The First European Civilization Quiz

Answer: 2000 B.C.-1500 B.C.

It has been suggested that the first inhabitants of Crete migrated there from Anatolia between 4000 B.C.-3000 B.C. The Pre-Palace Period (2600 B.C.-2000 B.C) was characterized by a cultural change, probably caused by the arrival of new settlers. There was rapid development in all kinds of art, especially gold-working. Sometime around 1500 B.C. a violent series of volcanic eruptions began on the nearby island of Thera, resulting in the disappearance of Minoan civilization.

From 2000 B.C.-1500 B.C. the island of Crete was the center of an advanced maritime civilization, which dominated the Aegean, mainland Greece, and some areas in Asia Minor. Palaces were constructed and writing was invented.

Answer: Zeus and Europa

Legends claim that Crete is the birthplace of Zeus, and the island to which he brought the princess of Sidon, Europa, after changing himself into a lovely, gentle bull and charming her into climbing on his back. Was Minos historic or legendary? Because there are so many legends about King Minos, some scholars believe that the name might actually refer to a dynasty of kings.

Answer: Mother Goddess

Remember that Minoan civilization is basically prehistoric. Although they left
behind written language, it has not really been completely deciphered. When the civilization was uncovered, the archaeologist made "educated guesses" regarding artifacts he found. He found a statue of a woman who was holding a snake in each hand, with a bird perched on top her head. He believed the statue resembled other Middle Eastern fertility goddesses, and named it the Mother Goddess. No temples or large cult statues have been found in Crete, and there are no frescoes that depict any deities.

Answer: Linear A

Minoans began to develop a form of writing around 2000 B.C. They needed to keep accounts of their busy trading activities. The earliest writing appears to be hieroglyphic in nature; later it evolved into a syllabic script. Linear B was a script used by the Mycenaeans, cuneiform was developed in Mesopotamia, and hieratic was a form of Egyptian cursive writing.

Answer: labyrinth

King Minos kept the Minotaur in the labyrinth under his palace. Everyone who entered the labyrinth was killed by the creature. Every nine years Minos demanded that Athens pay tribute to him in the form of seven young men and seven young women who were sacrificed to the Minotaur.

Answer: Theseus

King Aegeus was tired of paying the tribute every nine years. He worked out a plan with his son, Theseus, to try and kill the creature. Theseus was sent to Crete with six young men and seven maidens. Upon his arrival, he met and fell in love with King Minos' daughter, Ariadne. Ariadne gave Theseus a sword and a ball of string.

He was to use the string to find his way out of the labyrinth once he killed the Minotaur. Unfortunately, on his way back to Athens, Theseus forgot his promise to his father.

He said that if he was successful in killing the Minotaur, he would change the sails on the ship from black to white. When Aegeus saw black sails on the ship, he was so filled with grief that he threw himself from a cliff, into the sea. Since then, the Aegean Sea has been named for him.

Answer: Knossos

Phaistos is thought to have been the administrative center of the South. Knossos is the site that contains the labryinthine palace. It remained an important center of the Minoans until approximately 1450 B.C.

Answer: kamares

Kamaresware is characterized by spiral and linear designs, carried out in red and white on a dark background. Four design stages have been identified with new shapes and motifs being introduced.

Answer: bull leaping

From studying the fresco, it appears that both boys (represented in red skin) and girls (represented in white skin) participated. One acrobat somersaulted over the bull's back while another grabbed the bull's horns. Was bull leaping really a sport? Or was it a religious observance? We don't know for certain.

The bull (and its horns) are prominent features in Minoan art; they are revered as symbols of fertility and power.

Answer: Sir Arthur Evans

Sir Arthur Evans was the curator of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University. While traveling to Greece in search of early examples of Greek writing, he visited an antique shop in Athens, where he found milkstones. Milkstones (so called, because the women on Crete used them as charms to ensure they would have enough milk to feed their babies) were inscribed with pictographs.

He was told that he could find more on Crete. In 1900 he purchased the site at Knossos for excavations. While his discoveries on Crete are archaeologically important, Sir Arthur made the mistake of retouching frescoes, and rebuilding some of the ancient buildings.