Why we study what we study
1
Greek
and Latin
and biblical literature used to be part of
Sir Arthur
Evans
everyone’s education. …to be that these stories were in the minds
of the people. When the story is in your mind, then you see its
relevance to something happening in your own life. It gives you
perspective
on what’s happening toyou.
…we don’t have a
 Aegean
Theseus
comparable literature to take its place. These bits of information
 Asia
Minor
from
ancient
times, which have to 
doMinotaur
with the themes that have
supported
human
life, built civilizations, and informed religions
 Balkan
Peninsula
 Crete
over the millennia …if you don’t know what the guide signs are
 Dorians
along
the way, you have to work it
outHomer
yourself.”
Terms to Know
 IoniaThe Power of Myth p.4
 Knossos
 Labyrinth
 Megaron
Joseph Campbell
 Iliad
http://www.learner.org/resources/series58.html
l
Theseus and the
Minotaur
The Book of Virtues
2
The World the Ancient Greeks Knew
Beginnings
2800 B.C.—750 B.C.
 Chapter
9 pages
Troy
150-161

Aegean Sea
Section One: discusses the
way
of life of the Minoans

Athens
I. The Minoans
Iona
Mycenae
Olympia
Ionian Sea
Sparta
The Palace
of Knossos
Mediterranean Sea
3
Bronze Age Greece
By 1400 B.C. disappeared
between about 1200 and 1100
Early Minoan, c.3000-2000 B.C.
5
Isle of Crete
6:22
6
The Phaistos disk, with hieroglyphs
on both sides, from the new palace
period . These glyphs are related to
Linear A, which (we think) used
individual signs to refer to syllables
(rather than distinct letters). Linear A
itself has still not been deciphered.
Minoans continued




A. Farmers who lived on a forested island,
metal workers who become traders
B. build fast powerful ships able to sink
pirate ships with a ram on their prow.
Minoans depended on the sea and their
ships to defend themselves
C. By 2000 B.C. Crete becomes an
important seafaring civilization known to
others through their trade
D. The People
7
The People cont.
A statue of a Minotaur, 5th century B.C. The Minotaur was a
savage creature with the body of a bull, the upper torso of
a man, and the head of a bull. The king of Crete sent this
creature after the Greek hero Theseus while the latter was
imprisoned in the royal labyrinth. With Princess Ariadne's
help, Theseus slew the monster and escaped from the
labyrinth.
1. farmed, fished, raises goats and long horned sheep
2. served in navy and the royal guard
3. People of Crete loved sports





a.) boxing matches
b.) Bull leaping—form of bullfighting
Terms
to Learn: bull leaping
Cities and Palaces
Terms to Learn:Labyrinth
1. Palace at Knossos covered 28 artist rendition of palace acres—Knossos
one of the largest cities plumbing on Crete
E.







a.) served as govt. building, temple, factory and warehouse
b.) decorated with brightly colored frescoes
c.) passageways formed a labyrinth floor plan—“means double
ax”—House of the double ax
d.) Theseus killer of the Minotaur--legendary Monster of Crete
e.) Sea captains, merchants and shipbuilders lived in houses
around the palace
f.) Had no entrance from the street
g.) Windows made of parchment
8
9
A room in the Knossos palace. The remains of three other
major Minoan palace-cities, at Phaistos, Mallia, and Zakros,
as well as a scattering of smaller complexes, still exist on
Crete.
A covered passageway in the Knossos palace. The peaceful
temperament and maritime character of Minoan civilization
enabled the Cretan culture to expand throughout the Greek
peninsula, but left Crete defenseless before the military
expansion of a peninsular civilization; the Mycenaeans
conquered much of Crete by the mid-15th century B.C. 10
Snake Goddess Shrine, as
reconstructed
by Evans
F. Rulers and Religion
Terms to Learn: Shrines






1. rulers were priest-kings
2. mt. Juktas
3. Many gods—most important was the
Great Goddess who made plants grow and
brought children
4. Hill tops lead to heaven, caves led to the
underworld tombs (next slide)
5. Shrines in houses, hilltops, caves
mountains (next slide)
6. Ax—power of mother earth and authority
of the king
11
High Places and Tombs
Anemospilia. View from N. Slope of Mt. Iuktas
toward Knossos, Heraklion, and the Islet of Dia. From S.
Anemospilia. Central E-W Corridor with Doorways
Opening to North (R) and South (L). From E.
12
G. The Fall of the Minoans
click for story of
Atlantis Thera
People to Know: Theseus

1. by 1400 B.C. control of Crete
passed to Mycenaeans .
making faces of the dead
13
Santorini as Atlantis

Plato's story of Atlantis was intended to be a moral tale, illustrating
principles of ethics and politics. He described a tyrannical
civilization which lived on an island 'beyond the pillars of
Hercules'. The city in the middle of the island was surrounded by a
series of ringed walls. The whole island of Atlantis collapsed into
the sea.
 There are definite parallels with Santorini here. We don't know
exactly what shape the island was before the eruption, but the
present ring shape was certainly there to some extent. If the
ancient Minoans built a city on the volcano in the middle, it would
have been surrounded by at least one ring. Perhaps remains of
previous calderas made a few other rings. We have no way of
telling. While the island did not sink into the sea, the central part
certainly did.
 But the phrase 'the Pillars of Hercules' normally means the Straits
of Gibraltar. In this view, Atlantis was situated in the Atlantic
Ocean. In fact, the Atlantic Ocean is named after the story of
Atlantis. Proponents of the 'Santorini is Atlantis' theory say that
Plato set the tale in a far-off place to make it hypothetical, allowing
him free reign on the moral aspects. Other possible locations?
14
Atlantis ?
15



Section Two: explains the culture of the
Mycenaeans
II. The Mycenaeans
came from southern Russia around 2000 B.C. and
moved south thru the Balkan peninsula to
The Megaron complex at Mycenae, view
Queen's
megaron
at
eventually settled in the lowlands of
Greece
build
from the main hall (circular hearth visible in foreground)
the palace of Knossos.
fortress-palaces on hilltops.
There are three different forms of cultural diffusion:
Megaron—central
room of a fortress palace.
Direct diffusion is when two cultures are very close to each other,
Borrowed many
fromtrade,
Minoans
but did
notexample
resulting ideas
in intermarriage,
and even warfare.
An ancient
would be Mycenae
and Cretecities
. A modern example of direct diffusion would
copy their ways
of
building
be between the United States and Canada, where the people living on the
border of these two countries engage in hockey, which started in Canada,
and baseball, which is big in American culture
Innovative Engineering In Mycenaean
Forced diffusion occurs when one culture subjugates (conquers or
enslaves) another culture and forces its own customs on the conquered
http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?ID=346667
video 6:50
people. An example would be the conquistadors that took over the
indigenous population and made them practice Christianity.
Indirect diffusion happens when traits are passed from one culture through
a middleman to another culture, without the first and final cultures ever
being in direct contact. An example could be the presence of Mexican food
16
in Canada, since they have a huge country in between them.
II. Continued

The Amphora - The multipurpose containers of the
were
farmed
by
ancient
world: see
reading

land divided into estates that
slaves or by tenants
horses, chariots, weapons and food in exchange
for protection
expert hunters who used greyhounds in hunting

Terms to Learn: Tenants

Traders and Pirates (see slide 14 on trade and economic terms)
visited by Minoan ships traders and begin to
imitate gold and bronze work learn how to build
ships and navigate
begin to grow olives and olive oil becomes a staple
used for fuel, oil lamps cooking and trade
trade in oil made Mycenaeans rich with trading
stations on many islands
a warrior nation who become pirates
by 1400 B.C. replace Minoans as chief power of the
Aegean world.






17
II. Cont.
Sophia Schliemann
wearing treasures
recovered at Hisarlik.







The Trojan War
People to Know: Homer
Mycenaeans attack Troy in Asia Minor (Asia
Minor) Troy VI 200,000 sq. Meters- 7000 people good size for the time.
Homer and the Iliad (Greek concept of aretevirtue and excellence)
People to Know: Helen
Homer’s poem the Iliad tells the story of war
between Mycenaeans and Trojans. The Odyssey
tells the story of one Greek hero’s, Oydsseus’
(Odysseus, known by the Romans under his Latin name Ulysses) return to
Ithaca.
Places to Locate: Ionia


A Dark Age
20
Homer, Greek Stories & Odysseus’ journey home
Hubris (/hjuːbrɪs/) a Greek term used in
indicate overweening pride, haughtiness, or
arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution .
Odysseus and Polyphemus
Polyphemus:
the gigantic one-eyed son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology one of the Cyclopes
( arete-virtue and excellence )
Odysseus and his men blinding the cyclops Polyphemus
(detailArete
of a(Greek:
proto-attic
c.wife
650
BC, museum
ofNausicaa
Eleusis)
In Greek mythology, Queen
, Arêtê) ofamphora,
Scheria was the
of Alcinous
and mother of
and
Laodamas. She welcomed Odysseus and treated him hospitably.
21
II. Cont.
The inscriptions (from left to right):
(Hittites:)
wretched
chief of
Kheta
 The
Terms
to Learn:
civil
waras living captive.
(Amorites:) The wretched chief of Amor.
(Tjekker:) Chieftain (lit. the Great One) of the foe of Thekel (TAkwrA).
 Civil war tears the Mycenaeans art images apart
(Sherden:) Sherden (SArAdAnA) of the sea.
 Chieftain
100 ofyears
after the Trojan War story there were
(Bedouins:)
the foe of Sha[su]
(Teresh:) Teresh (tjwrASA) of the sea.
(Philistines:) Chieftain of the Pe[leset]
no Mycenaean fortress-palaces left
 Invasion of the “Sea People”(?) around 1200
B.C. cause general disruption through out
the Mediterranean World.
 Dorians conquer Greece using superior iron
swords bringing about a “Dark Age”
 Thousands of Mycenaeans flee and settle on
Aegean islands on the western shore of Asia
Minor
23


II. Continued
4. Thousands of Mycenaeans flee and settle on
Aegean islands on the western shore of Asia Minor
5. Aegean world enters a “Dark Age” until about
800 B.C.

A. overseas trade stops, thousands flee to
Aegean islands and the shore of Asia Minor.
These settlements become known as Ionia.

B. people of the Aegean forgot how to write and
keep records
•




No written records from 1150-750 B.C. Little is known
from this period.
C. Aegean world cut off from the Middle East
and the people create a new civilization of their
own
D. Local leaders make themselves kings
E. People of the region begin calling
themselves Hellenes.
Hellenic world around the 700s B.C.
24
Critical Thinking: You will pick one of the following essay
questions to prepare. BE sure to answer each part of the question!

Why did a “Dark Age” fall over the Aegean
world around 1200 B.C.? What effect did this
“Dark Age” have on the region and the
developing Greek culture on the mainland?

Homer’s long story-poems, the Illiad and the
Odyssey are still read. Pick one of these
epic poems and briefly relate its story.

Where did the Minoan civilization have its
center? What aspects of Minoan civilization
influenced the Mycenaeans? What caused
the sudden collapse of Minoan civilization
around 1400 B.C.?
25
 Graphic
Organizer of Ideas Concerning
Bronze Age Greece: The Minoans and
Mycenaeans
42