1. Bronze Age Greece

2. Mycenaean world

3. Chronology 2200-1500 BC: Height of Minoan civilization
: Height of Mycenaean civilization
: Greek Dark Age
750: Homer

4. Minoan Civilization Pre-Hellenic (non-Greek, non Indo-European)
Most powerful from BCE
Spread influence to Cyclades, Peloponnese, and central Greece
Unified by Knossos, where the Minos (King) administered the kingdom

5. Palace at Knossos

6. Palace at Knossos

7. Knossos, storeroom

8. Columns and Bull Fresco, Knossos

9. Knossos, temple tomb

10. What the palaces suggest:
Complex political structure, monarch
Had a syllabic script, Linear A
Centralized political/economic system
The palace was this center
Thalassocracy: naval power
They were wealthy, cultured, unified, peaceful
Minoan art supports these conclusions

11. Knossos, dolphins fresco

12. Knossos, bluebirds fresco

13. Minoan fertility goddess

14. Knossos, bull leaping fresco

15. Linear A tablet

16. New developments 1450-1400 BCE Closer contact with Mycenae
More militaristic scenes in art
Presence of Linear B, which is Greek
Knossos and other sites on Crete were burned near the end of the 15th century
Cretan supremacy ended

17. Mycenaeans – BCE
Aegean leadership passed to Greek-speaking people, who called themselves the Achaeans
They entered the Greek mainland around 2000 BC, and rose to power on the mainland around the 16th century
Their power depended on the horse and chariot
They were aggressive both as traders and warriors
Extent of their trade: Sicily, Troy, Egypt

18. What were Mycenaeans like?
Highly skilled in war and administration
Had dynastic rulers
Wealthy and powerful
Early shaft graves held many gold objects, martial objects ( BCE)
Wealth based on control of trade and agriculture

19. Mycenaean grave circle

20. Mycenaean grave circle

21. Mycenaean tholos tomb 1500-1400
So-called
“Treasury of Atreus”

22. Mycenaean inlaid dagger

23. Mycenaean boar’s tusk helmet

24. Wall Painting, Mycenae

25. Mycenaean funerary masks

26. Mycenaean funerary mask

27. Mycenae BCE
Mycenaean culture spread through Greece and the Ionian islands
Kings of Mycenae held broad hegemony
They claimed tribute from subjects
Had an efficient bureaucratic service
Engaged in overseas trade, especially metals
Had a form of writing, Linear B

28. Linear B tablet

29. Palace at Mycenae

30. Palace at Mycenae

31. Fortification walls at Mycenae

32. Lion Gate at Mycenae

33. Cyclopean tunnel, Tiryns

34. Signet ring from Tiryns

35. Signet rings from Aidonia

36. Bull cups from Vapheio

37. Mycenaean society Royal, centralized bureaucracy
Artisans and peasants under royal control
Class structure:
serfs, slaves,
lords and councilmen,
retainers and agents
the great king, the wanax
Kings were powerful in war and trade
They achieved their power through violence, as artifacts suggest

38. Warrior frescoes from Pylos

39. Fall of Mycenae, 1200-1100 Citadels were destroyed, kingdoms fell
Mycenaean culture, including writing, was lost
Transition to the iron age
All the Mycenaeans were not destroyed, but life changed drastically
Depopulation
Dark Ages:

40. 8th century New developments in trade and colonization
Greeks adapt the Phoenician alphabet
Writing reappears: Iliad and Odyssey by 750
Kingship begins to disappear
Aristocracies begin to rise
Later Greeks were unaware of most of the important aspects of life they portrayed in heroic poetry
Its social organization
Its material culture
Its writing system

41. Homeric / Heroic culture
Evidence comes mainly from texts
Ties were with family, clan, warrior band, and tribe
Men lived in small, self-sufficient units; oikos
Political ties were personal
Basileus or king lived by agriculture, war
Wealth was counted in herds, slaves, reserves of treasure, food, metal
King was not far above other men in upper classes
His reputation rested on his physical might and his sagacity
His powers were limited by the unwritten code of themis: what is done

42. “Homeric” Society Aristocratic warriors
Had a special standing
Were dominated by the need to show bravery
Their honor was expressed in material possessions won in battle or awarded by the community
Material wealth comes from land, raids, war and gift exchange
Trading is disdained
Human values mirror divine values

43. Homeric culture is an amalgam
Different poetic accounts from different periods
Some mention of specifically Myceanaen objects: tower shield, boar’s tusk helmet, metal inlay, bronze armor
Late Mycenaean political geography is known
But many references to iron age culture and customs

44. Moses Finley’s culture of the Odyssey
Sacrifice, cooked meal
Agriculture, cooked food
Good host-guest relationships
Stable family life
Stable political life
Strength, intelligence, ability to speak