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Minoan

Fresco found in Knossos palace, Crete, Greece, dated 1600 - 1450 BC (CC0)

Minos Taurus The Bull Of Knossos

I am the bull of Knossos, where rich Minoans live amidst painted splendour. On the island of Crete I am surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, by mountains and plains, by bronze, by plaster, by...
View at the ruins of the famous Minoan palace of Knossos, the center of the Minoan civilization and one of the largest archaeological sites in Greece. Source: GIORGOS/Adobe Stock

The Mysteries of the Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations (Video)

The ancient Mediterranean harbors mysteries that continue to intrigue historians. Beyond the well-known empires of Rome and Greece lie enigmatic civilizations like the Sea Peoples, who wielded power...
Griffin warrior carved stone. Credit: J. Vanderpool, Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati.

Was The Griffin Warrior’s Treasure Looted from Other Cultures? (Video)

Approximately three and a half thousand years ago, a man was interred on a Greek hillside near Pylos, surrounded by an astonishing array of riches . What's intriguing is that many of these treasures...
Linear A incised on tablets found in Akrotiri, Santorini / ancient Thera ( CC BY-SA 3.0)

Accountant Takes An Accurate Shot At Cracking Bronze Age Script, Linear A

The enigmatic script Linear A has long been one of antiquity's most enduring mysteries. Emanating from Bronze Age Crete, its undecipherable cryptic symbols have frustrated researchers, historians,...
Lake Superior glyphs. Source: YouTube Screenshot / America Unearthed

Who Mined Lake Superior? Ancient Glyphs Solve Bronze Age Mystery (Video)

For centuries, the shores of Lake Superior have held countless secrets, hidden in the depths of the lake and the surrounding wilderness. Recently, a team of archaeologists and linguists stumbled upon...
Representational image depicting the use of star paths by Minoan civilization. Source: Alessandro Berio / CC BY 4.0

Star Paths Likely Guided Minoan Culture

Minoan civilization may have been heavily dependent on celestial star paths up above to help them navigate their way throughout the Mediterranean. A study has found that Minoan palaces were even...
Fusion of elements: 1) the central city of Amarna, looking east (photo by author), a statue of Akhenaten, with the famous Minoan fresco from the Knossos Palace, “Ladies in Blue”, circa 1500 BC. (Public Domain)

Fair Winds Trade From the Aegean to Egypt’s Amarna

What do Queen Nefertari’s silver earrings , King Tutankhamun’s olive leaf collar, and an exquisite blue glass mixing vessel from Egypt have in common? They were all either a direct product of trade...
One of the long sides of the Hagia Triada Sarcophagus, showing Minoan burial practices  Source: Deyan Vasilev / CC BY SA 3.0

Magnificent Hagia Triada Sarcophagus Reflects Minoan Death Culture

One of the most fascinating of the many discoveries to come from the island of Crete is the Hagia Triada Sarcophagus. This beautiful ancient artifact was discovered in 1903 in a chamber tomb in Hagia...
Fantasy image of a lost civilization underwater.	Source: Максим Горбанев/ Adobe Stock

Nine Civilizations That Met Mysterious (and Unfortunate) Ends

One of the most fascinating subjects to study throughout history is the rise and fall of various civilizations. While in some cases we have an understanding of the evolution and downfall of these...
Typhoid fever salmonella bacteria like this, according to the latest study, were a primary killer along with the plague that could well be the missing reason for the sudden Bronze Age collapse of Near East and Mediterranean societies. Source: sveta / Adobe Stock

Mediterranean Bronze Age Collapse Linked to Deadly Typhoid and Plague

A new genetic research project has revealed evidence of the profound impact highly infectious and dangerous diseases may have had on the Bronze Age collapse in the Mediterranean and Near East region...
Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Source: Геннадий Кучин / Adobe Stock

Athena: Fiercely Feminine Goddess of War and Wisdom

Of all the Olympian gods and goddesses, Athena was arguably one of the most fascinating. The goddess of war, wisdom, and crafts, Athena was known for her many passions and abilities that made her...
A recent PNAS study has revealed the extent of the Tera eruption's tsunami wave destruction across the northern Aegean based on Late Bronze Age skeletons found in northern Turkey. 		Source: MiaStendal / Adobe Stock

Shattered Skeletons of Man and Dog From Eruption and Tsunami 3,600 Years Ago

In 2021, archaeologists recovered the shattered skeletons of a man and a dog at a site in Turkey. Their frames were both smashed to pieces, but not by an act of human violence, but by the force of a...
Tracing The Footprints Of The Philistines To Minoan Knossos On Crete

Tracing The Footprints Of The Philistines To Minoan Knossos On Crete

The year 1185 BC heralded a diaspora of the so-called Sea Peoples to the south-western coast of the Levantine. From the west they came in ships via the Mediterranean Sea and from the north they...
Phaistos Disc Side A.		Source: C Messier/ CC BY-SA 4.0

The Phaistos Disc: Spiral Secrets Suggest It’s a Festival Calendar

In 1908, Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier was working in southern Crete at an ancient Minoan palace located in the town of Phaistos. Digging amid the ruins he found a clay circular tablet that has...
The Minoan Civilization of Crete: A Great Aegean Culture

The Minoan Civilization of Crete: A Great Aegean Culture

The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was based on the island of Crete, in the Aegean Sea. This civilization flourished from around 3000 BC to around 1100 BC. The Minoan...
Relief of Minoan Lady at Akrotiri, Santorini (Courtesy Micki Pistorius)

The Resurrection of Asherah, Mother-Goddess of Humankind

Scant referrals in the Bible alert to the presence of a vilified female deity destined to be banished into oblivion. Yet the Biblical referrals obscure the beloved benevolent mother-goddess Asherah,...
Study Reveals Close Genetic Links Across Advanced Aegean Civilizations

Study Reveals Close Genetic Links Across Advanced Aegean Civilizations

A landmark study of ancient DNA has shed new light on the genetic characteristics of people who built the great Bronze Age Aegean civilizations. A team of researchers from Greece and Switzerland...
Minotaur

Myth of the Minotaur: The Making of a Monster

One of the most intriguing myths of ancient Greece is that of the Minotaur on the island of Crete, the bull-headed human-animal hybrid of Greek mythology. The story of the bestial Minotaur trapped in...
Left, vervet monkey depicted in Minoan art at Akrotiri, Thera; Right, Baboon shown in a fresco at Knossos      Source: Antiquity Publications Ltd

Monkeys In Minoan Art Reveal New Bronze Age Links

Experts investigating frescoes and artworks have made some important discoveries with regard to Minoan civilization . They have found that Minoan artists realistically depicted a species of monkey...
Depiction of ancient Greek woman.  Source: Algol / Adobe stock

What Was Life Really Like for an Ancient Greek Woman?

The lives of the ancient Greeks were ones of hardship and endurance. The experiences of ancient Greek women were even tougher. If a newly born Greek girl was deemed worthy and not abandoned, their...
The Minoan cup, shown here next to a modern throwaway container that washed up in the Pacific.    Source: Trustees of the British Museum

3500-Year-Old Minoan Cup Proves Ancients Weren’t Green Either

A disposable Minoan cup forged by the early Mediterranean civilization will be displayed in a “stunning showcase,” which evaporates the cultural myth that ‘single-use’ crockery is a modern creation...
Minoan Monkey art in Akrotiri, Greece. Source: ZDE / CC BY-SA 3.0

Minoan Monkey Business: Fresco Links Greek Island With Asia

Experts studying ancient Minoan monkey paintings on a Greek island have made a discovery that provides new knowledge of the trade network of the archaic civilization. Analysis of a depiction of a...
Left: bird’s eye view shot of the excavation site, and right: Minoan treasure / gold ring unearthed at site.        Source: Greece Ministry of Culture and Sports

New Minoan Hoard Proves Snails Were Lucrative

Archaeologists working on an uninhabited island off Crete have made a series of amazing discoveries. They have uncovered a Minoan treasure trove linked to the production of a prized purple dye in...
Lost ‘Atlantean Treasures’ Unearthed in Crete

Lost ‘Atlantean Treasures’ Unearthed in Crete

Archaeologists have discovered large quantities of treasure, which may be called ‘Atlantean treasures,’ in ancient Minoan-era buildings in Crete. Excavations conducted this year by Lasithi...

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