The Minoan civilization were much like the ideal civilization, they had modern ideas and an amazing government and economy. Even though their history is present to us merely by the buildings they left behind, you can tell how serious they were about their government. Mostly, if not all of the Minoans’ buildings were devoted for governmental and administrative purposes which the women of Minoa were mostly in charge of. However, even though all memory of them is their buildings, these tell the story of how they maintained an amazing social organization up until their last moments of panic.
The Minoans were a Bronze Age civilization. These, like many others remain mostly a mystery to us. Historians don’t know what the Minoans called themselves, however, archeologists Arthur Evans was the first to conceive the term ‘Minoans’. He came up with this word when he learned of the mythical King Minos, the legendary ruler of Minoa. In the Egyptian poem Odyssey it is stated that the Minoans might be the first link in the European chain. This is further supported by the Egyptian Poem, Odyssey, in which it is mentioned that the natives of Crete are the true Cretans, these they believe could have been descendants of the Minoans however, this is not fully confirmed due to the loss of information through the ages.
Although the Minoans’ history is lost to us, historians can still tell much by the structures they left behind. For example, many if not most of the buildings that have been discovered were all used for business-like activities. They have been depicted to be administrative buildings due to the large files that were found inside. These buildings are a great example of amazing architecture, the best that have been excavated in the island of Crete. It is said that Daedulus was the most skillful architect of Crete; he was in charge of most of the Minoan buildings, these are supposed to be the central infrastructure of their governmental system.
When it comes to their government, the Minoans totally dominated. Researchers have proved that their government was a monarchy; the only known ruler of the Minoans is a mythical King Minos. As any civilization, it had its own unique strengths or differences. One of the most interesting things that were presented in the Minoan civilization was the fact that they have no gender inequalities. This was striking because in this time period women were just there to carry sons and care for their husbands, whereas in the Minoan’s community women could be working women. The role of king in the Minoan society was more of a boss-like situation rather than an actual majestic honor, and it was mostly the women working backstage and making the decisions for the Minoans.
The women were the ones who made up most of their government. A priesthood made up of mostly women made most of the decisions that referred to an administration comprised of a web of bureaucrats and scribes. Apart from gender equality, the inhabitants were given a lot of freedom; to balance these amounts of freedom they enforced good social organization. Meaning that the relationships within the community were all respectful and civil. Also, Minoans thrived on their mercantile abilities and the trade of their amazingly rich in culture materials. However, even this amazing-sounding government had its faults.
Being the civil people that were, the Minoans did not believe in having an Army. This, I believe brought upon some negative impacts into their society; because of the fact that they traded with war-like people that could’ve very easily taken over them. Many historians believe that the people with whom they traded the most could’ve been the ones to destroy them. However, this wasn’t the case with the Minoans because their end, historians believe, was caused by a devastating tidal wave. If their government were to be compared to other civilizations, you would just over-look the weakness of their lack of army.
In the beginning the Romans, as well as the Minoans, had a monarchy. After 200 years however, the people of Rome decided they wanted to be a bigger part of the government. Historians aren’t sure as to what the King’s role really was like. He could’ve had, like many other civilizations, huge amounts of power; or like the Minoans he could’ve been part of a bigger picture of power. The Romans had a strong army that received orders only from the King, and these were absolute, the King however, didn’t foresee his economy’s demise.
The Roman economy relied mainly on farming and trade. This is because the Romans had large amounts of land great for agriculture. However, the economy slowly went downhill due to wars and conquests. This made their main source of revenue slave work; the slaves also grew cheaper as the economy got worse. Aside from this, the Romans developed a coinage system that consisted of brass, bronze and other precious metal coins. It was used all throughout the Empire and beyond. The Roman’s government I believe, failed because I think they needed a better economy for the King to have a certain order over the people.
The Spartans and the Minoans were two completely different stories. The men of Sparta were trained from a very young age to be in the army, the Minoans did not have an army. Both the women of Sparta and Minoa were physically fit, like the men. The women of Minoa had large amounts of freedom they could work and do many other things. In Sparta, the women were there to bear the men a son to continue their family chain. However, the women did have power and a lot of respect. They could own their own properties and the properties of men in the army.
Even though this government allowed them to own their own land, they weren’t allowing when it came to freedom in other places. The lives of everyone in Sparta, from birth to death, belonged to the state. Their government was also a monarchy, but the role of the king in Sparta was actually a king-like occupation as opposed to the boss-like occupation of the Minoan kings.
Due to this, I believe that their government was a complete success. In a way, their society is a lot like the ideal society that would achieve world peace. Their society is what many should strive to be like nowadays. Their trading skills gave them a strong economy and their social organization gave them a civil environment in which to live in. It was like a business as opposed to an actual civilization in the fact that everyone behaved very professionally. But, were it not for the natural disaster that may have destroyed them, their lack of army would’ve contributed to their demise.
Like any other civilization, the Minoans had their struggles however I believe that if they had been more prepared for the tidal wave, they would’ve grown to become a strong civilization. This I can say because of the evidence that was provided, and because of the signs of their well oiled way of living, mostly working, together.
