How did geographic factors affect the early civilizations of Minoa and Mycenaea?

Answer 1

Minoan Crete cultivated land that was relatively easy to work in a climate that is comfortable to live in in simple clothing all year round and does not require complex systems of heating or of storage of food, things (grain, berries, wild greens they call 'horta', etc) grow all year round. (It was probably somewhat wetter in winter and a little cooler in summer in east Crete then than it is now.) Crete was full of cedar trees (timber, building materials) growing wild. The olive provided noursihment and cooking oil (then as now) and lamp oil. Crete was within short and (relatively) safe sailing in the ships of the day to two other major centres of prosperity, Phoenicia and Egypt. (In fact, according to their own stories, [legend of Zeus and Europa] Crete was originaly settled as a colony of what we call ancient Egypt.) Crete had (prior to their destruction by the Thera-eruption tsunami) sheltered ports such as Falassarna in the NW [well placed for trade with the Western Mediterranean and beyond] and Alikarnassos (where Iraklio now is, the modern-day capital) as well as on the south coast (presumably near Festos?) for trade with Egypt. The Minoans needed to create overland roads (donkey tracks) because river transport is not practical. Cretan rivers are short and seasonal. They needed to develop ships for coastwise transport because the island is hilly, in parts very mountainous, coastwise is the easiest way to get around. (Notice that most of the major settlements are within 8km of the coast, e.g. from W to E to S: Falassarna, Alikarnassos, Knosos, Malia, Gournia, Kato Zagros, and Festos. Polirhinnia is up quite a hill but still only a few km from the coast at Kissamos.) This may have led on to creating long-distance trading ships and the navy..... though it may be they simply brought these with them from Egypt during the settlement period, I doubt if historians yet know how it was.

Answer 2

The water in a few ways. 1) Where there's water, there are plants meaning food. 2) The water also served as protection from other civilizations on other islands or on the continents. 3) They both became sea trading civilizations and become masively weathly by sailing to other civilizations to trade with and sometimes conquer.