Crete is an island lying south of Greece in the Mediterranean sea. It was there that the Minoans flourished from about 3000 BC. Their chief priest and ruler was called Minos and hence their name.

     Their main city was Knossos, which lie on the side not far from the sea on the north. The ruler lived in a grand palace on the hill top. The walls of the palace were decorated with colourful paintings done skillfully.

     The Minoans were merchant sailors. They knew how to work with metals-gold, silver and bronze (alloy) and they made a range of utensils and ornaments decorated with geometric and animal designs. They developed a form of writing based on Egyptian and Sumerian models.

      In about 1400 BC, the island of Crete had been subjected to raids by the people from Greece. Their principal city was Mycenae and therefore they are called Mycenaeans. They built great palaces at Mycenae and were decorated like Minoan ones. They buried their chiefs in vast stone tombs. They also adapted Minoan writing and reduced it to  workable alphabets. Mycenaean Civilisation came to an end towards the end of the 12^th century BC.

Greek Civilisation

     After the decline of Mycenae, a number of hoards of semi-barbarous people overran the kingdom and established their supremacy. In course of time, they built cities at Sparta, Corinth, Megara and Argos and introduced new ideas of government. These cities became city-states each with its own government. It was a system of "aristocracy". The Greeks came into contact with the other civilised people of those times-the Persians and the Phoenicians. By about 8^th Century BC, the Greeks had developed an alphabet from the Phoenician script.

     Athens was one of the most important cities. The city itself was built around a huge rock mound, which the Athenians called the Acropolis. On its top, they constructed a temple to the Goddess Athene. The Greeks were often at war with one another but they gathered together every four years for the Olympic Games.

      The Celts were a European people, who about 400 BC inhabited large areas of Europe between Eastern France and Czechoslovakia. They were skilled ship-builders and sailors, and traded with Rome and Greece. They were more inclined towards hunting and warfare than towards agriculture and farming. They worshipped their gods in sacred groves and forest glades, often near a spring. They issued a type of coinage in the form of copper discs or iron rings. Their Civilisation was called Celtic Civilisation

Chinese Civilisation

     Chinese Civilisation began along the shores of the Hwang Ho(Yellow) River in Northern China, about 320 kilometres south of modern Beijing. It was from about 2200 BC that the Hsia Dynasty came to rule China. Under their rule, the Chinese developed a written language, devised a calendar and discovered the making of silk and put their country on the road to a great Civilisation.

     Under the succeeding dynasties, the Shang dynasty which came to power around 1760 BC and the Chou Dynasty, which took over around 1125 BC, Chinese Civilisation grew. The Shang bronze-work is excellent. Chinese script was developed to include word forms to express new ideas. Scholars travelled widely throughout the country spreading learning. The greatest of them was Kung-Fu-Tze better known as Confucius who lived from about 550 BC to 480 BC. He revolutionised Chinese thought.

     A powerful ruler, Chin Shih Huang Ti who ruled from about 220 BC united the different regions of China into one State and built the Great Wall of China to keep off invaders. The Great Wall was a fine piece of engineering. It was over 1400 miles long and had turrets at regular intervals to serve as outposts for border guards.