Minoa and Mycenae –

Early Greek Society

Minoan Civilisation3000 – 1100 BCE

Ancient Greek society is developing on the island of Crete while the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations are flourishing.

What is happening elsewhere:

First Dynasty of Egypt and the development of hieroglyphic writing.

Stonehenge begins to be built.

The Minoan civilisation is named after the legend of King Minos who is supposedly a descendant of Zeus.

Palace of Knossos

King Minos• Lived at the Palace of

Knossos.• Developed the Cretan

constitution and greatly improved the strength of the navy.

• Most famous in the story of the Minotaur and was depicted in Athenian society as a cruel tyrant because of it.

2000 BCE• Minoans started living in cities,

trading and developing writing – called Linear A.

• Linear A has not been successfully translated yet.

• What we do know about Minoa comes from Art, Objects, Myths and Legends.

• Society was based on a system of monarchy with a focus on trade.

• Minoa was a very peaceful civilisation – little evidence of military fortifications.

• Known as ‘Rulers of the Sea’

Trade

• Central exporters of:- wine- oil- jewellery• Importers of:- raw materials such as

gold, amber, copper and ivory

- produce

Knossos• Knossos was the capital of Minoa• Known for its art, leisure, society, trade

and impressive palace.

Palace of Knossos

Built in 1930 BCE

Engineering of the Palace is remarkable for the time:

- walls were resistant to moderate earthquakes and many were at least 3 stories high.

- The palace (and many Minoan homes) had internal plumbing and upper level toilets.

Arranged around a central courtyard and contained almost 1500 rooms.

Minoan Religion• Minoan religion was based on a mother

goddess – often depicted as a snake goddess

• Bulls were also part of Minoan religion as they were a symbol of male fertility. They were also associated with Zeus.

• The Bull would often be depicted alongside a representation of the mother goddess.

• Many features of Minoan religion passed into the religion of later Greek cultures.

What happened to the MinoansWas it a natural disaster?• Volcanic Eruption (Thera/Santorini)

- 1500/1450 BCE (est) (5x more powerful than Krakatoa)• Decimated Minoan trade city of Akrotiri.• Severe earthquake activity preceded eruption, levelling

Knossos and other Minoan cities.

• What comes after an earthquake?

- Resulting tidal waves from eruption devastated Minoan cities further.

- Origins of Atlantis Myth?- Conquered by Mycenaeans after weakened by natural

disaster.

Mycenaean Civilisation1600 BCE - 1100 BCE

• Invaders entered mainland Greece around 2000 BCE and settled the entire region often mixing in easily with local inhabitants.

• The invading society was based on warfare and their leaders were basically war-chiefs.

• These early Greeks started trading with the Minoans at a very early stage and the relationship between both societies thrived.

• This relationship eventually led to the mainland societies becoming more urbanised.

• Around 1600 BCE, urban centers began to thrive on the Greek mainland and the Greek invaders 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 sees the beginnings of the Mycenaean Civilisation.

1550 BCE• What archaeologists have been able to decipher

from the remains of Mycenae is that they derived much of their culture from the Minoans, but with some dramatic differences.

• Mycenean society was monarchical as well as being divided into an early form of city-states.

• Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenean kings accumulated vast wealth in concentrated form; the rest of society did not share in the prosperity as did the Minoans.

• There were major divisions between the status of people in Mycenae - the rich were only the very elite and the poor was everybody else.

• The king was also primarily a warlord, and Mycenean society was constantly geared for battle and invasion.

• Mycenae saw the development of a new form of writing called Linear B and is closely related to what became the Ancient Greek language

The City of Mycenae

The City of Mycenae• The city of Mycenae was founded by

Perseus (another son of Zeus) around 1400-1350 BCE

• The acropolis of Mycenae was built on top of a hill and at the very top of the hill was the King’s palace.

• The acropolis was completely surrounded by a large wall on three sides and a sheer ravine on the fourth. These walls were called Cyclopean walls.

• The acropolis was never covered over like Crete and many of the structures have stood in the open for 3000 years.

• One item that remains is the Lion Gate which is 3.1m high and 2.95 m wide, this led many later Greeks to believe the Mycenaeans were giants.

Grave Circles• Inside the acropolis walls was a

large, circular, built up area 27 m wide.

• In 1876 CE, archaeologists discovered that this was the royal burial area.

• The bodies of royalty and important people were buried in small rooms at the bottom of the shafts - 19 people were found in 6 tombs.

• Beliefs about death were adopted from the Egyptians as the dead would be buried with grave goods believed to be objects needed in the afterlife.

Mycenaean Religion

• Little is actually known about Mycenaean religion.

• We do know that it was polytheistic but they seemed to adopt gods from other religions.

• Offerings and sacrifices were often made to the gods

What happened to the Mycenaeans?

• 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.

The Dark Ages

• End of the Bronze Age and beginning of the Iron Age

• Life becomes based around agriculture

• Power of the kings switches to the power of individual families

• The Mycenaeans fled to Asia Minor and the Dorians from the north settled mainland Greece and the islands of the Aegean.

• There is little information regarding this time in Greece but it was a brief decline in the power and glory of Ancient Greece.