1. The Minoans and Mycenaeans

2. Minoans Lived on Crete from 7000 BC Did NOT speak Greek
Imported cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, dogs
Also imported grains
Trade was the lifeline of Minoan civilization
Food grown on island was not sufficient to sustain population
Traded with towns along Black Sea
Crete is this island

3. Minoan Technology Written language called Linear A
(remains untranslated to today)
Construction Technology
First constructed palaces around 3000 BC
Constructed on top of original sites, just like Harrapan cities

4. Palace Complex of Knossos
Served as centers of government, fort, shrine, workshop
Huge granaries stored food for winter
Included complex sewers and flush toilets!

5. Knossos Palace Model

6. Knossos Palace - interior
Dolphin Sanctuary

7. Minoan Art
Frescos (painted walls) showed men, women participating in sports and ceremonies
Color of skin used in frescos represented different sexes
Women’s skin was white
Men’s skin was reddish brown
Frescos of women vastly outnumber that of men

8. Minoan Culture
Men and women are thought to have held at least equal social status
Based on frescos depicting men, women playing the same sports
Minoan culture was possibly matriarchal
Women shown seated on thrones
Women shown being saluted by others
Minoan art depicts no trace of male rule

9. Potinija – mother goddess
Minoan Religion
Based on goddess worship
Examples
Fertility Goddess
Mistress of Animals
Protector of Cities
Mistress of the Harvest
Potinija – mother goddess

10. Minoan Religion Important symbols Bull = virility (maleness)
Double Axe (right to rule)
Sun Disk
Serpent (renewal of life – shedding skin)
Example of Double Axe Symbol

11. Minoan Trade
Pottery distribution reveals far flung contacts with other civilizations
Network of trade with mainland Greece, Cyprus, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Spain
Traded tin – important for what?
Also traded ceramics, gold, silver

12. End of Minoan Civilization
Rise of iron production led to decline in Minoan trade after 1700 BC
Volcano eruption at Thera wiped out most of Northern Crete
Eruption caused huge tidal wave
Wave destroyed Minoan navy
Earthquake around 1600 BC destroyed many palaces, Knossos
Mycenaeans invaded around 1400 BC
Area of eruption’s
effect
Modern map of
Crete, Santorini
(formerly Thera)

13. Who were the Mycenaeans?
Tribes of Mainland Greeks
Ionians (future Athenians)
Aeolians (future Thessalians)
Tribes had lived in area since 3000 BC
Mycenaean civilization was the basis for Homer’s Iliad & The Odyssey
Major Mycenae settlements

14. Mycenae Politics
Dominated by a warrior aristocracy (nobles)

15. Mycenae Technology Written language called Linear B (translated)
clay tablet
Written language called Linear B (translated)
Written language is a direct ancestor to modern Greek
Bronze metallurgy was common (weapons, armor)
Fought from chariots

16. Mycenaen Technology: Linear B

17. Mycenae Invasion of Crete (ca. 1400 BC)
Swept through Crete, looting and burning remaining palaces
By 1200 BC, most Minoan palace sites had fallen into ruin

18. Mythical Mycenae: Trojan War
Epic Greek tale contained in Homer’s Iliad
Homer: blind poet living in about 700 BC
Iliad, Odyssey were oral poems (memorized)
Both poems were myths
Myth = story told to explain life, universe
Gods & humans were similar
Who were some Greek Gods?

19. Trojan War
Ten year war between Greeks, led by King Agamemnon against Trojans, led by King Priam
Many heroes fought during the war (Hector, Paris, Achilles, Ajax, Ulysses)

20. End of the Trojan War
Greeks won by leaving “Trojan Horse” outside Troy, filled with warriors; when Trojans brought it into city, Greeks poured out to open gates of city
The Iliad in Lego’s or Clay?

21. Fall of Mycenae Civilization
Conquered by invaders, the Dorians (iron users from North), around 1200 BC
Led to a “Dark Age” from 1200 to 800 BC when Greeks lost ability to write
Population decreased as civ almost lost

22. (of the Minoans and Mycenae)
THE END
(of the Minoans and Mycenae)