"These are the Greek legends which relate to Crete in her heyday, but what is one to make of them? It is not being irresponsible or unhelpful to say that almost anything can be made of them and that the mythologists and anthropologists in their time have done so. One needs discipline as well as imagination and erudition for the task." H.E.L. Mellersh
Most references on Minoans and Mykenaeans are re-hashings of the same dozen items: the costume, the dependence on the sea, the Goddess-worship, the bull-dancing, the earthquake problem, the Minos-Theseus legends, Thera = Atlantis, etc. There is a distinct limit to how much can be known about any non-historical people. If you get a good grounding in a dozen basic books, you can invent their culture as well as the next guy. See as many pictures of different artifacts as you can, and make your own learned interpretations.
Special note: most sources (including the museum displays on Santorini) date the Thera eruption to the end of the New Palace Period in the 1400's BC. Newest archeological evidence, however, shifts it back to about 1628 BC.
Alexious, S, Nikolas Platon, & Hanni Guanella
Ancient Crete **** 1968; photos by Leonard von Matt Text by experts, splendid illustrations. T1
Alsop, Joseph
From the Silent Earth Secker and Warburg, 1965 Puts forward the proposition that the Mykenaeans made their wealth by hiring out as mercenaries, which can take your Mykenaean hero a lot of places. Considering that the Norse did the same thing, going down to Constantinople to make a fortune in the Varangian Guard, it's certainly not impossible. T2
Ayrton, Michael
The Maze Maker Deals with possible Minoan theology. T2
Baikie, James
The Sea-Kings of Crete *** London, 1926 Good early thalassocracy book, fine for a novelist, if a bit dated for a scholar. T2
Bibby, Geoffrey
The Testimony of the Spade *** 1957 Good general introduction to the ancient Eastern Mediterranean. T1
Blegen, Carl W.
Guide to the Palace of Nestor **** 1962 Detail study of the Mykenaean ruins at Pylos. T3 The Trojans 1963
Guide to the Palace of Nestor **** 1962 Detail study of the Mykenaean ruins at Pylos. T3
The Trojans 1963
Boucher, Francois
Twenty Thousand Years of Fashion; the History of Costume and Personal Adornment *** Harry N. Abrams, 1966; 440 pg, index, glossary Illustrated entirely with photos of period artwork. Has a lot of the statuettes and frescoes. T1
Bourliere, Francois
The Land and Wildlife of Eurasia YY Time-Life Books, Inc., NY, 1964 2nd ed. 1974 History of domestication, extinction, and migrations tells you when fauna and flora are available to some degree. Only wish there were more. T3
Buehr, Walter
Warrior's Weapons **** Crowell, NY, 1963; illustrated by author Good on early and non-ferrous metallurgy, including the development of sickle-swords and early Mykenaean longswords with pointing rather than tight-fist grip. Simply, pleasantly written. T2
Carpenter, Rhys
Discontinuity in Greek Civilization *** 1966 Scholarly exploration of the possible causes of the Dark Age, therefore of the preceding culture. T2
Carpenter, Rhys, Edith Hamilton, William Hayes, et al
Everyday Life in Ancient Times; Highlights of the Beginnings of Western Civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome ** National Geographic Society, NY, 1964; 368 pg, index Passable general reference from the late Stone Age through about 300 of the Current Era. Two illos from the Minoan/Mykenaean period, a bit wooden; see pgs 186, 189 (Santorin), 191, 202-205. T1
Chadwick, John
Linear B and Related Script *** Reading the Past, University of California Press/British Museum, 1987; 64 pg, index This is all there is on Minoan writing and literature: laundry lists. A morning spent reading this will let you refer to writing and the signs used properly and in their places. Ariadne is not going to sit in her window and WRITE poems to Theseus, though she may compose some. However, Theseus will probably get ticked off on a list of tribute when he is delivered. T1
Cottrell, Leonard
The Bull of Minos Pan Books, London, 1955 The Lion Gate 1963 Both recommended by Mellersh. The second deals with Minoan matriarchy. T2
The Bull of Minos Pan Books, London, 1955
The Lion Gate 1963 Both recommended by Mellersh. The second deals with Minoan matriarchy. T2
Desborough, V. R. d'A.
The Last Mycenaeans and Their Successors 1964 Recommended by Mellersh. T2
Durant, Will
The Life of Greece ** The Story of Civilization, 1934 Since Durant's emphasis is on philosophy, he is kind to cover the Cretans at all. This chapter is a good introduction if you are unfamiliar with the Minoans, and only so far investigating the possibility of a story. T1
Evans, Sir Arthur
The Palace of Minos **** Macmillan, London, five volumes, 1921-1935 This is the full site report on the original Knossos excavations. You may argue with the interpretations, but this is where you get your raw data. Massively illustrated, with Gillerion's reconstructions. T3
Galanopoulos, A. G. & Edward Bacon
Atlantis **** 1969 If you must believe Atlantis really existed as a mid-Atlantic island, don't read this! It argues thoroughly and cogently against it, saying Plato got both years and dimensions off by a factor of ten, and places Atlantis in the Eastern Mediterranean, at Thera/Santorin. T3
Graham, J. W.
The Palaces of Crete *** 1962 You may need more than Knossos. This covers the others. T3
Hawkes, Jacquetta
The Dawn of the Gods 1968 Hawkes generally pulls off the delicate balancing act of being both scholarly accurate and popularly accesible. Covers Crete as a possible matriarchy. T2
Hawes, Charles, & Harriet Boyd Hawes
Crete, the Forerunner of Greece **** 1909 Particularly valuable, as their excavations at Gournia revealed the usual humble little huts of the peasant immemorial, rather than concentrating on sprawling palaces. T3
Heath, Ernest Gerald
The Grey Goose Wing *** New York Graphic Society, Greenwich, CN, 1971 Excellent history of the bow, starting very early. The Minoans were supposed to be excellent archers, and so were many Mykenaean-derived heroes like Herkles of Tiryns and Odysseus. T2
Higgins, C. R.
Minoan and Mycenaean Art 1967
Hogg, Ian V.
The History of Fortification *** St. Martin's Press, NY, 1981 Clear, interesting and accurate overview from 7000 BC through the 1970's, well illustrated with photos and diagrams; bibliography and glossary. T1
Ingraham, Holly
People's Names: A Cross-cultural Reference Guide to the Proper Use of Over 40,000 Personal and Familial Names in Over 100 Cultures *****! McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, NC; 1997; 613 pgs, index, select annotated bibliography The Historical half has the Hellenic names used by the Mykenaeans and the late period Greek-speaking Cretans. For your Minoans, you should make up a table and build a pick-list, using the rules for "shadow languages" in the last section, Names Without Languages. T1
Levi, Peter
The Greek World ****! orig London, 1986; has been through several American publishers, but now from Rand McNally (quick, look, has it changed?) Excellent first part on climate, language, and the development of Minoan and Mykenaean cultures. Very interesting artifact photos. T1
Macqueen, J. G.
The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor *** Thames & Hudson The Hittites were the eastern neighbors of the Trojans and Mykenaeans, with mercantile, political and social interactions. T2
Majno, Guido, MD
The Healing Hand: Man and Wound in the Ancient World *****! Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1975 Heavy research and testing, too, to see how well period practices actually worked. Fascinating reading. Among others, covers classic medicine of the Ancient Near East and Egypt, from which you can extrapolate. T1
Marinatos, Spyridon
Crete and Mycenae 1960 Mellersh remarks on the "brilliant photographs by Max Hirmer." T2 "Thera, Key to the Riddle of Minos" *** National Geographic, May 1972, pg 702-726 Opens with two glorious fold-out paintings, my all-time favorites depicting Minoans. Text details the theory of the explosion of the island volcano of Santorin/Thera as the downfall of Minoan civilization, or at least its fatal crippling. Interesting artifacts, notes on foods, art, beds, etc. T2
Crete and Mycenae 1960 Mellersh remarks on the "brilliant photographs by Max Hirmer." T2
"Thera, Key to the Riddle of Minos" *** National Geographic, May 1972, pg 702-726 Opens with two glorious fold-out paintings, my all-time favorites depicting Minoans. Text details the theory of the explosion of the island volcano of Santorin/Thera as the downfall of Minoan civilization, or at least its fatal crippling. Interesting artifacts, notes on foods, art, beds, etc. T2
Matz, Friedrich
Crete and Early Greece 1962 Mellersh calls this, "beautifully illustrated," and you need all the pictures you can get. T2
McEvedy, Colin
The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History *** Penguin Books, 1967; 96 pg, index A handy, small book, showing who rules what when, in the stretch from Persia to the Atlantic, from prehistory to about 300 CE. T1
Mellersh, H.E.L.
The Destruction of Knossus: the Rise and Fall of Minoan Crete *****! Barnes and Noble Books, 1993, originally 1970; 205 pg, index, bibliography Reprint of a classic work. Where other books lean on "look at the pretty wall pictures," Mellersh points out more fascinating evidence: the number of cooking tools, indicating a sophisticated cuisine; traces of purple dye in vats, so that you know the colour can be worn in the court of Minos, etc. Does not realise quite his own depth of anti-paganism, so you will have to allow for unconcious negativism about the religion. T1
Palmer, Leonard R.
Mycenaeans and Minoans 1965 Includes his alternative view of the Linear B development, and the possible influx of Luvians to Crete before the Greeks in the 15th C. BC. T2
Pellegrino, Charles
Unearthing Atlantis *** Covers the old sites of Thera. Pellegrino is a very approachable popular science writer.
Pendlebury, J. D. S.
The Archaeology of Crete **** Methuen, 1939 Includes descriptions of mansions and just big houses, besides the palaces. T3 A Handbook of the Palace of Minos at Knossos 1933 Pendlebury was Evan's successor at the Knossos excavations. These are more detail reports. T3
The Archaeology of Crete **** Methuen, 1939 Includes descriptions of mansions and just big houses, besides the palaces. T3
A Handbook of the Palace of Minos at Knossos 1933 Pendlebury was Evan's successor at the Knossos excavations. These are more detail reports. T3
Platon, Nikolas
Crete **** 1966; Archaeologia Mundi series Mellersh describes this as "highly illustrated and also with a good bibliography." T2
Reader's Digest
Everyday Life Through the Ages ** Reader's Digest, 1992 "Masters of the Aegean" pg 42-49 Includes a double-page on Mykenae. Nothing to get excited about. T1
Sakellarakis, Yannis, and Efi Sapouna-Sakellaraki
"Minoan Human Sacrifice" ** National Geographic, February 1981, pg 205-224 Sensational find, pumped up by the authors. Some interesting photos of jewelry and pottery. T3
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda
The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era *****! Paragon House, NY, 1991; 290 pg, no index, bibliography In this period, Salmonson offers the Amazons, assorted dangerous nymphs and Goddesses of warlike bent, not to mention the many martial ladies of Greece, like Herakles' last wife, Deianeira. T2
Stone, Merlin
When God Was a Woman **** British title: The Paradise Papers 1976; 265 pgs, index, bibliography, date chart While discussing the development of patriarchalism and patrilineal social control of women, by reconstructing the Goddess worship that went before and continued alongside these later religions, Stone gives a unique insight into life and thought of the people to whom the world had a female Creator, Lady of All, Queen of the Universe. T2
Time-Life Books, the editors of
TimeFrame 3000-1500 BC: The Age of God-kings *** Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1987 Very pictorial, good text. The air-brushed reconstructions are sometimes too in love with vast plain surfaces rather than trying to give us maximum pictorial information, and the maps, while they cover the ground, are strictly minimal. TimeFrame 1500-600 BC: Barbarian Tides Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1987 Another wide-ranging introduction to all the world at the time, including the Americas. Same complaints. T1
TimeFrame 3000-1500 BC: The Age of God-kings *** Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1987 Very pictorial, good text. The air-brushed reconstructions are sometimes too in love with vast plain surfaces rather than trying to give us maximum pictorial information, and the maps, while they cover the ground, are strictly minimal.
TimeFrame 1500-600 BC: Barbarian Tides Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1987 Another wide-ranging introduction to all the world at the time, including the Americas. Same complaints. T1
Ventris, Michael, & John Chadwick
Documents in Mycenaean Greek **** 1956 If Chadwick's handbook above is not enough, this is probably as much depth as most can stand. T3
Warry, John
Warfare in the Classical World **** Salamander Books, London, 1980 Excellent coverage of naval as well as land forces, including very recent reconstructions of pentekonters, triremes, etc. Covers Heroic and Dark Ages troops of the Greeks. T1
http://atlantic.evsc.virginia.edu/julia/AncientWorld.html
Superb linksite, which it would be silly to try and duplicate here. Especially fine for including Asian, American, and African sections, not just Europe and the Near East.
http://www.ucr.edu/h-gig/topperindex.html
A thorough-going linksite maintained by the University of California at Riverside, H-GIG sorts by area, by era (ancient<yours>, Medieval, early Modern, Modern, and 20th C), or by topic (military, women, etc.). It's a good place to start a hunt for books and essays online.