Minoans and Mycenaeans

CLA2100

One of the most successful ‘Greek’ civilizations

Minoans

The Minoans developed in…

Crete

Crete

biggest island in modern day Greece

Why did the Minoans develop on an island?

it was on the coast so they had access to fishing and trade by sea

When was there stability in Crete for the Minoans?

2000 BCE

What writing is associated with the Minoans?

Linear A

Who coined/found Linear A and B?

Sir Robert Evans 

Linear A

still unsure, possibly trade

Linear B

trading and value equivalencies (currency but with item trading)

Minoan palaces included…

Phaistos, Mallia, Zakros, and Knossos

What was the palace of Knossos?

A Minoan palace; political and administrative center; maze of rooms

Europe’s oldest city is…

Knossos

Religious symbols of the Minoans are…

griffins, marine life, crops/plants, bull horns

Which of the Minoan palaces had running water, waste disposal, and was overall very advanced?

Knossos 

What are the dates of the Knossos palace?

1700 to 1375 BCE

Megaron

large room within a palace with numerous uses; had a porch; usually used for religious purposes

The Minoans had a close association with _____ and ______

Egypt, Levant; shown in Knossos and Tell El-Daba

Minoans’ religious god was a…

goddess of snakes; represented fertility; snakes in her hands

Important Minoan religious symbols included ____ and ____

Bull horns and double axe

Minoans’ sacred animal

bull

What date was there disruption for the Minoans?

2,200 BCE

When was there a connection between the Minoans and the beginnings of the Myceneans?

2,000 BCE; Minoans started trading relations with southern and central Greece

Circle A

grave site; local artifacts; mask of Agamemnon

What were the dates of Circle A

1700 to 1500 BCE

Circle B

local and imported goods; evidence of trade and migration

What were the dates of Circle B

1600 to a bit after 1500 BCE

How were men buried?

as warriors; families competed for after-death glory

How were women buried?

with elaborate jewelry and silver drinking cups

Who excavated the Mycenaean graves?

Heinrich Schliemann; he gave the jewelry to his wife

Where was the Griffin Warrior Tomb?

Pylos

What was the Griffin Warrior Tomb?

1400+ found objects; 75% came from the Minoans; a Mycenaean with a love for Minoans, or a Minoan who died here

What were the dates of the Griffin Warrior Tomb?

1500 to 1450 BCE

What was the Tholos Tomb?

large stone chambers shaped like beehives cut into the hill; Mycenaean tombs

What was another name for the Tholos Tomb

Tomb of Agamemnon

What was the writing associated with the Mycenaeans?

Linear B; was in Greek

Where were 600 Linear B tablets found?

Pylos; tablets were bakes when the palace burned down

Who deciphered Linear B?

Michael Ventris

What was the language of the Mycenaens?

Greek

When were the Mycenaean years of glory?

1400 to 1200 BCE (late bronze age)

When were the Mycenaeans ruling Crete?

15th century

What was the name of the famous Mycenaean palace?

Lion Gate

What was the year of Lion Gate?

1250 BCE

Describe Lion Gate

architecture follows Minoan style, smaller and less well built than Minoan, complex road systems/draining systems, Megaron was the focus of the palace

Who could the Trojan war have possibly been between?

Hittites and Ahhiyawa

What was the Tawagalawa Letter

references to land called Ahhiyawa

Wanaka

King

What was another name for Pylos?

Palace of Nestor

Who discovered Pylos?

Carl Blegen

What was Pylos?

Mycenaean palace; divided into 2 provinces; eventually burned down, preserving Linear B tablets 

Damos

the people

Lawagetas

2nd authority under the king (Wanaka)

When did Minoan palaces burn down?

1450

What were the jobs of slave women and children?

grinders of grain, bath attendants, weavers

Mycenaean religion

non-existent before 1600 BCE; symbols of snakes, birds, bulls horns and double axes; several deities

Potnia

lady mistress’ Mother, Goddess

Mycenean armor

helmets of bronze and boars tusks; bronze chest plates; bronzes greaves; they had the technology to get bronze to fit the human body

What was the end of the Myceneans?

1200 BCE palaces were destroyed by fire'; migration away from many places

What city did not burn down in 1200 BCE?

Athens

Marauders

sea people

Who were “The Sea Peoples” led by?

Libyans (Egypt)

When did Cretans develop pictographic writinf?

1900 BCE

Villas

exemplified lower tier elite families; majority worked and lived in small towns in Crete

Which graves showed extraordinary riches?

shaft graves

What was stone masonry called and why?

Cyclopean because the Greeks believed that only a Cyclops could move the massive stones

Tholos Tomb

Mask of Agamemnon

Knossos