Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
Greek Early Bronze Age began in 3000 BC. The First Palace Period on Crete began in 1900 BC. Volcanic eruptions on the island of Thera occurred in 1628 BC. Crete was conquered by the Mycenaeans in 1500 BC. The Mycenaean Palaces were abandoned in 1190 BC. [Overy, p. 74] Crete periods were Protopalatial (2000-1720 BC), Neopalatial (1720-1550 BC), and Final Palatial (1550-1350 BC); Minos may well have been the name not just of one legendary ruler, but a line of kings who governed in Knossos and lent their name to Crete's earliest civilization." [Bauer: Ancient World, p. 184, 186] "On the Greek peninsula, between 1600 and 1400 BC, Mycenaean cities fight with their neighbors and carry on trade by sea. . . . Despite this independence, the cities shared trade, a language, and a culture. It is from the city of Mycenae, the largest on the peninsula, that the culture takes its name; . . . And it was from the Minoans that the Mycenaeans learned to write. . . . The Minoan goods found in Mycenaean graves reflect a temporary Cretan dominance. But after the eruption of Thera, the cultural influence between Crete and Greece began to run the other way." [Bauer: Ancient World, p. 224-7]