The Minoan civilization in Crete lasted from about c. 3000 BCE (Early Minoan) to c. 1400 BCE, and the Helladic culture on the Greek mainland from c. 3200 - c. 3100 to c. 2000 - c. 1900.

Little specific information is known about the Minoans (even the name Minoans is a modern appellation, derived from Minos, the legendary king of Crete), including their written system, which was recorded on the undeciphered Linear A script and Cretan hieroglyphs. They were primarily a mercantile people engaged in extensive overseas trade throughout the Mediterranean region.

Minoan civilization was affected by a number of natural cataclysms such as the volcanic eruption at Thera (c. 1628-1627 BCE) and earthquakes (c. 1600 BCE). In 1425 BCE, the Minoan palaces (except Knossos) were devastated by fire, which allowed the Mycenaean Greeks, influenced by the Minoans' culture, to expand into Crete. The Minoan civilization which preceded the Mycenaean civilization on Crete was revealed to the modern world by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900, when he purchased and then began excavating a site at Knossos.