Aegean World: Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece By: Meghan Malloy, Aly Beckham, and Claire Feller

Location Minoan Crete: located on Crete Island. In the Aegean Sea Mycenaean Greece: Greek Peninsula

Time frame 2000–1100 B.C.E.

Characteristics

Society- Minoans Emerged from a manifestation of the influence of older centers on other outlying lands and peoples. Egyptian, Syrian, and Mesopotamian influences can be seen in the design of palaces, centralized government, and their system of writing. In Minoan Crete, statuettes of women with headdresses represented the fertility goddesses. Through intermarriage, blending of languages, and melting cultural practices, the people in Mycenaean created the first Greek culture. At first it was simple and static. - farmers lived from the land Then, people with wealth arrived and changed the whole culture.

Society Mycenaean Power and wealth was looked upon as a good thing. Citadel- provided refuge for the entire community in time of danger and contained the palace and administrative complex. Many people were merchants (pioneered trade routes),mercenary soldiers, slaves, and sailors (transported goods of other peoples). Linear B- clay tablets which used pictorial signs to represent syllables Tablets revealed little about the social structure and gender relations

Politics- Minoan Centralized government The absence of grandiose depictions of Cretan rulers compared to the glorifications of Middle East rulers may illustrate a different kind of authority. Palaces exerted some kind of localized control, particularly, in the gathering and storage of materials - wine, oil, grain, precious metals, etc. The king was more like an administrator in charge of the trading activities of the state, while the real power in Minoan society lay in the hands of the priests.

Politics: Mycenaean Administrative and political powers firmly under royal authority (King). he system they governed with was called Proto-Feudal, meaning the peasants worked the lands around the palace and supported the elites. The government controlled economy Tablets found say pretty much nothing about politics, kings, legal structures, gender roles, or religious beliefs. Some evidence, such as the uniformity seen in all Mycenaean architecture and art, suggests political unity. However, in Homer’s the Iliad, it is all about how Agamemnon, the king, struggles to control separate Greek rulers.

Religion : Minoan Religious practices generally focused on females. Priestesses often governed rituals honoring goddesses Ritual celebrations usually took place in sacred caves, on sanctuaries on mountain peaks, and in the palaces and villas which all had their own sanctuaries. Animal and bloodless sacrifices, along with processions were part of ritual worship of the great female nature goddess, and during these festivities worshipers used music, dance, and prayer to achieve a state of religious ecstasy that put them in touch with the supernatural.

Religion: Mycenaean Polytheistic Very few temples or shrines that have been found where religious practices might have been exercised, so all rituals most likely took place on open ground or in peak sanctuaries. Some shrines that are found have a tripartite structural design. Minoans had a strong influence on most of the religious practices and rituals practiced by the Mycenaeans.

Intellectual Endeavors: Minoan Very skilled at metallurgy; jewelry and other products were so sought after that they were exported all over the Mediterranean Used gold and copper instruments. Inlayed bronze with gold. Art revolved around religion Used a type of writing known as Linear A, but it is indecipherable

Intellectual Endeavors: Mycenaean Like the Minoans, the Mycenaeans built grand palaces and fortified citadels. They were excellent engineers and built outstanding bridges, tombs, residences and palaces. Their tombs were called ‘Tholos’ or 'beehive tombs' which had circular shapes with high roofs. A single passage made of stone led to the tomb. The textile industry was one of the most significant industries during the Mycenaean civilization. Wool, fiber and flax were the most important textiles. Metallurgy was also practiced in an advanced form. Swords and weapons were manufactured in quantity. Other skilled craftsmen included goldsmiths, ivory-carvers, stone carvers, and potters. Mostly focused on educating scribes.

Technology Bronze metallurgy: used in the creation of jewelry, copper was traded from Cyprus. Minoa: artisans were famous in the ancient world and taught Mycenaeans the art of inlaying bronze with gold Had water pipes, sewers, and toilets with basic plumbing Mycenae: developed the textile industry and created cloth from wool, invented the earliest known suit of armor out of bronze

Economics Exported cypress wood, wine, currants, olive oil, wool, cloth, herbs, and purple dye. Imported precious stones, copper, ivory, silver, gold Traded throughout the Mediterranean and with Egypt Taxes were levied Minoa- traded decorative pottery with other civilizations Founded trading colonies on nearby islands Mycenae- two groups of people: workers in the palace and self-employed. Scribes recorded economic transactions and distributed rations for allotted work

Important people Minoans got their name from Minos, who was a legendary king of Crete and the focus of many Greek legends King Agamemnon- ruled Mycenae 500 years later, the poet Homer told the story of the Mycenaeans in the Trojan war

Terms Proto Feudal- the peasants worked the lands around the palace and supported the elites. The Iliad and The Odyssey- Works by Homer that give us insight into Ancient Greece. Linear A- Minoan language Linear B- Mycenaean language. Tholos or ‘Beehive tombs’- circular tombs created by the Mycenaeans. Metallurgy- one of the most important crafts used by both the Minoans and Mycenaeans.

Big Picture The Minoans are considered the first advanced civilization of Europe, while the Mycenaeans had an important influence on Classical Greece.