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Product Description

The glorious rise -- and mysterious fall -- of Europes first civilization

Best known for the myth of the Minotaur -- a monstrous half-man, half-bull imprisoned in Daedaluss labyrinth -- Crete gave birth to Europes first civilization nearly 5,000 years ago, more than two millennia before Homer composed The Iliad. Then it collapsed in fire and violence.

Join historian Bettany Hughes as she follows the footsteps of Arthur Evans, Harriet Boyd, and other famed archaeologists to find startling new insights into Minoan culture. How did this ancient people live, worship, and prosper? Why did they build such magnificent palaces, complete with hinged doors, flush toilets, and elaborate warrens of rooms? What role did the daring, acrobatic bull-leapers play in society? And did the civilization finally succumb to natural disasters, foreign invaders, or religious strife? Fresh evidence excavated from sites all over Crete offers tantalizing clues to the everyday life -- and tragic destiny -- of the accomplished artisans and architects who lived at the crossroads of the ancient world.

Review

Hughes has breathed new life into too-often dull-as-dust documentaries on forgotten cultures. -- Columbus Dispatch

The cinematography is superb...it's the enduring mystery that compels our attention. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 Ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ 3817544
Director ‏ : ‎ Tim Kirby, Melanie Archer
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC
Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 38 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ October 21, 2008
Actors ‏ : ‎ Bettany Hughes
Language ‏ : ‎ Unqualified
Studio ‏ : ‎ ACORN MEDIA
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001B43IVM
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #173,421 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #131,416 in DVD

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Top reviews from the United States

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Liz Sanigar

DVD The Minaraur's Island was damaged

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 27, 2022

Verified Purchase

Half the DVD The Minataur's Island worked before it remained stuck and a response on the TV screen stating 'the DVD is damaged'
I did enjoy what I could however, sadly missed out on a lot of interesting areas of Crete and Bettany Hughes narrations
Thank you for sending this to me

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wllbra2

Bettany's Spot On Again

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 15, 2010

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This is another terrific piece of work by my favorite historian, Bettany Hughes and her capable team. The title misleads in that this is really a good overview of Minoan history and it's attendant culture. The "legend" of the Minotaur is covered fully, but is really a tangential anecdote to illustrate a greater point. The basic thrust is this, Greek Mythology has long been considered as the product of active imaginations among the ancients in a world full of what were at the time unanswerable questions, but Mrs. Hughes' contention is that many of these tales have solid foundation in Minoan history. Not to the letter per say (there probably wasn't a half man half bull monster, but there are several elobarate labyrinths that have been excavated very near the spot the creature was alleged to have dwelt and there is ample evidence that child sacrifice was practiced). In any event, The Greeks cut the template for Western Civilization and the Minoans were the model that they used. That deserves further attention by all history students or even buffs like me. And as always, Bettany's command of the facts and her ability to express them with style and enthusiasm makes it an even more compelling and rewarding sojourn. Amazing images of Crete and the rest of the Agean decorate and inform like a first rate travelogue. I recommend that be you student or simple buff like myself, you should begin your inquiries on the subject of Minoan civilization here. Bravo Mrs. Hughes, you've done it again!!

6 people found this helpful

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Penda, Lord of Mercia

Enjoyable overview...great for students

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 18, 2008

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This is an excellent dvd and Hughes is easy to listen to. My only qualms are that I wish she had done more to link Minoan religion with the Neolithic Near East and I also have a problem with people being so full of angst about the idea that the Minoans might have had a dark side. We've become so enamored with Evans' "Happy Hippies" that we seem to have trouble looking at the real picture. The Minoans didn't get where they were by being pushovers...so they must have had some sort of military...God knows they were well known for making weapons and armor. Also, why is the idea that they might have practiced human sacrifice so startling? Who didn't at some time in the Bronze Age? Child sacrifice and ritualistic cannibalism weren't uncommon and its not like there is evidence that either were widespread on Crete. When one considers the Death Pits of Ur there is more startling evidence of human sacrifice in Sumer, yet no one bats an eyelash about it. Hey, the Minoans were people of their time.

28 people found this helpful

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Sanity

Purple Prose and More than a Bit of Florid Fictionalizing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 2, 2021

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Oh, how Ms. Hughes needs us all to share in her ritualized splattering of her own abundant self-importance.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 11, 2021

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I love Miss Hugh's documentary. She has such a nice way of talking about the Minoans. With so much yet to understand, she let's you know the questions as well as the answers w have figured out about Europe's first civilization. that came to sudden end by volcanic disaster.

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Dulcinea del Toboso

This is a "nice to have" DVD to complete Ms Hughes collection of excellent educational history DVDs.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 1, 2015

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Of Ms Hughes DVDs this was the one that I found the least exciting and left me with a sense of void that she could have provided more facts and data about this civilization. This has a lowest educational value compared with her "Helen of Troy" and "WHEN THE MOORS RULED IN EUROPE". This is a "nice to have" DVD to complete Ms Hughes collection of excellent educational history DVDs.

2 people found this helpful

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HistoryNut

A Good Synopsis of Ancient Crete

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 28, 2016

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A visual extravaganza and a good job by Hughes as narrator. The producer(s) tend to maximize her attractiveness which adds to her scholarship as the camera follows her around from ancient site to site. The presentation was a little disjointed sometimes making it difficult to follow the timelines.

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Greg

The Minotaur's Island

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 1, 2010

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I have never seen it. I haqve seen other Bettany Hughes history series on Australia's public TV network, the ABC and they are all great *****.

I was surprised to find out that I cannot view the DVD because it is region specific. So what a waste of money. This has never been the case before with DVD's purchased from the US. I have assumed that if "released" the region specific thing was not an issue. This series is years old - why the embargo still?

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Silence Dogood

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 1, 2014

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Bettany Hughes is good at whatever she does,.. enough said.

Ian. ex-pat

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 14, 2009

Verified Purchase

To follow the Beatles as Paul McCartney said, "was always going to be a difficult act", and for Bettany Hughes to follow "The Spartans" The Spartans (Channel 4) is likewise going to be difficult, but with this DVD she did it. Her production team and back-ups are excellent. I recently bought it, partly because ancient Greece fascinates me and partly because of her Spartans. I was not disappointed, actually delighted. The Minoan civilisation is a lot less meaty than Sparta or Athens in known facts, and one is largely dependant on archaeology with only some scraps recorded in Egypt. Never-the-less she easiy filled out an hour and a half. I would have been happy for twice as much. Brilliantly filmed "on location" with stunning back ground scenery, but also with archaeologically recovered artefacts in museums Bettany Hughes creates a picture of the first truly European civilisation. Creative, informative enjoyable if this is your type of thing "buy it". P.S. although this is labeled (REGION 1) I was able to view on my region 2 computer.

14 people found this helpful

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