The Minoans
Lost Civilizations
Ellen AdamsAn exploration of the Minoans, from cultural sophistication to enduring legacy.
Bronze Age Crete stands as one the most extensively explored parts of the world archaeologically, yet the island maintains an air of labyrinthian mystery. This book offers an authoritative introduction to the world of the Minoans, the first ‘modern’ civilization on European soil. With its grand palaces, a sophisticated bureaucracy complete with writing (including enigmatic, undeciphered scripts), exquisite gold and ivory artworks, unique and powerful depictions of women, and advanced urban engineering, including flushing toilets, this ancient civilization had remarkably modern elements.
This book presents key features of Minoan archaeology, including architecture, art, religion, writing, bureaucracy and the economy. It also explores how this pioneering European civilization has influenced Western culture since its discovery, and how Minoan culture has been reconstructed, reimagined and represented in museum displays. This concise and up-to-date guide is essential for understanding both the history and the lasting legacy of the Minoans.
An exploration of the Minoans, from cultural sophistication to enduring legacy.
Bronze Age Crete stands as one the most extensively explored parts of the world archaeologically, yet the island maintains an air of labyrinthian mystery. This book offers an authoritative introduction to the world of the Minoans, the first ‘modern’ civilization on European soil. With its grand palaces, a sophisticated bureaucracy complete with writing (including enigmatic, undeciphered scripts), exquisite gold and ivory artworks, unique and powerful depictions of women, and advanced urban engineering, including flushing toilets, this ancient civilization had remarkably modern elements.
This book presents key features of Minoan archaeology, including architecture, art, religion, writing, bureaucracy and the economy. It also explores how this pioneering European civilization has influenced Western culture since its discovery, and how Minoan culture has been reconstructed, reimagined and represented in museum displays. This concise and up-to-date guide is essential for understanding both the history and the lasting legacy of the Minoans.
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In this book, Ellen Adams has provided a very readable, lively, informative and thought-provoking overview of the Minoans. I highly recommend it to anybody seeking a brief introduction to this great civilization of Bronze Age Crete.
'Nicoletta Momigliano, Professor of Aegean Studies, University of Bristol, and co-editor of Hellenomania
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This book expertly summarises over a century of research into Minoan Crete, while also considering its contemporary resonances, presentation and reception. It is an ideal introduction to a fascinating subject.
'Andrew Shapland, Sir Arthur Evans Curator of Bronze Age and Classical Greece, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Chronology
Preface
Introduction
1. Needing the Minoans
2. Finding the Minoans
3. Identifying the Minoans
4. Monumentalizing the Minoans
5. Housing the Minoans
6. Writing the Minoans
7. Controlling the Minoans
8. Ritualizing the Minoans
9. Reconstructing the Minoans
10. Displaying the Minoans
11. Reinventing the Minoans
References
Further Reading
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Ellen Adams is Reader in Classical Archaeology and Liberal Arts at King’s College London. She has participated in many archaeological excavations in Greece and published widely on the subject. She is the author of Cultural Identity in Minoan Crete: Social Dynamics in the Neopalatial Period (2017).