Transcript Early People of the Aegean

Early People of the Aegean
 The story of Europa
 Daughter of the king of
Phoenicia
 Went to put flowers on the
horns of the Bull (Zeus)
and he swept her away to
the island of Crete.
 Eventually she married,
and the King of Crete gave
her name to all of the land.
 Europe
Today’s Discussion Questions
 Where did the earliest Greeks live?
 Which group lived first? How many years earlier?
Did any of these early Greeks overlap?
 Discover 5 ways that the Minoans and Mycenaeans
were alike.
 What happened to the Minoans and Mycenaeans?
 Was the Trojan War real? How do we know?
 Were the Dorians civilized? Defend your answer.
 Why is Crete called the “Cradle of Civilization”?
The Minoan World:
mid-2M B.C.E.
Minoan Civilization
 Name after King
Minos
 Between 1750 bc and
1500 bc is when the
Minoans reached its
greatest success.
 Success was based on
trade, not conquest.
The Palace of Knossos
 Housed the royal family
and included religious
shrines which were areas
dedicated to the honor of
gods and goddesses.
 The walls are covered
with frescoes.
 Frescoes- watercolor
paintings done on wet
plaster.
Palace of King Minos - Interiors
Minoan Culture - Religion
Minoan Priest
Minoan Snake
Goddess
Bull Cult
Minoan
Trade
Coast of Crete
“Bireme” ship
Early Writing System:
“Linear A” (Undecipherable)
Canon?
Civilization is believed to just
disappear
 The eruption of Mt.
Vesuvius is believed
to lead to the decline
of the Minoans.
Rulers of Mycenae
 Dominated from 1400
bc to 1200 bc
 Lived in city-statesareas created by
warrior-kings that
had thick-walled
fortresses from where
he lived and ruled the
surrounding villages
The Mycenaean World: mid-2M
B.C.E.
Aerial View of Mycenae
Lion’s Gate Entrance to Mycenae
Mycenaean Writing System: “Linear B”
The Trojan War
 Took place around
1250 bc.
 Had its roots in the
economic struggles
between Mycenae
and Troy (Turkey).
 Troy controlled the
straits that linked the
Mediterranean and
Black sea.
Romantic Story of Troy
 The Trojan Prince Paris
kidnapped Helen, the
beautiful wife of a Greek
king, the Mycenaean's
sailed to Troy to rescue her.
For the next 10 years, the
two sides battled until the
Greeks finally seized Troy
and burned the city to the
ground.
 Believed to be a fairy tale
until Heinrich Schliemann
Migrations in the Aegean Region
(DORIANS}
The Age of Homer
 The Mycenaean
civilization soon
crumbles under the
attack of the
Dorian's.
 We get hints about
what life was like
during this time
because of the two
epic poems written by
Homer.
The Iliad
 Written by the blind poet
Homer around 750 bc.
 Chief source about what
happened in the Trojan
War
 Story involves god,
goddesses, and even a
talking horse named
Pegasus. This is where
we get our story about
Achilles, the great Greek
warrior.
The Odyssey
 Written by Homer
 Tells of the great
struggles of of the Greek
hero Odysseus.
 On his way home to his
wife (Penelope)
Odysseus encounters a
sea monster, a race of
one-eyed giants, and a
beautiful sorceress who
turns men into swine.