Aegean Art

Bronze Mirror Back—Judgment of Paris, Etruscan, bronze, c BC

Lucas Cranach, The Judgment of Paris, oil on board, 1528

Peter Paul Rubens, The Judgment of Paris, oil on canvas, 1636

The Judgment of Paris, Sevres porcelain, c 1750

Map of Aegean Sea

Three main cultures of the Aegean Cycladic on the Cyclades Minoan on Thera and Crete Helladic including the Mycenaean on the Mainland

Bronze Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin The discovery of bronze marks the end of the Neolithic Period in every culture For the peoples of the Aegean, copper and tin were imported from Europe, Africa and Arabia

The islands of Naxos and Paros had fine sources of white marble which would be transported throughout the islands for sculpture Two Figures of Women, Cyclades, c BC, Marble* Figures of male are rare in Cycladian art The rare male figures depict actual activities

Seated Harp Player* and Flute Player, Cyclades, c BC, marble

Woman and Man, Cernavoda, Romania c BCE, ceramic 4.5” *

Minoan Civilization By 3000 BC, Bronze Age people were living on Crete, the largest of the Aegean Islands Crete was economically self sufficient with cattle, grains, olives and fruits Between BC, a distinctive culture flourished on Crete The culture was named Minoan by Sir Arthur Evans who discovered several large structures on Crete in 1900 He named the culture after King Minos whom, according to legend, ruled from a palace called Knossos and kept a half man, half bull monster, the minotaur, eventually slain by Theseus of Athens

Written Records The Minoan culture developed its own form of hieroglyphics and script called Linear A Linear A has defied translation Most written records are known from a language called Linear B, from mainland Greece, but the information is limited to transportation and tax records

The Old Palace Period BC The site of the palace of Knossos was first excavated in 1900 AD by Sir Arthur Evans The site had been occupied by Neolithic cultures, later replaced by Bronze Age buildings The large structures led Evans to call them palaces but the original purpose remains unknown Structures were made of rubble and mud brick with finished, dressed stone

Minoan Pottery Kamares Ware Jug, Crete, Old Palace Period, c BC, ceramic* Around 2000 BC, Minoans began to use a pottery wheel and developed highly colored glazes Minoan pottery was highly sought after in the ancient world and examples have been found as far away as Egypt and Syria

Metal Work—Pendant of Gold Bees, Crete, Old Palace Period, c BC, gold* By 1700, Minoan goldsmiths were producing extremely fine gold objects Minoan style jewelry typically depicts natural objects, but distills them to simple geometric forms creating a very stylish look The Minoans very likely acquired some of their smithing skills from the Egyptians

New Palace Period c BC A volcanic eruption at Thera caused many earthquakes throughout the Aegean regions that destroyed many Old Palace structures Many structures, like Knossos, were rebuilt and enlarged

Aerial view of Knossos, c BC, Crete

Wall Painting Wall paintings were used to decorate large houses and palaces The paintings were typically large murals with geometric borders surrounding scenes of nature or every day life The method employed was fresco—fresco is a technique where one is painting directly onto raw plaster using egg-based tempuras or warm waxes Preferred colors were yellow, black, red, green and blue

The Dolphin Mural, Knossos, c BC

The Saffron Gatherers, Thera, c 1630 BC, fresco

Young Girl Gathering Saffron Crocus Flowers, Thera, c 1630 BC, fresco*

Bull Leaping, Knossos, Crete, c BC, fresco

Woman or Goddess with Snakes, New Palace Period, Crete, c BC, faience* Surviving Minoan sculpture consists mainly of small wood, ivory or ceramic objects Females brandishing snakes are among the most characteristic objects These objects may have been associated with water, regeneration and protection

Octopus Flask, New Palace Period, marine style ceramic, c BC*

Vapheio Cup, Sparta, Greece, c BC, gold*

The Helladic Period BC The term Helladic is used to designate the Aegean Bronze Age on the mainland of Greece This period runs concurrent with the Cycladic and Minoan periods Greek speaking peoples probably came from the northwest into mainland Greece When the Minoan culture declined starting in 1450 BC, the people of a late Helladic culture called Mycenaean, after the city of Mycenae, occupied Crete and Greece and rose to dominate the Aegean

Helladic Architecture Mycenaean architecture is very distinct from that of the Minoans The Mycenaeans built huge megalithic citadels or fortresses as well as huge vaulted stone tombs The citadel of Mycenae appears in Homer’s epic The Iliad as the home of Agamemnon

Location of Mycenae

Reconstruction of Mycenae

Mycenae

Lion Gate, Mycenae, Greece, c 1250 BC, limestone*

A Mycenaean tomb—called tholos

Like the Egyptians, the Mycenaeans loaded their tombs with treasure Mask of Agamemnon, Mycenae, Greece, c BC gold*

More funeral masks

Two Women with a Child, Mycenae, Greece, c BC, ivory*

Warrior Vase, Mycenae, Greece, c BC, ceramic*