Early Greek History

Greece was settled by Indo-European nomads from central Asia between 5000 and 3000 BC.

Minoans The first significant Greek civilization was called the Minoans. They settled on the island of Crete and smaller surrounding islands around 2700 BC.

The Minoans were talented engineers, artists and metalworkers.

Minoans also traded with many nearby kingdoms because of their location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Minoans had a language called Linear A, which historians still have not decoded.

The Palace at Knossos

Aerial view of Knossos

The Minotaur According to Greek mythology, a half- bull, half-man called the Minotaur lived in a maze (called the labyrinth) under the palace. Every year, seven boys and seven girls were sacrificed to feed him.

The Minotaur was eventually killed by the hero Theseus, who later became a founder of Athens.

No one knows why the Minoan civilization disappeared, although a nearby volcanic eruption is the most popular theory.

The Mycenaeans

Mycenae Lived and grew on Mainland Greece Leading City: Mycenae

The Mycenaeans built walled cities on top of hills throughout central Greece between 1600 BC and 1200 BC. The Lion’s Gate

Mycenaean culture The Myceneans were the first Greek culture to worship the gods of Greek mythology. Zeus, King of the Greek Gods

Mycenaean kings were buried in huge tombs with gold and silver offerings, but the average person was very poor. Funeral mask Tomb entrance Royal tomb

The Mycenaeans invaded Crete and helped finish off the Minoan civilization.

The Mycenaeans took many aspects of Minoan civilization back to the mainland, where it became the foundation of Greek, and later Western, civilization.

The Mycenaeans used a language called Linear B, which is similar to Linear A that the Minoans used. Linear B has been decoded.

The Trojan War Around 1200 B.C. Mycenae and other Greek city states fought a ten year war with the city of Troy. The story is contained in the Iliad by Homer.

According to the Iliad, the war began when Helen (the wife of the Mycenean king) ran off with a Trojan prince named Paris.

The Mycenean king, Menelaus, organized an alliance of Greek city states to attack Troy.

The war lasted for ten years because the Greeks could not break through Troy’s walls.

Many heroes come out of this period, including Hector and Achilles.

The Greeks finally got in to Troy using the Trojan Horse.

Inside the horse were several dozen Greek soldiers who snuck out at night and opened the gates for the rest of the army.

Trojan men were killed, women were enslaved and the city was burnt to the ground.

For thousands of years, the Trojan war was thought to be a legend, but an archeologist named Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy in 1871.

The Greek Dark Ages Around 1100 BC a group from northern Greece called the Dorians invaded.

Major cities were abandoned, the population dropped and writing stopped being used.

This period is known as the Dark Ages of Greek civilization.