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Daidalic style of sculpture, named after the legendary architect and craftsman Daedalus. played a seminal role in the development of archaic Greek sculpture. The style seems originated in Crete. Egyptian figures Daidalic adopt conventions, such as posture rigidly frontal hair and wig-like. A bust of Eleftherna and goddesses above transom of Prini A gate of the Temple (well represented in the Herakleion Museum, Room XIX) are good examples, as are the terracotta collections in museums in Agios Nikolaos and Siteia.
Crete remained politically separate from mainstream Greek history from the impact of the Persian Wars and Athens 5C ephemeral glow. The conservative and hierarchical pattern of a society centered on the city-states continued to prevail. Despite this separation of the conquests of Alexander the Great of Macedonia, and the imperial aspirations of his successors, brought new prosperity to the island. The warlike character and the traditional value of the Cretans became a tradable commodity: they were in demand as mercenaries, and payments by the rich services of the island. Piracy was also a source of income welldocumented.
On a smaller scale broad patterns of extensive trade of the Hellenistic world in the wake of the conquests of Alexander gave greater importance to the control of sea routes. On the island of wars mean and fluctuating alliances continued as Knossos, Litos, which was, and Gortyn Kydonia (Chania) gradually emerged as the main contenders for supremacy. Rivalry was complicated by the involvement of foreign powers to exploit their influence in Crete in their own power struggle for control of the Aegean. In a context of expansionism of Macedonia, the Spartans intrigued in western Crete, which the Egyptians gave Itanos garrison support, cultivated Olous Rhodes and Eumenes of Pergamum entered into an alliance with 13 of the city-state of Crete. Gradually, Rome was involved in Crete, first as a peacemaker between the warring city-states, and then reduce the threat of piracy of their bases on the island.
The Greek peninsula became part of the Roman Empire in the mid-2C BC. There was an abortive expedition against Crete a. 71 C., and two years after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Q. Cecilio (later Creticus) invaded with three legions. It took nearly three years to submit to the island.
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