Minoan Civilization Sir Arthur Essay - 1,521 words

Cottrell, Leonard. 1958. The Bull of Minos. New York, NY. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Encyclopedia Americana. 1995.


Knossos, pg. 514. Danbury, CT. Grolier Inc. New Encyclopedia Britanica. 1997.


Knossos, pg. 514. Chicago, IL. Encyclopedia Palmer, Leonard R. 1969. A New Guide to the Palace of Knossos. New York, NY. Frederick A.


Prayer, Publishers. Starr, Chester G. 1991. A History of the Ancient World. New York, NY. Oxford Wunderlich, Hans Georg. 1974.


The Secret of Crete. Translated by Richard Winston. New York, NY. Macmillan Publishing Co. , Inc... The Palace of Knossos was the capital for the legendary King Minos. The Palace was at its peak circa 1700 B.


C. to 1400 B. C... Sir Arthur Evans first excavated the palace in 1900. Sir Arthur Evans discovered a palace of great size that proved to be a center of a sophisticated Bronze Age Culture. The first palace at Knossos was built around 2000 B.


C. and is thought to have been destroyed in 1720 by an earthquake and was thus rebuilt to become what was later known as the Palace of King Minos at Knossos. From evidence found through archaeology and study, we have a good idea of the ancient Minoans. The picture of Minoan civilization which we can draw from our evidence is at once fascinating and puzzling (Starr 105). It can be seen that the Minoans were great and powerful rulers of the seas. The Minoans founded a dominion of the seas, expanding trade throughout the Mediterranean.


The Minoan civilization was far ahead of its time. The Minoans engaged in commercial exchange, and were very developed both economically and socially. Politically, religiously, and culturally the Minoan world thus stands far removed from any civilization which we have thus far seen (Starr, 104). The Minoans spoke their own language and lived with concern only for themselves rather than that of the surrounding world: ... I have misunderstood the psychology of the Minoans, who were more concerned with their daily reality that with any cult (Winston, 105). The Minoans had a love for peace and art; this can be seen by the great sculptures and painting done by Minoan artists.


Such murals are of people jumping over bulls or of the famous double axes. We enter the kings living quarters by way of the hall of the double axe, named after the Cretan religious symbols scratched into the wall at this point (Wunderlich, 56). The downfall of the Minoans has been attributed to forces of nature. The forces of a tsunami wiped out the fleet, while volcanic eruptions and earthquakes along with invaders from mainland Greece destroyed the palaces at Knossos. So legendary is the fate of the Minoans that it has been speculated that the Minoans are linked to the story of the disappearance of Atlantis.


So little was known of this ancient race of people that Sir Arthur Evans had to name them after his discovery some eighty years ago. Arthur Evans named Minoan civilization after the legendary first king of Crete (Wunderlich, 74). Many legends of the Minoans are still alive today. One of the legends is of the first Minoan king, King Minos, and his stepson the Minotaur. Minos was the son of Zeus and Europa. Minos obtained the throne of Crete with the help of Poseidon.


Minos married Pasiphae, the daughter of Helios. Together they had three children, Androges, Ariadne, and Phaedra. A white bull sent to Crete by Poseidon for sacrifice impregnated Pasiphae. The result is the beast, the Minotaur.


Because Minos could not kill the beast, he put the Minotaur in the labyrinth made by Daedalus. Every ninth year, seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls were sent to be sacrificed by the Minotaur. On the third calling, the hero Theseus went to Knossos and with the help of Ariadne, kills the Minotaur. Thus ended the terror of the Minotaur. The curious Dorians found, in the crumbling ruins of Knossos, a few fragments of the Bull fresco's, with youths and maidens, and these may have helped in the development of Minos and the Athenian Captives, and of Theseus and the Minotaur (Cottrell, 95). King Minos was killed by having boiling water poured on him, and after death, Minos became a judge in Hades (Britannica, 109).


So the Palace of Minos may without affront to history well retain the name which Evans gave it, all the more so, because Minos was a Greek King of Greek lege ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................You are reading a preview................... Visit our Blog and Unlock Full Access to this essay

Continue READING the FULL Essay by clicking HERE

Essay Tags: york ny, bronze age, b c, sir arthur, minoan civilization

This is an Essay sample / Research paper, you can use it for your research of: Minoan Civilization Sir Arthur