Minoan Crete: From myth to history

Minoan Crete: From myth to history by Andonis Vasilakis, 1999, is the book I chose for the 2023 NONFICTION READER CHALLENGE in the category History.

I didn’t know much about the Minoans, but after visiting Crete in 2022 I was impressed by the archaeological remains and the beautiful landscape and became curious about the people who had lived there in prehistory. I am also intrigued by the idea of Minoan Crete as the “first civilization.”

The book is divided into seven sections detailing: information about the land and people; Minoan mythology; and five historical periods, in chronological order, ranging from the Stone Age to the Third Palace Period (1450-1350 BC).

Although there is information about the archaeology of Crete, this is not an academic book on archaeology; there are assumptions without support. For example, “Figurines probably had a religious function and the smallest ones were used as amulets.” There is no further explanation of why Vasilakis ‘knows’ this or where he got this information from. There is a bibliography, and a glossary, at the end of the book, but no footnotes relating the books listed to the information in the book. However, for a reader who is interested in history and in the historical basis of myths, this is a satisfying read.

In terms of historical description, Vasilakis is extremely thorough. In each section (in chronological order), he includes the history, art and technology (including, for example, architecture, tombs, pottery, figurines, etc.), economy, society and beliefs.

The section, “Minoan Crete in Ancient Mythology” is extremely interesting since Vasilakis includes a long list of the myths and the characters and writes as if they were really historical.

The book includes many photographs (perhaps hundreds; I didn’t count) of both landscapes and of ancient objects and is printed on glossy paper, so the colors are glorious. It is the kind of book that can be read cover to cover as a novel, or can be read in different sections according to the reader’s interest.