Transcript Minoans and Myceneans - HowesLatinIII

The Minos and Mycenae
Bronze Age Cultures
Discovery
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Heinrich Schleimann
– 1871: discovered Troy
– 1876: discovered Mycenae
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Arthur Evans
– 1900: Knossos
Minoan Civilization
Located on Crete
 By 2100 BC, small city-states populated the
island
 Knossos is most well known palace
complex (1700-1375 BC)
 “Redistributive” system
 Crossroad for Mediterranean trade
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Linear A
1900, developed pictographic writing
 Developed into more advanced writing:
syllabary writing system
 Used for management and economic
records
 Not deciphered
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Social Order
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Elite lived in palace area
Unsure whether one person ruled all others
– Priest-king?
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Spacious villas in countryside that may have been
for elite families as well
Majority of people lived and worked in small
villages
Ordinary houses were roomier than those in
Greece or in the Near East
Fished, farmed, raised livestock
Slaves worked in all areas of Minoan society
Religion
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Centered on fertility
 Private shrines in palaces, villas, and houses
 Communal rituals outdoors
 Bull-leaping
 Minoan “Lady”
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Art and Architecture
Reminiscent of Near East, but adapted to fit
Minoan culture
 Serene, lighthearted, playful scenes
 Palace was decorated with many frescos
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– Religious rituals, daily activities, animal or
plant scenes
Conveyed sense of movement and life
 Organic and colorful architecture
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Minos, Theseus, and the
Minotaur
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The Cretan Bull
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Struggle for power
Poseidon sent a white bull as a sign of approval
Minos was supposed to sacrifice the bull but did not
Poseidon caused Pasiphaë to fall in love with bull
The Cow Suit
– Pasiphae made Daedalus craft a wooden cow suit for
her
– She attracted the Cretan bull and the Minotaur was born
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The Labyrinth
– Constructed by Daedalus
Myth Continued
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Conflict with Athens
– Minos goes to war with Athens to avenge son (cause of
death disputed)
– Defeats Athens
– Demands tribute of 7 young men and 7 young women
every 9 years to be sacrificed to the Minotaur
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Theseus
– Son of Aegeus, king of Athens
– Volunteers to go on third sacrifice
– Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, falls in love with Theseus
and helps him navigate the labyrinth with string
– Theseus slays the Minotaur
Myth Continued
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Journey Home
– Theseus abandons Ariadne on Naxos and
Dionysus marries her
– Theseus had told his father that his ship would
display white sails if successful
– He forgets and still has black sails
– Father throws himself off a cliff into the sea
The Destruction of the Minoans
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Trading with the mainland Greeks
beginning in 2000 BC
– Greeks even borrowed writing system
By 1450, the mainland Greeks had taken
over and were living on Crete
 Most palaces burned to the ground
 Knossos remained center for Greek rule on
Crete
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Mycenaeans
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1600-1200
Greeks on mainland Greece
Period named for Mycenae
Characterized by lots of wealth, gold, and war
Trojan war heroes: Agamemnon, Menelaus,
Odysseus, Achilles, Ajax, Nestor
Mycenaean Towns: Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos,
Athens, Ithaca, Argos, Troy, Thebes
Linear B
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Destruction of Minoans by the Greeks
(Mycenaeans) is known because of tablets
Unknown writing system - unsure what language
it was representing
Michael Ventris broke the code in the 1950s
Realized that the Linear B writing system was
representing the Greek Language
These tablets asserted three things:
– Mycenaeans spoke Greek
– Mycenaeans adapted writing system from Minoans
– Mycenaeans controlled Crete by 1450s
Shaft Graves and Tholoi
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Shaft graves: rectangular pits that would hold
multiple burials
– Filled with precious materials such as gold, silver,
bronze, ivory
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Tholos tomb: large stone chambers shaped liked
beehives
– Also filled with riches and gold
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Treasury of Atreus
– “Mask of Agamemnon” found within
Palaces
Located on hills for defense
 Small and highly fortified
 Not as luxurious as Minoan palaces
 Martial decorative themes
 Palaces not unified
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– Feuds, fragile alliances, battles
– Some towns may have been loosely connected
with the ruler of Mycenae as the superior
Social Order
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Hierarchical society
Wanax = the king
War leaders under the wanax
Priests and Priestesses
Administrative officials, Religious Administrators
Producers: farmers, herders, artiscans, fishermen,
laborers
Slaves
Wanax and high ranked officals lived in citadel
Lesser officials lived in lower town
Most lived in country villages
Religion
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Not a lot known
Names of major gods and goddesses of later
Greeks appear often
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Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hermes, Athena, Artemis
Maybe Apollo, Ares, and Dionysus
Also worshipped other cult gods
Not sure if the gods had the same role as they did in
later Greek religion
Collapse of Mycenaean Culture
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By end of 1100, palaces had burned down, been
abandoned, and razed to the ground
A few towns remained as smaller villages beneath the
ruined hill top citadel
Greece was not alone in destruction - occurred all over
Mediterranean region
The “sea peoples”?
– Reported to have attacked Egypt as well
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Troy was also sacked during this time (1250-1200)
– Attributed to Mycenaeans, but may have been the sea peoples
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Natural Disaster?
Dorians?
– Greek speak people from northern and western Greece
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