Minoan Warm Period
Published: Aug 14, 2014
Updated: Oct 27, 2023
Author: C. Michael Hogan
Editor: Mark McGinley
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The Minoan Warm Period is a climatic era named for its occurrence in the eastern Mediterranean region from approximately 1600 to 1000 BC. This era was named after the Minoan civilization, which flourished during this very warm period on the island of Crete; however, the climatic trend has been observed on a much wider geographic scale, perhaps global. The Minoan Warm Period was characterized by a warm and wet climate, which encouraged the flourishing of crops such as grapes and olives. The period was followed by a colder and drier climate known as the Greek Dark Ages, which led to the decline of the Minoan civilization, and, in fact, a broader geography cultural decline, which colder period ultimately reversed into a major cultural and health advance in the Roman Warm Period
Contents
Climate
The Minoan period was a warm period. It is estimated that the average temperature in the Aegean Sea during the Minoan period was about two degrees Celsius warmer than it is in 2023. This was due to a combination of factors, including:
Increased solar activity: The Minoan period coincided with a period of increased solar activity. This increased solar activity led to warmer temperatures around the world. Changes in ocean circulation: Changes in ocean circulation patterns also contributed to warmer temperatures in the Aegean Sea during the Minoan period. These changes brought warmer waters from the south into the Aegean Sea, leading to afforestation: Crete, the island where the Minoan civilization was centered, was heavily forested during the Minoan Warm Period. However, deforestation began to increase at the end of the Minoan period, as a colder and drier pattern ensued.
The warm climate of the Minoan period made Crete a prosperous island. The Minoans were able to grow a wide variety of crops, and they were also able to trade with other civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea. The warm climate also allowed the Minoans to culturally prosper and build large and complex cities, such as Knossos and Phaistos. However, the Minoan period came to an end around 1500 BC. The reasons for the collapse of the Minoan civilization are still debated by historians, but it is attributed chiefly to the climate cooling at the end of the period.
History
This era in Mediterranean history overlaps with the 18th to 20th Dynasties in Egypt, also an era of high artistic and cultural achievement. (Petrie, 1897) (Tomkins and Ilse Schoep (2012) The history of the island of Santorini is intertwined with Crete, and was also of Minoan culture.
Culture and Writing
The Minoan Warm Period is best characterised by life on Crete and Akrotiri, with much of the rest of the world lagging in cultural advancement. The Minoans of Crete and Akrotiri developed very sophisticated language systems, most of which have not yet been completely deciphered! They developed two writing systems described as Cretan hieroglyphs and Linear A. These languages are regarded not to belong to either Indo-European or Semitic lineages. Subsequent to 1450 BC, a modified version of Linear A known as Linear B was used to record Mycenaean Greek.
Art and Pottery
The artistic accomplishments of the Minoan Warm Period were spectacular, (Hood, 1971) both in the heart of the Mediterranean centroid as well as other parts of Europe and the Americas (notably the Mayan culture), even though far fewer vestiges of art derive from places other than Crete and Akrotiri. An exception are parts of China, where superb Neolithic pottery has survived this ancient time. Regarding the art from Crete, Hood emphasizes that the art features imaginative workmanship with an "essential quality of the finest Minoan art, the ability to create an atmosphere of movement and life although following a set of highly formal conventions". Some of the earliest figurative paintings found on pottery derive from the Minoan Period on Crete. Many of these are suggestive of dance. Women were often depicted topless in narrow waisted garb with flared skirts, (Hogan, 2008) evocative of modern day ballet dance.
Minoan pottery is a very productive means of creating a timeline in Minoan civilization. Crete pottery in the Late Bronze Age is particularly useful in aiding archaeologists in dating strata of Minoan sites. Sizeable pots that were used for wine, oils and ointments, created in 18th century BC Crete, have been recovered throughout the Aegean islands (Betancourt,1985) as wel l as mainland Greece, and on Cyprus, in coastal Syria and also in Egypt, showing the broad trading patterns of Bronze Age Crete. The extremely artistic palatial pottery known as Kamares, as well as the Late Minoan intricately patterned Minoan Marine Style are notable elements of the Late Bronze Age Minoan pottery.
Dance
Extant Crete Bronze Age Pyrrhic Dance Ceramics. Public Domain Image.
The earliest Cretan dance is thought to be the Pyrrhic dance, which was a war dance performed by the Kouretes, a group of warrior priests who worshipped the Minoan goddess Rhea. The Pyrrhic dance is depicted in Minoan art and artifacts dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. The Pyrrhic dance was a vigorous and acrobatic dance, and it was performed with swords and shields. The dancers would leap and whirl around in complex formations, and they would often clash their swords together to create a rhythmic sound. The Pyrrhic dance was believed to have magical powers, and it was performed to prepare warriors for battle and to celebrate their victories.
Another early Cretan dance is the Labyrinth Dance, which is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey. The Labyrinth Dance is thought to have been a fertility dance that was performed in the Labyrinth of Knossos, a vast palace complex that was built by the Minoans. (Hogan, 2008) The Labyrinth Dance is depicted in Minoan art and artifacts. Some scholars believe that it was a ceremonial dance that was performed by young women to prepare them for marriage. Others believe that it was a more ecstatic dance that was performed to invoke the fertility gods. Regardless of its exact nature, the Labyrinth Dance is another important example of early Cretan dance. It is a testament to the rich and vibrant culture of the Minoan civilization, and it shows that dance was an important part of Cretan life in the Minoan Warm Period. Both the Pyrrhic dance and the Labyrinth Dance are still performed in Crete today, although they have evolved over time. The Pyrrhic dance is now performed as a traditional folk dance, and the Labyrinth Dance is performed as a ceremonial dance at religious festivals.
See Also
References
- Betancourt, Philip P. (1985) The history of Minoan pottery. Princeton University Press. 226 pp
Publication date 1985C.
- C. Michael Hogan (2008) Knossos Modern Antiquarian https://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/65042/fieldnotes/knossos.html
- Sinclair Hood (1971) The Minoans the Story of Bronze Age Crete Praeger Publishing
- Petrie, William M.F. (1897). A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the XVIth Dynasty. A history of Egypt. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 114-115.
- Peter Tomkins and Ilse Schoep (2012). "Crete". In Cline, Eric (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean. Oxford University Press. pp. 66–82. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0005. ISBN 978-0199873609.
Citation
C. Michael Hogan, California Arts and Sciences Institute https://casicalifornia.org (2023) Minoan Warm Period Encyclopedia of Earth, National Council for Science and Environment, Washington DC https://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Minoan_Warm_Period
