Minoan and Mycenaean

Greece

-Both Minoan and

Mycenaean civilizations

flourished during the

Bronze Age

-Each civilization was

strongly influenced by its

trade and other contacts

with Ancient Egypt and

the Near East

- Many people in both

civilizations worked

primarily as farmers and

herders but they were

also greatly influenced

by the sea (the

Mediterranean and

Aegean); the Minoans in

particular developed a

vast maritime empire

Mural of Minoan ship

Minoan Cyclades lyre (or harp) player,

ca 2750-2500 BCE – marble, 9” high

Knossos Palace (the labyrinth (maze)

of Greek mythology?)

Knossos today

Sir Arthur Evans (+1941), the

discoverer/excavator of Knossos

Palace columns at Knossos

Knossos storage jars

Knossos (Queen’s Megaron)

Knossos interior (reconstruction)

Minos’s Throne

Minoan fresco of boy with fish

(Akrotiri)

Minoan snake goddess

Three court ladies

Minoan prince

Bull-leaping mural at Knossos

Minoan Phaistos Disk: Linear A

(ca 1700 BCE)

Minoan Linear B tablet, 1450 BCE or later:

two examples

Minoan octopus vase

Mycenaean Vaphio cup, ca 1500 B.C.E.

(repousse technique)

Agamemnon’s Mask (discovered at

Mycenae in 1876 by Schliemann)

Mycenaean citadel

Reconstruction of Mycenae, ca 1400-1200 BCE:

overhead view and Megaron (interior)

The Lion Gate at Mycenae (with its unique

corbel arch)

Grave Circle A at Mycenae

Heinrich Schliemann, the

discoverer of Troy and Mycenae

Sophie wearing part of Priam’s

treasure (Troy)

Mycenaean warrior statue

Acropolis

Agora (reconstruction)

Statue of Solon

Temple of Apollo at Corinth

Rock of Aphrodite (Cyprus)