1. 2-7-17 Bell Ringer Who do you believe settled the Greek civilization?
How is the geography of Greece harmful/beneficial?

2. How might a peninsula be affected by its surrounding water?
Land might be limited
the climate might be positively or adversely affected
occupations of the people might be ocean-related, such as sailing and fishing
All of the above

3. The Minoans
The ruins of the Minoan civilization, the first civilization to arise in Greece, are on the island of Crete.
Artifacts at the palace at Knossos reveal the riches of the Minoan people, such as wine, oil, jewelry, and statues.
The Minoan people were traders, traveling by ship to trade with other countries.

4. Early People of the Aegean Sea: Minoans
The Minoans established a brilliant early civilization on the island of Crete, sustained and protected by the sea.
The Minoans traded with Egypt and Mesopotamia. They acquired ideas and technology that they adapted to their own culture.
The Minoans helped to shape the first Greek civilization.
Palace built with wooden roof, gypsum plaster walls gracefully and colorfully painted. Large throne room with light wells, family apartments in palace.
Culture disappears with some natural disaster, earthquake?
Artist’s Rendition of King Minos’ Palace of Knossos on Crete ( BCE) excavated by Sir Arthur Evans in early 20th c.

5. Palace of King Minos
In Greek mythology, the labyrinth of Crete was derived from the elaborate floor plan of the Palace at Knossos.
Daedalus the Athenian craftsman, was the architect and inventor who designed for King Minos of Crete the labyrinth in which was imprisoned the Minotaur, a man-eating monster that was half man and half bull. The labyrinth was so skillfully designed that no one could escape from the maze or the Minotaur. Daedalus revealed the secret of the labyrinth only to Ariadne, daughter of Minos, and she aided her lover, the Athenian hero Theseus, to slay the monster and escape. In anger at the escape, Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in the labyrinth. Although the prisoners could not find the exit, Daedalus made waxwings so that they could both fly out of the maze. Icarus, however, flew too near the sun; his wings melted, and he fell into the sea. Daedalus flew to Sicily, where he was welcomed by King Cocalus. Minos later pursued Daedalus but was killed by the daughters of Cocalus.
Knossos, Crete, ca B.C. Excavated by Sir Arthur Evans in the early part of the century, the elaborate palace reminded the excavator of the legend of Theseus and The Minotaur.

6. Built several stories high around a central courtyard, the palace had light wells to admit light into the lower reaches of the palace. The palace is also noted for columns that taper downward instead of upward, and the beautiful frescoes on the walls.

7. Minoans cont.
The Minoan civilizations collapsed around 1450 B.C., although historians disagree on the cause of the Minoan destruction.

8. Discussion Question
Historians know the Minoans were a wealthy people because Artifacts at the palace of Knossos included items only wealthy people would have, such as bathrooms.
True
False

9. The First Greek Kingdoms
The first Greek kings were Mycenaean leaders, whose people invaded the Greek mainland around 1900 B.C.
The center of the Mycenaean kingdom was a palace surrounded by large farms.
The Mycenaeans began trading with the Minoans and learned much about Minoan culture.

10. Who was the first kingdom to settle Greece?
Bell Ringer
Who was the first kingdom to settle Greece?

11. Setting the Stage
Greece was not always a unified country but was rather a collection of separate societies. The largest society was that of the Minoans who lived on the large island of Crete- until people from all around the Mediterranean began to migrate and settle in mainland Greece (inland).

12. Early People of the Aegean Sea: The Mycenaeans
The Mycenaeans evolved on the Greek mainland and eventually conquered the Greek mainland and Crete.
Mycenaean civilization (more warriors than traders) dominated the Aegean from
about 1400 B.C. to 1200 B.C.
though they traded with Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.
Mycenaeans absorbed Egyptian and Mesopotamian
influences and passed them on to later Greeks.
Fall of Mycenae ushered in the Greek Dark Ages 1100 – 800 B.C.
Mycenae
Crete

13. Mycenae

14. Lion Gate at Mycenae c. 1250 BCE
Progenitor of the Greek temple front, the Lion Gate is also important for its powerful sense of structure and sensitivity to the beauty of the subject.

15. Treasury of Atreus and Mask of King Agamemnon
For more information go to:

17. Evidence suggests that a fire destroyed the palace at Mycenae. There is also evidence of a siege. By 1200BCE the power of Mycenae was declining; during the 12th century, Mycenaean dominance collapsed.
Within a short time around 1250 BC, all the palaces of southern Greece were burned, including the one at Mycenae. This is traditionally attributed to a Dorian invasion of Greeks from the north, although some historians now doubt that such an invasion took place.
Wikipedia cites Rowbotham, William. "Mycenae and the Bronze Age." Odyssey Adventures, Odyssey. as their source for this information.

18. Mycenaean City-States
Mycenaeans lived in city-states on the Greek mainland.
Each city-state was led by a warrior-king who built a thick-walled fortress from which he ruled the surrounding villages.

19. The Trojan War (~1250 B.C.)
May have been started because of economic rivalry between the Mycenaeans and Troy, a rich trading city in modern Turkey.
Troy controlled the straits connecting the Mediterranean and Black seas.
Greek legend romanticizes this war.
Stories claim that Paris, a Trojan prince, kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king.
This causes the Mycenaeans to sail for Troy to rescue her.

20. The Trojan War cont.
For ten years the war was fought, ending only when the Greeks finally seized Troy and burned it to the ground. (Trojan Horse)
Most people use to think the Trojan war was a pure legend.
1870 a German businessman excavated the site of ancient Troy, discovering much evidence of fire and war.
Modern scholars now feel the Trojan war was an actual event.

21. Mycenaean Kingdom
Before collapsing around 1100 B.C., the Mycenaean civilization was the most powerful on the Mediterranean.
The Dark Age occurred between 1100 B.C. and 150 B.C. and was a time of less trade and poverty among people.
The Dorians invaded Greece, bringing new weapons and farming technology to the Greek people.
The Greeks learned about an alphabet from the Phoenicians, one of their trading partners.
The Greek alphabet had 24 letters that stood for different sounds.

22. Mycenaean Decline
Not long after the Trojan war, the Mycenaeans were invaded by sea, as well as by another Greek speaking people, the Dorians.
Mycenaean power faded, resulting in abandoned cities and a decline in trade.
Art and writing seem to have been forgotten along with many other skills.
The Mycenaean civilization ended around 1100 B.C.
After the Dorian invasion, Greece would spend a few hundred years as only a collection of small, isolated villages.

23. Dorians Enter!
Around 1200 B.C. the Mycenaean civilization collapsed when sea raiders attacked and burned it down…a new group called the Dorians moved into the area and they spoke a dialect of Greek
They were not as advanced
Economy and trade collapsed under their rule
Temporarily lost the art of writing : no written record exists from 1150 to 750 B.C. (400 years)

24. During the Dorian Period, two things started to change:
Setting the Stage
During the Dorian Period, two things started to change:
Dorians and Mycenaeans began to identify less with the culture of their ancestors but with the local area they lived in
Method of governing changed from tribal/clan control to more formal governments called city- states

25. History of the Greeks
B.C. Minoan civilization flourishes on Crete (after the mythical king Minos)
The citadel of Mycenae and the palace of Pylos show that mainland Greece, in that same period, had centers of wealth and power
The language of these Mycenaeans was an early form of Greek
It must have been the memory of these rich kingdoms that inspired Homer’s vision of ‘Mycenae rich in gold’
It was a blurred memory: some time in the last century of the millennium the great palaces were destroyed by fire. With them disappeared their system of writing.
Dark Age of Greece: for the next few hundred years the Greeks were illiterate; no written evidence survives

26. Ancient Greece
What is the origin of the peoples who called themselves Hellenes?
The language they spoke belongs to the Indo-European family (which includes Germanic, Celtic, Italic, and Sanskrit language groups)
The Greeks of historic times were a blend of the native tribes and the Indo-European invaders, en route from the European landmass.

27. Exit Ticket Who were the first kingdoms to settle Greece?
What is believed to have happened to them?