Aegean Civilizations(Minoan Civilization, Rulers of Mycenae, and the

Age of Homer)

Presentation created by Robert L. MartinezPrimary Content Source: Prentice Hall World HistoryImages as cited.

Washed by the warm waters of the Aegean Sea, Crete was home to a brilliant

early civilization. Minoan civilization reached its height between 1750 B.C.E.

and 1500 B.C. E.

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The success of the Minoans was based on trade, not conquest. Minoan traders set up outposts throughout the Aegean world. For

their island home in the eastern Mediterranean, they crossed the seas to the

Nile Valley and the Middle East.

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The rulers of this trading empire lived a vast palace at Knossos. It housed rooms for the

royal family, banquet halls, and working areas for artisans. It included religious shrines, dedicated to their gods and goddesses.

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The walls of the palace were covered with colorful frescoes (watercolor paintings). These

frescoes tell us much about Minoan society. Leaping dolphins reflect the importance of the

sea. Religious images indicate that the Minoans worshipped the bull and mother goddess.

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The frescoes suggest that women appeared freely in public and may have

enjoyed more rights than women in most other ancient civilizations.

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By 1400 B.C.E., Minoan civilization had vanished. No one is sure of the reasons for the disappearance. A sudden volcanic eruption on a nearby island may have rained flaming death

on Knossos. An earthquake may have destroyed the palace, followed by a tidal wave

that drowned the inhabitants.

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However, invaders certainly played a role in the destruction of Minoan civilization. These intruders were the Mycenaeans,

the first Greek-speaking people.

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Like the Aryans who swept into India, the Mycenaeans were an Indo-European people. They conquered the Greek

mainland before overrunning Crete.

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Mycenaean civilization dominated the Aegean world from about 1400 B.C.E. to 1200 B.C.E. Like the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were sea

traders. They reached out beyond the Aegean Sea to Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.

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The Mycenaeans lived in separate city-states on the mainland. In each, a warrior-

king built a think-walled fortress from which he ruled the surrounding villages.

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The Mycenaeans are best remembered for their part in the Trojan War, which took place around 1250 B.C.E. The conflict may have had

its origins in economic rivalry between Mycenae and Troy.

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Troy controlled the vital straits that connect the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

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However, Greek legend attributes the war to a more romantic tale. After the Trojan

prince Paris kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king, the

Mycenaeans sailed to Troy to rescue her.

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For the next 10 years, the two sides battled until the Greeks finally seized Troy and burned the city to the ground.

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Not long after the fall of Troy, Mycenaean civilization crumbled under the attack of sea raiders. About the same time, Greek-

speaking Dorians, invaded from the north.

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We get hints about this time period from two epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey. These epics may have been credited to the poet Homer, who lived about 750

B.C.E.

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Homer was a blind poet who wandered from village to village, singing of heroic

deeds. His tales were passed on orally for generations before they finally written

down.

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The Iliad is our chief source of information about the Trojan War, although the story involves gods, goddesses, and even a talking

horse.

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The Odyssey tells of the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus to return home to his

faithful wife, Penelope after the fall of Troy. On his long voyage, he encounters a sea monster, a

race of one-eyed giants, and a beautiful sorceress who turns men into swine.

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The Iliad and Odyssey reveal much about the values of the ancient Greeks. For

almost 3,000 years, the epics of Homer have inspired European writers and

artists.

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