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Minoan ◆ Civilization
Minoan

📷 No machine-readable author provided. Marsyas assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY 2.5

Where it ruled

Mediterranean · 3 known sites

The civilization

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. They traded extensively, exporting agricultural products and luxury crafts in exchange for raw metals which were difficult to obtain on Crete. Through traders and artisans, their cultural influence reached beyond Crete to the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Today, the ruins of the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos have become popular tourist attractions.

Field notes

period
2,700 BCE — 1,450 BCE
region
Mediterranean
known sites
3

Sites of this civilization

Akrotiri
Akrotiri
Knossos
Knossos
Phaistos
Phaistos

Related civilizations

Nuragic Nuragic 1,800 BCE — 238 BCE Mycenaean Mycenaean 1,600 BCE — 1,100 BCE Phoenician-Punic Phoenician-Punic 1,200 BCE — 146 BCE Thracian Thracian 1,000 BCE — 46 BCE Etruscan Etruscan 900 BCE — 27 BCE Greek Greek 800 BCE — 146 BCE
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