The chronology and location are both disputed. I had always seen Sodom placed near the southern end of the Dead Sea--that it could have been NE of the northern end of the Dead Sea is news to me.
Jerome had Abraham around 2000 B.C., but that could be too high. Were the Israelites in Egypt for 400 years or for 4 generations? Moses is said to be a great-grandson of Levi, one of the sons of Jacob (I Chron. 6.1-3).
Did some research on this one. It appears the Minoans originated the practice in the area. It spread from them to the invading (Greek) Dorians and from them to other Dorians on the mainland, such as the Spartans, and thence to other Greeks.
Lots of Minoan art is quite explicit on the subject.
Let's assume Sodom was contemporary with the Minoans. What I don't get is the claim that a city such as Sodom, located well inland, would be likely to have any direct connection to the Minoans.
AFAIK, Minoan influence was limited to the Aegean, and perhaps the Black Sea and Central Med. Seems very unlikely to me they'd have much influence in areas inland from the eastern Med, where Phoenicians would not take kindly to competition.
Would seem more likely that Sodom would have more trade contacts with Yemen, Ethiopia, etc. than with the Minoans.