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 eruption Minoan (?) palace at Tel Kabri in the Galilee ended around 1640 BCE. Minoan eruption The Minoan eruption of Thera, also referred to as the Thera eruption, Santorini eruption, or Late Bronze Age eruption, was a major catastrophic volcanic eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6 or 7 and a dense-rock equivalent (DRE) of , Dated to the mid-second millennium BCE, the eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in recorded history. It devastated the island of Thera (now called Santorini), including the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri and communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands