Minoans and Myceneans Powerpoint Flash cards

Where were the Minoans, and when?

Crete; c. 3000–1400 BCE.

Where were the Mycenaeans, and when?

Mainland Greece/Peloponnesus; c. 1600–1100 BCE.

What is bronze made of?

Copper and tin.

How did the sea benefit the Minoans?

It supported defense, trade, and wealth.

What were Linear A and Linear B?

Linear A: undeciphered Minoan writing. Linear B: Mycenaean writing in early Greek.

Who deciphered Linear B, and when?

Michael Ventris in the 1950s, building on Alice Kober's work. What were the three main functions of Knossos palace? Royal residence, religious center, and administrative center.

How was Knossos organized?

A complex, multi-story plan around a central courtyard.

What made Knossos seem like a labyrinth?

Interconnected rooms, courtyards, and staircases.

What advanced water systems did Knossos have?

Terracotta-pipe supply, drainage, and sewage systems.

How did Knossos light interior rooms?

Light wells through flat roofs.

What materials and techniques were used at Knossos?

Stone, timber, gypsum, rubble, clay, plaster, and frescoes; timber helped with earthquake flexibility.

What was distinctive about Minoan columns?

They tapered downward; cypress trunks were inverted, often with bright shafts and dark capitals.

What architectural style characterized Minoan buildings?

Colorful, informal, organic, and curvilinear.

What is a megaron?

An oblong principal hall, thought to be an ancestor of the Greek temple plan.

What did the Queen's Megaron use to diffuse light?

Columns/slender piers and light wells.

What appeared in Minoan frescoes?

Ceremonial scenes, cup-bearers, and charging bulls.

How did Mycenaean architecture differ from Minoan architecture?

Mycenaeans emphasized warrior culture, high ground, citadels, and defensive walls.

What is Cyclopean masonry?

Huge rough-hewn stones used in Mycenaean fortification walls.

What is a citadel?

A fortified high-ground center with royal and important buildings

What are the Iliad and Odyssey about?

Iliad: Trojan War. Odyssey: Odysseus's journey home to Ithaca.

What is a tholos tomb?

A beehive-shaped tomb built with corbelled stone courses.

What is the Treasury of Atreus also called?

The Tomb of Agamemnon; about 43 ft high and 47 ft in diameter.

What is a dromos?

The sloping passage leading to a tholos tomb.

What is corbelling?

Stone courses project inward until they meet at the top.

What is trabeation?

Horizontal beams supported by vertical posts.

What is the Lion's Gate, and when was it built?

Monumental entrance to Mycenae's citadel; c. 1250 BCE.

What is shown in the Lion's Gate relief?

Two lions beside a Minoan column in a triangular relief.

What is a tympanum?

The triangular space within a pediment above a colonnade.

What is the key architectural connection between Mycenaean portals and Greek temples?

Trabeation and triangular reliefs foreshadow Greek temple features.