CHAPTER 9
BEGINNINGS – THE GREEKS
9-1
THE MINOANS
INTRODUCTION
A. Rose around 2800 B.C. on Crete (island in
Mediterranean)
 B. Grew wheat, barley, grapes, & olives
 C. Became good carpenters & metalworkers
which helped build ships

 1.
made them slimmer (to go faster)
 2. used 2/3 masts instead of one
 3. put a deck over the rowers’ heads (protection)
 4. put a wooden beam in front of the ship to plow
into enemy ships
I. THE PEOPLE
A. Long dark hair & bronzed skin
 B. Clothes


1. men
 Striped
loincloths
 Long robes embroidered with flowers
 Trousers that bag at the knees

2. women
 Full
skirts
 Short-sleeved jackets that laced in front
 *all
wore tight belts to show off their small waists
 * wore jewelry – gold & silver earrings, necklaces, bracelets, &
rings

C. Hobbies
 1.
men
 Farmed
& fished
 Raised cattle, long-horned sheep, & goats
 Served in the navy & royal guard
 2.
women
 Performed
household duties
 Attended sporting events
 Hunted in chariots
 3.
all
 Loved
sports
 Built the world’s first arena (open air)
 About 500 people could fit in arena (king had his own
box seats)

D. Arena sports
 1.
boxing matches
 2. bull leaping (bullfighting)
A
young man & woman fought the bull together
 Man would grab the horns
 When the bull raised its head, the man would do a
somersault & land on the bull’s back
 Woman stood behind the bull & would catch the man as
he did another flip off the bull
 *considered a religious event as well as a sport
II. CITIES & PALACES

A. City design
 1.
middle of city stood a palace
 2. were NOT surrounded by walls (surrounded by
the sea)

B. Largest city was Knossos
 1.
28 acres
 2. 1/5 of area was taken up by a 5-story palace
that served as a government building, temple,
factory, & warehouse

C. Palace
 1.
built of stone & sun-dried brick
 2. inside walls were covered with frescoes
(watercolor paintings made on damp plaster)
 3. had bathrooms with bathtubs & flushable toilets
 4. had hot and cold running water & portable
fireboxes to heat rooms
 5. had several entrances that formed a labyrinth
(network of paths that make it difficult to find the
way out)
 6. called the House of the Double Ax (because
labyrinth means double ax)
THE PALACE AT KNOSSOS
D. Sea captains, merchants & shipbuilders
lived in houses around the palace
 E. Next lived artisans
 F. Houses were built side by side around
courtyards & stood 2-stories tall
 G. Each house had their own drains and wells
 H. Entrance to houses were through the roof

 1.
they lowered a ladder into the opening
 2. wooden doors made of parchment (thin animal
skin) were added later
III. RULERS & RELIGION

A. Rulers of Crete were priest-kings
 1.
made laws
 2. climb Mt. Juktas to get signs from heaven

B. Many gods
 1.
main god was Great Goddess – mother earth
 2. she made plants grow & gave children
 3. Minoans built shrines (sacred places to worship)
 4. usually on hilltops because it was closer to
heaven

C. Sacred goods
 1.
left offerings to the gods – human hair, fruit,
flowers, jewels, & gold
 2. lily was sacred flower
 3. double ax was sacred symbol – power of Mother
Earth
 4. dove was sacred animal – flew to heavens
IV. THE FALL OF THE MINOANS
A. About 1400 BC the Minoan civilization fell into
the hands of the Mycenaeans.
 B. Explained in the story of Theseus & the
Minotaur

Greek prince, Theseus, was brought to Knossos
 Was supposed to be sacrificed to the Minotaur (huge
monster held in the labyrinth)
 Minotaur had the body of a human and the head of a
bull
 Theseus killed the Minotaur with a magical sword
 When the Minotaur died, so did the Minoan civilization

THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR