Influence of middle Minoan pottery on the Cyclades

Abstract

The Cyclades have been chosen as the central area of Minoan expansion in the Aegean. The MC period in particular is the formative period, when most of the elements of the EBA way of life change and yet the final developments of the LBA have not been completed. By studying the developments in local pottery along-side the MM imports and imitations, a more balanced view of the changes taking place is obtained, since pottery, as one of the materials most frequently in use, is bound to reflect changes in the community's character. On the other hand, by illustrating the MM presence in the East Aegean, as well as on islands not belonging to the Cyclades, as Aegina and Kythera, the various ways of the infiltration of the Minoan world in the Aegean could be compared. One main result of this study has been to elucidate the many roads of contact between the Cycladic islands themselves and each one with Crete. This showed the vitality present during the MBA, something not always evident during LC I period. Another result was the realization of the beneficiary results of Cyclado-Cretan interaction on both ends of the trade, particularly, since the Cycladic islanders played the role of intermediaries on behalf of Crete on the Greek Mainland. Finally, through the different ways of acquiring minoan innovation and transforming them to something new, the indigenous population of the Cyclades seems to have proved that the control of their home affairs all through the MBA was on their own hands.