Ancient Greece: Minoans of Crete {2000-1100 BC}

from Theseus and the Minotaur, November 2009
The boys remembered the last time we studied the Minoans, named after King Minos, who lived on the island of Crete and they were able to re-tell the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. 
notebook page from History Portfolio, February 2014
I emphasized this time where the myth probably came from the Minoans and their custom or ritual of bull jumping. They would approach a charging bull and grasp its horns and catapult themselves onto the back of the bull and then onto the ground.
Most of what we know about the Minoans is from their frescoes which depict many aspects of their lives.
They also learned that there were several factors that led to the demise of the Minoans. 
portion of a student's map, February 2014

First the nearby island of Thera had a massive volcanic eruption and the tidal waves and earth tremors destroyed the palaces on Crete. Some were rebuilt, but then a fire destroyed most of the palaces and villas. It seems that some of the Minoans fled to what was left of nearby Thera. This volcanic eruption and the departure of the Minoans might have been the source of the legend of Atlantis, which the Greek philosopher mentions. It also seems that the Mycenaeans took this opportunity to take over what Minoans were left, but we will be learning more about them next time.

Next post: Mycenaeans

Popular Posts