(Minoan Civilization, Rulers of Mycenae, and the Age of Homer)
Presentation created by Robert L. Martinez
Primary Content Source: Prentice Hall World History
Images as cited.

Washed by the warm waters of the
Aegean Sea, Crete was home to a brilliant early civilization. Minoan civilization reached its height between 1750 B.C.E. and 1500 B.C. E.
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The success of the Minoans was based on trade, not conquest. Minoan traders set up outposts throughout the Aegean world. For their island home in the eastern
Mediterranean, they crossed the seas to the
Nile Valley and the Middle East.
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The rulers of this trading empire lived a vast palace at Knossos. It housed rooms for the royal family, banquet halls, and working areas for artisans. It included religious shrines, dedicated to their gods and goddesses.
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minoancivilization.net

The walls of the palace were covered with colorful frescoes (watercolor paintings). These frescoes tell us much about Minoan society.
Leaping dolphins reflect the importance of the sea. Religious images indicate that the Minoans worshipped the bull and mother goddess.
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The frescoes suggest that women appeared freely in public and may have enjoyed more rights than women in most other ancient civilizations.
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By 1400 B.C.E., Minoan civilization had vanished. No one is sure of the reasons for the disappearance. A sudden volcanic eruption on a nearby island may have rained flaming death on Knossos. An earthquake may have destroyed the palace, followed by a tidal wave that drowned the inhabitants.
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However, invaders certainly played a role in the destruction of Minoan civilization.
These intruders were the Mycenaeans, the first Greek-speaking people.
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Like the Aryans who swept into India, the
Mycenaeans were an Indo-European people. They conquered the Greek mainland before overrunning Crete.
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Mycenaean civilization dominated the Aegean world from about 1400 B.C.E. to 1200 B.C.E.
Like the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were sea traders. They reached out beyond the Aegean
Sea to Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. gridclub.com

The Mycenaeans lived in separate citystates on the mainland. In each, a warriorking built a think-walled fortress from which he ruled the surrounding villages. history-by-kyle.blogspot.com

The Mycenaeans are best remembered for their part in the Trojan War, which took place around 1250 B.C.E. The conflict may have had its origins in economic rivalry between
Mycenae and Troy.
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Troy controlled the vital straits that connect the Mediterranean and Black
Seas. atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com

However, Greek legend attributes the war to a more romantic tale. After the Trojan prince Paris kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king, the
Mycenaeans sailed to Troy to rescue her. mitchellteachers.org

For the next 10 years, the two sides battled until the Greeks finally seized
Troy and burned the city to the ground. thedanaanscrueldoom.wordpress.com

Not long after the fall of Troy, Mycenaean civilization crumbled under the attack of sea raiders. About the same time, Greekspeaking Dorians, invaded from the north. n1999k.blogspot.com

We get hints about this time period from two epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey.
These epics may have been credited to the poet Homer, who lived about 750
B.C.E.
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Homer was a blind poet who wandered from village to village, singing of heroic deeds. His tales were passed on orally for generations before they finally written down. crystalinks.com

The Iliad is our chief source of information about the Trojan War, although the story involves gods, goddesses, and even a talking horse. history.howstuffworks.com

The Odyssey tells of the adventures of the
Greek hero Odysseus to return home to his faithful wife, Penelope after the fall of Troy. On his long voyage, he encounters a sea monster, a race of one-eyed giants, and a beautiful sorceress who turns men into swine. montereyboats.com

The Iliad and Odyssey reveal much about the values of the ancient Greeks. For almost 3,000 years, the epics of Homer have inspired European writers and artists. tumblr.com