The Rise And Fall Of Ancient Heroes: Greece 2500-500 B.C. The Geography The Minoans The Mycenae The Downfall Of Mycenae

The Greek Peninsula The Greek Peninsula was made of mountain ranges which lacked rivers and floodplains Greeks lived in scattered communities among mountains and numerous bodies of water like the Aegean Sea and Ionian Turned to the sea because of their location and accessibility to it Climate average 50’s in winter and 80’s in summer

The Minoans: 2000-1450 B.C. High point of Minoan history associated with King Minos Island of Crete had a population of 250,000 and 40,000 lived in capital called Kronos Economy was based on trade of bronze tools and weapons Owned sea bearing ships unlike Phoenician ships

Minoan Art And Architecture Built huge multi-roomed palaces that contained rooms of shapes and sizes No sense of design for these palaces led them to them being called labyrinths Produced colorful bright frescoes influenced by the Egyptians Created statuettes of female goddesses

Minoan Religion Religion seems to have centered around a fertility goddess Had a religious rituals that required males and females to vault over a charging bull Feast followed ritual where bull was then sacrificed King then wore head of bull (The Minotaur )

The Minoan Mystery Disappearance a mystery Believed that a volcano caused a tidal wave that destroyed Minoans Greeks possibly invaded and ravaged Minoan civilization

Mycenaean's: The First Greeks 2000-1100 B.C. Adopted cultural high points of Minoans like Artwork Language Trade networks Increased wealth holdings by continuing Minoan trade routes and links Lacked arable farm land and were forced to trade extensively for wheat and barley

The Mycenaean's: Social Structure A war like civilization with a class system that reinforced culture Kings, nobles, soldiers and slaves formed social class Burials were accompanied with vast number of arms Cities were built with great protective walls and palaces were small forts

The Mycenaean's: An Economy Of Trade Mycenaean’s could not support themselves had to purchase copper and tin to make bronze unlike Egypt, Indus and Mesopotamia Relied on trade routes established by Minoans for food and resources The Greek Mycenaean's traded pottery, olive oil as far as Egypt, Syria and Palestine (outskirts of Mesopotamian region)

The Mycenaean's: Invasion And Violence 1250-1200 B.C. Economic conditions (trade competition) and expansion created a time of war Mycenaeans embark on war in the Mediterranean region believed they laid siege and eventually destroyed the mythical city of Troy Iliad, written by blind poet Homer, considered father of Greek literature, created myth of Trojan War Iliad, defined heroic behavior and human weakness

The Mycenaean's: Invasion And Violence 1250-1200 B.C. 1200 B.C. saw the downfall of Mycenaean civilization Devastating droughts Invasion from Northern Greeks called Dorians Absence from Trojan War caused internal problems All Mycenae writing was lost with its downfall this causes a lost period