The Earliest Greek Civilisations

1. Minoan Crete (3500-1600 BCE)2. Mycenaean Civilisation (2000-1100 BCE)3. The Dark Ages (1100-750 BCE)

The Origins of Greek Culture: Geography

--we in the west are heirs to a great many ancient civilizations: Asian, African, European--however, we owe a special debt to the Greeks and the Romans--and the Greeks, especially, warrant being studied in their own right--although they borrowed heavily from the cultural traditions of the Near East, Egypt and elsewhere, they fashioned these elements into an extraordinary culture, a keystone of western civilization--the ancient Greeks gave birth to philosophy, political ideologies and scientific thought and also created noble poetry and brilliant art--of course, the were a quarrelsome, competitive lot, just as prone to destructive behaviour as they were to the creative impulse--and, for the next 5 weeks, we’re going to be exploring the grandeur and the complexity of their world--we’re going to look at the fundamental contours of Greek civilization and Greek thought: politics, religion, philosophy, artistic traditions and a number of other aspects

--but before we go on to discuss the history and the culture of the Greeks, I want to pause and discuss the setting--I want to give you an idea of the scope and scale of ancient Greek society; I want you to see the canvas on which the many great dramas of the ancient world were played

Geography

--first, let me tell you that the Ancient Greeks referred to their country as Hellas, they called themselves Hellenes (the adjective form, therefore, is Hellenic)--“Greece” is the name that the Romans used for the Hellenic peoples, it’s not a name that they themselves recognized until much, much later--now, the term Hellas did not signify a united country, it didn’t refer to a place with distinct boundaries--instead, it referred collectively to all the places where the Hellenic people had settled over the course of their long history--so, it included the Greek mainland as far north as the Macedonian border (i.e., the territory that we consider the modern country of Greece), however, it also came to include a number of other areas as well:1) the islands of the Aegean Sea (i.e., the Cyclades and the other small islands)2) the large island of Crete3) the western coast of Asia Minor

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--at the height of Greek power in the 5th century BCE the Hellenic territories also incorporated:1) trading colonies along the Black Sea Coast2) colonies in southern Italy and Sicily3) settlements in North Africa (including towns in modern Tunisia, Libya and Egypt)4) settlements along the Mediterranean coast of France and Spain as far west as the Pillars of Hercules

--taken together, the territories of ancient Hellas (i.e., mainland, islands, colonies) comprised a total land area of about 50,000 square miles—approximately the size of modern England--however, the geographic centre of their extensive realm was not located on land or in any territory, but rather, in the middle of the Aegean Sea--so, when we consider the shape of the ancient Greek world, we should probably think of it as a ring of lands surrounding the Aegean rather than as a peninsula with a number of spores and off-shoots

--and, of course, the Greek world was completely and utterly dominated by the sea--indeed, when we think of Greece, many of our primary associations are aquatic--we tend to think of a sun-bleached, rocky shores that are washed by the deep cobalt waters of the Aegean--we think of seas studded with shimmering islands; porpoises leaping alongside the prows of fast-moving little ships; schools of fat tuna racing through deep-sea channels --we think of the epic voyages by Odysseus, Jason and Aeneas--we think of octopus, squid and scallops dripping with olive oil and lemon

--and these images are borne out by the facts--for example, in ancient times no one lived further than about 35 miles from the ocean, and most Greeks actually lived much closer than this (i.e., within 10 to 15 miles)--the ocean was a vital conduit between the various cities and towns of the Hellenic world, and served as the primary transportation and communications corridor--indeed, given the state of Greek infrastructure (even at the height of Hellenic civilization) it was much more economical to ship goods by boat than by oxcart or any other mode of terrestrial transport

--the Greek reliance on the Aegean and on the other bodies of water that surrounded them had a profound effect on the shape of Hellenic civilization. For example:1) at a basic, everyday level, the sea contributed substantially to the diet of Hellenes: fish and other types of seafood became a vital component of the Greek diet at a very early date2) as well, because of their reliance on the ocean, the Hellenes became some of the best sailors in the ancient world; indeed, because they regularly communicated with other parts of the Hellenic world, the Greeks focused on shipbuilding, navigation, meteorology, naval warfare

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3) also, most of the main towns and cities of the Greek world all faced the sea and were oriented towards the open water; in fact, of all the major cities, only Sparta lay significantly inland4) all of this, in turn, contributed to the mythological and aesthetic systems of the Greeks: from stories about Poseidon, Icarus and Prometheus to vase painting and other artistic pursuits, oceanic themes dominated Hellenic culture--so, when we talk about Hellas, we’re talking about a profoundly maritime culture

--and, based on the description that I’ve given you, the Hellenic world can be divided into four main geographical zones: 1) the Greek mainland, 2) the Islands, 3) Asia Minor, and 4) the Colonies--let me talk a little bit about each of them

i) the Greek Mainland

--since ancient times, the mainland of Greece (what we sometimes call the “Greek peninsula”), has been famous for its beauty, its complexity and its variety--the landscape is ribbed with mountains, and in fact, more than 40% of the peninsula rises above 1600 feet (i.e., 500 meters)--the whole peninsula is indented by long gulfs and innumerable bays--the mountains and inlets have the effect of dividing the Greek mainland into countless small segments--because it’s difficult to travel overland between these small segments, there emerged a significant degree of physical separation and isolation throughout the Greek-speaking world--except in times of extreme political pressure (i.e., when the Persians invaded in the 5th century BCE) most of the country remained fragmented into hundreds of little city states

--we can divide the mainland into 3 sections: 1) Northern Greece, 2) Central Greece, 3) the Peloponnesus

1) Northern Greece: throughout much of its history, Greeks regarded the north of the country as a hinterland, a kind of back-water that contributed very little to the cultural life of Hellenic civilization.--there are five primary regions in the north: Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace (show where they’re located: Epirus in the west, Thessaly hugging the Aegean, Macedonia to the north of Thessaly, Thrace in the northeast—modern Bulgaria)--of the four regions, only 2 really warrant mention at this point: Thessaly and Macedonia--Thessaly contained the largest pockets of agricultural land in ancient times, and therefore became the “breadbasket” of ancient Greece--Macedonia was characterized by broad plains; while most Greeks considered Macedonians Hellenic only in the remotest sense, the territory would become very important during the 4th century BCE--this is where King Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great heralded from--the dividing line between Macedonia and Thessaly was Mt Olympus—the highest mountain in all of Greece, and long considered the seat of the Greek gods

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2) Central Greece: this is the area that stretches from Thermopylae in the north to the Gulf of Corinth in the south--while it is mountainous in the west, most of the territory in central Greece is rolling, open country that is suitable for farming and grazing--many of the great landmarks and cities of ancient Greece were in this part of the country--for example, this is where the famed Mt Parnassus (i.e., home of the Oracle of Delphi) was located--it’s also where Mt Helicon is located (i.e., where the Muses dwelt)--of course, it’s also where a number of important Greek city-states were located: Thebes (i.e., the site of the Oedipus stories) is the capital of Boeotia; Athens (with its port of Piraeus) is the dominant city of Attica

3) The Peloponnesus: this is a peninsula that is joined to central Greece by the so-called Isthmus of Corinth; on either side of the isthmus there are large gulfs: the Gulf of Corinth in the west, and the Saronic Gulf in the east--the Peloponnesus is tremendously important region, the site of the early high civilization of the Mycenaeans, it’s the location of the earliest Olympic Games, and it’s the territory in which one of the major conflicts of the Greek world, the so-called Peloponnesian War, was fought--the Peloponnesus contains a number of geographic regions, the most important of which are Laconia, the Argolid and Arcadia --we’ll be talking about the Argolid next day, as this was the centre of Mycenaean civilization, the Bronze-Age city of Mycenae, the Lion Gate and the great shaft grave associated with the hero, Agamemnon, are all located in the Argolid--later we’ll be talking about Laconia, whose capital city, Sparta, produced one of the most fascinating cultures of the Greek-speaking world

ii) The Islands

--Hellenic culture also flourished on many of the islands that dotted the Aegean Sea--from Crete and Rhodes in the south, to Lesbos and Samothrace in the north, Greek colonists brought Hellenic physical culture as well as Greek political and philosophical ideas to these sparkling little outcroppings of land--in fact, so central were the islands to the Greek imagination that the Hellenes set many of their greatest stories on the shores of the Cycladic Isles--for example, it was said that the great gods Apollo and Artemis were born on the island of Delos--according to another legend, the goddess Aphrodite emerged from the bubbling surf and waded ashore at the island of Cythera

--in fact, it is not a stretch to say that European civilization began in the Greek Islands--indeed, next class (later this class) we’re going to begin our examination of Greek history and culture by looking at Minoan civilization which appears to have first sprouted up on the islands of Crete and Thera (referred to today as Santorini)

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iii) Asia Minor

--Hellas also included the western shore of Asia Minor (which today belongs to Turkey) --this territory is physically very similar to the Aegean seaboard of mainland Greece, though the climate and the growing conditions are much more gentle--the region is watered by several small rivers and the soil is much more conducive to agriculture--so, from a very early date, Hellenic colonists sought out suitable areas for settlement on the shores of Asia Minor, and several of Greece’s most important and famous cities were located here--these include cities such as: Ephesus, Smyrna, Miletus, Pergemon

--I should also mention that Asia Minor is where the fabled city of Troy was located--it was strategically situated in northwest Anatolia, near the Dardanelles (i.e., the channel that joins the Aegean Sea with the Black Sea)--this is the point where Asia and Europe meet--it is also the site of the Battle of Troy, which, according to Homer and later writers was fought over the fate of Helen, the daughter of Zeus and Leda--a more probable source for the conflict was control of the Dardanelles and the lucrative Black Sea trade routes

iv) the Colonies

--well, speaking of the Black Sea, this leads me to the fourth area for consideration, namely, the Greek colonies

--while the Hellenic world was centered on the Aegean, throughout much of its history, it also extended out into other areas--so, for example, there were a number of towns on the Black Sea--these were primarily trading centers, places where Hellenic merchants sold their wares, and in return bought items that could be sold back home--thus, there was a heavy traffic of merchant ships up and down the coast of what is now Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Russia--of course, these colonies also supplied the rest of Greece with wheat

--even more lucrative, from the Hellenic perspective, were the Greek trading-centres in the far south--at Cyrene in Libya and at Naucratis in the Nile Delta, Greeks merchants engaged in high volumes of commercial traffic with various North African cultures--gold, precious stones, papyrus, textiles and all manner of luxury items were bought and sold in the market-places of these colonial outposts--in return, the Greeks sold vast quantities of wine and olive oil to the peoples of Saharan Africa--there was also a more or less constant exchange of ideas: while there were never any formal alliances, the Greeks and the Egyptians shared cordial relations

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--the intellectuals of Nile Valley civilization were happy to transmit mathematical and scientific ideas in return for Greek knowledge of international affairs, philosophy and other areas of Hellenic expertise

--Greece also had a great number of military and merchant colonies in the far west, along the coast of southern Italy, on the island of Sicily (which together the later Greeks referred to by the Latin name “Magna Graecia”) as well as in coastal France and Spain--while many of these had been captured from the Greeks’ only rivals in the western Mediterranean, the Phoenicians, a number of the towns were established for the first time by the Greeks themselves--as was the case for the Black Sea colonies, the western colonies supplied the Aegean homeland with large amounts of grain and other commodities

1. Minoan Crete (3500-1600 BCE)

--so, as I told you during the last lecture, Greek society began to make a shift from the Neolithic Age to the Bronze Age around 3500 BCE--and it’s been convincingly argued that part of the reason for this was that new settlers were arriving around that time from other, more civilized regions, places like Syria and Asia Minor--these new immigrants, like the Hyksos in Egypt, appear to have brought with them a wealth of metallurgical technology, particularly the secret for making bronze (which, you’ll no doubt remember is an alloy made from copper and tin)

--for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, it appears that this group first concentrated their settlement on the Aegean island of Crete --indeed, there is a considerable amount of archeological evidence to suggest that Cretan metal-workers were the first in the Aegean basin to produce durable bronze tools and weapons--this gave Crete a great technological advantage over other areas in the Aegean basin, and led directly to the establishment of comparatively large urban communities—the first ever to exist on European soil--the four main ancient cities of Crete, all of them dating from early in the 3rd millennium BCE, were: Knossos, Mallia, Zakro and Phaistos--what is perhaps most interesting about these early cities is the fact that, until 1901, no one knew they were there

--the story of their discovery is fascinating--it all began when a British scholar named Sir Arthur Evans decided to follow up on the theories of another celebrated archeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, who had discovered the fabled city of Troy in the final decades of the 19th century--Schliemann discovered Troy by first arguing that many of the ancient myths of the Greek world were, in fact, distorted memories of real historical events--working on this assumption, he found both Troy and the ancient city of Mycenae (both of which we’ll be talking about a little later)

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--Schliemann was also convinced that the legendary realm of King Minos was buried beneath the hills of northern Crete, and so he planned an expedition to the region in the late 1880s--unfortunately, at that time, the island of Crete was a possession of the Ottoman Empire and Turkish officials remembered how Schliemann and his wife had stolen a number of archeological treasures at Troy; thus, they steadfastly refused to give him permission to dig at the Knossos site--well, by 1901 the situation had changed considerably: Schliemann was dead and the Greeks were now governing the island of Crete--so Arthur Evans, who was a kind of academic disciple of Schliemann, decided he would go to the island and investigate--working at Knossos, he and his team unearthed a spectacular palace complex, one which was far more advanced and far more elaborate than anything Europeans had ever produced before--during the course of their dig, Evans and his team uncovered multi-story buildings that had originally been illuminated by a series of sophisticated light-wells; they uncovered vibrant frescoes and the remains of Europe’s earliest indoor plumbing--they also found Europe’s oldest paved roads and some of the earliest written records from anywhere on the European peninsula--as the discoverer of this culture, Evans decided to call it Minoan, after the king who I mentioned a few moments ago (King Minos)

--he argued that when the Greeks themselves came upon the ruins of Minoan civilization in ancient times, they tried to make sense of the site by creating the myth of the Labyrinth, the Minotaur (and Theseus and Ariadne)

[the story goes as follows: King Minos and King Aegeus were brothers. --Aegeus ruled over Athens, while his brother ruled over Crete. --because Minos had offended the great sea-god Poseidon, the god made Minos’s wife go mad: Poseidon made the poor woman lust after a bull. --consumed with passion, she ordered the master craftsman, Daedalus, to make for her a hollow wooden cow; she would climb inside and present herself to the bull. --well…it’s a sordid story; she gets pregnant, and bears an abominable child: the so-called Minotaur: it has the body of a man and the head of a bull (though during the European Middle Ages, the image was reversed: it had the body of a bull and the head of a man)--alarmed at the existence of such a creature, Minos has Daedalus create a large maze to contain it: this of course is the Labyrinth--well, the years go by and the King of Athens (i.e., Aegeus) finds itself in debt to his brother—King Minos; to pay the debt, Minos orders that Aegeus should send 7 maidens and 7 young men every nine years to feed the Minotaur--one year, King Aegeus’s son, Prince Theseus, finds himself among the chosen victims--so Theseus sails off to Crete, but before he does so, he promises his father that upon his return he would change the sail of his ship from black to white if he’s been successful in defeating the Minotaur

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--when he gets to Crete, King Minos’s daughter, Princess Ariadne, falls in love with Theseus and resolves to help the young prince defeat the Minotaur--well, as I’m sure you know, Ariadne gives Theseus a ball of yarn to unwind behind him as he moves through the Labyrinth--this way, when he defeats the creature, he’ll be able to find his way out--well, Theseus enters the maze; after walking around for some time, he meet the Minotaur, defeats it, and finds his way out of the maze--once he is free, he claims his new bride and leaves the island for good--of course, he proves to be very fickle, and even before he gets back to Athens, Theseus abandons his new wife on one of the Cycladic islands

--and, on returning to Athens, Theseus forgets to switch his black sail with a white one--thus, Aegeus, who has been watching their approach from a cliff, believes his son is dead, and, in agony, he hurls himself into the sea --the sea was subsequently named after him (i.e., the Aegean Sea)]

--well, that’s the myth--however, since the time of Arthur Evans, historians have learned a great deal about the reality of life in ancient Crete--for example, the archeological record indicates that Minoan culture flourished between about 2600 and 1600 BCE--after the latter date, a series of calamities befell Minoan civilization and the whole island witnessed a period of steady and uninterrupted decline

--so, what was this earliest Greek society like?--before answering this question, I should caution that most of what we know about the Minoans comes to us through archeology, pictorial representations (i.e., frescoes and vases) and from comparisons with other ancient civilizations (i.e., Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indo-European, etc.)

--it’s not that the Minoans didn’t leave written records--in fact, they left two types of script: an earlier form called Linear A (used between 1800 and 1450 BCE), and a later form called Linear B (used between 1450 and 1200 BCE)--in a similar fashion to the cuneiform system of Mesopotamia, these scripts were pressed into wet clay with styluses and were sometimes baked in ovens to make them more durable--however, while scholars can read the later form of writing (Linear B), they have made little headway in deciphering the earlier script (Linear A)--the reason for this is that while Linear B is a syllabic system (i.e., the symbols stand for the various sounds contained in a word), Linear A is hieroglyphic (i.e., symbols tend to stand for entire words)--it’s far more difficult to translate complete words than it is to figure out the syllables of a proto-Greek language--also, there are far fewer samples of the earlier script, Linear A, to work with

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--this means that, while we have a number of records dating from the period of Minoan civilization’s decline, we have very few sources from the time when the culture was flourishing

--anyway…these are some of the limitations that have been imposed on scholars who want to understand the nature and complexity of Minoan civilization--and based on the available evidence, we can say the following with a degree of certainty:

--from earliest times, Minoan culture was based around central palaces at places such as Knossos, Mallia and Phaistos (i.e., the towns I mentioned earlier)--the opulence of these structures and their endurance (i.e., the fact that they survived for more than a millennium) suggests a number of things:

--first, there must have been an intense and prolonged concentration of economic and cultural resources at each of these sites--that is to say, there must have been a flourishing economy throughout the greater part of Minoan history, and it seems that this sort of prolonged social stability led to the emergence of strong artistic and cultural traditions

--moreover, for the palaces to succeed, they must have controlled much of the economic, social, military and religious activity of the surrounding society--history suggests that the best way to accomplish this is through social stratification--this is where an elite class governs and controls the resources of the community and a group of compliant subordinates produce and distribute these resources according to the dictates of their superiors

--all of this is to say that Minoan civilization probably developed in much the same way as some of the other cultures that we’ve studied to this point

--however, there are a number of anomalies and oddities about Minoan culture that are certainly worth mentioning

--for example, throughout most of their history, the Minoans didn’t build city walls, defensive towers or any of the other fortifications so prominent in the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia--this suggests one or two things about Minoan culture: 1) the various towns of ancient Crete probably formed a confederacy or union at some point early in their history; 2) they viewed their island home as a defensive perimeter in and of itself; 3) they relied on their navy for protection; 4) they had little fear of amphibious invasion--it might even suggest that the culture favored diplomatic solutions to military ones

--also, Minoan religion appears to have been profoundly goddess-centered

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--this is anomalous (or untypical) because, even though many other Neolithic cultures featured female deities, by the time that most of them reached the Bronze Age stage of development, they largely abandoned their goddesses in favor of masculine deities--in Crete, however, the goddess survived

--and judging from the frescoes, figurines and vases that have survived, the goddess was the central devotional figure in Minoan religion--the evidence also suggests that priestesses (i.e., female clerics) were the most important religious leaders in Minoan communities and that they conducted an elaborate and enthusiastic series of rituals in the various shrines of the Minoan world: in temples, in caves, and on mountaintops throughout the island

--another important difference between Minoan culture and the cultures of other parts of the ancient world is the quality and nature of Minoan artistic expressions--and Minoan art and architecture are distinct: distinctly beautiful, distinctly graceful, distinctly functional and distinctly compelling

--let’s take as an example Minoan painting and frescoes--the spacious palaces of the Minoan world were positively festooned with scores of lively paintings—paintings which, in the words of one historian, are worthy of any modern gallery today--they tend to feature charming natural motifs; prominently figured are dolphins, octopuses, monkeys, bucking goats and sheep as well as large groups of lithe young Minoan aristocrats--most of the human images depict handsome, well-proportioned young people, most of them in their mid to late teens--the human scenes also concentrate on sporting events such as boxing, fishing and a ritual that historians call “bull-jumping”--in one especially famous fresco, called the “bull-jumping fresco”, three young Minoans (a male and two females) are engaged in an amazing feat of acrobatics--as a bull charges at the young athletes, they grab the horns and propel themselves into the air and over the bull’s head--they land, either sitting or standing, on the back or haunch of the bull--it’s an extraordinary show of athletics

--the scenes depict a culture that is exuberant, vibrant and tremendously playful--there is a sensuality and vivaciousness that is extremely seductive and compelling--unfortunately, your textbook doesn’t have any images of the Minoan world, but I strongly suggest that you type in “Minoan Art” at the Google Image browser

--so, what happened to Ancient Minoan civilization?--why did Knossos not go on to become one of the leading cities of Classical Greece?--why are Mallia and Phaistos not remembered as flourishing urban centres of the Hellenistic world?

--well, the answer is complicated

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--it seems that two phenomena intersected around 1600 BCE to bring about the collapse of Minoan civilization: 1) the eruption of the island of Thera (modern day Santorini), and 2) the growing power of another Aegean people, the Mycenaeans

--the island of Santorini lies about 70 miles (120 km) due north of Crete--it is a volcanic island that, while dormant, is still active today--in 1630 BCE, the island erupted in a volcanic explosion, the likes of which the earth only sees about once every 10,000 years--scientists figure that it caused a tsunami more than 50 feet high, and scattered ash throughout the Aegean basin to a depth of 10 ft--it sent plumes out as far as the Black Sea, Syria and the Nile Delta--it affected weather and crop patterns for more than a decade

--Santorini itself is fascinating--around 1880, researchers learned that the Minoans had colonized the island in ancient times, and that the colony was destroyed by the volcano’s eruption along with the rest of the Minoan world--however, it wasn’t until 1967 that researchers realized just how much of the ancient island had been covered--the loose ash had gradually solidified into a deep, rocky blanket over the entire island--anything organic that had been covered by the ash slowly rotted away--at first, researchers were stymied: they kept finding these strange odd-shaped holes throughout the layers of pumice--finally, they realized that these were places where organic matter had simply disintegrated over the centuries, leaving the entire island like a giant Swiss cheese--the holes in this “cheese” were in fact a kind of “injection mold”: by pumping in Plaster of Paris, the archeologists created perfect replicas of what these holes had originally contained: wooden furniture, vases and other objects--they appeared just as they had on the day that the volcano erupted--unlike at Pompeii, there were no human remains: it appears that people living on the island had ample warning that the volcano was about to blow--nevertheless, because of the wealth of archeological findings, Santorini has been called the “Minoan Pompeii”--these remains have greatly expanded our understanding of certain aspects of Minoan life and culture

--anyway, the eruption of Thera was one of the greatest volcanic explosions ever recorded, and it appears to have obliterated the palaces and the farms of Minoan Crete

--and, unfortunately for the Minoans, at around the same time that Thera erupted, another phenomenon was getting under way across the Aegean Sea--on the Peloponnesus and throughout the Aegean Basin, a group whom we refer to as “the Mycenaeans” were just beginning their rise to dominance

--and it seems that the Mycenaeans finished what the eruption of Thera had begun

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--that is to say, in the wake of the volcano’s eruption, these new, aggressive Bronze Age warriors took advantage of Crete’s woes and decided to invade the island--throughout Crete, they overran the palace compounds, they placed themselves in charge of the sprawling agricultural estates and they used the island as a base of operations for one of their favorite pastimes: pirate raids against Mediterranean commercial traffic (i.e., capturing and sinking Egyptians and Phoenician ships)--the Minoans, because of the many difficulties that the volcano inflicted on their society, were completely unable to respond to the Mycenaean challenge--so they submitted themselves meekly to Mycenaean rule, and soon afterwards their culture declined into more or less complete oblivion

--so, who were these Mycenaean marauders?

2. Mycenae (2000-1100 BCE)

--well, even though they were probably ethnically and culturally related to the Minoans, the people of Mycenaean Greece appear to have been very different from their cousins across the Aegean--their culture was clearly more aggressive, violent and war-like--so, whereas the Minoans were primarily farmers, fishermen and artists, the Mycenaeans were, at heart, soldiers

--however, like the Minoans, we’re not entirely sure where the Mycenaeans originally came from--there’s evidence to suggest that they entered the Greek homeland from Asia Minor or the Balkans some time around 2000 BCE, and it seems that they continued to live as rugged pastoralists (shepherds) for a number of centuries

--however, between 1700 and 1600 BCE, there was a sharp increase in levels of Mycenaean civilization--for example, it was during this period that: 1) the early Mycenaean kings began to solidify their control over the entire Aegean basin2) they began to trade with (and plunder) other nations3) they developed or borrowed a number of military technologies (metalworking, chariots)

--one of the most prominent (and intrinsically interesting) features of Mycenaean culture from this early date is the monumental architecture that they began to build

--you see, while the Minoans built sophisticated, elegant undefended palaces that were decorated in a light-hearted, even sprightly manner, the Mycenaeans built walls, buildings, fortifications and monuments on a grandiose, gargantuan scale

--for example: 1) cyclopean walls: these are the typical enclosures around Mycenaean towns and fortresses. They’re built of huge boulders, some in excess of 100 tons (in one picture I’ve

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seen, the boulders are the bigger than a Toyota pick-up that’s parked next to the wall). The boulders are expertly cut and then dry-fit against one another. That is, they’re placed together without any bonding or adhesive product, and they’re so tightly stacked that you couldn’t get a sheet of paper between them. They really are an engineering marvel. So massive were these walls, that later generations thought that they must have been built by the Cyclopes, the one-eyed giants of Greek myth

The best example of this type of wall is seen at Mycenae, the largest city (capital) of the Mycenaean world. Here Mycenaean stonemasons built the Lion Gate, a massive stone entryway into the heart of the city. Carved above this famous gate are two fierce leonine, or cat-like, creatures—these appear to loom over those who pass beneath the lintel.

2) megarons: the Cyclopean walls often enclosed one of the other great buildings of the Mycenaean world: the so-called megarons. The megaron was a kind of grand throne room where Mycenaean kings greeted their subordinates and petitioners. They were square or rectangular in shape with an open, round hearth (i.e., fireplace) at the centre of the room. Smoke from the hearth escaped through a large aperture in the ceiling. Around the hearth there were four giant pillars. The walls and the ceiling were heavily decorated with murals and intricate geometric patterns. At the end of the room, the Mycenaean king sat on a raised dais.

The net effect was one of opulence and splendor.

3) tholos tombs: of all the architectural wonders of the Mycenaean genius, it is perhaps the tholos tomb that is the most distinctive. These huge burial chambers, which are scattered throughout the Mycenaean world, were reserved for kings and members of the aristocracy. Tholos tombs are buried under hills and are accessed by long passage ways that are cut into the hillside. The passage is called the dromos. The tomb itself is a gigantic, conical beehive that was fashioned out of cyclopean stones. The doors of these great funerary monuments appear to have been made of solid bronze—unfortunately, none of these have survived

--these sorts of structures, the cyclopean walls, the megarons and the tholos tombs, were meant to be imposing, they were meant to intimidate--those who built them wanted people to know that the Mycenaean kingdom was a place where hierarchy and order were fundamental values of the community, it was a place where military precision was a cardinal virtue, it was a place where people obeyed the laws without question

--at the top of Mycenaean society was the so-called wanax, which means “king” or “overlord” or “dictator”--while we can only guess at the limits of his power and authority, it nevertheless appears that he ruled over an entire city and region, and that he had a number of subordinates and court officials--most of those who filled these sorts of roles appear to have been military officers and warrior-aristocrats

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--now, we know the names of the offices, but we don’t know much about their duties; for example, we know that the wanax was assisted by three types of administrators: the lawagetas (commanders), the telestai (priests) and the korete (regional administrators, or governors)--however, we don’t know what kind of relationship these officials had with their king (or with each other for that matter)--at the local level, Mycenaean towns and villages were presided over by an official called the pasireu (i.e., magistrates); again, though, we don’t know much about his roles or his relationship to the central administration (the term pasireu will become important later on—it evolves into basileus, the Greek word for “king”)

--we do know that Mycenaean society was protected by a warrior class who were generally considered subordinate to the wanax and his officials--these warriors were called the hequetai (an early Greek form of the Latin word equites, meaning “knight” or “mounted warrior”)--this is the source of our word “equestrian” (of or pertaining to horses)--this class appears to have dominated Mycenaean society: they were the ones who defended against outside incursions, they were the ones who went on pirate raids against foreign shipping, they were the ones who were chosen as palace officials and administrators

--anyway…in at least one respect, Mycenaean society was organized along the lines of Minoan culture: namely, it was centered around central palace complexes--most scholars believe that one of the main palaces was at Mycenae, a town in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnesus--there were, however, a number of regional towns as well; some of these included: Thebes, Athens, Tiryns and Pylos

--these palaces, whether they were located at Mycenae or at Thebes, were the centre of the Mycenaean world --and they were also absolute hives of business and manufacturing--masons, potters, carpenters, goldsmiths—craftsmen of all kinds—worked under the supervision of palace officials and scribes--using Linear B (which the Mycenaeans had “borrowed” from the Minoans), the scribes kept careful notes on supply and production levels, manufacturing waste, technical improvements, and so on--we have a number of records in which scribes indicate, for example, accidental dents in chariots, imperfections in pots or vases, mishaps where supplies have been lost or ruined

--so, in addition to being the residence of the wanax, these palaces appear to have important mercantile centres and were absolutely vital to the Mycenaean economy--for more than 400 years (from 1600 to 1200 BCE), the palaces kept Mycenaean civilization afloat; they financed all the piracy and imperialism, they financed weapons development, they financed the royal court itself

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--it was a robust and lively, if somewhat violent, period in the long history of the ancient Greeks

--then, shortly after 1200, and probably within the span of two or three generations, the powerful Mycenaean world came to an abrupt and fiery end--the palaces of central and southern Greece, from Thessaly to the southern tip of the Peloponnesus, were suddenly and irretrievably destroyed--some centres, such as the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, appear to have attempted recovery, but they were destroyed again shortly afterwards—never to be repaired

--by 1100 BCE, the Mycenaeans had abandoned most of their farmlands and fled to the wild, western reaches of the Greek peninsula--they left ruined palaces, depopulated lands and, most importantly, they left a mysterious void in Greek history, one that has never been successfully filled or explained--indeed, even today, no one really knows what happened to the Mycenaean Greeks

3. The Dark Age (1100-750 BCE)

--there are a number of theories:

1) peasant revolt: some scholars think that Mycenaean civilization collapsed due to a series of peasant uprisings throughout the Mycenaean world. The theory goes that farmers and laborers were increasingly exploited throughout the Aegean basin and that ultimately they rose up against the warrior elite. The only problem here is that surely people would have rebuilt after the insurrections were put down.

2) economic collapse: this theory argues that the Mycenaean trade petered off towards the end of the 13th century BCE, and that the palaces couldn’t afford to replenish their supplies of raw materials for manufacture.

3) environmental degradation: others suggest that changes in the climate might have contributed to poor harvests or changing patterns of fish migrations, etc. As the climate changed, the land-base couldn’t sustain such a large population and, thus, Mycenaean society went into a tailspin.

--until very recently, historians also suspected that, while any or all of these factors might have contributed to the decline of Mycenaean civilization, the situation was compounded by invasions from the outside--two groups were identified as the possible culprits: 1) the Dorians, and 2) the Sea Peoples--it was suggested that, around 1150 BCE, the Dorians (a Greek speaking people who supposedly lived in the far north), swept across the Mycenaean world from north to south destroying everything in their wake--it was also theorized that a mysterious group called the “Sea People” might have invaded

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--this shadowy confederacy was mentioned (rather ambiguously) in both Egyptian and Greek records; it was said that they swamped the Greek world, before moving on to Asia Minor, Syria and northern Egypt around 1100

--the only problem with the invasion theory (either one) is that none of the supposed invaders bothered to stay in Greece once they dislodged the Mycenaeans--in fact, between 1100 and 750, it looks as though the Greek peninsula was simply abandoned, depopulated

--as it stands, there is no satisfying answer to the problem of Mycenaean collapse

--nonetheless, with these sorts of puzzling questions, we enter the era known as the “Greek Dark Age,” a period which extends from about 1100 to 750 BCE

--during this extensive period, the Greeks who did remain on the Hellenic peninsula appear to have lived a fairly sedentary, non-urbanized, agricultural life--as I noted a moment ago, most towns and villages were abandoned, and it seems likely that people returned to a nomadic life in small tribal groups --some folks might even have taken to the sea and migrated to the islands in the Aegean

 --during this period, the Greeks appear to have abandoned all forms of writing: there are no clay tablets or inscriptions from this period, and no indication that they might have switched to another medium (i.e., papyrus or hide)--and, not only did they abandon writing and most crafts, they also abandoned their large commercial networks --they virtually stopped trading with Asia Minor, the Middle East, and Egypt; in fact, they seem to have stopped trading with one another as well--fortunately for the Greeks, however, none of the great powers of the ancient world had ever been interested in Europe or the Aegean, so the Greek Dark Ages, were probably a time of peace. --and this long breathing-space allowed the Greeks the leisure to slowly redevelop an urbanized culture.

--so, despite the bleakness of the situation, the Greeks began to slowly urbanize in the latter part of the Dark Ages --this early urbanized culture would produce, at the very close of the Dark Ages, the single greatest accomplishment in the Greek view of themselves: the poetry of Homer

--not only are the two epic poems of Homer (i.e., the Iliad and the Odyssey) windows into the distant Mycenaean past, they are also one of the defining moments in Greek culture; for the Greeks will turn to these poems throughout their history to define themselves culturally, politically, and historically

--this is where we’ll pick up next class

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