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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Minoan_civilization
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1992-09-03
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Bronze Age civilization on the Aegean island
of Crete. The name is derived from Minos, the
legendary king of Crete, reputed to be the
son of the god Zeus. The civilization is
divided into three main periods: early
Minoan, about 3000-2200 BC, middle Minoan,
about 2200-1580 BC; and late Minoan, about
1580-1100 BC. The Minoan language was
deciphered by Michael Ventris. No
palaeolithic remains have yet been found in
Crete, but in the Neolithic Age some
centuries before 3000 BC the island was
inhabited by people coming probably from SW
Asia Minor, and akin to the early Bronze Age
inhabitants of the Greek mainland. With the
opening of the Bronze Age, about 3000 BC, the
Minoan culture proper began. Each period was
marked by cultural advances in copper and
bronze weapons, pottery of increasingly
intricate design, frescoes, and the
construction of palaces and fine houses.
About 1400 BC, in the late Minoan period, the
civilization was suddenly destroyed by
earthquake or war. A partial revival
continued until about 1100. In religion the
Minoans seem to have worshipped principally a
great mother goddess with whom was associated
a young male god. The tales of Greek
mythology about Rhea, the mother of Zeus, and
the birth of Zeus himself in a Cretan cave
seem to be based on Minoan religion.