Do Now: Minoans v. Mycenaeans [list] List similarities and differences between the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. (think about: location, time period, government, downfall, lifestyle, relationship with neighbors, writing, culture, etc) Similarities Differences

Don’t forget: Progress Report #4 due TODAY  Final Draft (PR #5) due on Monday June 2

Unit 5 – Greece and Rome Introduction 5/12/2008 NOTE: write all questions completely. [list] Question 1. Why study ancient Greece? What about ancient Rome?  Unit Cover Sheet

[list] Question 2. What specific features do you notice about Greece’s geography? Climate and Geography  A very STRANGE place for a civilization to take root…: Islands  shipbuilding, seafood diet; also isolating Mountainous  difficult for farming; also isolating No major source of fresh water (lack of major freshwater river, for example)

Olive grove in rocky Greek soil  Question 3. What’s weird about Greece (compared to other civilizations we’ve studied?) Olive grove in rocky Greek soil  Great climate…bad terrain Very mountainous! (SO WHAT?) 2. Few rivers (SO WHAT?) 3. Rocky soil (SO WHAT?) 4. Islands…(SO WHAT?) Good climate but bad terrain (very mountainous) SO WHAT? Hard for good agriculture, hard for building an empire (ie, links between regions difficult, difficult transportation) 2. Few rivers – what’s the thing ALL civilizations have had in common that we’ve studied so far? Originate on a river (for farming/irrigation and trade!) 3. Rocky soil – another strike against agriculture, though Greeks found SOME things that grow well in the soil…OLIVES, for example, grow well in the rocky soil; some ground is not as rocky, and corn and wheat can grow there; grapes grow well in the hills 4. Islands – again, a problem for building a civilization; hard to connect with other regions; NEED TO DEVELOP NAVIGATION TECHNIQUES, rely on the sea for food (Homer describes various fishing methods using hooks, nets, and harpoon in both the Iliad and the Odyssey)

Early Bronze Age: 3000  1100 BCE Point out where Greece is The “big picture”: Bronze Age Mediterranean

The Minoans: 2000-1400 BCE Mycenaeans: 1600-1100 BCE Predecessors of the ancient Greeks THE FIRST WE’LL TALK ABOUT: The Minoans Point out island of Crete, in the Aegean Sea  Mountainous island with lots of natural harbors

Friday’s work – QUIZ TOMORROW on the readings Overall – great job Friday! We’ll finish the questions by “Speed Dating”… Start with Questions 1 and 2 (each time you move – next 2 questions) Discuss your answers – LOOK for answers in the reading if you didn’t find them yet *** Only need detailed bullet points for today’s work TO START: 2 minutes per question (longer later to look up answers)

NEXT SLIDES: Discussing some of the questions from the readings NEXT SLIDES: Discussing some of the questions from the readings. ADD any new/extra information to your answers.

The Minoans: 2000-1400 BCE Predecessors of the ancient Greeks THE FIRST WE’LL TALK ABOUT: The Minoans Point out island of Crete, in the Aegean Sea  Mountainous island with lots of natural harbors

Crete: Mountainous, with natural harbors #6: Why was Crete “desirable”? Predecessors of the ancient Greeks Point out island of Crete, in the Aegean Sea  Mountainous island with lots of natural harbors

Crete: Mountainous, with natural harbors What does this terrain mean for Minoan culture? Isolated (need to develop shipping/navigation to connect to outside world) Culture based on the sea

Minoan culture: sources Linear A: lots of archaeological evidence of a written language, but it has never been deciphered HOW do we decipher written languages? Need links to languages we DO understand (ie, the Rosetta Stone in Egypt  was a “key” that had the same passage written in two Egyptian scripts AND in ancient Greek…we understand ancient Greek, so we can decipher the Egyptian languages Most of the thousands of written records found seem to be accounting tallies (lists of what is bought and sold, inventories) – much more difficult to decipher an entire language based on this limited information (rather than, say, diaries, journals, speeches, etc) SO HOW CAN WE LEARN ABOUT MINOAN CULTURE? Need to rely on other archaeological evidence and make inferences #14: Linear A: written language…that we can’t understand… (so what?)

#10: Minoan art motifs: what can we learn? Crete is a STRANGE place for civilization to begin (rocky, mountainous soil; few rivers)…but it has other advantages that are seen in Minoan art Minoan art motifs (themes) tell us: Close connection to the sea (octopus, dolphin, fishing)

Artist’s recreation of the palace at Knossos #7 & 11: Minoan culture: advanced civilization (#7) Advanced civilization (like other civilizations we’ve seen) – LARGE HETEROGENEOUS POPULATION, development of government, infrastructure Minoan cities connected by stone-paved roads Streets were drained, and sewage and water facilities were available to the upper class through clay pipes (#11) Palaces built to serve as the center of government, administrative offices, shrines, workshops, storage spaces (ie, for grain) do we know these functions for SURE? Nope – only our best guess Knossos is the best-known example of a Minoan palace Artist’s recreation of the palace at Knossos

Aerial view: archaeological excavation at Knossos Advanced civilization: Minoan cities connected by stone-paved roads Streets were drained, and sewage and water facilities were available to the upper class through clay pipes Palaces built to serve as the center of government, administrative offices, shrines, workshops, storage spaces (ie, for grain) do we know these functions for SURE? Nope – only our best guess Knossos is the best-known example of a Minoan palace Aerial view: archaeological excavation at Knossos

The labyrinth and the Minotaur The legend of Knossos The palace is about 130 meters on a side and since the Roman period has been suggested as the source of the myth of the Labyrinth, an elaborate mazelike structure constructed for King Minos of Crete and designed by the legendary artificer Daedalus to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. The story: Athens was once a Mycean City ruled by King Minos. It is said that Poseidon gave a great bull to King Minos as a gift. The kings' wife, Pasiphae, fell in love with the bull and seduced him, the result was the Minotaur. When King Minos discovered the Minotaur he locked him in a great maze (this maze is thought to possibly be the palace at Knossos. Minos had rule over much of the Mediterranean, and when his son, Androgeus was killed by the Athenians he forced them to send a tribute of seven men and seven women Crete as prey for the Minotaur. Theseus, son of the Athenian King Aegeus, volunteered to go to Crete, where he defeated the Minotaur, lead the people out of the maze, and freed the Athenians in Crete. (Zeiling de Boer and Sanders, 2002). It is said that this myth could reflect the fall of the Minoan empire. The labyrinth and the Minotaur

Art and architecture of Knossos Unique architectural design: columns that are narrower at the base than at the top – “inverted column” (why? No one knows) Later Greek columns are larger at the base to make the columns look taller NOTE: These columns are reconstructed…originals were made of wood and decayed (didn’t survive)…how do we know what they looked like? art

Palace of King Minos – throne room What do you notice about the throne room? throne, walls elaborately decorated, benches (for others to sit on?) What is the bowl for? Ceremonial?

Society and culture through art Minoan men wore loincloths and kilts. Women wore robes that were open to the navel, leaving their breasts exposed, and had short sleeves and layered flounced skirts. Women also had the option of wearing a strapless fitted bodice, the first fitted garments known in history. The patterns on clothes emphasized symmetrical geometric designs.

Minoan Religion Mistress of animals Minoan snake goddess The Minoans worshiped goddesses.[1] Although there is some evidence of male gods, depictions of Minoan goddesses vastly outnumber depictions of anything that could be considered a Minoan god. While some of these depictions of women are believed to be images of worshipers and priestesses officiating at religious ceremonies, as opposed to the deity herself, there still seem to be several goddesses including a Mother Goddess of fertility, a Mistress of the Animals, a protectress of cities, the household, the harvest, and the underworld, and more. Mistress of animals Minoan snake goddess

#12: Bull cult? … and the Minotaur…

Bull jumping fresco Equality of men and women? The statues of priestesses in Minoan culture and frescoes showing men and women participating in the same sports such as bull-leaping, lead some archaeologists to believe that men and women held equal social status. Inheritance is thought to have been matrilineal. Minoan religion was goddess worship and women are represented as those officiating at religious ceremonies. The frescos include many depictions of people, with the genders distinguished by colour: the men's skin is reddish-brown, the women's white. Bull jumping – teasing animals? Showing their prowess/bravery? What might this fresco tell us about Minoan culture?

#15: The end of the Minoans By ~1450BCE, the Minoans disappear. Why? Some theories: Volcanic eruption? Earthquake? Attack? Invaders? No one knows HOW and WHY the Minoan culture disappeared…evidence of fires at the palaces (caused by warring factions?); also evidence of a volcanic eruption ~1750BCE and fires ~1450BCE BUT, we can’t read the language, and whoever came right after didn’t leave us any clues

The Mycenaeans: 1600-1100 BCE Predecessors of the ancient Greeks Follow the Minoans (though there is some overlap…) - The Mycenaeans established a society on the Greek peninsula beginning with migrations in 2200 B.C. From 1500 to 1100 B.C., they expanded their influence beyond the Greek peninsula, overpowering Minoan society in Crete (were the Minoans already weakened by earthquakes or other natural disasters?)  this is the historical setting of the ancient Greek epics “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”; the Trojan Wars

City of Mycenae – archaeological “tell” What’s under there? Ruins of the city!

Aerial view of Mycenae

Written language: Linear B Mycenaens vs. Minoans: Writing Written language: Linear B (and we can read it!)

#8: Mycenaens vs. Minoans: Walls The king was also primarily a warlord, and Mycenean society was constantly geared for battle and invasion. Their cities were heavy fortresses with unimaginably thick perimeter walls.  Citadel of Mycenae, once the most powerful kingdom in Greece (1600 - 1200 BC). The citadel is known for its walls, so thick that the ancient Greeks thought they must have been built by Cyclops, the mythical one-eyed giants. The picture shows a passage through the wall to a secret cistern (water well). Mycenaen cities heavily fortressed – thick defensive walls (what does that tell us about their lifestyle?)

#8: Mycenaens vs. Minoans: Art While the Minoans surrounded themselves with delicate art of everyday life, Mycenean art was about warfare and hunting.  Society dominated by a warrior aristocracy Theme of Mycenaen art?

#16: Earliest evidence -- shaft graves (and beehive tombs later) Earliest evidence of Mycenaen civilization is richly furnished shaft graves (include gold, silver, jewelry, fine bronze weapons, gold death masks) LATER: The Mycenaeans buried their nobles in beehive tombs (tholoi), large circular burial chambers with a high vaulted roof and straight entry passage lined with stone. They often buried daggers or some other form of military equipment with the deceased. The nobility were frequently buried with gold masks, tiaras, armor, and jeweled weapons. Mycenaeans were buried in a sitting position, and some of the nobility underwent mummification.  Nobility and a sign of status: So the Myceneans ranged far and wide looking for all sorts of trouble. They also ranged far and wide as merchants, trading raw goods such as oil and animal skins for jewelry and other goods from Crete, Asia Minor, and Egypt. Some of this commercial activity was not exactly above-board; the Mycenean kings were not above a little piracy or rapine. All of this activity concentrated a great deal of wealth in the hands of the kings and a few officials. Most of the wealth, of course, was spent on warfare and defense; a large part of it, though, went into other activities: crafts, jewelry, and expensive burials. Like most societies dominated by an extremely powerful ruler, the Myceneans spent a great deal of wealth and labor burying that ruler. Initially, the most powerful Myceneans were buried in deep shaft graves, but sometime around 1500 BC, they began burying their most powerful people in tholos tombs, which were large chambers cut into the side of a hill. Like most monumental architecture, their principle purpose was probably a display of power. What do their burial practices tell us about the Mycenaeans?

#9 Collapse of the Mycenaean culture …and the beginning of the Greek “Dark Ages”

#9 - Greek Dark Ages (1100BCE  800 BCE) Possible causes: Greece attacked by outside invaders? Ecological devastation? Effects: Population decreases Literacy essentially disappears (what does this mean for our sources from this time period?) Regardless of whether the Trojan War actually happened, the time period between 1100  800 BCE was a time of chaos in the eastern Mediterranean For some reason the Myceneans abandoned their civilization between 1200 and 1100 BC. The populations of their once-mighty cities dwindled rapidly until there was no urbanized culture left on the Greek mainland. Most of the cities were eventually destroyed, and all the great craftsmen of the Mycenean cities faded away when society could no longer support them. How much of their culture they abandoned, we don't know. For the one key element of their culture that they did abandon was writing , and we don't know why. Without writing, they left us no history following the collapse of Mycenean civilization; we have, instead, only five centuries of mystery: the Greek Dark Ages. Also called, the Greek Middle Ages, this period may have been precipitated by migrations and invasions of a people speaking a dialect of Greek, the Dorians. Later Greeks believed this to be the case: in Greek history and legend, the Dorians were a barbaric northern tribe of Greeks who rushed down into Greece and wrested control over the area.    In the absence of archaeological evidence, it seems unlikely that a nomadic, tribal group could so easily overcome a highly efficient, warfare-centered society like the Myceneans. There is, though, no reason to disbelieve the Greeks. The best explanation is that a combination of economic decline and migrations of northern peoples slowly spelled the end of the Myceneans. ON THE UPSIDE: Despite the bleakness of the situation, the Greeks began to slowly urbanize in the latter part of the Dark Ages. This early urbanized culture would produce, at the very close of the Greek Dark Ages, the single greatest Greek accomplishment in the Greek view of themselves: the poetry of Homer. Not only are the two epic poems of Homer windows into the distant Mycenean past and into the darkness of the Greek Middle Ages, they are the defining moment in Greek culture; for the Greeks will turn to these poems throughout their history to define themselves culturally, politically, and historically.