Ch9 Beginnings 9-2 The Mycenaean's

1. Mycenaeans -grasslands of southern Russia -kings built fortress-palaces on hilltops -chief feature of palace was megaron -land divided into estates -slaves -tenants -large herds of cattle & hunting provided meat -first they were warriors

2. trading -imitated Minoan gold & bronze work -learned how to build ships & navigate -grew olives & sold olive oil -rich -trading stations & settlements on nearby islands -rather war than trade -fought one another -civil war -1400BC replaced Minoans as chief power of the Aegean  

3. Trojan War -attacked major trading city of Troy in Asia Minor(broke control of trading route) -middle 1200BC -500 yrs. After the attack, Homer writes Iliad -blind Greek poet (bard) -may have come from Ionia -war fought over women -Helen of Troy -fought for 10yrs

-archaeologists proved many of his stories true -Odysseus had soldiers build wooden horse, best soldiers stayed inside, soldiers killed king &burned city -Homer wrote Odyssey -about Odysseus hero of Trojan War

4. Dark Ages -civil wars & Dorian invaders led to the Dark Age -over seas trade stopped -artistic skills disappeared -no record were written -Aegean cut off from Middle East -people had to create new civilizations on their own -herding & farming main way of life

-local leaders chiefs/kings ruled small communities -people began calling themselves Hellenes or Greeks -rebuilding of the Aegean fell to the Greeks