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INTRODUCTION
The Minoan civilization, the first known European civilization, developed mainly on and ruled the island of Crete and the Aegean islands during the Bronze Age (from about 3200 to 1100 bc). Surprisingly little is known about it, although it flourished for nearly two millennia; not even the name used for this ‘nation’ at that time is known. The term Minoan is a modern one, firstly used by A. Evans who discovered the palace of Knossos and derived it from the legendary King Minos, first King of Crete (son of Zeus and Europa) who, according to Greek mythology, ruled the island of Crete (Figure 1). An ancient civilization rich in trade of all kinds of goods, with access to amenities, such as plumbing, paved roads, and well-planned towns, that would not be seen again for several centuries, the Minoans had little need of weapons, and life revolved around grand palace complexes (http://saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/HIST101-2.3.2-MinoanCrete-FINAL1.pdf).
Caption: Figure 1: The major archaeological sites with major hydro-technologies in Minoan Crete.
The basic characteristics of the Minoans were briefly described by Evans (1921-35) as: ‘The colorful frescoes in Minoan palaces reflect a life full of creativity, good taste and coexistence in harmony with the natural environment.’ Also, recently Hirschfeld (2013) reported that: ‘This culture [Minoan] is an amazing paradox: A great power without military aristocracy, a palace was a royal residence, where neither glorified the King, a religion without greatness and that women were equal to men.’
In the list of wars worldwide before ca. 1000 bc (including those related to conflicts over water resources), and especially during the Bronze Age (ca. 3200-1100 bc), one can observe that most occurred in the eastern Mediterranean region, where the Minoans dominated (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_before_1000). For example, in the Early Minoan period Libyans and Egyptians fought against the Levante and others, in the Middle Minoan period Sumerians fought against Babylonian cities, Babylonians against Elamites, Sumerians and Assyrians, and Hittites against Babylonians and Hurrians, and finally during the Late Minoan period, Egyptians fought against Libyans, Persians and Phoenicians. However, it is remarkable that in none of these wars and/or hostilities did the Minoans have any direct or indirect military engagement. Not only that, but the Minoans, known as naval, were always playing a conciliatory role between the...