Around 3000 B.C., important cultural centers began to emerge in the Aegean Sea basin: Crete (the Minoan culture) and Mycenae on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The Minoan culture developed alongside the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia but distinguished itself by its greater humanism. It was mentioned by Homer, Plato, and Aristotle, yet it remained largely unknown for centuries until the great…
