View from the Cave Digital Sketch, Matala Caves, Crete © Sage Starwalker. All rights reserved. (based on scanned photo, Magical Journeys, Greece)

"Circumstances on Crete would suggest that the Minoans lived in a matrilineal society." Matriliny in the Aegean Bronze Age

Origins

• Neolithic
  Minoan archaeology and Greek myth point to cave peoples as the predecessors of the Minoans. Indeed, the first inhabitants of Crete, in the 6th millenium BCE are pastoral/agricultural and live in caves. They probably migrated to Crete from Anatolia (Asia Minor), though there is some linguistic evidence for Saharan origins.
• Though no pre-Neolithic settlements have been found in Crete or in the Cycladic islands, obsidian from this area has been found on the Greek Mainland as early as the Upper Paleolithic. (Southern Greek Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic Sequence)
• "There is as yet no evidence from Crete for human occupation in either the Palaeolithic or Mesolithic periods. Early Neolithic finds are so far restricted to the settlement at Knossos." (The Neolithic Cultures of Thessaly, Crete and the Cyclades)
  
• Bronze Age
  The "Minoans" are an "advanced" Bronze Age culture. They flourished in Crete from about 3000 to 1100 BCE; their culture peaked in the 18th and 16th centuries BCE. The Minoan culture on Crete is generally divided into three time frames:
  • Early Minoan civilization (2500 BC to 2100 BC),
  • Middle Minoan (2100 BC to 1700 BC)
  • Late Minoan (1700 BC to 1420 BC)
• The Early and Middle Minoan periods were matrilineal and goddess-worshipping, though it is unclear whether She was a single Great Mother with many aspects, or whether the Minoans were polytheist, worshipping several goddesses, each with different dominions, such as the mountains, earth, sky, sea, and life and death.
  In art, She is seen with animals, birds, snakes, baetylic pillars, sacred trees, poppies, and lillies. She is also depicted with the sword and the double-axe and as a huntress, a goddess of sports, and an armed goddess. It appears that only women bore arms (there are no representations of any men with weapons).
  She presided over dances and had both male and female attendants.
  She was a household goddess, a vegetation goddess, a nurturing mother, a maid, a moon-goddess and a fertility goddess.
  During these times, every household had her emblem depicted with a snake as a protectress of the household. Women offered sacrifices such as goats, pigs, doves and the hare to the deity in Her moon goddess or fertility goddess aspect.
  Ritual dances for the goddess were depicted in open fields of lillies. When the goddess was enthroned, she is depicted as being offered a bouquet of lillies from attendants.
  During the Early and Middle Minoan periods, there was no male deity. The goddess(es) had no male counterpart. Only in the Late Minoan period do we see the first appearance of male consort (male deity) of the goddess. "At first he is a secondary deity associated with crops and seeds. As crops grew, so did this male deity. Later he became a warrior god depicted with a bow, a spear, and a shield."
  In the Late Minoan period a new type of festival emerges -- a festival of the solar bull (the new male god) and the lunar cow (the female goddess). It is a sexual festival where both the men and women dance, wearing bull and cow masks. Some believe that from this evolved the early Zeus and Hera of Ancient Greek mythology. Hera was originally a cow goddess; Zeus, the sun disguised as a bull or a solar bull.
  History of Sex, Minoans of Crete

Population -- Anthropological studies of skeletal remains indicate that the Cretans were a racially mixed population composed of Asians, Africans, and Europeans. It stands to reason that all these civilizations contributed to Minoan Culture. In general terms, however, the Minoans form part of the so-called Mediterranean type -- they were of medium height and had black curly hair and brown eyes.

• Matrifocal/Matrilineal Origins of the Minoan population
• Knossos, the Minoan capital and most important of the Minoan palace/temple complexes, was originally named Karaitos. I don't know why the name was changed, or when, but consider this: (source of Following Materials: Theoi Project)
  • Karaitos is an alternate for Amnisos; Karaitos/Amnisos is the "river-god" of the Amnisos River of Crete. Apparently all the rivers of Crete were gods and not goddesses, yet the River Amnisos is the home of the Amnisiades, Cretan Naiades (a class or group of Nymphai -- i.e., Nymphs), female water spirits or Daimonissai (female-Daimones), who inhabited the wild places of the world. The Daimones are the thirty thousand spirits of the earth, offspring of Gaia!
    (Note: "daimôn is from the Indo-European da-, to provide" -- source: Theurgy)
  • There are five main groupings of Nymphai (though there are more and also Nymphai who don't belong to any classification):
    • (1) Three classes of HYDRIADES (Water-Nymphs):
      • HALIAI , Nymphs of the Sea
      • NAIADES, Fresh-Water Nymphs, who were daughters of the various Potamoi (River-Gods). There were several sub-classes of Naiades each named after the body of water they inhabited - from water meadows & marshes to springs and fountains.
      • OKEANIDES or NEPHELAI, Nymphs of the Clouds, who dwell in fresh water streams when not in the heavens
    • (2) The various classes of DRYADES (Tree-Nymphs):
      • OREADES, Nymphs of the mountain Pines, they were daughters of five elder nymphs called Hekaterides.
      • MELIAI, Nymphs of the Ash-Tree, who were daughters of Gaia born from the bloody castration of Ouranos. These became the wives of the first generations of men, before the gods created Pandora and the generations of mortal women.
      • HAMADRYADES, Oak-Tree Nymphs.
      • MELIADES or EPIMELIDES, Fruit-Tree Nymphs.
      • DAPHNIAI, Laurel-Tree Nymphs, and the other rarer tree-specific Dryades.
        
    • (3) The AURAI, Nymphs of the Breezes, daughters of the four Winds.
    • (4) The LAMPADES, or torch-bearing Nymphs, of the Underworld (who may possibly have been a collection of underworld Naiades and Dryades rather than a distinct class of Nymph).
    • (5) The MAINADES (also known as Bakkhantes, Bakkhai, Bassirides, Thyiai, Mimallones) who were the wild, orgiastic companions of Dionysos. The term Bakkhantes was broad in meaning and encompassed not only a variety Nymphs, from Oreiades to Naiades, but also those mortal women who had joined the Bakkhic ranks.
    • (6) A large number of OTHER NYMPHAI which did not belong to any specific group (generic minor goddesses and daughters of the gods)
  • Many Naiades attended various gods and goddesses, and many married local kings and played a prominent role in the genealogies of the various royal families.
  • The Amnisiades (from Amnisos / Karaitos, i.e., of the principle river of Crete by which the Palace of Knossos was built) are the nymphs that attend Artemis, Her famous companions, helpers, and playmates:
    • The Amnisiades were (Naiades), Nymphe daughters of the River Amnisos of Krete and companions of the goddess Artemis."
    • Quotes from Original Sources:
      • “Like Artemis, standing in her golden chariot after she has bathed in the gently water of Parthenios or the streams of Amnisos, and driving off with her fast-trotting deer over the hills and far away to some rich-scented sacrifice. Attendant Nymphai have gathered at the source of Amnisos or flocked in from the glens and upland springs to follow her; and fawning beasts whimper in homage and tremble as she passes by.” –Argonautica 3.879f
      • “[Artemis to Zeus] ‘And give me sixty daughters of Okeanos (Okeanines) for my choir – all nine years old, all maidens yet ungirdled; and give me for handmaidens twenty Nymphai of Amnisos (Amnisides) who shall tend well my buskins, and, when I shoot no more at lynx or stag, shall tend my swift hounds.” -Callimachus, Hymn III to Artemis 1
      • “And the maiden [Artemis] fared unto the white moutain of Krete leafy with woods; thence unto Okeanos; and she chose many Nymphai all nine years old, all maidens yet ungirdled. And the River Kairatos was glad exceedingly, and glad was Tethys that they were sending their daughters to be handmaidens to the daughter of Leto.
        And straightway she [Artemis] went to visit the Kyklopes … And the Nymphai [companions of Artemis] were affrighted when they saw the terrible monsters like unto the crags of Ossa … The Okeaninai could not untroubled look upon them to face nor endure the din in their ears. No shame to them!” –Callimachus, Hymn III to Artemis 4
      • “For thee [Artemis] the Amnisiades rub down the hinds [the golden horned deer that draw the chariot of Artemis] loosed from the yoke, and from the mead of Hera they gather and carry for them to feed on much swift-springing clover, which also the horses of Zeus eat; and golden troughs they fill with water to be for the deer a pleasant draught …
        But when the Nymphai encircle thee in the dance, near the springs of Aigyptian Inopos or Pitane – for Pitane too is thine – or in Limnai or where, goddess, thou camest from Skythia to dwell, in Alai … for the god Helios never passes by that beauteous dance, but stays his car to gaze upon the sight, and lights of day are lengthened.” –Callimachus, Hymn III to Artemis 170, 180
      • "Artemis queen of the hunt was hunting over the hills, and her skin was beaten by the glow of the scorching heat, in the middle of flowing summer … so she got ready her car to cool her hot frame along with Naias Nymphai in a bath in some hill burn." -Dionysiaca 48.30
        Sources: Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica - Greek Epic C3rd BC; Callimachus, Hymns - Greek C3rd BC; Nonnos, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th AD

Architecture -- homes, palaces, and temples; not fortifications; quarried stone and manufactured mud bricks; timber used structurally for joists and studs; other plant material, including thatching, for roofs

Engineering -- "The Minoans as a society were much more advanced than others of their time. Their cities were well organized with strong evidence of early civil engineering. Roadways and building were laid out according to traffic volume and direction as well as residential offset from dense commercial areas; this differs from the later Roman cities. In addition to this they had indoor plumbing and a system of efficient waste removal." Minoan History

Geography -- Crete "was the crossroads linking three continents, and the racial elements and cultural strands of Asia, Africa and Europe met and mingled here to produce a new way of life, a new philosophy of the world and an exceptionally fine art that still strikes one today with its freshness, charm, variety, and mobility." Knossos

Economics -- Crete's geographical position allowed for the Minoan domination of the sea and for favorable trading with other tribes and nations.

• "The Minoans were primarily a mercantilist people engaged in overseas trade. Many historians and archaeologists believe that the Minoans were highly involved in the Bronze Age's important tin trade (tin being used for manufacture of bronze).
• The decline of Minoan civilization and the decline in use of bronze tools seem to be correlated." Wikipedia
• "The (women's) costumes used a distinctive blue color which indicated sea trade with the Phoenicians." Wikipedia
• "The Minoans' grain supply is believed to have come from farms on the shore of the Black sea."
• "The Minoans raised cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, wheat, barley, vetch, chickpeas, figs, olives, and grapes. Farmers used wooden plows, bound by leather to wooden handles, and pulled by pairs of donkeys or oxen." Wikipedia
• "The Minoans traded with Greece, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Spain, and Mesopotamia. The most important Cretan exports were grain, oil, wine, ceramics, copper, tin, gold and silver." Wikipedia
• It is possible that the Minoans also exported opium. At a site in Western Egypt have been discovered Intact storage jars of opium, olive oil and wine, imported from the Eastern Mediterranean. Given the prevalence of the poppy in Minoan art, this is possibility worth exploring. See Shamanism and the Drug Propaganda for related information.
  

Gender -- Gender equality in all areas of life: religious, administrative, sports. Probably more priestesses than priests.

• "In contrast to the rest of Greece...Minoan women participate in every social activity. (They are seated) in the first seats in public meetings.... In frescos, we see women being talkative and sociable, while they are waiting for the opening of the festivals. (Other social scences show them) sitting in the palace, sewing, or playing the minoan board game called 'zatrikio'." Life in Minoan Crete
• "Crete, so singular in everything else, seems to have avoided this [male-dominated religion and society]. Not only does Crete seem to be a class-based society where there is little class inequality, archaeological evidence suggests that women never ceased playing an important role in the public life of the cities. They served as priestesses, as functionaries and administrators, and participated in all the sports that Cretan males participated in.
  Women also seem to have participated in every occupation and trade available to men. The rapid growth of industry on Crete included skilled craftswomen and entrepreneurs, and the large, top-heavy bureaucracy and priesthood seems to have been equally staffed with women. In fact, the priesthood was dominated by women. Although the palace kings were male, the society itself does not seem to have been patriarchal.
  Evidence from Cretan-derived settlements on Asia Minor suggest that Cretan society was matrilineal, that is, kinship descent was reckoned through the mother.
  While we can't be sure that Cretan society was matrilineal, it is a compelling conclusion since the religion was goddess-based."
  Women in Minoan Culture
• There is direct evidence that "women occupied a dominant position within the religious sphere of Minoan culture." There is speculation that this implies that women "also enjoyed superior legal and social positions, but this is more difficult to judge without written documentation." There is indirect evidence that "the Minoans lived in a matrilineal society." Although lack of sufficient documentation makes it impossible to substantiate this claim, circumstantial evidence from other more or less contemporary Bronze Age Aegean cultures can be found which lends support to this supposition." Matrilinity in the Aegean Bronze Age

Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean