The Great Traders

A group of more than 100 islands in the Aegean Sea between mainland Greece and the island of Crete No written records of the early Cycladic people remain, although archaeologists have found a good deal of their art in and around hillside burial chambers

Originally painted Most depict women, but male figures also exist Function remains unknown, but some scholars suggest they were used for home worship and then buried with their owner

VENUS OF WILLENDORF CA. 25,000-20,000 BCE WOMAN FROM THE CYCLADES CA BCE

Minoans flourished on Crete from about 1900 to 1375 BCE Name derived from the legendary King Minos, who was said to have ruled the island’s ancient capital of Knossos Worshipped female deities

First unearthed by Arthur Evans in 1900, one of three principal palace sites on Crete Loosely organized around a central, open courtyard Representations of double axes decorated the palace at every turn, and in Greek times the palace was known as the House of the Double Axes. In fact, the Greek word for the palace was labyrinth, from labrys, “double ax”

Buon fresco technique—pigment mixed with water and applied to a wall that has been coated with wet lime plaster. The painting literally becomes a part of the wall, making the art more durable Painted not in tombs but on the walls of homes and palaces where they could be enjoyed by the living Emphasis on the bull. The Minoans regularly sacrificed bulls and associated them symbolically with male virility and strength

As in Egyptian art, women are traditionally depicted with light skin, men with a darker complexion

Discovered by Arthur Evans during his early 20 th century excavation on Crete Snake an almost universal symbol of rebirth and fertility Scholars still debating its authenticity. Many parts were missing, so an artist working for Evans fashioned new parts and attached them to the figure No images of a snake goddess in surviving Minoan wall frescoes and other artifacts

When discovered, the figure lacked a head. The cat is original, although it was not found with the statue Most of her left arm, including the snake, was absent The snake in her right arm was missing a head. It could just as easily have been a sheaf of grain or a necklace

Discovered in a tomb at Vaphio, just south of Sparta Bull motif—classically Minoan Minoan metalwork was prized on the mainland

The forerunner of ancient Greek culture Essentially feudal in nature—powerful kings controlled the cities and surrounding countryside, and they expected loyalty and financial support from the inhabitants Walled cities and art depicting battle and hunting scenes—the hierarchical and warlike Myceneans lived and died by the sword

Heinrich Schliemann ( )—German archaeologist Following excavations at Hissarlik/ancient Troy (in modern Turkey), he turned his attention to other sites mentioned in the Homeric epics At Mycenae he discovered gold and silver death masks of fallen heroes as well as swords and daggers. Most of this treasure he found in shaft graves, vertical pits some 20 to 25 feet deep enclosed in a circle of stone slabs

Atreus—father of Agamemnon, an early king of Mycenae prominent in Homer’s Iliad Tholos—new architectural form the Mycenaeans used to bury their kings beginning in about 1300 BCE. A tholos is a small round building often called a beehive because of its shape No evidence supports Schliemann’s claim that this tholos contained the remains of Atreus or Agamemnon

Testament to the enormous wealth Mycenae’s kings amassed Schliemann believed this to be the death mask of Agamemnon, but it predates the Trojan War by some 300 years Schliemann may have added the handlebar mustache and large ears, perhaps to make the mask appear more “heroic”

Dating from the time of the Trojan War, this vase depicts a woman waving good-bye to departing troops. This vase and Schliemann’s discoveries testify to the accuracy of many of the Iliad’s descriptions of Bronze Age Greece

Troy controlled the Hellespont, which connects the Aegean to the Black Sea In Homeric times, the city of Troy was considerably closer to the straits than it is today, less than a half- mile from the shore

Amphora—Greek jar with an egg-shaped body and two curved handles used for storing oil or wine Two warriors confront one another with unwavering determination and purpose Areté—“being the best one can be” or “reaching one’s highest human potential.” Homer uses the term to describe both Greek and Trojan heroes.

Earliest known depiction of the Trojan Horse Artist has opened little windows in the horse’s side, showing the Greeks hiding within, ready to attack

--from Homer, Odyssey, Book I (ca 725 BCE )

Episode from Book 9 of the Odyssey Odysseus’s craftiness, not the intervention of the gods, saves him and his men If the Greek gods exercise some authority over the lives of human beings—they do control their ultimate fate—human beings are in complete control of how they live