1. Ancient Greece Art

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5. Mycenaean In antiquity, Greece was a geographical area instead of a political unity (unlike Egypt) Each city was its own entity, we call this city-states Athens is one of the oldest, continually inhabited cities in the world; people have lived there since paleolithic times (500,000-10,000) There is strong evidence that Neanderthals (600,000-30,000) lived in parts of Greece

6. Mycenaean Around 2,200 BC, the Mycenaeans enter Greece from the north (scholars don’t know where they came from) They were a fully developed Bronze Age culture and were able to displace the Neolithic people already living there They were a war-like people and soon controlled all of central to southern Greece

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11. Minoan The early inhabitants of Crete settled as early as 128,000 BC, during the Middle Paleolithic age. It was not until 5000 BC that the first signs of advanced agriculture appeared, marking the beginning of civilization. The Minoan culture was established by the 27th century BC. The Minoan culture was fully advanced bronze age. It is unclear whether the Minoans grew out of the indigenous Neolithic people, or came to the island fully developed around 2600 BC.

12. Minoan Unlike cities on the mainland of Greece, those on the island of Crete had no fortification walls. The Minoans were peaceful and must have believed that the sea was their protection. According to myth, at some time they were in control of the mainland as well as their island (ex. The minotaur).

13. Minoan Around 1600 BC, the Mycenaeans attack Crete and take over the Minoan cities; Minoans are no longer a part of history. May have already been destroyed or terribly weakened by the eruption of Thera The Mycenaeans also took over part of Israel and were called Philistines. They attacked Egypt but were repelled. Egyptians called them the sea people.

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22. Mycenaeans In about 1200 BC, the Mycenaeans attack the city of Troy on the mainland of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). According to Homer, the war was fought over Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world and the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. May have been fought over who would control shipping in the Aegean Sea. Whatever the cause, the Trojan war was real. The Mycenaeans destroyed Troy.

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28. Archeologist The man who found Troy and Mycenae was Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890)

29. Sofia Schliemann

30. Death mask found at Mycenae