The existence of major palaces is evidence for states large enough to require administrative centers, but their number implies that government was largely decentralized. Evans regarded the size of Knossos as proof that its king exercised suzerainty over the whole island. This theory is ...

Minoan fresco - Courtesy of Ancient Images The earliest towns appear to have developed in the middle of the 3d millennium B.C. without any influx of foreign immigrants. They were small communities but already practicing such arts as the weaving and dyeing of cloth. Some of the pottery ...