Minoans, Mycenaeans, Dorians
Today’s Goal: Explain the contributions the
Minoans, Mycenaeans, & Dorians made to
Greek and later Western culture.
Minoans (2000-1200 BC): Earliest
Greeks
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Powerful seafaring traders
Lived on island of Crete
Traded pottery & figurines
Capital = Knossos
Great Palace at Knossos
Sir Arthur Evans archaeologists who
uncovered the Minoan palace at Knossos
Detail of the Great Palace at
Knossos (restored)
No walls built around city…why?
Civilization named after
legendary King Minos
The
“throne of
King
Minos”
Myth of Theseus & the Minotaur
Pottery painting of
Theseus slaying the
minotaur
The palace at Knossos is the
maze
Minoans Known for Frescoes =
paintings on wet plaster walls
Minoan Culture
• Writing – Linear A – NOT deciphered
• Social classes – nobles, citizens, slaves
• Extensive trade
• Minoan women enjoyed higher status
- Depicted in artwork as working alongside
men
- Roles in religious
ceremonies (priestesses)
Fresco of “Bull Leaping” red colored
male leaping over the bull
Minoan Religion
• Polytheistic religion
• Worshipped female goddesses,
priestesses
• Minoans sacrificed animals and even
humans to their gods
End of Minoan Civilization
• Earthquakes, volcanic eruption at
Thera, & invasions
• http://www.history.com/media.do?searchTerm=greece&action=se
arch
Contributions of Minoans to
Greek Civilization
• Mythology
– Theseus - hero
• Shipbuilding
– Techniques
• Art & architecture
– Frescoes
– Pottery
– Columns
• Influenced later Greek religion, politics
Mycenaeans
• Located on
Peloponnesus
(mainland peninsula)
• Leading city =
Mycenae
• Protective wall
surrounding city
Lion’s Gate
Lion’s Gate detail
Mycenaean Government
• Monarchy – rule by
one person (king)
• Agamemnon – one
of most famous
Mycenaean kings
Death Mask of Agamemnon Misnamed because it is actually of an
unknown king
who lived some 300 years earlier
Mycenaean Culture
• Contact with Minoans
• Adapted Minoan writing system to Greek language
• Columns, frescoes, ships
Trojan War
• Mycenae fought 10-year war with Troy in
Anatolia
• Legend says Greek army destroyed Troy
because Trojan prince had kidnapped
Helen, the wife of a Greek king
Troy
Story told in Homer’s Iliad
Paris kidnapped Helen & brought to
Troy
Paris’ brother Hector was
great warrior, kills Helen’s
husband Menelaus
Greek hero
Achilles kills
Hector in revenge
Greeks build Trojan horse as “gift” –
filled w/soldiers
After collapse of Mycenaeans, the
Dorians migrate into Greece
• 1100-750 BC
• Decline of Greek culture
• Far less advanced, no
written records
• Plunged Greece into
Dark Ages
Epics of Homer
• Blind bard (poet) – Homer
• Composed epics (Iliad,
Odyssey) during Dark Ages
• Spoken stories told through
generations, later written
down
Greek Geography Shaped Civilization
• Peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea (known as the
Peloponnesus)
• Seas  transportation,
trade
• Land  mountainous,
rugged
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Prevented unification
Not much farmland
Lacked natural resources
No major rivers for irrigation
Need for colonization
According to Plato, Greeks
lived around the sea “like frogs
around a pond”
Greek Geography Shaped Civilization
• Climate  Moderate, supported outdoor lifestyle
Goal Revisited
• What contributions did the Minoans,
Mycenaeans, and Dorians make
towards Greek culture?