Aegean Art

3000 - 1100 BC

Aegean Art can be divided up into the following periods:

•  3000 - 1475 BC: Minoan (Crete)
• 1650 - 1100 BC: Mycenean (Greece)

The very first flowering of civilization in Greek lands took place in Crete - An island lying to the south east of the Greek mainland. Considering its small size, isolated location and somewhat unsettled history, the civilizations of the island of Crete made some truly remarkable contributions to both Greek and Western European civilizations.

From the years 2600 BC to 1500 BC, the island of Crete was the center of a wondrous civilization. "Minoan" (after the legendary King Minos) was the name given by Sir Arthur Evans (an excavator early this century of the island of Crete) to the specifically Cretan culture that would otherwise be classified as Copper and Bronze Age. Today, Minoan art and artifacts are widely known. Especially the ceramic ware created in a dazzling variety of forms, techniques and patterns.

Around the year 1500 BC, Knossos and many of the other centers of Minoan society appear to have been simultaneously overwhelmed. The most generally accepted theory is that there was a catastrophic explosion of Thera - the volcanic island located north of Crete - accompanied by a rain of volcanic matter, a tidal wave and an earthquake on Crete itself. Another theory revolves around the possibility of invaders or rebel forces attacking and burning down the palaces. Whatever the event, it marked the end of the Minoan society and culture as it had existed before.

Sometime around 1450 BC, the Myceneans came to Crete and took over the administration of the island, rebuilding the palaces and playing an active role in what was left of Minoan life. During the years following - although Minoan social, religious and artistic patterns seem to have been broken up - the arts and crafts of these people (pottery and painting) did not completely disappear (they were just altered slightly and added to by the Myceneans).

Portions of the Minoan sites were restored and reoccupied. Some Minoans founded new villages elsewhere on the island. However, for all intents and purposes, after the year 1100 BC, the Minoan culture was no more and the Mycenean culture was in full swing.

 Image: Minoan Pottery

Recommended Books:

Aegean Art and Architecture (Oxford History of Art)
Introduction to Aegean Art
Minoan and Mycenaen Art (World of Art)