• 130000 – 9000 BCE: Paleolithic
• 9000 – 7000 BCE: Mesolithic
• 7000 – 2500 BCE: Neolithic
  • 7000–6500 BCE: Pre-Pottery (Aceramic) Neolithic
  • 6500–5800 BCE: Early Neolithic
  • 5800–5300 BCE: Middle Neolithic
  • 5300–4500 BCE: Late Neolithic
  • 4500–3500 BCE: Final Neolithic (Chalcolithic)

The chronologization of Minoan Crete is notoriously disputed. The original division of the ceramic phases into Early, Middle and Late Minoan goes back to Arthur Evans. Since Evans, however, there have been a great many different approaches to chronologies, some of which overlap by several centuries. A hundred percent exact chronology could not be realized until today.

As an example, one big problem is the chronological determination of the “Minoan Eruption”. Depending on where it´s located, it falls into the late “Middle Minoan” ceramic phase or into the early “Late Minoan” period. Not only the dating of Cretan history depends on it, but also for example the ancient Egyptian chronology. Because of the close connection of the Minoans to Egypt, conclusions can be drawn from artifacts of mutually traded goods, and the chronologies of both cultural areas are often “synchronized”.

In order to achieve a certain completeness, we list here all chronologies of the Minoan Bronze Age on Crete – without going into them more concretely, because that would again go beyond the scope. In the following list, the highest (oldest date) and lowest (youngest date) proposals for the dating of the different ceramic phases are given respectively. Therefore the overlapping by sometimes several centuries. For better orientation, some particularly important developments (e.g. “Beginning of fresco painting”) have been added.

There exist two dates, in which (almost) all chronologies agree. First of all, the year 1700 BCE, in which a severe earthquake destroyed the old palaces. This watershed moment in Minoan history has later been used to separate the “Old Palace Period” from the “New Palace Period”, as we will see a bit further down. Secondly, the year 1450 BCE, in which all Minoan palaces (except Knossos) were destroyed in the course of the Mycenaean conquest wave (although not necessarily by Mycenaean soldiers). In the following list, these two dates are also set in bold for better orientation.

• 3500 – 1900 BCE: Early Minoan / Prepalatial Period (acc. to A. Evans ca. 2600 – 2000/1900 BCE)
  • 3500 – 2200: EM I
  • 2800 – 2100: EM II
  • 2400 – 2000: EM III
• 2200 – 1550 BCE: Middle Minoan Period (acc. to A. Evans ca. 2000/1900 – 1600 BCE)
  • 2200 – 1900: MM IA
    • Start of construction of the first palace of Knossos
    • Probably invention/introduction of the potter’s wheel
  • 2000 – 1800: MM IB
    • Beginning of the Old Palace Period
    • Routine use of the potter’s wheel
  • 2100 – 1800: MM IIA
  • 1900 – 1700: MM IIB
    • Destruction of the old palaces by an earthquake ca. 1700 BCE
  • 1900 – 1600: MM IIIA
    • Beginning of fresco painting
    • First appearance of Linear A font
  • 1700 – 1550: MM IIIB
    • Routine appearance of Linear A font
    • First Linear A archive of Mallia
    • Thera eruption according to high (above all natural science supported) chronology approx. 1628 BCE (accuracy ranges: 1660-1613 -> 1639-1616 -> 1628)
• 1700 – 1050 BCE: Late Minoan Period (acc. to A. Evans ca. 1600 – 1450 BCE)
  • 1700 – 1500: LM IA
    • Earthquake of ca. 1570 BCE (possibly in connection with the Thera eruption)
    • Thera eruption according to low (especially historically-comparatively supported) chronology ca. 1560 BCE
    • Largest Linear A archive from Agia Triada in this phase and/or LM IB
  • 1500 – 1450: LM IB
    • Mycenaean conquest or assimilation. At the end of this phase severe fires in all palaces except Knossos
  • 1450 – 1400: LM II
    • At the end of this phase destruction of all palaces by fire (uncertain cause)
  • 1400 – 1300: LM IIIA
    • Earliest occurrence of Linear B tablets from the beginning of this phase
    • Final destruction of the palace of Knossos in this phase (ca. 1360 BCE)
  • 1300 – 1150: LM IIIB
    • Latest occurrence of Linear B tablets ca. 1200 BCE
  • 1260 – 1050: LM IIIC
    • End of the Bronze Age (shortly after 1200 BCE) with the “Bronze Age Collapse”: all Mycenaean palaces (including Knossos) are destroyed by fire
• 1100 – 900 BCE: Subminoan Ceramic Phase
  • In this phase the Mycenaean Greeks fight off the immigrating Dorians. At the end of this phase they are largely assimilated with them
  • At the end of this phase earliest appearance of the Geometric style

Following the archaeologist Nikolaos Platon, a different relative chronology has been proposed for Minoan Crete, focusing on the most distinctive features of the island, namely the “palaces”. This system summarizes some of the standard periods (essentially ceramic phases) to create a new system that looks as follows:

• 3100 – 1900 BCE: Prepalatial Period
  • Compares to EM IA until MM IA (see above)
• 1900 – 1700 BCE: Protopalatial Period (“Old Palaces”)
  • Compares to MM IB until MM II (see above)
• 1700 – 1450 BCE: Neopalatial Period (“New Palaces”)
  • Compares to MM III until LM IB (see above)
• 1450 – 1330 BCE: Final (or Late) Palatial Period (or “Third Palatial Period” in Knossos)
  • Compares to LM II until LM IIIA (see above)
• 1330 – 1100 BCE: Postpalatial Period
  • Compares to LM IIIB until LM IIIC (see above)
• 1100 – 900 BCE: Subminoan Ceramic Phase

The Bronze Age in Crete is followed by the ceramic phases of the “Subminoan” and the “Geometric” styles. Because of the lack of written evidence in the archaeological picture of these periods (approximately from the 12th to the 8th century), they have also been called the “Dark Centuries” or “Greek Dark Age”.

• 1100 – 900 BCE: Subminoan Ceramic Phase
  • At the end of this phase earliest appearance of the Geometric style.
  • In this phase, the Mycenaean Greeks fight off the immigrating Dorians. At the end of this phase, they are largely assimilated with them.
• 900 – 700/675 BCE: Geometric Period
  • Early Geometric Period (ca. 900–800 BCE)
  • Middle Geometric Period (ca. 800–740 BCE)
  • Late Geometric Period (ca. 740–700 BCE)
    • Resolution of the strictly geometric direction
    • Return of writing

The “Dark Age” is followed by the periods of the “Archaic” and “Classical” Greece, which for Crete are essentially identical to the mainland. In order to further divide them, we are oriented here to the art-historical or architectural styles:

• 700 – 500 BCE: Archaic Period
  • Early Archaic Period (ca. 700 – 620 BCE)
  • Middle Archaic Period (ca. 620 – 560 BCE)
  • Late Archaic Period (ca. 560 – 500 BCE)
• 500 – 323 BCE: Classical Period
  • Early Classical Period or “Severe Style” (ca. 480 – 450 BCE)
  • Middle Classical Period I or “High Style” (ca. 450 – 430/420 BCE)
  • Middle Classical Period II or “Rich Style” (ca. 430/420 – 400/390 BCE)
  • Late Classical Period (ca. 400/390 – 330/323 BCE)

From classical times we follow a chronology of the respective rulers over the island of Crete:

• 323 – 69 BCE: Hellenistic Period, “Island of 100 Poleis”
• 69 BCE – 395 CE: Roman Republic or Roman Empire
• 395 – 824 CE: Eastern Roman Empire/Byzantium
• 824 – 961 CE: Arabs
• 961 – 1204 CE: Byzantium
• 1204 – 1648 CE: Republic of Venice
• 1648 – 1898 CE: Ottoman Empire
• 1898- 1913 CE: Independent Crete (“Kritiki Politia”)
• since 1913: Greek Region of Crete

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. ■