Minoans

The second dominant civilization of the Aegean Sea and Greek lands developed in Crete, known as Minoans, which owes its name to the king of Knossos, Minos.  Their society and culture is more evolved and advanced than that of the Cyclades; evidenced by the invention of the Linear A (subsequent to hieroglyphics), in a linguistic system that to this day is still a mystery.  Samples from this writing reveal to us the Phaistos disk, which was discovered in 1908 and was the oldest written document of the time.  The Minoans had built great palaces during this era of unprecedented artistic and architectural masterpieces.  For the first time in history, the Minoans incorporated science into their architecture.  The most well-known palaces included Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Zakros, with the Palace of Knossos being the most impressive, grandiose and recognizable.  Sadly, a devastating and catastrophic earthquake (whose epicenter was nearby Santorini) in the 16th century B.C. caused the abrupt end of the Minoan people and their culture, and severely damaged many of the palaces.