The Minoans and Mycenaeans: Civilizations of the Bronze Age Aegean

minotaurs labyrinths cyclopean walls and the trojan war today we're comparing two of the most fascinating bronze age civilizations the minoans and the myceneans hello and welcome to ancient history encyclopedia my name is kelly and today we're going to have a look at the bronze age aegean back before the time of classical greece to the world of the minoans and the myceneans the minoans who ruled the greek island crete between circa 2000 and 1450 bce are best known for their palace complex canosos and their link to king minos the minotaur ariadne the labyrinth built by daedalus

and the greek hero theseus all from greek mythology the mycenaeans flourished on mainland greece between circa 1700 and 1100 bce and are well known from their legendary heroes agamemnon and menelaus who came from the city of maisini and fought in the trojan war a story made famous by the poet homer and his iliad and odyssey although these cultures are often perceived as one following after the other there was actually a few hundred years where the dominance in the aegean was shifting from the minoans to the mycenaeans which allowed for ample cross-cultural transmission which can be

observed from the archaeological record from both cultures let's explore the similarities and differences between these two civilizations and discuss how they influenced each other along the way artifacts uncovered in both burials and palatial complexes of both the minoans and the myceneans show that both cultures had extensive connections via trade networks with a number of civilizations throughout the ancient world including egypt cyprus and the near east it is clear however that they had a preference for trading with each other and the myceneans appear to have been fairly influenced by the minoans it is believed that the

two cultures work together with the myceneans giving the minoans access to raw materials from the mainland in exchange for the minoans trading their prized artifacts as well as access to extended trade routes archaeological fines from mycenaean sites like mycenae and pilos included artifacts such as an ostrich egg and pottery which are known from craftsmen in egypt but by the time they got to the mainland they clearly had minoan embellishments this suggests that the minoans may have been working as intermediaries between the myceneans and other places such as egypt we have a substantial understanding of the

trade networks which were active during the late bronze age and this is mostly because of the multiple shipwrecks which have been excavated by underwater archaeologists which have been dated to this period the ulla baron shipwreck which was found off the southern coast of anatolia dates to either the late 14th century or the early 13th century bce and its time underwater has actually preserved the raw materials better than if the ship was buried the ship contained artifacts and raw materials from egypt cyprus the greek mainland crete and the levant and it was the pottery on board

which has aided the dating of the shipwreck since the minoans were first in the aegean as in their cultures older it only makes sense that they influence the myceneans more so than the other way around the minoans are known for their intricate and high quality pottery and craftsmanship and it seems as though the mycenaeans wanted to get their hands on it minoan pottery which has been classified into many different types including the thin and delicate kamari's wear and the iconic marine wear have been found all over crete and at mycenaean palatial sites there is evidence

that the mycenaeans took a liking to the marine ware specifically the motif of the octopus which they then began to incorporate into their own pottery their work however was more geometric and structured compared to the free-flowing decoration of the minoans which has made it easier to differentiate between the works of the different cultures the myceneans had a preference for portraying violent and warrior-like scenes and often depicted the human figure the myceneans are best known for the gold death masks found in multiple burials in tholos tombs and the grave circles at mycenae one of the tombs

has been named the tomb of agamemnon with the mask of agamemnon being a familiar image often the quality of mycenean artifacts frequently found in burials suggest that they were the craftsmanship of minoans made for a mainland audience the lack of fortifications on crete has encouraged speculation that the minoans in general were fairly peaceful and they may have felt they had no fear of an attack although there are other possible reasons for their meager fortifications in regards to the structures themselves it is still a mystery as to whether they were the seat of a king a

royal family or whether they were a theocracy ruled by priestesses the minoan palace structures were grand with conusos being the largest and the remains at the site hint of a labyrinthine structure which means it might be the famous labyrinth of the minotaur of the theseus myth where the athenian prince had to kill the half-man half-bull monster to free his people knossos like other minoan settlements also shows a number of ornamental flourishes and sophisticated architectural planning these structures were not palaces in a modern sense but seem to have been the centre for administrative business due to

archives being found in palace centers as well as a centralized space for commerce and trade we know a bit more about mycenaean palatial centers due to our ability to read their language linear b which is the earliest form of greek the minoan language of linear a is an obvious influence for linear b but it isn't greek and it is yet to be translated the mycenean palatial centres are smaller than the minoan centres but were all heavily fortified with the exception of pilos whose fortification walls were fairly small and quite a distance from the center as

opposed to that of mycenae and tyrans the gigantic size of the fortifications led the later greeks to call them cyclopean as they could have only been built by the race of cyclops the one-eyed giants best known from homer's odyssey we know from the extant linear b archives most of which were found at p-loss that the mycenean centers were like the cretan centers a centralized space for the redistribution of goods and were also used for storage of oil and grains and even had rooms for specialized crafts the myceneans were ruled by a wanax which is like

a lord and his second in command was a laowagitas which is like a governor the minoans often buried their elite in pythos or large burial jars and there is also evidence for tholos tombs also known as a beehive tomb on crete which is a type of tomb utilized by the mycenean elite on mainland greece the thalos term is a structure created by a process known as corbelling whereby successive layers grow increasingly smaller until they form a tomb which resembles a beehive the earliest thalos or beehive tomb on the mainland is believed to be tholos 4

at p-loss and only recently two new tombs have been found right next to the lost four which have been named follow six and dollar seven easily the most famous the lost tomb of the mycenaeans is the treasury of atrius which is also known as the tomb of agamemnon and was built in circa 1250 bce at mycenae the stone lintel above the door of this structure is an amazing 120 tons and the tomb is thought to have held only a single person a king both cultures used burials to emphasize their wealth and flaunted their connections with

other cultures through the artifacts buried with the deceased the myceneans had a preference for minoan style goods and artifacts such as the inlaid daggers found at mycenae are documented as being made by minoan craftsmen but buried with the mycenean although the minoan linear a is still a mystery the many religious scenes found on frescoes signet rings and seal stones have allowed scholars to make an educated assumption about the minoan religious beliefs and practices one of the most prominent aspects of minoan religion is the bull whose image can be found in frescoes with the most famous

being the bull leaping fresco believed to depict an actual ritual bulls appear on jewelry and the horns of consecration which are clearly those of a bull are a staple in the known religion and have been found on small and large artifacts throughout crete there are many depictions of priestesses and women performing religious rituals and there are a number of ivory carvings of a deity which has been given the name the snake goddess by modern scholars although her original name is unknown frescoes also show the use of writons which were libation vessels used for religious purposes

and were often highly ornamented the minoans had a number of common religious symbols which have been identified across the island of crete and this includes but is not limited to the double axe the sacral knot and the horns of consecration the minoans took part in religious activities in sanctuaries which were either on a high mountain peak which was no more than three hours walk from the settlement or in caves and it seems the subterranean rituals required the presence of stalactites and stalagmites in order to be effective but what the meaning of these were is unknown

the rituals enacted at the mountaintop sanctuaries were to bring the participants closer to the realm of the gods these places of religious activities are present all over crete and are believed to have been used for different types of rituals not much is known about the religion of the myceneans other than what has been assumed from the preserved art and the archaeological record there is record of communal feasting animal sacrifice libations and food offerings and although they seem to have adopted some minoan religious symbols such as the double axe it's unclear whether they meant the same

to the myceneans as they did on crete we do however have the linear b tablets which mentions some of the same gods which were venerated by the classical greeks after the myceneans and this includes zeus poseidon artemis and hermes the minoan and mycenaean cultures were separate civilizations with distinctive features but they did not exist entirely separately the archaeological record has provided us with a great deal of information about their transmission of goods and ideas the interconnectedness and the shift in political and trade dominance in the mediterranean during the late bronze age why do you think

the minoans chose not to build fortification walls but the mycenaeans built walls so huge that they were believed to have been built by giants do you think the minoans were simply more peaceful or did they have different threats or do you think the minoans were simply more confident on their island kingdom let us know what you think down in the comments below this video was brought to you by ancient history encyclopedia for more great articles and interactive content head to our website via the link below ancient history encyclopedia is a not-for-profit organization if you'd like

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