Long time ago like around four thousand years ago, the Greek civilization called Minoans made abode on the island of Crete south of Greece. The Minoan civilization took place between 2000-1500 BC. These Minoan people were farmers, artists as well as fishermen who sailed the rivers surrounding them. They were seafaring people who depended on their power, the navy and prosperity. Nature inspired the Minoans who loved it very much. At around 2000 BCE, the Mycenaean conquered the Minoans after the volcanic eruption that sank the islands of Thera hit it. The two civilizations had much in common, though they still were quite different.
The Minoan had many innovations, which included the way they managed their running water. They had flushing toilets and running tap water. The waste from their houses was taken outside the buildings by the use of sophisticated drainage system. They had movable bathtubs too. The Minoan palaces were people friendly and the people moved in and out freely. The Minoans “exchanged woolen cloth and timber for linen or papyrus with Egypt” (Sinclair 34), a proof of the trade that they engaged in. They lived as a community and their palaces were like community centers. They had large fleet beneficial to them as far as trade and defense is concerned. The island was isolated with no fortification done because there was no security threats from any of their neighbors. Their culture was in architecture and cities as well as their women status and pottery. Additionally, their culture reflected everyday life. They worshipped an earthly goddess and believed that man can live in harmony with the natural environment. According to Castleden (1993), “The Minoans seem to have worshipped primarily goddesses, which have sometimes been described as a matriarchal religion (93). They valued their women and they freely mingled with the men even in social games. Moreover, their writing was in Linear A and wrote in pictures.
On the other hand, Mycaneans were Greeks from the mainland who took advantage of the weakened Minoan who engaged actively in trade and piracy. The civilization took place around 1500-1100 BC. They did not have running water and flushing toilets including the drainage systems that the Minoans had. They enjoyed a great deal of wealth from trade and piracy evidenced by the gold jewelry, bronze weapons as well as the funeral masks. Instead of ritual baths like the Minoan civilization, the Mycaneans burned oil to give pleasure to their gods. Security threats led to fortification of their cities. They were warlike people and traded in women slavery unlike the Minoans. They additionally wrote in Linear B which translation is available and written in letters. Additionally, migration and fights from the sea people destroyed the Mycanean civilization unlike the end of Minoan civilization whose destruction came from volcanic eruption.
Besides these contrasts, the two civilizations had large columns and throne rooms, which had nature scenes on the walls. The cultures were both Greek cultures that existed before Christ. They all wrote on straight lines on clay tablets about their religion. Geographically, the two cultures were close to each other with royal classes and palaces. The palaces served as administrative, cultural, religious and commercial centers. Additionally, the two civilizations used the palace-based economic system. This involved central control of production, storage and distribution of their produce. The Minoan civilization was more successful because of the harmony they managed to maintain with their neighbors as well as they lived as a community amongst themselves. Additionally, their destruction was because of a natural phenomenon unlike the Mycaneans destruction.
Works Cited
Castleden, Rodney. Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete. London: Routledge, 1993.
Print.
Sinclair, Hood. The Minoans: The story of Bronze Age Crete. New York: Praeger
Publishers, 1971. Print.
