Mycenaean Civilization Chapter 9 section 2

Who were they and where did they come from?  Came from grasslands of Russia- settled in the lowlands of Greece

 Kings built fortress type palaces on hilltops  In times of danger, people sought shelter in the palace  Megaron-square room with fireplace in center was the chief meeting place for the king

Farmlands  Land was divided into estates that was farmed by slaves or tenants  Were herders but also hunted for their food

Economy  Traded with Minoan people of Crete  Mycenaeans imitated the use of metals, adapted the Cretan language for their own, copied their fashions, and learned how to build and navigate ships  Grew olives, learned how to press them for olive oil  Sale of oil made them rich

War-like people  Successful traders but a warrior attitude  Used shields, spears, swords, and armor made of bronze  At first they fought each other, then by the use of ships, they were able to raid other lands  By 1400 B.C.- replaced the Minoans as the powerhouse in the Aegean World

The Real Trojan War  The Trojans (people from Troy) controlled the trade routes to the Black Sea- they made money off taxing ships carrying grain and gold to southern Greece and Russia

So…………….  The Mycenaeans attacked Troy around the middle 1200 B.C

Trojan War- according to Homer  500 years after attack, Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey to make a written account of the attack  According to Homer- the war was fought over a woman  King of Troy’s son Paris fell in love with Helen, the wife of the Mycenaean king

Trojan War  Paris took Helen to Troy  Her husband became angry and formed an army to go get his wife back  The walls of Troy were thick and tall and they couldn’t get into the city  After 10 years of fighting- the Mycenaeans still had not taken over the city

Trojan War  They built a big wooden horse, the best soldiers crawled inside, and the rest of the army “sailed away”.  The Trojans saw the ships leave and assumed they won the war

 The Trojans pulled the horse inside the city as a victory prize  At night, the Mycenaeans came out, let the rest of the army in through the gates.

Trojan War  The Mycenaeans attacked Troy, killed the king, and burned the city.  Helen returned home

“Dark Ages”  Civil Wars broke out over Greece upon the return from the Trojan War  Fortress palaces were destroyed  The Dorians conquered Greece  Many Myceneans left the mainland and settled in the Aegean on tiny islands in an area known as Ionia

“Dark Ages”  As a result of the invasion- Greece entered a dark age until about 800 B.C.  All cultural things came to a halt  Economic activity came to a standstill  They had to rebuild all their civilization- relearn how to do things they knew how to do before  Borders kept changing and eventually the borders became permanent and led to the rise of independent city-states

“Dark Ages”  A group called the Hellenes or Greeks began to redevelop their culture, by learning new crafts and skills  This civilization was one of the greatest in the world and lasted from 700 B.C. to 336 B.C.