Chapter 4: The Prehistoric Aegean
Preview: This chapter surveys the art and architecture of cultures that thrived in Greece two
millennia before the birth of Homer, the poet who immortalized them in the Iliad (ca. 750 BCE).
Artworks from the Prehistoric Aegean civilizations include Early Cycladic marble figurines from
ca. 3000 BCE; Minoan palaces on Crete, constructed beginning ca. 1700 BCE; and the deep shaft
graves, funerary objects, fortified citadels and monumental sculptures built by the Mycenaeans ca.
1600-1200 BCE. Homer’s writings were thought to be pure poetic fiction until the 19th century,
when archaeologists discovered ruins of cities such as Troy and Knossos. The artworks
subsequently unearthed at sites throughout the Aegean provide evidence of the rich cultures and
artistic productions that preceded those of Ancient Greece.
Key Terms:
 Linear A/Linear B
 labyrinth, citadel, cyclopean masonry, megaron, relieving triangle, post and lintel, corbelled
arch, tholos, dome, dromos
 true/wet fresco, Kamares Ware, faience, chryselephantine sculpture, relief sculpture, niello,
repoussé
Key Place Names: Cyclades, Mycenae, Troy, Crete, Aegean, Cyclades, Herakleion, Knossos, Thera
Key Figures: Homer, King Minos, Theseus, Minotaur, Ariadne, Heinrich Schliemann, Arthur Evans
Lecture Notes:
Introductory Notes:
Cycladic Art:
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Dates _____________
Figurine of a woman, from Syros (Cyclades), Greece, ca. 2600-2300 BCE
o Materials:
o Scale/size:
o Stylistic features:
o Probable function:
Male harp player, from Keros (Cyclades), Greece, ca. 2600-2300 BCE
o Materials:
o Scale/size:
o Stylistic features:
o Probable function:
Minoan Art:
Key Locations:
Dates _____________
Artworks:

Sarcophagus, from Hagia Triada (Crete), Greece, ca. 1450-1400 BCE
o Medium/materials:
o Subjects/narrative represented:
o Stylistic features:
o Function & significance:

Aerial view of the palace at Knossos (Crete), Greece, ca. 1700-1370 BCE
o Occupant:
o Architectural features:
o Historical significance:
Plan of the palace, Knossos (Crete)
o Description:
o Major structures & location on plan:
Stairwell in the residential quarter of the palace, Knossos (Crete)
o Description:
o Architectural features:
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Mural paintings from the palace at Knossos:
o Minoan woman or goddess (La Parisienne)
 Materials/medium:
 Subject:
 Stylistic features:
o Bull-leaping scene
 Materials/medium:
 Subject:
 Stylistic features:
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Landscape with swallows (Spring Fresco) from room Delta 2, Akrotiri, Thera (Cyclades),
Greece, ca. 1650-1625 BCE
o Medium/materials:
o Subject:
o Stylistic characteristics:
o Function & significance:
 Related event: the Theran volcanic eruption
Miniature Ships Fresco, Akrotiri, ca. 1650-1626 BCE
o Description:
Crocus gatherers, Akrotiri, ca. 1650-1625 BCE
o Description:
Minoan Pottery:
Kamares Ware jar, from Phaistos (Crete), Greece, ca. 1800-1700 BCE
o Materials:



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o Size/Scale:
o Subject represented:
o Stylistic characteristics:
o Function & significance:
Marine Style octopus flask, from Palaikastro (Crete), Greece, ca. 1450 BCE
o Materials:
o Size/Scale:
o Subject represented:
o Stylistic characteristics:
o Function & significance:
Minoan Sculpture:
Snake Goddess, from the palace, Knossos (Crete), Greece, ca. 1600 BCE
o Materials:
o Size/Scale:
o Subject:
o Stylistic characteristics:
o Function & significance:
Young god (?), from Palaikastro (Crete), Greece, ca. 1500-1450 BCE
o Materials:
o Size/Scale:
o Subject:
o Stylistic characteristics:
o Function & significance:
Harvesters Vase, from Hagia Triada (Crete), Greece, ca. 1500-1450 BCE
o Medium/materials and technique:
o Size/Scale:
o Figures/narrative represented:
o Stylistic characteristics:
o Function & significance:
Mycenaean Art:
Dates______________
Key locations:
Key historical developments:
Mycenaean artworks:

Architecture:
Corbel-vaulted gallery in the circuit wall of the citadel of Tiryns, Greece, ca. 1400-1200 BCE
o General description:
o Structural features:
o Function & significance:
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Diagram: Three methods of spanning a passageway: (a) post and lintel, (b) corbelled arch,
(c) arch
o Descriptions:
Plan of the palace and southern part of the citadel, Tiryns, Greece, ca. 1400-1200 BCE
o Description:
o Architectural features and locations on plan:
Megaron, Palace of Nestor, Pylos, ca. 1300 BCE
o Description:
Lion Gate, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE
o General description:
o Structural features:
o Figures represented:
o Function & significance:
Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE
o General description:
o Structural features:
o Function & significance:
Metalwork, Sculpture, and Painting
Grave Circle A, Mycenae, ca. 1600 BCE
o Significance:
Funerary mask, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1600-1500 BCE
o Medium/materials:
o Stylistic features:
o Function & significance:
Gold drinking cup, Vapheio, ca. 1600-1500 BCE
o Description and significance:
Inlaid dagger blade with lion hunt, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1600-1500
BCE
o Medium/materials:
o Stylistic features:
o Subject/narrative represented:
o Function and significance:
Two goddesses(?) and a child, from Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1400-1250 BCE
o Medium/materials:
o Stylistic features:
o Function and significance:
Female head, from Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE
o Medium/materials:
o Stylistic features:
o Subject represented:
o Function and significance:
Warrior Vase (krater), from Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1200 BCE
o Medium/materials:
o Stylistic features:
o Subject/narrative represented:
o Function and significance:
Concluding notes:
Exercises for Study:
1. Enter the approximate dates for these periods:
Early Cycladic:
Minoan art:
Mycenaean art:
2. Summarize the significant historical events and artistic developments of the prehistoric Aegean.
3. Compare and contrast the following pairs of artworks, using the points of comparison as a
guide.
A.
Lion Gate, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE (Fig. 4-19); Harvesters Vase, from Hagia
Triada (Crete), Greece, ca. 1500-1450 BCE (Fig. 4-14);
o Periods
o Medium, materials & techniques
o Subjects
o Stylistic features & composition
o Function
B.
Figurine of a woman, from Syros (Cyclades), Greece, ca. 2600-2300 BCE (Fig. 4-2); Female
head, from Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE
o Periods
o Medium, materials & techniques
o Scale
o Subjects
o Stylistic features & composition
o Probable function
C.
Marine Style octopus flask, from Palaikastro (Crete), Greece, ca. 1450 BCE (Fig 4-11);
Warrior Vase (krater), from Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1200 BCE (Fig. 4-26)
o Periods
o Medium & materials
o Subjects
o Stylistic features & composition