Minor text markings. In this dramatic study of the beginnings of european history, Jacqueline Hawkes considers the culture of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece, finding in their union the source of classical Greek culture. The essentially feminine character of Minoan Crete, with its palaces and gardens and its exquisite paintings, sculptures, and ceramics, joins with the essentially masculine vigour of the Mycenaean kingdoms in the splendour of bronze Age greece.