“The Sons of the Achaeans”Early Greek Civilization
Hellas and the HellensLandscape of the Prehistoric Peoples of Greece
Physical Features: (Un)Forgiving Terrain Aegean, Black, Mediterranean Sea Access TRADE
Natural Resources Bronze and Wood
Agriculture Mediterranean Triad:
Wheat & Barley Grapes Olives
Hellas and the HellensLandscape of the Prehistoric Peoples of Greece
Impact of the Sea: Aristotle: The sea created a climate that was in “a middle position and correspondingly Greeks enjoy both energy and intelligence… for this reason they retain freedom and have the best political institutions… and they could rule the world (if they wanted to).” Plato: the sea “is, in very truth, a briny and bitter neighbor. It fills a city with wholesale traffic and retail huckstering…”
Greek Myth: The Minotaur
Greek Myth: Hercules’ 12 Labors
Myths and RealitiesWhat value do myths play in reconstructing history? What are the strengths and weaknesses of using myths? What can we say about Bronze Age Greece based on these myths? What statements do these myths make about Greeks’ perceptions of mankind, the gods, heroism, and the human character/condition? What kind of moral and philosophical questions arise from these myths?
MycenaeansTrojan War — Fact or Fiction? Heinrich Schliemann
MycenaeansContact with Minoans of Crete Shaft graves and tholos tombs
Artifacts of great wealth Linear B writing
Early Greek script Palace administration and record keeping
Bronze Age Social Structure
City-State of Pylos State Structure:
Wanax (lord) Lawgetas Basileus
Administration 1400 sq miles, 200 villages
Military Chariots and hired mercenaries
Religion Centered on Palace Olympic gods begin to appear
mycenaean collapseWhat is a societal “collapse”? How can we tell if there is a “collapse”?
mycenaean collapseMycenaean palaces burned one by one ca. 1200 BCE
General instability Writing disappeared Trade drops off
Population decline and resettlement
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1200 BC 1150 BC
1100 BC 1050 BC
1000 BC
Number of Mycenean of Settlements