1. The Minoans and Myceneans
The First Greeks
The Minoans and Myceneans
Greece
Map – Microsoft office online
Horse – Microsoft office
Crete

2. Early Greeks Objectives
Key Terms: polytheism, city-state, acropolis.
Key Ideas: Greek mythology that entertains and expresses the values of the Greeks.
Identify: Homer, Heinrich Schliemann.
Identify the characteristics and the rise/fall of the following Early Greek civilizations: the Minoans and the Mycenaeans.
Understand the main characters and events of the Trojan War.

3. Ancient Greece Ancient Greece
Point out the key city states, and the island of Crete. Note the influence of the sea on their economy. Also point out the rivalry for key routes that will exist between the Greeks and the Persians.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece

4. Statue of the goddess Athena, image – Wikipedia Commons.
The Greek Religion
The Greeks were polytheistic, meaning they worshipped many gods.
Stories or myths about their gods expressed Greek values.
Statue of the goddess Athena, image – Wikipedia Commons.

5. “Oedipus and the Sphinx” Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. 1808.
Fact or Fiction?
Many Greek myths pointed to real cities, people, and events.
They also explained natural phenomenon , human nature and how people were to behave.
Oedipus and the Sphinx
“Oedipus and the Sphinx” Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

6. Jacob Jordaens. Ulysses in the Cave of Polyphemus. 1630s
Greek Values
Greek Myths demonstrated their cultural values:
Strength, courage.
Hospitality
Beauty
Jacob Jordaens. Ulysses in the Cave of Polyphemus. 1630s

7. The Greek Pantheon

8. Greek Gods and Goddesses
Mt. Olympus was the home of the gods.
They had human characteristics: jealousy, anger, love, courage, infidelity, etc.

9. Zeus/Jupiter
Chief of all of the gods on Mount Olympus.
The “thunder-bolt” god.

10. The jealous wife of Zeus. Queen of Heaven and Marriage.
Hera/Juno
The jealous wife of Zeus.
Queen of Heaven and Marriage.

11. Athena
Patron goddess of Athens, and wisdom.

12. Venus/Aphrodite Goddess of beauty and love. Her son is Cupid.
His arrows make people fall in love.

13. Ares/Mars
God of War
Lover of Venus.
Patron god of Sparta.

14. He supports the Greeks in the Trojan War.
Poseidon/Neptune
The god of the sea.
He supports the Greeks in the Trojan War.

15. Phoebus Apollo
God of the sun, poetry and music. His sister, Artemis/Diana is the goddess of the moon.

16. Theseus - Hero of Athens
Theseus was the great hero of the Athenians.
He is best known for his battle with the Minotaur.

17. Theseus - Hero of Athens
Theseus in the labyrinth with the Minotaur.

18. Map of Greece courtesy of Microsoft Office.
Map of Greece and Crete
The 1st Greek civilization was settled on the island of Crete.
The 2nd was established on the mainland of the Greek Peloponnesus.
Map – microsoft office, Soldier – Phillip Martin free art.
The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, flourishing from approximately 2600 to 1450 BC when their culture was superseded by the Mycenaean culture, which drew upon the Minoans. Based on depictions in Minoan art, Minoan culture is often characterized as a matrilineal society centered on goddess worship.
The term "Minoan" was coined by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans after the mythic "king" Minos, associated with the labyrinth, which Evans identified as the site at Knossos. It is possible, though unsure, that Minos was indeed a term for a Minoan ruler. What the Minoans called themselves is unknown, although the Egyptian place name "Keftiu" and the Semitic "Kaftor" or "Caphtor", both evidently referring to Minoan Crete, are suggestive.Wikipedia…
Map of Greece courtesy of Microsoft Office.

19. The Minoans
According to legend, the island of Crete was founded by the legendary King Minos.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
Map – Wikipedia, Image – Phillip Martin free clip art

20. Bull-Dancing
Frescoes like this one show the popular sport of bull-dancing or leaping.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons. (Fresco from the palace at Knossos).

21. The Minoans
Minoan bull and Europa

22. The Minoans were the 1st Greek civilization.
They settled on the island of Crete.
This was a very wealthy civilization based on trade.
Internal courtyard at Knossos
Minoan man - fresco

23. Minoan Palace at Knossos
The Palace at Knossos – arch. Site.

24. The Minoan Palaces
Internal view of the palace at Knossos

25. Minoan Artwork
Internal courtyard at Knossos

26. Minoan Women - frescoes
The Minoans
The Minoans lived in peace and prosperity.
Most scientists believe that a series of earthquakes destroyed the civilization.
Minoan Women - frescoes

27. The golden mask of Agamemnon. Image courtesy of Wikipedia commons.
Mycenaean Civilization
Around 2,000 B.C. – a group of warrior kings called the Myceneans took over the Peloponnesus.
This was the 2nd Greek civilization.
Internal courtyard at Knossos
The golden mask of Agamemnon. Image courtesy of Wikipedia commons.

28. Lion Gate of Mycenae
The Lion Gate of Mycenae . Two lions ten feet tall face each other, separated by a pillar over the massive lintel gate. This is the earliest known example of Greek monumental sculpture.

29. The Lion Gate of the Myceneans. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
Lion Gate of Mycenae
This is the earliest known example of Greek monumental sculpture.
The Myceneans fortified their cities with walls that were 20’ thick. This was the outer wall of their kingdom.
The Lion Gate of Mycenae . Two lions ten feet tall face each other, separated by a pillar over the massive lintel gate. This is the earliest known example of Greek monumental sculpture. Fortified their cities with walls that were 20’ thick.
Outer wall of the kingdom.
The Lion Gate of the Myceneans.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

30. This was called an acropolis, or “city on a hill.”
Acropolis of Mycenae
The Greeks built their city-states on top of a hill, so that they could be fortified against enemy attacks.
This was called an acropolis, or “city on a hill.”
The Acropolis of Mycenae. Most of the Greek city-states were founded near an acropolis, and isolated hill that could be fortified against the attacks of unfriendly neighbors.

31. Acropolis of Mycenae
The Acropolis of Mycenae. Most of the Greek city-states were founded near an acropolis, and isolated hill that could be fortified against the attacks of unfriendly neighbors.

32. Wrote the Iliad about the Trojan War.
Homer, the blind poet
Homer - poet
Wrote the Iliad about the Trojan War.
Wrote the Odyssey about the journey home.

33. “To the fairest of all women…”
The Trojan War
It all began...
“To the fairest of all women…”
Hera, Venus, and Athena

34. The Judgment of Paris
Paris was asked to decide which gift was the best.
1st, Hera offered power.
2nd, Athena offered victory in battle, and the wisdom to rule.
3rd, Venus offered him the most beautiful woman in the world.
Painting, “The Judgment of Paris.”
Image courtesy of Wikipedia commons.

35. Helen of Troy Helen was the wife of the King of Sparta, Menelaus.
She fled to Troy with her lover, Paris, starting the Trojan War.
It was said that she was the “face that launched a thousand ships.”

36. The Greeks and the Trojan War
Agamemnon led the Greeks on behalf of his brother, Menelaus, in the Trojan War.

37. Map of Homer’s Greece courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
The Greeks crossed the Aegean Sea to attack the walled city of Troy.
The Trojans were great horsemen and archers.
Map of Homer’s Greece courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

38. Painting, “The Rage of Achilles,” image courtesy of Wikipedia commons.
The Greeks and the Trojan War
The top warrior for the Greeks, was Achilles.
All Greek heroes like Odysseus and Ajax took part in the war.
Painting, “The Rage of Achilles,” image courtesy of Wikipedia commons.

39. The Horsemen of Troy
Priam was the king of Troy, but his son, Hector was the hero and leader of the Trojans during the war.
In the painting above, Hector reproaches his brother Paris and tells him that the Greeks are on the beaches of Troy.

40. Achilles, Hero of the Trojan War
After Hector killed Achilles’ cousin, Achilles killed Hector.
Achilles would die the next day at the hands of Paris.
Alexander Ivanov. Priam Asking Achilles to Return Hector's Body. 1824

41. The Trojan Horse
After a 10 year stalemate with Troy, Odysseus came up with a daring plan…
Hide the Greek army in a wooden horse, and leave it as a gift for the Trojans.
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

42. Effects of the Trojan War
The Greeks won, and they gained control of the Aegean Sea trade routes. They also gained new Greek city-states in Persia.
Map of Homer’s Greece courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

43. “Homer and his guide” image – Wikipedia Commons.
The Trojan War
So, did the Trojan War actually occur, or was it just a great story told by Homer?
Archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann believed that a real war took place between the Greeks and the Trojans.
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
“Homer and his guide” image – Wikipedia Commons.

44. Photo of Heinrich Schlieman courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
Discovered the lost city of Troy from his accounts of Homer’s Iliad.
Heinrich Schliemann (January 6, 1822 – December 26, 1890) was a German classical archaeologist, an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer, and an important excavator of Mycenaean sites, such as Troy, Mycenae and Tiryns.
Photo of Heinrich Schlieman courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

45. A modern model and replica of ancient Troy.
Replica of Troy
A modern model and replica of ancient Troy.

46. Jason and the Argonauts
Heroes and Heroines
These are stories about the heroic actions of mortals.
Greek values are expressed in these stories.
Jason and the Argonauts

47. What we know for certain:
History or Myth?
What we know for certain:
1st Greek civilization were the Minoans who settled on Crete.
2nd – a war-like group of Mycenean kings settled in Greece, and warred with the city, Troy.
Oedipus and the Sphinx