The Minoans: a lost civilisation
The biography of Arthur Evans is as remarkable as the ancient civilisation he uncovered on Crete. http://sirarthurevans.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/biography/
The discovery of a hitherto-unknown script drew Evans to Crete, where he had no qualms about interpreting and organising the reconstruction of the site uncovered at Knossos.
His discovery of 'snake goddess' figurines captured contemporary imaginations. The fragments of wall frescoes showing richly-dressed women in plunging gowns were alarmingly like the Paris fashions of the Art Nouveau period.
The Minoan civilisation appears to have centred around large buildings interpreted as palaces by the original excavator. Certainly, huge defensive walls were apparently NOT a priority to the Minoan inhabitants - which made them easy prey for the warlike Myceneans from mainland Greece.
In 1953 Michael Ventris cracked the code of Linear B, a form of writing uncovered in Crete during Evans' excavations. Sadly, this is the language of the Myceneans, the earliest form of Greek. The Minoan own writing, Linear A, has not yet been deciphered.
The discovery of a hitherto-unknown script drew Evans to Crete, where he had no qualms about interpreting and organising the reconstruction of the site uncovered at Knossos.
His discovery of 'snake goddess' figurines captured contemporary imaginations. The fragments of wall frescoes showing richly-dressed women in plunging gowns were alarmingly like the Paris fashions of the Art Nouveau period.
The Minoan civilisation appears to have centred around large buildings interpreted as palaces by the original excavator. Certainly, huge defensive walls were apparently NOT a priority to the Minoan inhabitants - which made them easy prey for the warlike Myceneans from mainland Greece.
In 1953 Michael Ventris cracked the code of Linear B, a form of writing uncovered in Crete during Evans' excavations. Sadly, this is the language of the Myceneans, the earliest form of Greek. The Minoan own writing, Linear A, has not yet been deciphered.