Ilustrated History- Ancient Greece
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8<br />
THE MINOAN<br />
CIVILIZATION<br />
The first great culture of the area<br />
appeared on Crete, an island just<br />
south of <strong>Greece</strong>. It is known as the<br />
Minoan culture because its most<br />
legendary king was called Minos.<br />
It lasted from around 3400 to 1200<br />
BC.<br />
In those times, the Cretans dominated<br />
the Mediterranean thanks to<br />
a powerful war fleet that protected<br />
their merchant ships.<br />
When civilization began to<br />
develop on mainland <strong>Greece</strong>, the<br />
Greeks tried to imitate Minoan art<br />
and culture.<br />
The Cretans built impressive<br />
palaces of several stories high, with<br />
terraces and inner courtyards. The<br />
walls were decorated with paintings<br />
depicting the Cretan people<br />
enjoying an elegant and sophisticated<br />
way of life.<br />
No one knows when or why the<br />
Minoan civilization disappeared,<br />
but it may have been due to a<br />
series of natural disasters, such as<br />
earthquakes, volcano eruptions, or<br />
tsunamis, followed by an invasion.
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