Contrast Between The Minoans and The Mycenaeans

MIN/MYC essay

Over four thousand years ago, an early Greek civilization known as Minoans thrived on the island of Crete.  They were fishermen, sailors, farmers, and artists.  By studying a variety of artifacts, archeologists believe these people loved and were inspired by nature. Around 2000 BC, the Mycenaeans from the Peloponnesus conquered the Minoans and returned to the mainland with many of the ideas and innovations of the Minoans.  The Mycenaeans were war-loving people, motivated and inspired by war and the military. While many aspects of the cultures of these two early civilizations are very similar, in other ways they are quite different.

The Minoan people came up with many innovations. One of their innovations had to do with how they managed water. In their palaces, they had running water and flushing toilets. This innovation was helpful because all of the waste would go outside of the building, and be away from the people. In their houses, their bathtubs were moveable. This allowed them to move their bathtubs into different rooms and bring the tub to the person, not the person to the tub. The palaces of the Minoans were very open. The palaces served as a community centers, and people could walk into any room they wanted, no locks. To serve their gods, the Minoans had ritual baths in their palaces. The writing of the Minoans was unique in many ways. It was written in Linear A, which has not been translated; they wrote using pictures.

The Mycenaean culture was similar and different from the Minoan culture. The Mycenaean culture and the Minoan culture had baths that fitted the human body, and drainpipes. However, the Mycenaean culture didn’t have running water or toilets, and their bathtubs could not move like the Minoan. The palaces of the Mycenaean and the Minoan cultures both had large columns and throne rooms. They also shared the fact that they both painted their walls with scenes of nature. However, the Mycenaeans burned oils to please their gods, instead of ritual baths. The Mycenaeans also had protected fortresses instead of community centers. Both of these cultures wrote in straight lines and wrote on clay tablets. They also wrote about religion on their tablets. There were important differences between these cultures. The Mycenaeans wrote in Linear B, which has been translated. The reason it has been translated is because it is written in letters and characters instead of pictures. The Mycenaeans wrote on clay tablets for simple things, but for more important matters they wrote on papyrus.