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Cretan Influences

The rugged island of Crete blocks the Aegean Sea from the rest of the Mediterranean. To the south and East of the island lie Asia and Egypt, where, as early as 000 BC remarkable civilizations where flourishing. Here people lived in cities and had systems of government. They had learned to write and knew something of science. Their art was remarkable and they had established trade with other countries. While Asia and Egypt where living it up in the world of technology, Europe was still banging rocks on cave walls for a good time on Saturday night.

Luckily for Crete, its location enabled the island to be influenced by the advanced civilizations of Asia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Syria. Trading ships from these countries brought not only goods but also new ideas. These ideas transmitted into mainland Greece and onto Barbarian Europe.

The Minoans adapted these influences to their own purposes. Kind of like Mac Guyver takes the influences of technology, such as his digital watch, then takes your standard pocketknife, adds some Mac Guyver flair and you have one ready-made bomb.

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Minoans and Egypt

Keftiu â€" see page 6

On the walls of some of the ancient tombs in Egypt there are paintings, which for many years completely baffled all the scholars who examined them. These paintings showed tall men with artificially slimmed waists, broad, bronzed shoulders and curling black hair, which bore little or no resemblance to Egyptians. They where wearing blue and gold loincloths and carrying tall conical vessels which were known nowhere else in the ancient world. Yet it was clear from the painting that they were not slaves or some subject race that owed the Egyptians allegiance.

According to Egyptian inscription they were †Keftiuor †Island People,who had come from across the †Great Green Sea.But this was little help because the Mediterranean has more islands than Bill Gates has cents. Scholars also found it hard to believe that the Mediterranean could produce a civilization contemporary with that of Egypt.

The sanity of the Egyptians was starting to be questioned, where they making up imaginary friends, the answer was to remain a mystery. It probably would have remained a mystery and made a small Cameo in a Mummy movie if it hadn’t been for Arthur Evans who unearthed the mysterious beings home. Crete. But this is not the only evidence of Minoans in Egypt.

1th Dynasty- Lahun

Contact between the Crete and the pyramid town Lahun is indicated by the discovery of Pottery shards at the site.

Also found at the site was a pyxis lid and fragments of local Egyptian pottery imitating Minoan styles. The vessels appear to be commons, maybe indicating Cretans working in the town.

Other Minoan shards of Kamares ware has been discovered at Lahun, el-Harag, Abydos and Elephantine.

18th Dynasty (1550-15)-Avaris â€" page 7

Archaeologists excavating at Avaris, Tell el-Dab’a, in Egypt have produced some extraordinary finds. They have found the remains of palatial buildings from the reign of the Pharoha Ahmose (1550-155. It was not the remains of the palatial buildings that were extraordinary, but fragments of wall paintings found in dumps created as the buildings were levelled. The remarkable thing about these fragments is that they are Minoan in style, technique and motif.

Scholars are not yet sure as to whether they were painted by Minoan artists, or by Egyptians imitating Minoan art styles.

Hundreds of fragments have been found, but in very poor condition.

The presence of these fragments dates them to 100 year earlier than the first representations of Cretans on Theban tombs, and earlier than the surviving frescos at Knossos, which has the same subject matter.

One building that the fragments were found in was a royal palace. The frescos owe little to the traditions of Egyptian wall decoration, which goes back to the beginning of the old kingdom.

They show similarity with the Knossos frescos, appear to have been executed to serve a ritual purpose and contain symbolic references to the Cretan ruler cult.

Bull leapers and acrobats associated; with motifs of the bull’s head and labyrinth belong totally to the Aegean world.

The varying scales of the frescos, their subject matter, and background colour, all indicate that the decorative scheme was extremely complex and spread over a series of buildings. Other frescos less complex and thought to be imitations of Minoan styles have been found at Tell Kabri in Palestine.

No Cretan artefacts were found with the frescos themselves or in the strata from which they originally came.

Suggestions for the appearance of Minoan frescos in Egypt are that Ahmose was a Cretan ally and that he may have taken a Cretan bride. Although the majority of scholars disagree with the last idea. The alliance is suggested due to the discovery of a Minoan style griffin on an axe of Ahmose’s. The finding of more than one monumental building in use suggests increased contact with the Aegean, including Crete.

Queen Ahotep’s, mother of Ahmose, tomb in Western Thebes illustrates Aegean or east Mediterranean motifs and craft techniques applied to Egyptian objects. These objects would have been greatly valued in Thebes. (PAGE 7)

There is small amount of Cretan Kamares ware pottery, but it occurs in early 1th Dynasty strata, and there is no evidence of continuity in buildings or artefacts between the 1th pots and 18th frescos.

The relationship between Crete and Egypt was at its closest during the reign of Tuthmoes III. The evidence for this comes from the written records of the Keftiu, who are depicted in wall paintings in the tomb of Rekmire, vizier of Tuthmoes III. They hold Minoan artefacts, which they are bearing as gifts to the Pharaoh. These gifts include rhyton, amphoras, jugs, relief vases, kraters and cups. Their dress and coiffures are Minoan.

On Crete an inscribed alabaster amphora with the name of Tuthmoes III was found in a tomb at Katsambass near Heraklion. This relationship was founded around the beginning of the 15th century.

Egyptian motifs can be found on items as remote as clay scarab beetles offered in the peak sanctuaries in parts of Crete. Egyptian stone vases were found on Crete, where their styles where imitated by Minoan craftsmen.

The frequent contact between the two cultures lead to the exchange of not only materials and products but also ideas.

It is suggested that the Minoans imported pigments from Egypt where almost identical colours have been found. The importation of these pigments would have influenced the final impact of the beautiful frescos they would have been used to decorate.

The Minoans also influenced the Egyptians in medical recipes. One, which dates roughly to the Middle Minoan Period, references to the herbs of the Keftiu. In order for this concoction to be made the Egyptians must have imported the herbs from the Minoans.

The Minoans must have had a great influence on Egypt, as they were distinguished from the ‘Ha-unebu’, all ‘people from beyond the seas’, by their special name ‘Keftiu’.

Origins

The Linear A tablet points to the origins of the Minoans. It has been thought to have probably derived from Phoenicia. If this is so, then it is an example of classical legends hinting at the truth. For Europa, the Mother of Minos is said to have been the daughter of the King of Phoenicia, and thus the two countries must have been linked from the very earliest times.

Others suggest refugees from Libya, who would have quit the area adjacent to the Nile delta region when Mena conquered this, who according to tradition united northern and southern Egypt around 000 BC. Similarities were the codpiece and the custom of leaving locks of hair hanging down in front of the ears. But such evidence can only provide a tiny argument that Minoans where wholly of Libyan origin. The Libyans also built circular tombs although not exactly the same as the ones found on the Mesara Plain.

The art of writing, as well as seal engraving, may have been introduced from Syria around the rd millennium BC. Disturbances in the region caused by the arrival of invaders from Asia Minor could have encouraged overseas migration

Over population may have lead to the creation of colonies on Thera and Kythera.

Although the original settlers may have came from Asia, the principal foreign contacts from very early times were with Egypt and Libya. For instance some of the oldest religious objects found in Egypt can be associated with the Minoans. For example the figure-of-eight shield was the emblem of a goddess called Neith in prehistoric Egypt.

Stone Age (7000-500 BC)

In the final Neolithic period, Crete developed relations with the rest of the Aegean. Red painted pottery indicates relations with north and east Aegean, where similar vases have been found.

Pottery found at Nerokourou indicates relations with east Aegean, Peloponnese and Kea.

Figurine found in a cave near Zakros, suggests influence from Cyprus where similar figurines have been found.

Pre-Palace Period (500-100 BC) â€" page

Civilizations in the Near East where experiencing writing, irrigated farming plains, barter, metallurgy, ruling dynasties, priesthoods and large palaces and monumental temples.

The experiences were to influence Crete in the rd millennium, other influenced later at the begging of middle Bronze Age.

The main influence was of a naval and commercial character, which in turn influenced society, ideas and economy.

The set up of a trade route with Cyprus led to trade with the Near East and Egypt. The Minoans imported Copper from Lavrion, Tin from Asia Minor, and silver from the Cyclades.

It is in this period that the vases bearing resemblance to those of the Egyptians have been found. Contacts with the rest of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean influenced the evolution and improvements in culture, art, trade, architecture, pottery, stone-engraving, metal working and seal engraving.

Technical advances such as burnishing, painted decoration and incision, can be seen in all four major Aegean cultural areas (Minoan, Cycladic, Helladic and North East Aegean). The similarities in these advances indicate that the cultures influenced each other equally.

A Cycladic corbelled tholos tomb resembles those on Crete, but on a much smaller scale. In turn the Cycladic pottery influenced sites on the North Coast of Crete (Ayia Photia and Archanes.) An example of this is the bird shaped vases that occur at the same time on Crete, Cyprus, North East Aegean and Asia Minor

Seals found from the Second pre-palace to the old palace provide evidence for foreign relations. Cylinder seals imported to Crete from Babylon, Syria and Cyprus have been found at Ayia Triada. Syrian influence is evident in the motifs on the seeling surface and shape. Early Minoan metalworking also reveals Syrian influences.

Old Palace Period (100-1650 BC)

The destruction of Akrotiri by an earthquake lead to the rebuilding of the city, under the influence of the Minoans, with multi-storey buildings lavishly decorated with wall paintings. Here there was found Minoan frescos of flowers, birds, monkeys, antelopes and a pair of youthful boxers.

This period has been called the period of the Minoanisation of the Cyclades, as this is the time when Minoan colonies where set up on some of the Cyclades.

The first palaces where also built in this time, and where later destroyed in 1700 BC

Tombs in Egypt contained groups of Kamares pottery, Minoan gold and silver and vases. These discoveries and the imitating of Minoan Kamares pottery suggests that the Minoans where influencing the Egyptian tastes in art.

The Minoan palace administrative system of this period was apparently influenced by similar systems in Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt, especially in its external features. Shared features include the layout of the rooms of the palaces, the religious character of the ruler and the use of seals and seal impressions to control production.

New Palace Period (1650-1450 BC) â€"page 10

The building of the new palaces were influenced to some extent by the architecture of Mesopotamia, Syria, Phoenicia and Asia Minor. Power was now more centralised.

Wall paintings found on the islands of Milos, Kea and Thera reveal Minoan influences.

The writing style, Linear A, spread to Milos, Kea, Kythira, Naxos, Thera and mainland Greece.

Minoan cultural and economic influence was very strong on Thera, Thebes in Lakonia and Messenia. Religion, town planning and architecture appear to be the main influences. On Thera, Minoan architectural elements are confined to buildings called Xeste, these contained Minoan polythyra and wall paintings of †processions. These have been interpreted as public buildings

Cretans did not exercise political influence on south Greece, only cultural and economic. But political influence was necessary to secure the proper conditions for the conduct of trade.

Some important centres of Minoan status and influence were created in the south Aegean. These included

Kythera, which excavations have proved was an important settlement that possibly formed the link between Crete and mainland Greece. Kythera was also the point from which Minoan influence spread to the south part of the Peloponnese. Further excavations on the island have revealed rock-cut chamber tombs of Minoan type at Kastri and an important peak sanctuary at Ai Yiogi sto Vouno, in which a large number of Minoan bronze figurines had been dedicated.

At Trianda on Rhodes a settlement with a town plan similar to Malia was discovered. The houses have polythyra and dressed masonry facades, and pottery was either imported from Crete or imitated.

Miletos was an important centre outside of Crete. A number of Rock-cut-chamber tombs in Minoan style have been found here too.

On Karpathos more Rock cut Chamber tombs have been excavated along with a Minoan country villa.

At Iasos in Caria, the Minoan influence was the same as on Rhodes.

The three major centres in the south Aegean where Thera, Milos and Kea. Here Minoan features such as polythyra, light wells and lustral basins were introduced into their architecture. The Minoans also influenced these three centres wall paintings.

From around 1500 BC Cypriots adopted the Linear A script of Crete and adapted it to form a mixed Cypriot-Minoan script. Another aspect of Minoan influence on Cyprus can be seen in a type of underground rock-cut tomb with a small dromos and one or more chambers.

The relationship between Crete and Palestine and Syria had continued over from the previous period. They provided the Minoan’s with boars tusks, found at Zakros, and Canaanite amphoras, also found at Zakros. The importation of these materials influenced and expanded the Minoan art styles.

Creto-Mycenaean (1450-1100 BC) page 8

After 1400 BC the rulers of the Aegean where replaced by the Mycenaean’s. They now exported their pottery in considerable quantity to Troy, South-west Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and west to Sicily and South Italy.

In this period Greek warriors from mainland Greece came and established the Creto â€" Mycenaean civilization. All the other palaces destroyed, except for Knossos, which was the only large centre of authority.

The new inhabitants redecorated the Procession corridor, Great Propylia, Entire West Wing, Storerooms, Throne Room, Triparite Shrine, complex at North Entrance, Workshops in the east wing, Grand Staircase, Kings Megaron, Queens Megaron and the Shrine of Double Axe. The redecorations included new wall paintings, floors changes to entrances and the roofing of chests in the storerooms.

The evidence for the take over by Mycenaean’s is found in Egypt on the Pharaoh Amenophis III tomb in Thebes, dating to around 14th century BC. A wall lists the Aegean cities of Mycenae as Nauplion, Kythera and the Cretan cities of Knossos, Amnisos and Kydonia.

Other evidence of a change in the ruler of Crete can be found in the Egyptian tombs. The Keftiu in Rekmire’s tomb were intended to be Minoans and their colonists or allies from other Aegean islands. All of them are wearing decorated kilts reminiscent of those in the fresco along the Corridor of the Procession at Knossos. But when the frescos were being cleaned several years ago it was discovered that the figures had been altered. Originally they were painted with codpieces of the kind associated with the short, stiff kilt upturned at the back.

The change must have been important enough in the eyes of the Egyptian artist to merit record. The fact that none of the other foreigners shown were repainted suggests that there were two separate embassies from Crete to Egypt. The fist under original Minoan rule the second late in the reign of Tuthmoes III was probably sent by the Mycenaean’s. They would have been anxious to gain recognition and inherit Minoan trading rights.

The Mycenaean’s took over Crete and influenced everything pottery, religion, economy, trade, art, burials, economy, social status, politics, culture and writing.

In this period the first mention of slaves is introduced in linear tablets.

The Mycenaean’s eventually lead to the destruction of the Minoan culture.

Mesopotamia and Minoan Similarities.

In the rd Millennium BC the land of Sumer was divided into city-states. Each had at its centre the temple of the deity to whom it worshipped. The temple was the centre of all social commercial and administrative activity. The city governor was the high priest of the temple. He was the representative of the divinity, and all his authority emanated from the god. The temple was principally the dwelling of the god, as well as a ceremonial centre, treasury, town hall, storehouse and commercial centre. In addition it housed the priestly personnel and the temple workers.

The workshops and magazines occupied a considerable section. The priesthood controlled the Sumerian economy. It collected wealth from the land it possessed and from tributes. This was then redistributed to the population as wagrs for the services. The temple workers would rework wool or leather to a finished product. Stone could be carved to make stone vessels or sculpture.

The similarities are not totally exact, but there are enough to suggest influence from Mesopotamia. Like the Mesopotamian temple, the palaces have workshops and magazines attached to them. Cult meals were taking place in the Mesopotamian temples, are attested in the vicinity of the Minoan Shrines.

Crete is sometimes called the cradle of the Western/European civilization. Explanation. The people on the island of Crete had developed a civilization through trade with other countries. The Cretans then influenced famous classical cities on the Greek mainland such as Athens, Sparta and Mycenae. From these cities its influence spread to Rome, Rome carried the influences across the British Isles. The British then carried to America, Australia and other countries, taking the Minoan influences across most of the Western World.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

· The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt by Ian Shaw, Oxford University Press

· Every Day Life in Ancient Crete by R.F.Willets, BT Batsford LTD London

· Ancient Crete by Frances Wilkins, Weidenfeld & Nicolson LTD

· The Minoan World by Arthur Cotterell, Book Club Associates London.

· Ancinet Crete & Mycenae by Charles Alexander Robinson Jr, Franklin Watts Inc

· Minoan Crete by Andonis Vasilakis, Adam Editions

Web Pages

· http//www.dilos.com/location/1450

· http//www.dragonridge.com/greece/minoan1.thm

· http//www.lfc.edu/~fisher/greecewed/indexitin1.thml

· http//www.indiana.edu/~classics/aegean/R1.html

· http/emuseum.mnsu.edu/prehistory/egypt/othercultures/egyptminoan.html

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