1. 7The Minoans were a powerful sea faring people. They lived on Crete, which is an island in the Aegean Sea; the Aegean Sea is located west of Turkey and southeast of Greece. The Minoans lived and dominated Crete from around 3000 BC to 1500 BC. They had a deep culture in the arts. They are assumed to be a peaceful people for excavations done the ruins showed that there were no fortifications.
The Minoans had developed significant naval power and for many centuries lived in contact with all the major civilizations of the time without being significantly threatened by external forces. Their commercial contact with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia undeniably influenced their own culture, and the Minoan civilization in turn appeared as the forerunner of the Greek civilization. The Minoan Culture contributed to Greek development by establishing a sea trade. They also produced many mercantile goods including glass blowing, pottery, weaving, jewelry making. They also helped great early languages through written words.
The people of Greece had divided themselves amongst various tribes such as Achaeans, Aeolians and Ionians. These were tall, red blonde haired nomadic tribes who grazed cattle and goats. They spoke Greek language and were ruled by Minoans for centuries. Whether Achaeans, Ionians, or Dorians, all of the Greeks in the Homeric Age had essentially the same culture, which was comparatively primitive. Not until the very last century of the period was there any general knowledge of writing. We must therefore envisage the Homeric Greeks as a preliterate people during the greater part of their history, with intellectual accomplishments that extended no farther than development of folk songs, ballads, and short epics sung and embellished by bards as they wandered from one village to another.