheless, the end of Minoan civilization does not erase the admiration held on Crete's ancient occupants, who are widely regarded as the agents of a cultured society whose unique governance system, language and art marked the beginning of Europe's civilization.1

Works Cited

Cartwright, Mark. "Minoan Civilization". Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2018, https://www.ancient.eu/Minoan_Civilization/. Accessed 3 Apr 2018.

Lobell, Jarrett. "The Minoans Of Crete - Archaeology Magazine". Archaeology.Org, 2015, https://www.archaeology.org/issues/174-1505/features/3145-crete-minoans-gournia-excavations. Accessed 3 Apr 2018