Minoan Civilization - Minoan Civilization

Japanese: ミノス文明 - ミノスぶんめい

A civilization that flourished on the island of Crete from 2600 to 1400 BC, and represents the early Aegean civilization. It is also called the Cretan or Minoan civilization. It is divided into three Bronze Age periods following the Neolithic period. In the early period, port cities such as Valaikastro and Mokros in the east were established. In the middle period, the central part with a wider plain flourished, and palaces were built in Knossos and Phaistos. Around 1600 BC, King Knossos unified the island, and the Cretan civilization reached its peak. They traded throughout the eastern Mediterranean. After around 1500 BC, it came under the control of the Mycenaeans, and around 1400 BC, the palace of Knossos was destroyed by invasion by foreign tribes or an earthquake, and the civilization was destroyed. The Minoan civilization was an urban civilization, but the court was the center of religion, military, and commerce, and the magnificent palace architecture was decorated mainly with murals, with intricately detailed depictions of geometric patterns, plants and animals, and court life. There are also many ceramics with a wide variety of decorations and shapes, and small sculptures made primarily of bronze and ivory. Naturalistic and dynamic expressions are prominent throughout Minoan art, and the beliefs of this group are thought to have been polytheistic (with a goddess as the main deity) based on nature worship and fetish worship. Linear A (Cretan script), which was used from the middle to late period, has not yet been deciphered. → Mycenaean civilization → Related article Mediterranean

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

前2600年―前1400年ころクレタ島で栄えた文明で，エーゲ文明の前期を代表する。クレタ文明，ミノア文明ともいう。新石器時代に続く３期の青銅器時代に区分。初期には東部のバライカストロ，モクロスなどに港市が興った。中期にはより広い平野部のある中部が栄え，クノッソス，ファイストスなどに宮殿が建築され，前1600年ころクノッソス王が島内を統一，クレタ文明の最盛期が出現。東地中海の全域で貿易活動を行った。前1500年ころ以後ミュケナイ人の支配下に入り，前1400年ころ異民族の侵入，もしくは地震などによりクノッソス宮殿は破壊され，文明も滅んだ。ミノス文明は都市文明だが，宗教，軍事，商業ともに宮廷が中心であり，壮麗な宮殿建築の装飾はおもに壁画で，幾何学文，動植物，宮廷生活などが精妙に描かれている。また装飾・形態の多彩な陶器，青銅・象牙(ぞうげ)を主材とする小彫刻が多くみられる。ミノス美術全般を通じて自然主義的，動的な表現が顕著にみえ，その信仰は自然崇拝と呪物崇拝を基調とする多神教（主神は女神）であったとみられる。中期から後期にかけて使用された線文字A（クレタ文字）は未解読。→ミュケナイ文明
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