I HEXXI MOTHERFUCKER! The Minoan civilization was an Aegean Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and other Aegean islands and flourished from approximately 3650 to 1400 BC. It belongs to a period of Greek history preceding both the Mycenaean civilization and Ancient Greece. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Arthur Evans. Historian Will Durant dubbed the Minoans "the first link in the European chain," and their civilization has been referred to as the earliest of its kind in Europe.