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In the Bronze Age Crete was ruled by the Minoans. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Minoan Crete was transformed from myth to archeological reality. The Minoans and their language are still subject to considerable controversy, even over such fundamental details as their identity. Almost everything we know is derived from physical remains, fleshed out somewhat by writings from Classical Greece almost one thousand years after Knossos was destroyed since no written historical records exist from that time. However, the theories about the Minoans can be unified into some consensus, as we shall see below. Fresh discoveries will change this viewpoint radically in the future.
The Minoan Civilization flourished in the Middle Bronze Age on the island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean from c. 2700 BC to c. 1450 BC (following the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods). The Minoans were a trading civilization that traded throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, as far north as Britain and as far east as Mesopotamia. The Minoans imported a wide variety of raw materials and manufactured goods from other civilizations, and then they exported their own products, including olive oil, wine, pottery, furniture, perfumes, and jewellery. According to archaeological evidence, the two palaces on the island of Crete at Knossos and Phaistos are considered the largest surviving palaces from antiquity; both were built around 1900 BCE.
