MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN WORLDS 2000 1200 BC
MAP OF GREECE
INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN MINOANS, EGYPT, AND MESOPOTAMIA UNTIL 1500 BC Middle Kingdom of Egypt beginning with the time of Amenemhet II around 1930 BC we start to see artifacts from Aegean civilizations appear in the Delta region. During the Hyksos (1650-1540 BC), there is evidence of painting spread throughout the Delta area and some Palestinian sites. By the reign of Thutmose III (New Kingdom, 1450ish), Crete was destroyed.
MINOAN AND MYCENAEAN GREECE
MYCENAEAN PEOPLE 1600-1200 BC They were an Indo-European people who migrated onto the Greek mainland and displaced the inhabitants (2200 BC). Heinrich Schliemann: Excavated on the coast of Turkey and located Troy. The stratum for the Trojan War does show devastation. The war was possibly a trade dispute. He turns to the Greek mainland and excavates Mycenae. There he finds the mask of Agamemnon. He names Mycenae after the city of the Trojan War hero Agamemnon.
DEVELOPMENT OF MYCENAEAN CULTURE 1600 BC Indo-Europeans settled on the Mainland of Greece. Not politically unified. 1400 BC Attracted by the Minoan culture and emulated much of it. However, their culture was distinctly their own. After the Mycenaean people took control of Crete, they began to dominate the Mediterranean, 1400-1200 BC.
EARLY MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION 1600-1400 BC Shaft graves: rectangular pits in which weaponry is buried with the bodies Tholos graves: noble families buried in bee-hive shaped tombs
ZENITH OF MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION 1400-1200 BC Using Minoan ideas in art and architecture, they built fortified cities on a hill.
LINEAR A VS B When the Mycenaean people conquered Crete, they stole its system of writing. The Cretan form of writing was called Linear A. It was not Greek! The Minoans used linear signs to keep track of palace records. The Mycenaean people used their system to develop an early form of Greek, called Linear B.
PALACE ARCHITECTURE
MYCENAEAN ARCHITECTURE Mycenaeans were fighters. So much of their architecture were citadels. They would choose a high, rocky hill, and built a fortress on top. There would be living quarters, etc. The focus of the citadel was the megaron, Greek for large room. Most of the citizens would live in small mud brick houses. Then, when under attack, they would retreat to the citadel.
Megarons: large rooms used for feasts, councils, and reception of visitors Large open room with four columns in the center with a circular hearth.
LION GATE The citadels were cut out of massive, irregular blocks of hewn stone. The Greeks called the walls Cyclopeans, because it seemed that it had been placed there by giants. They would use post and lintel construction for doorways, usually with a triangular space on top. This one has two lions protecting the entrance.
THOLOS A tholos was a beehive tomb. It s made by corbeling stones on top of each other, with each one slightly on top, overlapping the one below it. A dromos is the long walkway leading to the tomb.
TOMB OF CLYTEMNESTRA Clytemnestra was the wife of Agamemnon, who murdered him when he returned from Troy. Once body was inside the tholos, the triangle and door were blocked in with bricks.
FUNERAL MASK In many of the tholos uncovered, wonderful objects were uncovered such as this funeral mask. It is thought that these masks would secure a person s identity in the afterlife. Although stylized, this definitely was modeled after a specific person. This particular mask has been mistakenly called the Mask of Agamemnon.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND GOVERNMENT Discoveries at Pylos have reaffirmed some of the account in the Iliad about society during the Bronze Age. Wanax: warlord who scrupulously kept on eye on all the economic activity of his city. Lawagetas: general of the army Most of the population worked on land belonging to the nobility and craftsmen held private property. Women were relegated to textiles, cooking, and childcare. Palace workers were highly specialized in crafts.
RELIGION Shrines in the palace centers Many of the same gods as would be present in the later Greek pantheon. Based off of Indo-European gods. Zeus: early sky god; same god as the Sanskrit, Dyaus pitar and Roman, Zeus pater. Hera, Poseidon, Hermes, Athena, Artemis, Dionysus, Apollo, and Ares.
POTTERY Mycenaean Warrior Vase The warrior vase was named by Heinrich Schliemann, the 19th-century archeologist who discovered it. It is a mixing bowl (krator in Greek) used for mixing wine and water and dates to the 12th century BCE.
INTERSECTION OF MYCENAE AND EGYPT After the Mycenaens took over Crete, they began to explore. Contact with Egypt who called them Cretans (Kreftiu). Contacts in Asia Minor led the Hittites to refer to them as Ahhiyawa or possibly Achaeans.
THE END OF AN AGE AND MYTHIC ANCESTORS Around 1150 BC, a city was attacked in Asia Minor. The battle decimated the city though it did later rebuild. At this same time the WHOLE Mediterranean collapsed: Egypt, Middle East, Greece, Asia Minor Called the Dark Age
FACTS OR MYTHS? When were the myths, the Minotaur and Trojan War, created? During the Dark Ages of Greece Minoans: 1900 BC-1500 BC, Mycenaean Peoples: 1600-1200 BC Dark Ages 1200-700 BC It was during the Dark Ages that the Greeks would look back on the past with nostalgia and mystify their past. So they created the Minotaur and the Trojan War. Based on some facts, but largely turned into mythology.
The Greek collapse 1200-750 BC
What happened? Around 1200 BC: Famine, drought, trade disruptions, invasions Famine probably caused everything Sea Peoples Troy fell Egypt fell Near East Fell
75% Population decreased People moved away Writing was lost Some art was lost Bards Athens only survived
1200-750 BC Agriculture and crafts continued Geometric-like art Basileus: chief Homer and Hesiod
Demos: a territory, with a major city, and the people Polis: main city of the Demos Oikos: household Thetes: property-less men
THE POWER TO THINK AND REASON GAVE MAN HIS WORTH NO AUTHORITY HIGHER THAN REASON GOD WAS AN ABSTRACT IDEA NOT A PERSONAL PRESENCE EXCELLENCE (ARETE) IN ALL THINGS THE MATERIAL WORLD IS THE EXTENSION OF THE HUMAN ABILITY
Blind poet who compiled lost epics into a our two surviving books: The Iliad and the Odyssey Lived towards the end of the Dark Ages (700 BC) Combined present social life with past legend Sought to elevate the Mycenaean period as Heroic
Paris prince of Troy kidnaps the wife of a Mycenaean King, Menelaus of Sparta. Menelaus defers to his brother, Agamemnon the King of all Achaeans, and they engage in war for 10 years at Troy. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_w8ww0z7nng
What was life really like during the Dark Ages and what was a reflection back into the past?
Linear B: Wanax (warlord) Lawagetas (army general) From archaeology: Large Palaces with art and architecture from the Minoans Megarons Greek religion Inhumation Bronze weapons From Homer government changes Basileus: chieftain Boule: assembly of elders Agora: assembly of community Weapons change Iron is used Some large homes (no palaces) Megaron
Xenia: guest friendship Agathos: goodness attained by bravery in battle, loyalty, fairness, hospitable Aristos: desire to be the best Arete: Excellence Kleos: glory Aidos: sense of duty
Arête: Excellence Value is determined by how effective you are at controlling your environment Examples of Homeric arête: Glory in battle or athleticism Sense of duty Xenia
Two major works: Works and Days Hard work (ergon) Guest friendship (xenia) Theogony the creation of the gods and the world Humanism vs Fatalism
750-700 BC Rapid population growth City-States and Panhellenism Rise of aristocracy and the lack of fertile land Trade Colonization Writing Art and architecture Set foundation for the Archaic Age