Minaic culture in antiquity It was developed on the island of Crete in the island region of Greece which has a large maritime coastline that gives it advantages for navigation. This privileged situation aims to serve as a link between the region of the East and that of the West; which had special connotation regarding commercial activities.
By the year 2800 A. C, the first villages were formed, but it was not until 2000 A. C that the first cities were formed and developed. In the Cretan cities were beautifully decorated palaces with lavish opulence. It is important to note that these cities were not walled. The Cretans were lovers of nature, inclined towards Pacific and Campestre life.
The island was composed of different sectors and each of them had their king, who directed, controlled and organized agricultural work. Of course, in the royal palaces, foods for palace consumption were stored and distributed as well as for the general population; who lived in neighborhoods adjacent to the palace. Each family was assigned with a plot of land to work by sowing various crops and spices that traded or exchanged according to their needs.
Main palaces of Minoic culture.
- Knossos
- Festos
- Mallia
- Hagia triada
The name of the kings who were known legendarily as Minos gave rise to the other denomination: Minaica, with which this prehellenic civilization is known today.
Division into periods of the Minoan civilization
- Ancient Minoic 2600-2000 a. C
- Middle Minoic 2000-1570 a. C
- Recent Minoic 1570-1425 a. C
These Palacios cities had numerous rooms joined by each other by a common roof and attending a main square. They possessed running water, sanitary facilities and driving the waste to a very well designed sewerage system which maintained the city clean and free of diseases of the rooting of people.
In addition to agricultural activities the Cretans dedicated themselves to livestock and were great navigators; Very important aspect because I contribute to bring the influence of this culture to the rest of the Egees countries and develop trade to the point of controlling the maritime routes of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its commercial points also included Egypt, Cyprus, Syria, Asia Minor, Sicily and the challenge of Greece.
Imported:
- Tin.
- Copper.
- Gold.
- Silver.
- Ivory.
Export:
- Wool cloths.
- Ceramic objects.
- Wines
- Oils
Religious cult in Minoan culture.
The ancient peoples were mostly polytheists (polytheism is religion whose followers believe in the existence of multiple gods or divinities, normally organized in a hierarchy).
- They venerated their gods private or public
- In caverns or outdoors.
- They offered ritual dances.
- They offered animal sacrifices to favor economic prosperity and content their gods.
Among these cult ceremonies were the bullfighting games, with evasion maneuvers of acrobats, known by Taurocatapsy. Interestingly, women took part with the men of this dangerous game of “bull jump”. These physical activities around the bull are insistently represented in the Cretan artistic decorations. It seems that these activities or games with bulls had a public nature and many people attended. Many of the mythological figures of the Minoic pantheon then transcended Greece as Venus, Juno, Apollo and Poseidon among many others.
Minoic culture Develop a special taste for sports and physical activities in general, confrontations of struggles, athletic careers, skills of jumps and others in which agility, physical strength and acrobatic attitudes were forced.
There were goldsmiths who performed jewels and sophisticated utensils, with a delicate sensitivity and skill; destined for body ornament. The large number of jewels as well as their quality and the attire that the ladies wore with them reflect a refined luxury and interest in highlighting the body with coquetry.
This taste for highlighting the human body in their works of art extends to all artistic manifestations, such as painting, architecture and ceramics. The dance does not stay behind when highlighting the body and its attributes and we see examples of it in the dancers who are embossed in a beautiful gold ring that is located in the Heraklion Museum.
The role of women in the Minoan society.
The Cretan or Monoic Society was matriarchal characteristics, the role of women was very important since they were in charge of procreation, the care of the children and also actively participated in the supply of the home, in the planting and collection of crops and in the preparation of the food of the family, elements that can be perceived in the representations of their art when observing female figures represented in the crop fields. Figures of happy dancers and dressed in coquetry and carefree have arrived in images made in funeral reliefs, paintings, ceramic vessels and jewelry.
They actively participated in public sports activities where agile female athletes competed alongside male athletes. They interpreted cheerful dances and also had an important role in the religious rites, this has been found in the image of the goddess of the snakes represented artistically carrying the usual attire of the Minoan women with the chest exposed framed by the “bullfighters” tight to the body that are a sample of that daring and coquetry destined to attract attention to the attention on the fashion body that was apparently accepted and not accepted in the body socially absolute or crossed out of impudica.
In Minoic Art in Antiquity The women’s figures with voluptuous breasts exposed Wearing offerings in funeral paintings in which they are also dancing, executing musical instruments, or in banquets where their presence rejoice the event with its flirtatious clothing full of jewels and cheerful and colorful clothes with long sayas in layers and asymmetric stripes.
They participated with their partners in the organization and provision of the home and were always prepared to take the family business in case of their husband’s loss. His opinion was taken into account in social meetings where the aspects that interested the community were discussed.
End of the Minoan civilization.
It has been raised that the end of Minoic civilization It is caused by the Aquea invasion, in 1450 a. C., where they suffered the invasion of a people from continental Greece that incorporated Crete into mycenaean civilization. Much of their population, especially artisans, are transferred to the Peloponnesian region and from there they contribute to transmit the main characteristics and elements of monoic culture into the Greek world.
But another event that must have definitely contributed to the disappearance of such an interesting culture suddenly in its stage of greatest apogee must have been a natural phenomenon of great proportions, probably the eruption of a volcano on the island of Santorini accompanied by violent seismic movements that caused a great and terrible tsamot that extended throughout the area of ​​settlement of the Minoan culture. The island of Crete was affected above all in the destruction of its ships, the ports, the food storage places, seriously damaging its infrastructure and weakening it to the point of being totally unprotected. Most of the rich cultural heritage of the monoos suffered a brutal damage at the same time that destroyed their naval force. This natural phenomenon catapult to this civilization towards its annihilation being easy for mycenics to conquer these territories devastated by the natural disaster.
Unfortunately, most of the fabulous palaces were destroyed, but in the ruins of what has remained, their cultural wealth can be seen and how it is influenced by the Greek culture to which the aesthetic concepts of the Minoans transcended as to the taste of the representation of nature and the idyllic everyday scenes. We see in his beautiful paintings representing his love of life, joy, love of nature and representation of his idiosyncrasy dares of games, social parties, ceremonies and other activities.
The representation in detail of the human figure; the sinuousness, beauty and perfection of the body’s curves, the fondness for sports; Dance, physical activities in general and maintaining the healthy body are an important part of this cultural heritage received from the Minoans and with which the Greeks felt so identified.
Minaic ceramics in antiquity
As for the ceramics we observe in the samples found by archaeologists that their ceramic pieces reflect their taste for beautiful, attention to detail, combine the practical aspect with the decorative. Its pieces made in ceramics are of a quality that amazes for the time they were created because even cultures that happened as the patrons did not develop so much excellence and ability to create these pieces. Their decorations had geometric and natural motifs such as plants, flowers, animals. The vessels in which human figures are represented show religious and heroic issues but also worldly issues such as sporting events and dances.
Great ceramic vessels have been found in the ruins of the Knossos Palace and on the island of Santorini. They seem to have been used to contain liquids such as oils, water and others but also for the containment of grains and spices. These vessels have despite having a practical character, some are very decorated with the theme of nature and the sea as well as with geometric drawings such as lines and undulations. A lot of them have been found on the island of Santorini, which demonstrates the economic and commercial importance of this island.
The disco or festus disc as it is also known and that belongs to the Minoan culture is made in cooked ceramics but has impressions on both sides made with characters that apparently represent syllables. The album contains a text that has not yet been deciphered and has been indicated by its age determined by the fourteen carbon test that this could be very old …