Mediterranean Civilizations

The first major European civilization, the Minoan civilization, developed on the island of Crete about 2500 b.c. and lasted until about 1400 b.c. The Minoans were the first Europeans to develop a system of writing. Minoan culture spread to nearby islands and to the Balkan peninsula.

The Achaeans, an ancient Indo-European people, created a highly developed civilization that displaced the Minoans about 1400 b.c. and lasted until about 1100 b.c. The civilization was known as the Mycenaean civilization, after its foremost city, Mycenae, on the Peloponnesus. Mycenaean culture spread throughout much of the eastern Mediterranean region.