Between 5700 and 2800 BC, Neolithic Cretans lived in caves or in rude houses. These people were primarily hunter-gatherers, but who also farmed and raised livestock. The Minoans arrived in Crete in about 3000 BC from North Africa or the Middle East, bringing with them the bronze making skills. The Minoans thrived in Crete, as their use of bronze allowed them to build better boats which helped to expand their trade opportunities. Around 2000 BC, they built their first palaces. Improvements in technology allowed the Minoans to produce fine pottery and jewelry. The Minoans had become the first advanced civilization to appear in Europe.

The golden age of the Minoans lasted from 1700 BC to 1450 BC. Palaces, which were destroyed by an earthquake in 1700 BC, were rebuilt in a more complex design with multiple stories, sumptuous royal apartments and reception halls and advanced drainage systems. Some wonderful frescoes were created during this period. However, another, even greater earthquake occurred in 1450 BC and brought Minoan civilization to an abrupt end.

Crete then underwent over three millennia of settlement by various peoples. First to come were the Mycaeans from the mainland from 1400 BC to 1100 BC. Then the Dorians came, also from the mainland, and remained from 1100 BC to 67 BC. This period saw almost constant warfare between Crete's city states. The Romans took over in 67 BC. In 27 BC Gortyn or present-day Gortyna became the capital of Crete. When Rome's power declined at the end of the 4th century AD, Crete became part of the Byzantine Empire and was ruled from Constantinople. The Arabs conquered Crete in around 824; the Byzantines reclaimed it in 960 and sold it to the Venetians in 1204. It fell to the Turks in 1669 and became part of the Ottoman Empire. It was given to Egypt in 1830, and returned to the Ottomans in 1840.

In 1898 the Turks were ejected from Crete, which was then ruled by an international administration. Crete was unified with Greece in 1913. Crete was invaded and conquered by the Germans in World War II, despite a vigorous resistance by British forces and Cretan partisans. Crete escaped the rigors of the Greek Civil War of the late 1940s, but not the rule of the right wing Colonels’ Coup of the mid 1960s. Since the 1980s, Greece, including Crete, has been ruled by a succession of left wing governments.