The third great early culture was the Aegean civilization. The Aegeans lived on islands off the coast of Greece and on the peninsula of Asia Minor at about the same time as the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians.
In 1900 archaeologists began excavating the palace of King Minos at Knossos on Crete. The excavations uncovered artwork painted around 1500 BC in the unusually free and graceful style of the time. Apparently, the Cretans were carefree, nature-loving people. Among their favorite themes in art were sea life, animals, flowers, sports games, and mass processions. In Knossos and other Aegean palaces, paintings were made on wet plaster walls with paints of minerals, sand and earth ochres. The paint soaked into the wet plaster and became a permanent part of the wall. These paintings were later called frescoes (from the Italian word for “fresh” or “new”). The Cretans liked bright yellows, reds, blues, and greens.