Many cultures thrived and existed in Ancient Greece, and two of the earliest of these cultures were known as the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. Without these two cultures, Greece wouldn’t be the same- the two laid down the foundation for Ancient Greece and the following cultures to come. The Minoans, settling on an island, established trade for ancient Greece and gaining resources that greece lacked. Meanwhile, the Mycenaeans developed the mainland by laying down several powerful fortresses. While Ancient Greece probably wouldn’t be the same without these two cultures, out of the two the Mycenaeans were the most influential to the development of Ancient Greece.
Mycenaeans were not only very powerful people but also started colonies and developments
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By losing the main power that sustained their everyday life, Greece was thrown into chaos- the loss of the Mycenaeans influenced their organization and eventually led them to a period of chaos, war and poverty known as the dark age. This proves that the Mycenaeans were so influential that by their downfall most of Greece had relied on them and didn’t understand what to do next without them to guide their life. While this influenced the cause of the dark age, the dark age was required for part of the Greek culture- according to Minoans and the Mycenaeans “...This period was important to the development of Greek civilizations. It was a time of widespread movements of Greek-speaking peoples.” Due to the fall of the Mycenaeans, the dark age happened so some people decided to take action by moving to other places in/near Greece, spreading their culture and language. Even if the Mycenaeans left with their people in poverty and suffering, it led from an important period of loss to the spread of Greek …show more content…
They controlled much of Greece, including the island of Crete at some point. Also according to Minoans and the Mycenaeans, “Throughout central and southern Greece Mycenaean culture flourished. Palaces became grander, and citadels were often protected by mammoth stone walls.” So, under much of Greece the Mycenaean culture flourished- meaning that this culture started out as the beginning of Greece culture. The palaces began to take shape and became more than simple buildings and started the unique ‘post and lintel’ structure (pillars). Their behavior is also part of the culture of Greeks today- according to historians, part of the reason Minoans aren’t even considered to be Greek is because they didn’t even speak greek- the Mycenaeans were the first to speak their own language which became part of everyday Ancient Greece- even today! Also part fo their behavior was how they handled interactions with different cities and powers- such as with trade. According to Origins of the Greeks: The Minoans and Mycenaeans, “Some historians think the Mycenaeans attacked the city of Troy, possibly starting the legendary trojan war, which is featured in many works of literature.” Their take on trade probably led to the trojan war, an infamous event the Greeks took part of and took as evidence to their life and based their literature on an event
The Minoans society wasn't really an economic social society. In the archeological records, we find that the houses "poorer" parts of their towns were rather large and plush. Women were regarded rather highly in their society, many of their paintings are depictions of women. There is little evidence that they were war like, nor did they appear to go on military expeditions. This comes from the lack of weapons in the burial sites, there aren't any warrior tombs, nor are there paintings of war; which is something that was dominant in all other cultures at the time. They were mostly traders, as in merchants. They traded throughout Greece, Ionia, the Levant and Egypt. Their cities weren't strategically located, meaning
The two cities, Tiryns and Mycenae, were both built in the Mycenaean Period, and became the two greatest cities of Mycenaean Greece. They became cultural epicentres for the Greeks because of the beautiful architecture and temples. The two cities lay very close to each other, not more than twenty kilometres away on the Argolid Plain in the North East of the Peloponnese. Tiryns lay on top of a hill, over looking the marshy Plain of Argolis and was situated three miles from the sea. This allowed Tiryns to have good farming, good trade, from the sea and road as the Argolid was a key trade route and an easily defendable city. Mycenae also lay on top of a naturally defendable hill, over looking a fresh water supply. To both sides of the city, lay large mountains, providing more fortifications for the city. Both cities' walls were surrounded by fertile soil suitable for farming, with good irrigation because of the slopes. The geographical specifics of the two cities are very alike, allowing both cities to become very prosperous through farming and trade. This is what allowed the two cities to develop into the two greatest cities of Mycenaean times.
Ancient Greece today is most known for the culture: the gods, the dramas, how people lived. What most people do not realize is that there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of different civilizations spread throughout Greece that all had different forms of government. The three main ones were Athens, Sparta, and Miletus. Each was very different from the other. The most powerful out of all three was Sparta: a military based society. The Spartan government had a strong foundation that was all torn down by one bad leader.
Although the Aegean World did not have the best land, with metals and timber from abroad, the Minoan and Mycenaean societies were able to be successful during that time. The Minoan civilization, which has an ethnicity that is a mystery, accomplished many things while living on the island of Crete. Mycenaean Greece was very successful
The Greeks were notorious for their disability to unite. In Ancient Greece, the Greek would never have considered themselves as Greek. They were loyal to their city state. There were at least three main reasons for the Greeks’ inability to unite, which are the geographical region of the land, the competitiveness of the people, and extreme narcissism.
The Minoans are known as the first advanced civilization of all of Europe. This may be a strong reason why the Greece Age remained for such a long time. They created a great civilization on the Island of Crete. The second great civilization of the Greek Bronze Age was the Cycladic society. They created their society on the islands of the Aegean. They were considered a large contributor to the overall success of Bronze Age Greece. However, they were never as significantly important as the Minoan society...
It is always important to look to the past in order to move towards the future. This was done in the formation of Western Society, and more specifically the formation of American society. The Greek culture served as a frame of reference for many aspects of Western life including government, architecture, math and the arts. Ancient Greek culture served as a very broad base for our society to be built upon.
The Minoan civilization was comprised of the inhabitants on the island of Crete, which is southeast of mainland Greece. As a whole, their history is not very well known and a lot of what is known about their culture today is still loosely based off of mythology. The Minoan language is still mostly untranslatable, so many historians rely on works of art to get an inside look at the aspects of Minoan life. According to
The development of an empire is a change strongly emphasized in the Archeology as a radical departure from the Hellenic tradition, and consequently a major source of conflict among the Greeks. Prior to the adven...
The Greeks in the third B.C. introduced the Romans to Hellenic culture achievements. The Romans acquired from Greece knowledge of scientific thought, philosophy, medicine and geography. The Romans adopted the humanistic outlook of the Greeks and they came to value social aptitude and articulate and beautiful style and poetry.
The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the History of Greece: Classical Greece. Ancient Greece.org. -. [3/13/2014] http://www.ancient-greece.org/history/classical.html>. Roman society, Roman life, Roman society. n.d. - n.d. - n.d.
No one can say for sure how the Minoan civilization came to an end – but a number of theories have eventuated from evidence at sites on Crete, Thera and other places in the world. I believe that a mix of natural disaster, social and political upheaval and ultimately invasion are what brought about the collapse of the Minoan Civilization. Firstly, I believe the eruption of Santorini was more powerful than first estimated, due to the presence of a shallow sea inside the Theran crater, with the volcano situated in the centre of that sea. This is the theory of Professor Steve Sparks of Bristol University. I also believe that the explosion occurred around 1600BC, due to the research of ORAU, which radiocarbon dated 127 samples from digs in the eastern Mediterranean to re-estimate the previously accepted chronology of 1500BC.
The Romans adoption of the Greek culture allowed for them to improve upon their own beliefs and make the Greek culture more profitable for the Roman Empire. This cultural exchange, then helped the Romans advance in their community to become one of the greatest empires of that time. We know the Romans for their beautiful art, their outstanding architecture, even for their form of government but none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the adaptation of the Greek culture, because their art and their architecture was an establishment from the Greeks that the Romans took. If it wasn’t for the Romans taking up the culture from the Greeks then there would not have been a possibility for the Roman Empire to have even expand and spread to the point where other cultures would have also adopted to the customs of the Romans, or make the Roman empire well known. Because of this, Romans were now open to new ideas that expanded their way of thinking and allowed their empire to expand with great power. From the structure of their government, education, and even industrialization this cultural exchange with the Greeks allowed the Romans to create a successful development of their Empire.
“The first advanced culture in Greece, and indeed in all of Europe, was created by a people referred to today as the Minoans. Their civilization flourished from about 2200 to 1450 B.C. on Crete, the large island located about one hundred miles southeast of the Gree...
Mycenaean civilization is characterized by the large palace-like buildings that they created. These huge structures contained dozens of rooms used for a variety of purposes.