Minoan Art Pottery Amphora Vase with Octopus museum copy Handmade in Greece - MYC065COD105/3

Minoan Art Pottery Amphora Vase decorated with Octopus - Ancient Crete museum copy Handmade in Greece.

From around 2700 to 1450 BC, the Minoan civilization flourished as a seafaring and mercantile culture.

This vibrant culture was centred around the island of Crete and eventually dominated the Aegean region.

The Egyptians called the Minoans “the Sea Peoples” and had a fond appreciation for Minoan pottery and ceramics, prized for their innovative shapes and sea-inspired designs.

Their vases and jugs were made in fine clay with thin walls and was an outstanding achievement at this time.

Historians have learned everything there is to know about the Minoan people through their artwork.

Artwork such as paintings, pottery, sculptures, and architectural designs were important to the people of the Minoan civilization in Crete.

The Marine Style of pottery is so-named because it is decorated with a wide range of sea creatures - octopuses, argonauts, dolphins, fist, starfish - seen against a background of sea weeds, sponges, and coral.

The designs, which cover the whole vase, are spontaneous and inventive.

This stirrup jar, with its octopus design, is typical of the Late Minoan period which had reached a high point in foreign expansion and vigorous economic activity.

The pottery of this period is characterized by an exuberant joy in nature; the motifs are more naturalistic and there is a greater sense of movement.

There is no three-dimensional illusionism; rather the impact of the painting comes from the shapes of the motifs and their relationship to the vessel’s shape and contours.

The marine elements, like the octopus (cuttlefish), work well because their shapes are simple, irregular and sinuous, and thus allow a ready transition to two-dimensional form.

The marine style is also characterized by the desire to fill every available space with some ornamentation.

Minoan period was named Minoan by the Phytic king Minos, the son of Europe and Zeus.

In fact, all the kings of Crete were called Minoans for many centuries.
Crete, located in the middle of the Mediterranean, due to its location, quickly became a large naval and commercial power.

There were many ports on the island and countless Cretan ships crossed the Aegean.

They traveled to all the Cyclades and reached the East, Egypt, Troy and Cyprus.

The Cretans or Minoans sold their products there, oil, honey and wine, vessels, jewelry and seals and brought to Crete copper, silver, gold, ivory and precious stones.

The Minoans were great potters.

With the help of the wheel they made clay pots in many shapes and sizes and decorated them with many designs and colors.

They painted drawings taken from nature, such as: flowers, leaves, animals, fish, shells, starfish, etc.

At a time when the Cycladic culture was in great development, another popular culture was born in Crete.