Middle Bronze Age: Minoans, Geometric Period, and Greek Mythology (Page 1)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the notes on the Middle Bronze Age, Minoans, Geometric Period, and Greek myth (Page 1).

Linear A

Minoan syllabary; undeciphered script used by the Minoan civilization on Crete during the Middle Bronze Age (roughly 2000–1450 BCE).

Dhaestos Disk

Clay disk found at Dhaestos (Crete) bearing undeciphered symbols; a famous undeciphered Minoan artifact.

Thera (Santorini)

Aegean island site known for a major volcanic eruption that impacted Minoan civilization during the Middle Bronze Age.

Minoans

Bronze Age civilization centered on Crete; known for Linear A, palatial centers, and seafaring trade; precursors to later Greek culture.

Middle Bronze Age (2000–1450 BCE)

Timeframe in which the Minoan civilization thrived; dates provided in the notes as roughly 2000–1450 BCE.

Geometric Period

Early Greek art period characterized by geometric motifs on pottery; emphasizes balance, order, and abstract design.

Birth of Aphrodite

Myth of Aphrodite’s birth; often described as arising from sea foam after Uranus’s castration; goddess of love and beauty.

Furies (Erinyes) from Uranus’s blood

In some versions, the blood of Uranus spilled on Gaia produced the Erinyes (Furies), among others; they personify vengeance.

Fates (Moirai)

Three goddesses—Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos—who determine each person’s destiny by spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life.

Garden of the Hesperides

Mythical garden at the western edge of the world; location varies (often described as near Africa or in the far west, sometimes linked to modern-day Algeria); guards golden apples.

Nyx (Night) and birth of personifications

Goddess of night; mother to various personifications such as Death (Thanatos), Dreams (Oneiroi), Sleep (Hypnos), Old Age (Gerā), and sometimes the Hesperides in certain myths.

Succession Myth

Greek myth describing how power passes between generations of gods; notably the overthrow of Cronus by Zeus and the rise of the Olympian gods.