The Minoans of Crete were settled on the island around 3000 BC. Archaeologists lead by Aurthur Evans started excavating the palace city of Knossos in 1899. They soon found more structures all over the island proving that this was an island wide civilization. The Minoans had what is known as a temple economy. People would bring their goods to the palace to then be distributed amongst the people. The Minoans traded widely with Minoan pottery being found as far away as modern day Israel. The Minoans were accomplished artists with frescoes depicting daily life as well as images of bull leaping. Their pottery had geometric designs with red glazes and was sometimes eggshell thin. The Minoans had no fortifications and they are thought to have been a very peaceful nation. Not very much is known about Minoan religion though multiple shrines and sacred caves have been found. There has been some evidence that the Minoans worshiped goddesses and bones have been found that suggest that they may have taken place in human sacrifices. Around 1100 BC Minoan civilization collapsed and was most likely taken over by Mycenaean Greece.
Mycenaean Greece was not known to exist until Heinrich Schliemann found the city of Mycenae in his quest to prove that the Iliad was real. Mycenaean Greece started about 1600 BC. They were much more warlike than the peaceful Minoans and also traded widely. They had many self governed city states and had advanced innovations. They had magnificent buildings such as the lions gate and were sometimes buried with elaborate masks. Mycenaean Greece ends with a 300 hundred year dark age from 1100 – 800 BC where no trace of their civilization is found.