Crete: Early History and Culture of Crete people

Crete. Early History and Culture of Crete people. The island of Crete has been inhabited since prehistoric times. There is evidence of organized habitation which dates back to 8000 BCE, and the excavations of the 20th century have revealed a splendid civilization which ruled the island and much of the Aegean during the Bronze Age. The Minoan civilization, as it was named, is credited as the first civilization of Europe, it began around 2000 BCE and it lasted for about two millennia before it was replaced on the island by Mycenaean civilization circa 1375, and then by Classical and Hellenistic Greeks, which in turn were replaced by the Romans. The Byzantine empire and the Venetians controlled the island for a few hundred years before the Ottoman empire invaded the island.