Ariadne's Tribe: Minoan Spirituality for the Modern World

Walk the sacred labyrinth with Ariadne, the Minotaur, the Great Mothers, Dionysus, and the rest of the Minoan family of deities. Ariadne's Tribe is an independent spiritual tradition that brings the deities of the ancient Minoans alive in the modern world. We're a revivalist tradition, not a reconstructionist one. We rely heavily on shared gnosis and the practical realities of Paganism in the modern world. Ariadne's thread reaches across the millennia to connect us with the divine. Will you follow where it leads?

Find out all about Ariadne's Tribe at ariadnestribe.com. We're an inclusive, welcoming tradition, open to all who share our love for the Minoan deities and respect for our fellow human beings.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form

Minoan Jobs: Bronze Age Occupations

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

There are lots of ways to connect with the people of ancient cultures. They were ordinary humans just like us, so they cooked food and used cosmetics and celebrated the changing seasons

They also had jobs. Yep, they Did Stuff every day just like we do. What kinds of occupations did the Minoans have?

We actually know a fair amount about that because archaeologists have dug up the remains of Minoan homes and workplaces and examined their contents. Minoan art - frescoes and seals - also depicts quite a few different occupations. A lot of ancient Minoan jobs sound pretty familiar, really. And others sound interesting enough that I might like to try them out for a few days, just for fun.

As was the case with most of the world in pre-industrial times, there were a lot of farmers in ancient Crete. They grew the wheat, barley, olives, and grapes that were staple crops around the Bronze Age Mediterranean. They also raised cattle, sheep, and hogs (no chickens - they hadn't reached the Med yet). Archaeologists have found the remains of extensive canal systems all over the coastal lowlands of Crete, designed to carry water from the island's rivers to its fields, groves, and orchards. It took a lot of people to grow all the food the Minoans ate.

In the mountains of Crete lived goat-herders who provided food, hides, and other resources for the island's inhabitants. Like the farmers, the herders had their own way of life that revolved around the seasonal activities of their occupation.

And of course, since Crete is an island, there were people around the coast who made a living by fishing. They caught and collected a wide range of seafood, from mahi-mahi to octopus, limpets, sea snails, and squid.

The Minoans were famous as traders, and that's a whole set of occupations right there: merchants who stayed put on Crete, traders who traveled around the Mediterranean, sailors and captains who sailed the boats and ships that carried goods and people around the sea.

What about all the people who lived in the villages, towns, and cities of ancient Crete? Here's a list (not exhaustive, I'm sure, but I've done my best) of other jobs the Minoans had both in the temples and among the lay people, based on archaeological evidence from art, artifacts, and building remains:

acrobats

administrators in the temples

architects

bakers

basket weavers

beekeepers

brewers (beer, mead, wine)

bronze smiths

carpenters

cattle herders

cheesemakers

clergy at the temples, cave shrines, and peak sanctuaries

farmers

fresco painters

goat herders

herbalists

jewelers and gold/silver smiths

leather tanners

merchants

musicians

navigators

perfumers

potters

sailors/rowers

scribes

seal stone carvers

sheep herders

ship builders

ship owners/captains

spinners/weavers/dyers

stone carvers (they made vases, bowls, libation tables, and more)

stone masons

woodcutters

Like most ancient cultures, young Minoan people probably chose their occupation largely based on what their family did, and they likely undertook apprenticeships to learn their chosen trade.

As you can see, there's quite a variety. Do you see any skills you'd like to learn?

Last modified on
Tagged in: ancient culture jobs Minoan
Laura Perry is a priestess and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. She's the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, an inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. When she's not busy drawing and writing, you can find her in the garden or giving living history demonstrations at local historic sites.

Comments

Additional information