KreteCrete

A Greek island in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of mainland Greece; referred to as Crete of the hundred cities in The Iliad (book 2, line 649); 8,380 square miles (21,704 square kilometers) in size.

The location of the island made it the ideal for trading with the Greek mainland, Asia Minor, the Middle East and Africa; the Minoan civilization began on Crete prior to 3000 BCE and left its influence on the Greeks with settlements at Mykenae (Mycenae), Boeotia and Asia Minor; the Minoans had a highly developed culture with included art, architecture and metallurgy which they exported throughout the Mediterranean area; the fall of the Minoan civilization has been dated to circa 1100 BCE and has been attributed to a variety of destructive influences ranging from foreign invasions to the volcanic eruption of the island of Thera.