The Minoans were an Eastern Mediterranean civilization based on the island of Crete in the Aegean. The famous Palace of Knossos was their administrative power center at the height of Minoan influence around 1500 BCE. The mythology around the Minoans (they get their name from the fact that all their kings were named ‘Minos’) is splendid. The myth of the Minotaur (‘bull of Minos’), Theseus and the Minotaur, Ariadne, Daedalus and Icarus. A stunning array of artifacts can be seen today in the archeological museum in the city of Heraklion, on Crete. This is one of those artifacts: a detail from a ceramic vase showing an octopus. Themes of sea life were common in Minoan art, and there is a classification called ‘the Marine Style’. Not just octopi but dolphins, shells, and other sea creatures are common.