Grade 11 World History to the 16 th Century

 The Minoans are the people of ancient Crete  Crete is about 200 km long, is divided into regions by tall mountains and is a semi- tropical climate

Early Minoan ca BCE Middle Minoan ca BCE Late Minoan ca BCE Knossos mural, the so called 'Prince with the Lilies' or 'Priest King' Fresco (Knossos, c BC) g3.html

 Life for the people of ancient Crete included growing grain, raising sheep and goats, hunting and fishing  The introduction of bronze to their lives was a very important innovation as its low melting point made it ideal for creating sharp knives, spears and saws.  During this time period, bronze was abundant in mainland Greece (near Athens) and it was suspected that the people of Crete traded agricultural goods for it. content/uploads/2009/07/minoan-double- axe.jpg

 During the Middle Minoan period, new creations including impressive buildings, a system of writing and sanctuaries (temples, sacrificial altars to honour the gods)– See Course pack to view Greek Gods  Some people in Minoan culture were much more wealthy than others and to keep track of their property, they would mark it with seals.  They developed a record keeping system using hieroglyphic characters and then eventually developed their own script called Linear A.  The most important palace on Crete was at Knossos. This is where the most powerful monarch would live.  The palaces were very impressive, dozens of interconnecting rooms of 2,3 stories existed.  There was room in the palaces for administration, residence, religion and purely decorative areas.

 In 1750 BCE, all of the palaces at Knossos were destroyed, probably the result of an earthquake  The palaces were rebuilt again, almost identical and remained intact for another 250 years until they were destroyed again in 1490 BCE, except the one at Knossos. This is likely due to Mycenaean warriors arriving in Crete.  It is predicted that Mycenaean lords took over the rule of Crete and preserved the palace at Knossos for about 80 years, then did not rebuild it went it eventually burned down.  When Mycenaean rulers took over they also created a new language, Linear B. This script was discovered in 1952 when Englishman Michael Ventris deciphered it.

Linear A (left), Linear B (right)

 The wife of King Minos of Knossos gave birth to a monster called the Minotaur who was half man and half bull.  The Minotaur was imprisoned in a maze-like structure which the Greeks called the Labyrinth.  His diet consisted of young unmarried men and women, so every year the King forced the people to select 14 of its finest youth as a sacrifice.  One day, Theseus volunteered to go to Knossos as part of the sacrifice and with the help of the King’s daughter, Ariadne, he killed the Minotaur.

Early Helladic ca BCE Middle Helladic ca BCE Mycenaean ca BCE Sub-Mycenaean BCE

 Mainland Greece developed in the same way as Crete up until around 2000 BC.  When bronze came into use, people learned to exploit resources more effectively and archaeological excavations show large, carefully planned houses.  Towards the end of the third millennium BC, development was interrupted by destruction and depopulation.  It is not known why this happened and by 2000 BC, the prosperous aspects of Early Helladic culture were gone and were replaced by a simpler, farming/herding culture.  In contrast, the people of Crete were becoming more prosperous during this time.

 During the 17 th and 16 th centuries BC a change occurred and wealthy chiefdoms sprang up and consolidated control of the small farming villages.  It is still not understood what cause this transformation.  Archaeologists call this new culture “Mycenaean,” after the largest political centre, Mycenae. mycenaean.html

Artist’s reconstruction of Mycenae

 In 1876, Schliemann thought he came across the burials of King Agamemnon in 1876 when he came across wealthy graves at Mycenae.  With this discovery he declared the epic poems of Homer, the Illiad and the Odyssey to be true.  These poems describe the adventures of Greek heroes who fought in the Trojan war around 1200 BC, 450 years before Homer’s own time.  However, the graves he found actually belonged to a royal family of Mycenae and pre-dated the Trojan War about years.  The authenticity of Schliemann’s work is somewhat questionable as embellishments and outright lies in some of his writings have been found.  Ever since he was young, he was obsessed with the city of Troy and was determined to prove that Troy and the Trojan war were not just myth and legend. This may have led him to taint some of his findings from various archaeological sites. eks/NewArch/HeinrichSchlie mann.html

 This 10 year war is probably based on fact and is passed down from Homer’s poems, the Illiad and Odyssey, written around 650 BCE.  The story reveals that a Greek King in search of treasure, cattle and female slaves is leading an attack on the eastern coastline of the Aegean Sea in about 1250 BCE.  The story also tells about the abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta, by Paris. This led the Greek forces to Troy to bring her back. Hence the saying “the face that could launce a thousand ships.  Ilion, the name the Greeks called it and Ilium, the name the Romans call it, is the hill of modern Hisarlik in North-western Turkey.  The excavations done by Heinrich Schliemann in 1868 show layers representing 9 successive cities, spanning from 3600 BCE to 1500 CE.  Troy VI revealed great walls and towers destroyed by an earthquake or enemies. This is suspected to be the Troy from the Trojan war.

Portion of the legendary walls at Troy

 The city has a diameter of about 160 m and was the home to about 1000 people.  The somewhat poor standard or living and the size of the city led some scholars to believe the battle was over water passage claims or fishing right... Not the great war between East and West.  The Trojans probably spoke Luwian, an Anatolian Indo- European language.  In Greece, massive stone blocks and the Lion Gate of the fortress of King Agamemnon still stand today.  The palace of King Menelaus and Helen at Sparta has also been found.

Mycenae_lion_gate_dsc06382.jpg

 In the poems, Homer describes archaic Mycenaean weapons and other technology that had not been used for a long time.  Ancient Egyptian inscriptions refer to an embassy to the Cretans and Danaja (Greeks of Homer), with a visit to the city of Mukunu (Mycenae or Mukenai).  Egyptian inscriptions also speak of Darany (Homer also calls the Trojans Dardanians) in the army of the King of the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh in Syria in 1275 or 1274 BCE.  The tablets of the Hittie archives in central Turkey make 22 references to the Ahhiyawa (Homer’s Akhaiwoi or Greeks of Akhaiwia or greece) and its “Great King” across the Aegean Sea.  They also refer to the city of Taruisa (Troia, perhaps originally called Taruiya) in or next to the domain of King Alaksandus (Alexandros) of Wilusa or Wilusiya (Wilios or Ilios?) in northwestern Turkey.

 It is interesting that Priamos’ son Paris was also called Alexandros in the Iliad. Troy may therefore have been a city or the capital of Ilios.  A Hittie tablet of the time even refers to the King of Ahhiyawa (Greece) fighting the people of the Seha river near Troy and then withdrawing, as Homer describes in the first phase of the Trojan War, before the Greeks arrived at Troy itself. Enjoy the Movie Troy!