ミノア文明

ミノア文明、約3000 bceから約1100 bceまで栄えたクレタ島の青銅器時代の文明。その名前はミノスに由来し、王朝の称号、またはギリシャの伝説で地位を持つクレタ島の特定の支配者の名前のいずれかです。

エーゲ文明

。

クレタ島は、昔から島の主要都市であったクノッソスの伝説的なミノス王にちなんで、ミノアと呼ばれています。

。

ミノア文明の簡単な扱いが続きます。完全な扱いについては、エーゲ文明を参照してください。

Crete became the foremost site of Bronze Age culture in the Aegean Sea, and in fact it was the first centre of high civilization in that area, beginning at the end of the 3rd millennium bce. Reaching its peak about 1600 bce and the later 15th century, Minoan civilization was remarkable for its great cities and palaces, its extended trade throughout the Levant and beyond, and its use of writing. Its sophisticated art included elaborate seals, pottery (especially the famous Kamáres ware with its light-on-dark style of decoration), and, above all, delicate, vibrant frescoes found on palace walls. These frescoes display both secular and religious scenes, such as magical gardens, monkeys, and wild goats or fancifully dressed goddesses that testify to the Minoans’ predominantly matriarchal religion. Among the most familiar motifs of Minoan art are the snake, symbol of the goddess, and the bull; the ritual of bull-leaping, found, for example, on cult vases, seems to have had a religious or magical basis.

By about 1580 bce Minoan civilization began to spread across the Aegean to neighbouring islands and to the mainland of Greece. Minoan cultural influence was reflected in the Mycenean culture of the mainland, which began to spread throughout the Aegean about 1500 bce.

By the middle of the 15th century the palace culture on Crete was destroyed by conquerors from the mainland. They established a new order on Crete, with centres at Knossos and Phaistos. Following the conquest, the island experienced a wonderful fusion of Cretan and mainland skills. The Late Minoan period (c. 1400–c. 1100 bce), however, was a time of marked decline in both economic power and aesthetic achievement.