Summary Along with the great civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, 2 other distinct cultures developed along the Aegean Sea, the Minoans on the island of Crete, and the Mycenaeans on the mainland of Greece. Modern historians first believed that these civilizations were mythological but in the late nineteenth century archaeologists unearthed their cities and their art. The Minoans were a rich culture with most of the emphasis in their society on a luxurious, relaxed way of life. They had running water, palaces, sewage systems, theater, storerooms, terraces and elaborately decorated homes. The Mycenaeans were warriors. They were not noted for their large hilltop fortresses or citadels that were constructed of enormous stone blocks. So large were these stones that the later Greeks believed that they were constructed by Cyclops, a mythical race of one-eyed giants.

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