This video by Chirs Hasler on the Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages channel explains the ancient Minoan civilization that existed on the island of Crete.

Following are points from the video:

— Crete is an island in the middle of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and more recent human activity has existed on it since the Neolithic Period, when people migrated to the island and even brought resources such as livestock with them.  The island had previoulsy been occupied for much longer though, as evidenced by hand axes that were discovered on the island in 2008 that date to 130 thousand years old.

— Prehistoric animals evolved on the island such as elephants and hippopotamus, where they became very small due to a phenomenon called “island dwarfism,” and they are now extinct.

— People were living on Crete in 6,500 BC, where they were cultivating cereal crops, raising livestock, and producing ceramics.

— At the same time, a similar culture was arising in the “Cyclades Islands” to the north of Crete which was a trading culture as early as 3,000 BC.  They traded with Crete and elsewhere, as evidenced by ceramics that have been discovered.

— It is difficult to know when the Minoan culture actually began, since people have lived on the island for so long.

— The people of Crete did not necessarily think of themselves as a “united nation,” but rather as an island of city-states.  At the beginning of 2,000 BC, palaces began to emerge on the island.  Up until that time, the Minoans were doing very well and they were able to turn their attention to constructing elaborate palace complexes.

— Four significant palace sites exist on Crete, and the archeological sites of all four still exist today.  The most well-known site is at Knossos.

— Studies have shown that the regions needed to depend on trading in order for their populations to be supported.

- The palace site at Knossos was very large, being centered around a large central court and having 1,300 rooms in multi-story buildings with stairs.  Its footprint was the size of about three soccer fields.  The Knossos palace was in a very agriculturally rich region of the island, and oils and grains where also stored and processed at that location.

— Some of the best clues that exist about the Minoans come from frescos that have been discovered at the palace sites, especially at Knossos.  The frescos were made using plaster, and their color has lasted until today (3.5 thousand years later.)  The frescoes show the Minoan’s affinity for sea life such as dolphins, they depict a lion with the head of an eagle, women wearing jewels, and women are often depicted being topless with their breasts exposed, which was apparently a style of dress at the time.

— Much artwork such as frescos and sculptures depict a “bull leaping” sport, where people are shown performing dangerous acrobatic acts involving being thrown upward by a bull’s horns.  Both men and women are depicted engaging in the sport.

— Frescos also exist of boxing matches, being indicative of the athletic and competitive nature of the people in Crete and later Greece.

— Writing from the Minoans exist, but nobody knows how to interpret most of it.

— Experts believe that females had the same status as men in the society, with the royal lines potentially being Matrilineal.

— The Minoans apparently worshipped goddesses that are depicted on ceremonial objects and grave goods, with the most popular being a Snake goddess who wore a long dress and had exposed breasts.

— The palace sites incorporated sophisticated aqueducts and drainage systems.  The palaces demonstrated that the society felt comfortable setting down in an unchallenged manner.

— Minoan culture is also known for its jewelry and ceramics, which was often exported to other regions such as Egypt.

— Small Minoan colonies existed on other islands as well, such as Sithera.

— Another site of Minoan influence was the island of Santorini, which is a enormous volcano that erupted in the 1,600’s BC, where it absolutely devastated the island of Crete and the Minoans living on it with ash and a massive tsunami.  A Minoan settlement of 30,000 people actually also existed on Santorini as well, however it was obliterated when the volcano erupted.  It was one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recored human history.

— Even though many Minoan sites actually survived the volcanic event, the catastrophic collapse of the civilizations in that part of the world destroyed the economy of the island due to them no longer having trading partners, and crops in the region failed for years.

— It is speculated that most Minoans migrated elsewhere in the region away from Crete.  A few hundred years later in 1,400 BC many Minoan palaces were destroyed by fire, which ended the “golden age” of the Minoans.

— The area was eventually re-settled by the Mycenaeans, who took over administering the island.