The Aegean World: Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece BCE Lisi Spence, Molly Craven, and Sarah Simon

The Aegean World: Society Society was simple and stayed the same Farmers and shepherds lived similar to Stone Age, until about 1600BCE Until an archeologist uncovered a circle of graves at Mycenae (shaft graves), filled with gold jewelry, and weapons People had obtained riches, they had authority, and the ability to use humans to do their work BCE Mycenaean Greece was a very advanced society in terms of technology Their societies were built on hilltops, with large walls around them, which was a safe place for the people The elites lived right outside the walls, and the poor people lived lower on the hill. The peasants worked in the fields. The Mycenaeans were described as “tough, warlike, and competitive” women may have been worshipped as fertility goddesses They enjoyed finding beauty in nature

The Aegean World: Politics Legends about King Minos (Crete), but no evidence of the Cretans having power over Greece Crete had strong cultural influence over Greece Centralized government and economy Mycenaeans had a palace, administrative system Government was in charge of grain production, and wool production Scribes also helped in this process

 Polytheistic  Female oriented  Fertility goddesses  Had statuettes of women they praised  Animistic: believed in otherworldly gods

 Minoans had a writing system  Still has not been deciphered  Later used by the Myceneans  Writing has been found on clay tablets  Aegean pots/ cookware found around Mediterranean and Middle East  Trade present!

 Technology in the Aegean World Minoan Crete  Monumental Building  Bronze Metallurgy  Writing systems  Record Keeping  High quality indoor plumbing  Ships  Large palaces Mycenaean Greece  Writing system influence by Minoans  Over 4,000 baked clay tablets found written in a script called Linear B  Light, wooden boats with low keels could run up onto the beach allowing the crew to go ashore and eat and sleep

 Economics in the Aegean World Minoan Crete  Timber went to nearby Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, the Aegean islands, and the Greek mainland  Exports: Food, Cypress wood, Wine, Currants, Olive oil, Wool, Cloth, Herbs, Purple dye  Imports: Precious stones, copper, ivory, silver, gold, tin, and other raw materials Mycenaean Greece  Centralized economy  Government had a high degree of control over the economy; organized grain production and the wool industry from raw material to finished object  Exports: wine, olive oil, textiles, weapons, and other crafted goods, as well as slaves and mercenary soldiers  Imports: amber (tree resin), ivory, grain, gold, copper, and tin (to make bronze)

Big Picture 1150BCE The Mycenaeans fell because of political and economical failures, and many people migrated to other regions They had external conflicts with other countries Similar to the way that Nubia came into Egypt, and allowed themselves to be influenced by Egyptian culture Greece was heavily influenced by Crete Changes: Greeks lost a lot of artistic abilities, and because Greeks took refuge in surrounding regions, this caused more isolation in Greece, and also leads to the “Dark Age” Continuities: Even though many Greeks left the mainland, their language is still spoken today, and Greeks still honor the same gods

 Two groups:  Minoans: first group to originate  Myceneans: second group ▪ LIVED IN SAME TIME PERIOD THOUGH  Shaft Graves: a circle of graves found at the bottom of deep, rectangular shafts which had bodies of men, women, children and expensive possessions/ weapons/ utensils  Linear B: form of Minoan script (Linear A) that used pictorial signs to represent syllables  Became an early for of Greek language

 Important People in the Aegean World Minoan Crete  King Minos : ruled a naval empire & protected people from Minotaur  Minotaur : monstrous half-man, half-bull  Daedalus : man who invented and built a maze-like Labyrinth in which the Minotaur was kept Mycenaean Greece  Heinreich Schliemann: German businessman who discovered a circle grave at Mycenaean in 1876  There is no written record of the Mycenaean kings