Religion played an important role in Minoan Crete and many activities, and artistic products revolved around religious cult. As evidence in the art of the period, the Minoans deified the natural world and found in it a logical order that allowed man to live in harmony with the natural environment.
Ritual celebrations usually took place in sacred caves, on sanctuaries on mountain peaks, and in the palaces and villas which all had their own sanctuaries.
Animal and bloodless sacrifices, along with processions were part of ritual worship of the great female nature goddess, and during these festivities worshipers used music, dance, and prayer to achieve a state of religious ecstasy that put them in touch with the supernatural. The sacrifice of the bull, and games like the "taurokatharpsia" that revolved around the animal, were central part of the Minoan religious festivals, symbolizing perhaps man's interaction with powerful natural elements, and ultimately his triumph over them through skill and power.
Some of the ritual objects that have been unearthed during excavations around Crete include the bull mask, the double axe, and the bull horns. Through their interaction with other civilizations of the middle east, the Minoans were aware and utilized the art of metalworking Their skillful jewelry creations adorned the collections of noble palace inhabitants and were even exported around the Mediterranean.
The archaeological museums in Crete present a number of gold artifacts, along with an assortment of copper instruments that date back to BC. Copper was a much sought after commodity during this time, and it does not appear naturally in Crete. Most likely the Minoans imported copper from Cyprus. The skill of the Minoan metal smiths was renown in the ancient world, and many artisans worked abroad in mainland Greece and the Aegean islands.
The Mycenaeans learned the art of inlaying bronze with gold from the Minoans. The first written scripts of the Minoans resemble egyptian hieroglyphs. It is virtually impossible to talk about early Greek history without at some point introducing the Minoans. The Minoans were not Greeks nor do they appear to be closely related. What seems clear however is that they helped to shape the early Greek civilization, later immortalized by Homer and other Greek poets.
The Minoans have left a stunning visual legacy paintings, sophisticated palaces and varied artwork as well as large quantities of written records. Unfortunately, unlike the writings of the Egyptians, Hittites and Babylonians which shed light on such things as social organization, religious beliefs and historical events, those Minoan writings discovered so far are simply inventory records- detailed, plentiful but not as enlightening as one might hope.
An added complication is that scholars have been only been able to decipher a small portion of their written language.
What we do know is that the Minoans were gifted artists and that the subject matter of their artworks seems to have been heavily influenced by aesthetic considerations. Some have suggested that they may have loved art for its own sake, which would be an enormous change in the way art was traditionally created and used in other societies at that time. But more research on that possibility is needed. Based on the evidence currently available, it seems that the Minoans arrived on the large island of Crete more than years ago.
The soil was fertile, the climate was favorable and the numbers of people increased. Eventually a point was reached when the resources of the land were insufficient to meet the needs of the expanding population.
Many migrated to nearby islands, those that stayed turned increasingly to trade as a means of improving their economic situation. Successful and extensive trade resulted in a Minoan society that was wealthy and archaeology suggests that wealth was widely shared throughout the community.
The extensive written records that do exist and have been deciphered show a highly controlled flow of goods into and out of state storehouses.
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