Minoans and Myceneans
Minoans: Geography & Culture
Myceneans: Geography & Culture
Minoans: Island of Crete
Minoans
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The story of European civilization really begins on the
island of Crete with a civilization that probably thought of
itself as Asian (in fact, Crete is closer to Asia than it is to
Europe).
Around 1700 BCE, a highly sophisticated culture grew up
around palace centers on Crete: the Minoans.
The Minoans produced a civilization oriented around trade
and bureaucracy with little or no evidence of a military
state.
They built perhaps the single most efficient bureaucracy in
antiquity.
This unique culture, of course, lasted only a few centuries,
and European civilization shifts to Europe itself with the
foundation of the military city-states on the mainland of
Greece.
Crete
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On the island, the climate is comfortable
and the soil fertile; as an island, it was
isolated from the mainland of Asia Minor,
the Middle East, and Egypt.
Being an island, resources were limited. As
the population began to thrive, it also began
to increase, and it is evident that the
resources of the island became increasingly
insufficient to handle the increased
population. So the Cretans improvised.
Some migrated, populating other islands in
the Aegean Sea.
Migration and Trade
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In doing so, they took their growing civilization with
them and spread Minoan culture, religion, and
government all over the Aegean Sea. For this
reason, the Minoan culture is also called the
"Aegean Palace civilization."
But the Cretans who remained turned to other
economic pursuits to support the growing
population; in particular, they turned to trade.
Crete became the central exporter of wine, oil,
jewelry, and highly crafted works; in turn, they
became importers of raw materials and food. In the
process they built the first major navy in the world;
its primary purpose, however, was mercantile.
Minoan Time Line: First Palace
period 2200 - 1700 BCE
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Power began to be centered around kings. The
first large palace centers came into being.
Excavation has revealed four large palaces at
Knossos, Phaestos, Malia, and Zakros so far.
The buildings are arranged around a central
court and have fine facades of closely fitted
stone blocks with monumental entrances.
Inside, they are multi-storied and have
workshops, storage magazines and sacred
rooms.
The finest example was uncovered in the west
palace section at Phaestos. The palaces
workshops are also producing fine wares
already.
Pottery and Workshops
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The gorgeous Kamaresware pottery dates to this
period and the style is named after the cave of
Kamares where it was first discovered. Kamaresware
is pottery with polychrome motifs of rosettes, spirals
and hatching vibrantly painted on a shiny black
background, and was produced in a variety of vase
shapes.
The workshops also produced fine vases and vessels of
stone and faience; seal stones of precious or semiprecious stones, with hieroglyphics and dynamic
natural scenes; elegant weapons and tools; vessels of
bronze or silver; jewellery of marvellous technique
("the Bee Pendant" from Malia); and miniature
sculpture.
The first palace centers and the settlements of
Crete were reduced to ruins possibly by earthquakes .
Kamaresware Pottery
http://home.earthlink.net/~macrakis/kamares.vase.jpg
Second Palace Period 1700 - 1500 BCE
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Magnificent new palaces were built upon the ruins
of the old ones. The cities around them expanded.
Many lords in rural villas controlled areas in the
same way as the feudal lords of the Middle Ages.
Their ships carried both the products of Minoan and
other societies throughout the Aegean and Eastern
Mediterranean to trade.
The new palaces were multi-storeyed and complex.
They had great courtyards with grand porticoes,
broad staircases, processional paths and
monumental entrances. Many rooms could be
opened for air circulation and sunlight to enter via
pier and door partitions making the rooms quite
bright and pleasant in the summer. Benches and
thrones were found in royal rooms.
Second Palace con’d
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There were many interior light wells to allow light in
through all levels of the palace via the roof.
– Bathrooms and water supply and drainage systems
allowed for a easier style of life. Sections of the palaces
were royal quarters, sacred areas (pillar crypts, tripartite
shrines), audience and banquet halls.
– Large areas of these palaces were set aside as storage
areas (magazines), and workshops also existed within the
palaces.
– Wonderful fresco painting decorating the walls with fresh,
lively scenes in an array of colors.
– Gypsum was a common building material used for wall
siding and floors.
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The marine style of pottery developed with flowing
elements including stylized octopuses and seaweed.
Second Palace period 1700 - 1500 BCE
(Continued)
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The floral style also developed inventive plants and open
flowers. Frescos depicted landscapes with animals along
with scenes from religious and social life. Bull jumping and
other festivities were shown on the frescos. Faience work,
decorative plaques, figurines such as the snake goddesses,
royal gaming boards, detailed gold and silver jewellery and
vessels were produced in the workshops of the day. Some
very fine bronze work was achieved during this period.
The still undeciphered Linear A is now in use. There are
about 200 surviving texts on clay tablets apparently deal with
accounting and inventory information. The tablets come from
the archives of palaces such as Knossos or villas and were
preserved by firing in the fires that destroyed the
palaces. The Phaestos Disk, with its unique hieroglyphic text,
belongs to the first phase of the second palace period.
Volcanic Eruption
1450 B.C.E.
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All of the centers of the second palace period were destroyed
around 1450.
The terrible volcanic eruption of Santorini had large impacts on
Crete depending on how the ash fell, but did not have enough
effects to destroy the palaces or the Minoan way of life.
The eruption of Santorini may have destroyed some coastal towns
and shipping, and would have depressed the economies of the
eastern Mediterranean though. Terrible palace destructions did
happen though (probably through earthquake again).
Life resumed only at the palace at Knossos, which was
reconstructed and served as the residence of a new Mycenaean
(Achaean) rulers from the mainland.
Their presence is inferred by the appearance of the very archaic
written Greek language of Linear B and by the appearance
of Palace Style pottery. Changes were made in the arrangement
of the palaces, and the Knossos Throne Room and many surviving
frescoes (such as the Corridor of the Procession also at Knossos)
date from this period.
Minoan Timeline Continued
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Third Palace period 1500 - 1200 BCE
– After the final destruction of about 1380, none of the Minoan
palaces were rebuilt. Even the palace at Knossos was not rebuilt,
although the city around it stayed alive.
Post-palace period 1200 – 1050 BCE
– The last phase of this period was a time of decline and disorder
caused by the movement of many peoples in the East
Mediterranean. The forerunners of the Dorians may have begun
to arrive in Crete.
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Sub-Minoan Period 1100-1000 BCE
– Crete entered upon the purely Greek period of its history with
the arrival of massive waves of Dorians at about 1100 BC. The
Protogeometric period that followed (1100-900 BC) unfolded
alongside the Sub-Minoan, as the earlier Minoan cultural
traditions continued on especially in the mountain areas of
central and eastern Crete. Many mountain top settlements
existed due to their defensive locations. The use of iron, and
cremation of the dead became general.
Chronology of Minoan Crete
2600 BCE
EM I
Pre-Palace period
EM II
EM III
MM Ia
2000 BCE
MM Ib
Old Palace period
MM IIa
MM IIb
1700 BCE
MM IIIa
New Palace period
MM IIIb
LM Ia
LM Ib
LM II
1400 BCE
LM IIIa
Post Palace period
LM IIIb
LM IIIc
1100 BCE
Sub-Minoan
Writing
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Three types of picture writing have been discovered in ancient
Crete. Unfortunately, the writings have told us very little
about the Minoan way of life.
Linear A: This type of writing has been found in many
places in Crete. Most examples are scratched on clay tablets
but there are some samples engraved on metal. In order to
be able to translate Linear A we will probably have to find a
bilingual text. This means a text with the same words
written in Linear A and in a language we already know.
Linear B: Linear B has been found at one site only in Crete.
This was at the palace at Knossos. It has been found in many
sites in Greece, however, including Mycenae. It is now known
to be an early form of Greek.
Phaestos Disc: Only one example of the third type of
writing has ever been found. It is on a decorative disc found
at the palace at Phaestos. It may not be Cretan. It may have
come from Anatolia.
Linear A & B
Linear A
Linear B
Phaestos Disc
Phaestos Disc
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This is an early example of moveable type
for printing. Europeans did not use this
technique again until the 1400s CE.
Previously it had been thought that the
Chinese had first invented moveable type.
The Phaestos Disc is remarkable because
the figures are not scratched on but pressed
in. A block was made for each pictograph.
The same block was pressed into clay
whenever that particular sign was needed.
Minoan Religion
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The Goddesses:
– The main deity is still the Mother Goddess, who is portrayed in
different forms such as the "goddess with the snakes." The Bull
was also worshipped as a powerful symbol of fertility beside
her. Deities were worshipped in sanctuaries of the palaces,
various dwellings, the peak sanctuaries, and in sacred caves.
Many of the features of Minoan religion passed into the cycle
of the Greek mystery religions. Most of the tombs were cut into
the soft rock and had a square burial chamber and a sloping
dromos. Some were still vaulted tombs with a circular or
rectangular chamber.
– They gave thanks for their beautiful land by worshipping a small
number of gods and goddesses. The main ones represented the
male and female aspects of life.
– They worshipped them on mountains, in temples on the ground
and in caves. It was believed that gods and goddesses could live
in tress and columns because these linked the earth and the
heavens. The Minoans had many sacred objects.
Snake Goddess Vessels
The bull:
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The male aspect of life was represented by the bull. The bull
figure is found in many pictures of Minoan life. The angry
beast which lived in the labyrinth beneath the palace of
Knossos, the Minotaur, had the body of a man and the head
of a bull.
Bull's horns are found as decorations in many parts of the
palace ruins and on vases, seals and ornaments. Little model
bulls were placed between the stalactites in caves as offerings
to the gods. Many stayed there for over 3000 years before
they were discovered.
Bulls may have been sacrificed in some religious ceremonies.
Blood would have been collected in rhytons. In a libation
ceremony the blood would have been poured over columns or
into caves. This represented a releasing of the bull's energy.
Bulls
Palaces
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Knossos
Phaestos
Knossos
Knossos Site
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On Friday 23 March 1900 at 11 a.m. Arthur Evans
began his excavation of Knossos. Although he was not
the first to excavate at the site, that honour belongs to
a Greek appropriately called Minos Kalokairinos in 1878,
it was to be Evans who uncovered the Knossos Palace
and brought to light a hitherto unknown civilisation -possibly the oldest in Europe.
The basic excavation of the site took four years and for
the rest of his life Evans continued working on the site,
reconstructing and building, often in an attempt to
preserve the remains from the weather to which they
had been exposed for the first time in 3,500 years.
Occupation 1900-1700 B.C.E. (earthquake in 1700
B.C.E., then repaired), reoccupied until around 1400
B.C.E.
Knossos Layout
The Bull Chamber
Immediately south of
the North Pillar Hall is
the Bull Chamber,
which was on the
same level as the
Central Court. It was
here that the Bull
Relief Fresco was
found. Opposite this
chamber there would
originally have been
another, also
decorated with a
fresco.
The great staircase
Bull “horns” on
palace wall.
The Dolphin Sanctuary
Near the Hall of the
Double Axes is the
Dolphin Sanctuary,
which Evans assigned
as the Queen's
Apartment. The area
takes its name from a
Dolphin Fresco which
was found here in
pieces, although it
probably fell from the
floor above during the
destruction of the
palace. A replica of
the fresco now adorns
the north wall.
The Throne Room
On the West Side of
the Palace is one of the
most famous of rooms
unearthed by Evans,
the Throne Room.
The throne room
would have had an
oppressive quality
about it. With its low
ceiling and lack of
windows it was
separated from the
Central Court by an
anteroom. The throne
is placed along a side
wall facing across the
room. On either side of
the throne there are
stone benches and in
front of the throne a
stone basin.
Drainage System
Phaestos/Phaistos
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Phaistos is Minoan palace site situated on a hill with
a commanding view of the Mesara Plain to the
south and west.
It is about 60 km south of Heraklion in the fertile
Messara valley that is surrounded by mountain
ranges and the plain extends south to the Libyan
sea. Regular public transportation is available from
Iraklion and Rethimnon.
During the Minoan times, Phaistos was a very
important city-state, being the second largest city
after Knossos. Where this great city once stood,
there is now the village of Agios Ioannis, buillt next
to Phaistos.
Phaestos in Mythology
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According to mythology, Phaistos was the seat of
king Radamanthis, brother of king Minos.
It was also the city that gave birth to the great wise
man and soothsayer Epimenidis, one of the seven
wise men of the ancient world.
The city also participated in the Trojan war and was
an important city-state in the Dorian period.
Phaistos continued to flourish during Archaic,
Classical and Hellenistic times, but was destroyed
by the Gortynians during the 3rd century B.C.E.
Still, Phaistos existing even during the Roman
period. Phaistos had two ports, Matala and
Kommos.
Mesara Plain
Occupation
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The Old Palace was built on the site at the
beginning of the Second Millenium, known as the
Protopalatial Period (c.1900-1700 BCE).
Twice it was severely damaged by earthquakes and
rebuilt so three distinct phases are visible to
archaeologists.
Levi, who excavated here from 1950 to 1971
believed that the first two phases of the Old Palace
of Phaistos constitute the oldest Palatial buildings in
Crete.
Other finds at the site include thousands of seal
impressions and some tablets containing the Linear
A script from Middle Minoan II. Linear A has so far
defied all attempts to decipher it.
Rebuilding
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Fortunately for us, the builders of the new palace
did not destroy all traces of the old.
When the Old Palace was finally destroyed, almost
certainly by an earthquake, a new palace was built
on the site.
In fact much of the old palace was covered over at
the time of the building of the new palace in order
to level the ground.
Some of the old palace can still be seen, especially
in the north-east corner, but much of the Old
Palace remains are accessible only to the experts.
Magazine-storage area
At Phaistos, the magazine
consisted of ten rooms, five
on each side, opening onto
an east-west corridor, which
at its east end opened out
into a two-columned hall
with a portico facing the
Central Court. One storage
room remains in tact with a
number of pithoi inside.
Old Palace
(where Phaestos Disc recovered)
Courtyard
King’s Megaron
Queen’s Megaron
Theatre Area
From the Upper West
Court a staircase leads
to the theatre area,
with its eight rows of
seats, each one 22
meters long and the
Lower West Court. On
the north side of the
theatre there is a
retaining wall for the
Upper Court and
below this, the tiered
seats overlooking the
Lower West Court. The
court is traversed
diagonally by a raised
causeway. On the east
side of the causeway
are six circular pits.
These are thought to
have been for grain
storage similar to
those in Knossos and
Malia.
End of Minoan Civilization
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At around 1400 B.C.E, Mycenean
civilization began to gain control of
Crete.
Increase in warfare and abandonment
of palaces in favor of settlements
higher in the mountains (protected).
– i.e. Kavousi
Myceneans: The Early Helladic
Period, ~2750-2000 BCE
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Somewhere between 3000 BCE and 2000 BCE, the
lands of Greece were settled by a metal-using
agricultural people who spoke a language other
than Indo-European.
Some of the names they gave their villages were
preserved by the Greeks, names, for instance,
ending in "-ssos." We know next to nothing of
these people, their religion, their cultural memory,
their language, or their everyday experience.
The period when they dominated Greece, called the
"Early Helladic" period, seemed to be one of
comparative quiet and peace. All that ended around
2000 BCE; the early Helladic sites and villages were
destroyed in fire or abandoned outright.
The Middle Helladic Period,
~2000 -1550 BCE
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This period of conquest and settlement by the
Greeks makes up the Middle Helladic period.
These new invaders settled all the parts of Greece,
in some instances settling peacefully with the
previous inhabitants, and began to dominate Greek
culture.
They spoke an Indo-European language; in fact,
they spoke Greek.
Their society was primarily based on warfare; their
leaders were essentially war-chiefs.
The Middle Helladic Period,
~2000 BC-1550 BCE Con‘d
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They had settled a difficult land: the Greek
mainland is hot, dry and rocky. Agriculture is
difficult, but some crops grow extremely well, such
as grapes and olives.
The coastal settlers relied heavily on fishing for
their diet. In spite of the ruggedness of their life
and the harshness of their social organization,
these early Greeks traded with a civilization to the
south, the Minoans.
Their contact with the Minoans was instantly
fruitful; they began to urbanize somewhere in the
Middle Helladic period and translated their culture
into a civilization.
The Late Helladic Period, ~1550
BC-1150 BCE
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Around 1600 BCE, urban centers began to thrive
and the Greek settlers entered their first major
period of cultural creativity.
Their cities grew larger, their graves more opulent,
their art more common, their agriculture more
efficient, and the power of these new warlord cities
began to be felt around the Aegean.
This period of Greek development and prosperity is
called the Late Helladic Period or simply the
Mycenean period. The Greeks of this age are the
Myceneans proper; for four centuries their culture
thrived.
Culture
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What we can tell from their ruined cities, their art,
and their records, is that the Myceneans derived
much of their culture from the Minoans, but with
some dramatic differences.
Mycenean society was monarchical. The monarch,
called a wanax, ruled over a large administration
as a kind of head bureaucrat.
Unlike the Minoans, though, the Mycenean kings
accumulated vast wealth in concentrated form; the
rest of society did not share in the prosperity as did
the Minoans.
The king was also primarily a warlord, and
Mycenean society was constantly geared for battle
and invasion.
Mycenae and Perseus
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According to the tradition, the city of Mykenae, the
main representative of this civilization, was founded by
Perseus (1400 - 1350 BCE), the son of Zeus and
Danae, the daughter of king Akrisios of Argos.
Mykenae was build by the mythical Cyclops, the same
ones who constructed the enormous walls of the
nearby city of Tyrinths, which was governed by his
brother Proetos.
Perseus was succeeded by his son Sthenelos, the father
of Eurystheus, who captured Argos and according to
the myth, he assigned Herakles to perform the twelve
labors.
After the death of Eurystheus, the city was governed by
Atreus of Elis (1250 BCE), the brother of Eurystheus
wife and son of Pelops and Hippodameia.
Mycenean Art-Fresco
Mycenean Art-Metallurgy
Bronze Lion
Gold Cup
Mycenean Art-Ceramics
Octapus Jar
Horse Jar
Myceneans and Linear B
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With such a non-descriptive name, Linear B proved to be the
oldest surviving record of a Greek dialect, known as Mycenaean,
named after the great site of Mycenae where the legendary
Agamemnon ruled.
Its usage spanned the time period between 1500 BCE and 1200
BCE approximately, and geographically covered the island of Crete
as well as the southern part of the Greek Mainland.
Its decipherment is attributed to Michael Ventris, an architect who
actually liked linguistics and epigraphy more than architecture! The
script is mostly syllabic, with a bunch of logograms depicting
common items such as man, woman, sheep, etc.
It seems that ancient accounts composed a majority of the clay
tablets on which Linear B appears because a lot of them are list of
materials and goods.
Linear B
Optional Signs: used to clarify
the spelling of a word
Mycenae
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The ancient city of Mycenae was once
thought to exist only in ancient Greek
legend and the epic poetry of Homer.
It wasn't until 1870 that an amateur
archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann
found the fabled city.
Many people doubted that he would find
such a city, but using only landmarks from
the text of Homers Iliad, Schliemann
uncovered the remains of a once thriving
civilization.
Mycenae con’d
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The city of Mycenae was the center of a large and
powerful Mycenaean Greek civilization, which
existed from circa 1900 B.C.E. to circa 1125 B.C.E.
It is located in the south central part of what is
present day Greece.
The Mycenaean civilization was at its height
between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E.
It is believed that the entire civilization consisted of
a few loosely joined city-states.
Possible members of the city-states were Tiryns,
Pylos, Thebes, Orchomenos, and of course
Mycenae, which was the strongest.
Map of Ancient Greece
Map 2
The Acropolis
Lion’s Gate
•The Lions Gate at Mycenae. It
was the main entrance to the
Acropolis and its opening was
closed by a double door with
sheets of bronze.
•The relief consists of two
confronting lions, their heads
made from different material.
•The structure is dated to 1250
BCE.
Palace Reconstruction
The treasury of Atreus or Tomb of
Agamemnon.
It was constructed in 1250 BCE.
Site Layout
End of Mycenae
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By 1200 BCE the power of Mycenae was declining;
during the 12th century, Mycenaean dominance
collapsed.
Within a short time around 1250 BCE, all the palaces
of southern Greece were burned, including the one at
Mycenae.
This is traditionally attributed to a Dorian invasion of
Greeks from the north, although some historians now
doubt that such an invasion took place.
However, no outsiders speaking Doric Greek entered
Greece. Another theory postulates that some of the
Mycenaean populace, who later came to speak the
Doric dialect, turned on the weakened Mycenaean
superstructure and razed it, settling in many regions
formerly controlled by it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenae#Decline
Revival and end
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During the early Classical period, Mycenae was
once again inhabited, though it never regained its
earlier importance.
Mycenaeans fought at Thermopylae and Plataea
during the Persian Wars.
In 462 BCE, however, troops from Argos captured
Mycenae and expelled the inhabitants.
In Hellenistic and Roman times, the ruins at
Mycenae were a tourist attraction (just as they are
now).
A small town grew up to serve the tourist trade. By
late Roman times, however, the site had been
abandoned.