Minoan Palace Artwork

Ancient Greek Mythology, Religion, Art

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At some point, the palace in Crete all burned and the Minoan civilization came to an end. This is most popularly attributed to the eruption of the volcano on the island of Thera which so famously preserved the town of Akrotiri for modern archaeologists, but this may not be true. Thera erupted around 1550 BCE and the earliest date for the fall of the Minoan palaces is around 1450 BCE - and possibly as late as 1250 BCE for Knossos at least.

Evidence of layers of pumice and ash well before the fall of the palaces proves beyond a doubt that Minoan civilization continued after the eruption of Thera - but that doesn't mean that civilization continued as if nothing happened. The massive eruption was surely noticed and almost certainly had a negative impact on agriculture, trade, and the economy. Tidal waves would have damaged harbors and the extensive ash in the air would have damaged local agriculture, both of which were absolutely vital to the Palace Economy system. Whatever ultimately caused the fall of Minoan civilization, the eruption of Thera may have been an important contributing factor.

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