Minoans Trade with the Mediterranean

The Minoans produced some of the finest painted pottery of the time. They traded that pottery, along with swords, figurines, and vessels of precious metals, over a large area. 

Archaeologists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries excavated Knossos, the Minoan capital city. There, they found the remains of an advanced and thriving culture. 

Phoenicians never united into a country. Instead, they founded a number of wealthy city-states around the Mediterranean that sometimes competed with one another.

The Phoenicians traded goods they got from other lands—wine, weapons, precious metals, ivory, and slaves.

Trading in ancient times also connected the Mediterranean Sea with other centers of world commerce, such as South and East Asia

 To cross the Arabian Sea, sailors learned to make use of the monsoon winds. These winds blow from the southwest during the hot months and from the northeast during the cool season.