The civilization was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Arthur Evans.
The term "Minoan" was coined by Arthur Evans after the mythic "king" Minos. Minos was associated in Greek mythology with the labyrinth and the Minotaur.
The Minoan people were not Indo-European, and that they were even related to the pre-Greek dwellers of the Greek mainland and Western Anatolia, the so-called Pelasgians. However, the Minoan civilization was much more advanced and sophisticated than the contemporary Helladic civilization during the bronze-age.
The Minoans developed 20 splendid architecture, a complex language, and a written script that is still not understood. Knossos, also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture.
They built a significant naval power and coexisted with neighboring civilizations as the dominant influence in the region.
The Minoan period saw trade between Crete and Aegean and Mediterranean settlements, particularly the Near East. Through their traders and artists, the Minoan cultural influence reached beyond Crete to the Cyclades, Egypt's Old Kingdom, copper bearing Cyprus, Canaan and the Levantine coast, and Anatolia.
Minoan civilization
