(2000 B.C.E - 1450 B.C.E.)
 The earliest civilization associated with Greece was on
the island of Crete
 It is the largest island off mainland Greece.
Knossos
 The famous Minoan civilization was discovered by Arthur Evans,
 He was an archeologist who discovered the remains of a palace at
Knossos (1900-1905)
Knossos
 This palace was thought to be the palace of King Minos
alluded to in the writings of the ancient Greek historian
Thucydides.
The throne room at Knossos
 The Minoan civilization is named after King Minos who
legend told, dominated a large part of the Aegean Sea
with his powerful Navy.
The queens apartment at Knossos
 His palace had over 800 rooms including apartments for
the king & queen, a temple, workshops, and a school.
The Palace Knossos
 It was also both government house & storehouse for taxes
collected in the form of olive oil, wine, & grain.
 Cretans exported bronze utensils, olive oil, wine, and vases.
 They had indoor plumbing with piped in water and
toilets.
 They developed systems of writing - Linear A, and Linear B.
 These scripts were discovered on clay tablets by Evans.
The Palace Knossos
 The palace was decorated with frescoes depicting
scenes of nature, Minoan life, and entertainment
such as boxing and bull-leaping.
 The many roomed palace & images of bull-leaping
may explain the Legend of the Minotaur.
The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur
 Theseus, a Greek hero,
and the Minotaur, a
terrifying monster, are the
main characters of a well
known Greek myth.
 This myth involves gods
and monsters, heroes and
kings and two of the main
city–states in the Greek
world: Athens and Crete.
The Origin of the Minotaur
 King Minos competed with his brothers to rule Crete. Minos
prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of
support.
 Minos was supposed to sacrifice the bull to show honor to
Poseidon but decided to keep it instead because of its beauty.
 To punish Minos, Aphrodite made Pasiphae fall deeply in love
with the bull. Pasiphae slept with the bull, and gave birth to
Minotaur, a creature half man - half bull.
 King Minos was embarrassed, but did not want to kill the
Minotaur, so he hid the monster in the Labyrinth at the Minoan
Palace of Knossos.
The Labyrinth
 According to the myth,
Minos imprisoned his
enemies in the Labyrinth
so that the Minotaur
could eat them.
 The labyrinth was such a
complicated construction
that no one could ever
find the way out alive.
Tribute of Aegeus
 Androgeus, the son of Minos, went to Athens to
participate in the Panathenaic Games, but he was
killed during the Marathon by the bull that
impregnated his mother Pasiphae.
 Minos was infuriated, and demanded Aegeus the king
of Athens to send seven men and women every year to
the Minotaur to compensate for the grief caused by the
death of his son.
Theseus
 In the third year, Theseus, son of Aegeus decided to be
one of the seven young men that would go to Crete.
 Theseus promised to kill the Minotaur and end the
human sacrifices to the monster. King Aegeus tried to
make him change his mind but Theseus was determined
to slay the Minotaur.
 Theseus told his father that he would put up white sails
coming back from Crete, letting him know in advance
that he was coming back alive. The boat would return
with the black sails if Theseus was killed.
Princess Ariadne
 Upon arriving in Crete, Theseus met Princess
Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who fell madly in
love with him and decided to help.
 She gave Theseus a thread and told him to unravel it
as he would penetrate deeper and deeper into the
Labyrinth, so that he would know the way out when he
killed the monster.
Theseus vs. the Minotaur
 Theseus followed her suggestion
and entered the labyrinth with the
thread.
 After a lengthy battle, Theseus
managed to kill the Minotaur and
save the Athenians, and with
Ariadne's thread he managed to
retrace his way out.
 Theseus took Princess Ariadne
with him and left Crete sailing
happily back to Athens.
Aegeus and the Sails
 Theseus’ boat stopped at Naxos and the Athenians had a long
celebration dedicated to Theseus and Ariadne. After long
hours of feasting and drinking, Ariadne fell asleep on the
shore and didn’t enter the boat that sailed to Athens.
 Theseus figured out that Ariadne was not with them when it
was too late and he was so upset that he forgot the promise
made to his father and did not change the sails.
Suicide of Aegeus
 King Aegeus was waiting at the coast to see the sails of
the boat. He saw the black sails from afar and
presumed his son was dead. He dropped himself to the
waters, committing suicide and since then, this sea is
called the Aegean Sea.
 Minoans grew and prospered, but their civilization ended in 1450
B.C.E.
 A volcanic eruption on a nearby island may have been the cause.
 This may explain the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis.