Crete traits (such as its own poetry and music). It was once the centre of the Minoan civilisation (), which is the earliest known civilisation in Europe. The palace of Knossos lies in Crete. The island is first referred to as "Kaptara" in texts from the Syrian city of Mari dating from the 18th century BC, repeated later in Neo-Assyrian records and the Bible ("Caphtor"). It was also known in ancient Egyptian as "Keftiu", strongly suggesting a similar Minoan name for the island. The current name of Crete is thought to be first attested in Mycenaean Greek texts written in Linear
Minoan pottery which first workshop painters begin to be identifiable through their characteristic motifs; as with all Minoan art, no name ever appears. In LMIB, the Marine Style also emerges; in this style, perhaps inspired by frescoes, the entire surface of a pot was covered with sea creatures, octopus, fish and dolphins, against a background of rocks, seaweed and sponges (Examples 1, Examples 2, Examples 3, Examples 4. The Marine Style is more free flowing with no distinct zones, because it shows sea creatures as floating, as they would in the ocean. The Marine style was the last purely Minoan style; towards