1. THE MYCENAEANS

2. THE MYCENAEANS
-The Mycenaean period, also known as the Late Helladic Period, took place roughly between 1550BC & 1150 BC
- The history of the Mycenaean's was relatively unknown until it found it’s place in the poetry of Homer depicting the Mycenaean War against Troy
- Originally it was thought that this story was pure fiction until the Mycenaean cities of Mycenae & Tiryns were discovered

3. THE MYCENAEANS
-The Mycenaean derived much of their culture from the Minoans, but with some dramatic differences:
- Like the Minoans the monarch served as the bureaucrats, but unlike the Minoans he did not share his vast wealth
- The Mycenaean King was a warlord & was constantly geared for invasion and battle
- There cities were heavily fortified & their art work depicted warfare & hunting

4. THE MYCENAEANS
- The principal Mycenaean towns were well fortified. The town could be situated on an acropolis, against a large hill as in Mycenae, or on the coastal plain
- They also used smaller fortress in order to maintain military control in faraway regions
- In constant preparation for war, cities always were built with a well or cistern at their disposal

5. THE MYCENAEANS -They travelled abroad in search of both war & commerce
- They traded raw materials such as oils & animal skins for jewellery & other goods from Crete, Asia Minor, & Egypt
- They were also not above piracy
- The combination of success in warfare & commerce created powerful rulers
- Similar to the Egyptians, the Mycenaean's built large elaborate tombs for their rulers as they had great beliefs in the afterlife

6. THE MYCENAEANS -their religion was polytheistic (multiple gods)
- they also were willing to add gods to their religion from other belief systems
- Dyeus, most likely a sky god was their supreme god, comparable with the Greek God Zeus
- They eventually would adopt the Minoan Goddesses & associated them with Dyeus
- The Greek Pantheon is not a reflection of the Mycenaean system other then the Zeus-like supreme being

7. THE MYCENAEANS- the end
-the end was marked by destructions at key locations including Mycenae
- Alteration to defence system during this period suggest a growing insecurity
- This was not a period of great financial crisis
- explanations for the decline of the civilization concerning climate change, & earthquakes are considered more controversial.
-The two most common theories are population movement and internal conflict. The first attributes the destruction of Mycenaean sites to invaders, sometimes referred to as “Sea people”

8. THE MYCENAEANS- the end
-it has also been theorized that a rebellion by the lower class could have brought about an upheaval
-theories have also been combined, suggesting the rise of both new ethnic and social groups could have played a role
-The end occurs after a slow decline of the Mycenaean civilization, which lasted many years before dying out.
- Whatever were the causes, the Mycenaean civilization disappeared when the sites of Mycenae and Tirynth were destroyed and lost their importance.
- The fall of the Mycenaean civilization brought about the Greek Dark Ages

9. THE MYCENAEANS- the end
Film- “Ancient Greece: The Mycenaeans”

10. THE MYCENAEANS - READ 104-113 (NOT 107 & 108)
- Answer #1-3 on page 113