The Bronze Age: Myth and Memory Ancient Greece - Ancient Mediterranean History

Minoans Old Palace Period

c. 2000-1600 BCE, Collapsed for unknown reasons, Left behind tablets written in script called Linear A (still untranslated)

Minoans New Palace Period

1600-1425 BCE, Rebirth of palaces, Tablets now written in Linear B which has been translated

Mycenaeans

c. 1600-1200, Overlaps with Egyptian New Kingdom and Hittites in West Asia, Centered on palace complexes (like Minoans) but different in that they were clearly fortresses rather than grand architectural designs

heroic code

belief that Mycenaean Age was run by warrior kings that followed this “right” way of behavior, competing with one another for kleos

Iliad and Odyssey

Greeks use them to form the foundation of Greek culture/consciousness and way of behavior, principles of individual glory, competition, and social hierarchy