The Mycenaeans

Myceneans: - Came from grasslands of Russia – 2000 BCE - Settled in Southern Greece - Built fortresses on top of hilltops and walls around their palaces - Land was owned by landowners and worked by slaves or tenants - Tenants worked the landowners’ land in exchange for living there - Landowners paid kings in horses, chariots, weapons, wheat, animals, and honey - Kings provided protection - Relied on hunting for meat - Learned gold and bronze work, writing, olive growing and how to build ships from Minoan traders - Created olive oil to use in cooking, as fuel, as body oil and as perfume. Began trading these oils and became rich - Created trading stations on nearby islands

Warrior people - Used shields and spears/swords - Once became ship builders they became pirates and raided other lands - Famous for their part in the Trojan War: They are the ones that attacked Troy - After Trojan War, the Myceneans fought one another in civil wars - Eventually conquered by weaker fighters: The Dorians - Myceneans eventually left and inhabited the Aegean islands - They were cut off from the rest of the world, lost their trading ability - Until about 800 BCE they were in a dark age - Went back to farming and herding - Eventually began calling themselves Greeks