The Mythic Minoans
King Minos and the Minoans were a myth to the Ancient Greeks and remained the stuff of legend until their capital at Knossos was discovered thousands of years later on the island of Crete…
The Minoan civilisation was a precursor of Ancient Greek culture and was based on the Mediterranean island of Crete from before 3,000 until around 1,000 BCE… Cattle are still prominent in the art and religion here, however, it is the worship of bulls in Minoa that gave rise to the myth of the Minotaur, a mighty man with the head of a bull.
The site at Knossos, now known to be the centre of Minoan society, was excavated during the first part of the twentieth century. When a huge coloured wall relief of a giant red bull was uncovered, the local labourers became scared and refused to continue working. Sir Arthur Evans, the archaeologist in charge, had to call in a priest to convince the workers that what they had unearthed was a mural and not an actual devil!
As the dig at Knossos progressed, it became apparent that what had been discovered was the remnants of a civilisation that had…
