Minoans were Greek

1. THE ORIGIN, THE NAME AND NATIONALITY OF THE CRETANSTHE ORIGIN AND NATIONALITYOF THE CRETANS
The ancient poet Homer in the epic “ILIAD” reports that in the “Trojan War” all citiesof Crete: Knossos, Gortyna, Lyktos or Lyttos, Lykastos etc. fought on the side of theAchaeans or Argoeans or Danaeans or Panhellenes and the leader of all men fromthe Cretan cities, that is (all men of Knossos, Gortyna, etc.) or the leader of allnations (city-states) that existed in Crete (= Eteocretans, Kydonians, Achaeans,Pelasgeans and Dorians) was Idomeneas, who was the grandson of Minoas and alsoone of the top leaders of all Achaeans or Argoeans or Danaeans or Panhellenes:"with Nestor, the magnificent old man of the Panachaeans being the first andfollowed by Idomeneas..." (Iliad, B 402 - 405).Therefore, Minoas and the residents of Crete during his reign (Kydonians,Eteocretans, Achaeans, etc.) were Greeks/Hellenes, part of the Panhellenes.In addition, the ancient writers clearly report that the Minoans were Greeks," Thefirst residents of Karpathos were those that campaigned with Minoas, during theperiod in which he became the first Greek maritime “sea-governor”, (DiodorosSikeliotis, 5, 54).Specifically according to the ancient writers and historians: Pafsanias (Solar, 1 - 10,Arcadian 8, 3), Thucydides (A, 3 -9), Diodoros (Book 4 and 5), Stravon (GeographicsI = 10), Herodotus (Z, 169 - 171), Isocrates (Panathinaikos) and others:1. Crete was initially inhabited by the so called Idaiae Daktylae or Kouretaes (orEteocretans in contrast to the Epilydaes, as it will become evident below), and forthis reason they were called native (endemic) Cretans. They came to the island fromFrygia (=Troy in Asia Minor) and reciprocally from Crete some Cretans went toFrygja (Troy) and for this reason, it is said that, there is a mountain range named"Idae or Idaiae mountains" in Crete and also in Frygja (Troy).2. Simultaneously with the Idaiae Daktylae or shortly thereafter came to Crete fromArkadia, Peloponnesus (and thus Gortyna of Peloponnesus and Crete) the so called"Kydonians" and for that reason they were also called natives. The cities Kydonia(and thus the name Kydonians), Gortyna and others of Crete and which, according toPlato and Pafsanias were built by the sons of Tegeat Lykaona from Arkadia of









 
Gortynia in Peloponnesus (and that is precisely so, because it is also depicted in theancient currencies of these cities).3. Several generations later, and specificallywhen Cretheas was king of the Eteocretans,certain sects (races) of Achaeans, Pelasgeans andDorians under the leadership of Tektamos orTektafos (the son of Doros who was the son of Hellene and Minoa’s grandfather) left from thePelasgean Argos (=Thessaly in central mainlandGreece) and after several adventurous roamingsand expeditions arrived in Crete, which hadmeanwhile suffered huge desolation, settling onthe eastern part of the island. The Dorians settledin the eastern part, the Kydonians in the western,the Eteocretans in the southern part and theremaining others in the interior of the island. Thenew inhabitants of Crete were named "Epilydes"(= epekae, immigrants in contrast to the localinhabitants) and the old "Eteocretans" (= firstsettlers and therefore genuine, local, endemic).4. Upon Tektamo’s death, on the throne of the ‘Epilydes Cretans Kingdom’ ascendedhis son Asterios, who because his wife gave birth to a son separated from her andabducted from the seashores of Phoenicia the daughter of the Phoenician KingAgenor of Tyre, the beautiful Europa, who is also mentioned as one of the causes of the “Trojan War”. When Asterios died, his sons Minoas and Sarpidonas quarreled andfought each other as to who will ascend to the kingdom. Minoas won and Sarpidonaswith his mutineers having been defeated and chased out of the island by Minoas tookrefuge in Lykia, Asia Minor and there he built the city Myletos in remembrance of theCretan city Myletos.According to the Pario Chronicle, Minoas reigned until 1470 B.C., and with the help of his brother Radamanthys, unified and united into a single comprehensive system (ina highly unique way, the institutions of the State for this particular period of time, aswe will see below) the natives (Eteocretans and Kydonaeans) with the Epilydes(Achaeans, Pelasgeans and Dorians) Cretans and designating Knossos as thegoverning city ‘Capital’ (the seat of the in common king of the united Cretan cities).During this period of time Minoas with the help of his brother Radamanthysconceived, designed, organized and created for the first time in world history amaritime martial navy, which he used to drive away from the islands of the Aegean(Cyclades, etc.) the criminal elements and pirates (Kares and Phoenicians) whoresided there, and inhabits these islands with permanent settlers that he broughtfrom Crete. Up to that point in time neither marine shipping nor agriculture wereknown nor had been developed for use, and consequently most of the islands of theAegean were poor and did not have the capability or means to support permanentresidents other than renegades and criminals (mainly pirates). As a result of themaritime martial navy constituted by Mjnoas, he was able to both, become amaritime power and free-up (open-up) the marine corridors, and thus enable theGreeks to commute freely amongst themselves, deal with and practice marine workand related tasks, prosper and gain wealth, establish cities (permanent residencewhich before could not be created due to the criminal activities of the thieves,renegades and pirates who lived there, such as the Kares, Phoenicians, etc.).
KING MINOAS, COIN OFKNOSSOS













 
Additionally, because of the newly developed marine capabilities, Minoas was able toestablish Cretan (and subsequently Greek) colonies in Sicily, the sea coast of AsiaMinor, etc. For all of the above reasons Minoas and Radamanthys were deified, thatis to say, after their death they were declared semi gods, sons of god Zeus and judges at Hades (the underworld of the Greeks), something similar to GreatConstantine, Apostle Peter, Alexander the Great, etc.5. Three generations after the death of Minoas the ‘Trojan War’ started (thegrandson of Minoas, Idomeneas took part in it). In this war (according to the ParioChronicle 1228 - 1218 B.C), Cretans, natives and Epilydes, under the leadership of Idomeneas, the grandson of Minoas and one of the largest naval fleets everassembled in history fought on the side of the Argoeans or Achaeans or Danaeans orPanhellenes and for that reason they were named (the natives: Eteocretans andKydonians and Epilydes: Achaeans, Dorians and Pelasgoeans) after the end of thewar Greeks/Hellenes.
Note:1) When the Epilydes Cretans (=Achaeans, Dorians and Pelasgoeans of Crete) went to the islandand found there the natives (= the Kydonians and the Eteocretans or idaiae Daktylae or Kourites)the differentiation of the terms "Greek" and "barbarian" did not yet exist, since that terminologyoccurred after the “Trojan War”.Thucydides (A, 3 - 9) and many other ancient writers report that before the “Trojan War” thedifferentiation of “Greeks”’ and “barbarians” did not exist. After the end of the war "Greek" werenamed all those who participated in the “Trojan War” campaign and "barbarian" those who alliedwith Troy, and through that action they became another reason or cause for the war.2) Clearly the Eteocretans and Kydonians racially were the same with the Dorians, Achaeans andPelasgoeans, and all were part of the Panhellenes and concretely of Pelasgoean origin. Simplystated, the Eteocretans and Kydonians were natives of Crete and the others were not, they cameto Crete from Thessaly. That is to say, here we have a similarity to what had also occurred withthe Spartans (who were Epilydes, had come to Peloponnesus from Sterea Hellas) and theArcadians (who were natives of Peloponnesus), and both were Greeks/Hellenes.
THE NAMEOF THE CRETANS
According to the ancient writers Pafsanias (Iliaka), Stravon (Geographics 10),Diodoros (Book 4 and 5), etc., initially the Cretans were named “Idaioi dactylae” or “Couretes”. Couretes (Greek Κουρήτες, is derived from the words Κούροι, κοράσια,επι-κουρώ = Latin curio) etc., were the young Cretan people who nourished (caredfor the infant’s upbringing and well being) Zeus and subsequently all Cretans.Consequently the name “Κρήτες” = Cretans, derived from the name C(ou)retans, asit is concluded from mythology. Crete was the daughter of one of the Couretans andwife of Zeus. (For more see the book: “Cretan History”, A. Krassanakis)
KNOSSOS AND OTHERS CITIESOF ANCIENT CRETE
Poet Homer in the epic ILIAD (Iliad B 645 – 652, Odyssey t 178 - 183) reports thatCrete had 100 or 90 cities, but report only these : Knossos, the capital of Crete,Gortys, Phaestos, Lyctos, Miletos, and Rhytio.Knossos was the capitol, the largest, the most important and the most famous-




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