Discovered only recently in the late 19th century, there is little known about the ancient Minoan Crete civilization. It is referred to as “Minoan” because of King Minos, a mythical king who supposedly ruled during the era. Until the uncovering of Minoan Civilization by Sir Arthur Evans, historians thought there were no even partially civilized peoples on the island of Crete.  

In 1899, the ancient city of Knossos in northern Crete was uncovered and was found to date back to around 2000 BC. At Knossos, there was an elaborate palace, with other settlements all over the island also having similar structures. The Minoans’ religion is unknown, although there is some evidence of human sacrifices across the island. The Minoans used the language known as Linear A, but it is largely undeciphered and shares no symbalance to modern Greek, unlike Linear B, which was the language used by the Myceneans who lived on the Greek mainland during the same time. 

Many historians believe the Minoans were a peaceful people, as there is little knowledge of them having any weapons or anything of that sort. Although this might have eventually led to their downfall, as there is substantial evidence that they were invaded by the Mycenaeans. For one, they seemed to have later adopted the Linear B script which was being used by the Mycenaeans at the time. Secondly, there is evidence of destruction of the palaces, suggesting that the civilization was invaded and pillaged. Even though the Minoans did not leave behind much for us to remember, they did have a unique pottery style, which they traded with the Egyptians and Mycenaeans and the Mycenaeans would come to adopt. Mycenaeans would adopt. 

In the Bible, the Book of Genesis discusses God’s creation of the world. God’s most important creation, Man, was made in His own image, and God would set a hierarchy over the world. On the first day, God created the heavens and the earth. During the next few days, God would make aquatic creatures, insects, and mammals. Eventually, God formed Man, who was called Adam, to have dominion over all the beasts of the earth but still, God had dominion over Man. 

Although God had given Adam stewardship over animals, he lacked a companion. So, God gave Adam a task, which was to give every animal a unique name. While doing this, he saw that the creatures were in pairs, male and female. Then, God observed that Adam lacked someone who was similar to him and he became lonely. After Adam completed his task, He put him into a deep sleep. God took a rib from Adam’s body and fashioned him a female companion, who was called Eve. Adam was to have dominion over Eve, and she was supposed to serve him. Although Adam and Eve were naked, they were not ashamed. 

The first couple lived in the Garden of Eden. This was paradise. God gave Adam and Eve only one rule: not to partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which grew in the middle of the garden. If they disobeyed, they would surely die. Unfortunately, they did not heed God’s warnings. One day, Eve was wandering the garden and spotted the serpent. Being the slyest of all the animals, he told her to eat the forbidden fruit, saying upon eating it, she would become like God, understanding good and evil. She consumed the apple, then offered it to Adam who also ate. 

Suddenly, they became ashamed because they were naked and tried to hide themselves from God. When God accused them, Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve. God punished the serpent for tempting them, saying that he would be cursed for all the days of his life. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, losing eternal life. Eve would have to bear children and Adam would toil the fields instead of eating the delicious fruit from the garden.