No one can deny that Greek civilization has had an impact on western civilization.
If it wasn't for Archeology and the scientists involved in that field; all we would know about the History of Ancient Greece would be based on conjectures, myths, and the stories of ancient historians like Erothotos and Thikithithis, which although would help a great deal about the times they were living in; it would be useless for the period's before they lived. An example would be the Bronze age; which is the time period that the famous Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations flourished. These civilizations remained virtually undiscovered and the legends surrounding them were thought to be just that, legends. It wasn't until the late 19th century and early 20th century with the works of archeologists such as Sir Arthur Evans, and Heinrich Schliemann that these two civilizations came to light. In fact many similarities as well as differences have been found between these two civilizations.
Both the Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations flourished during the bronze age and were separated by only 300(approximately 180miles) kilometers of ocean. This means that they were in close proximity to each other to warrant interaction between these two thriving civilizations. The Minoan culture thrived on Crete between 2000 and 1450 B.C.E when it was taken over by the Mycenaean's who flourished between 1600 and 1100 B.C.E. on what is now called the Peloponnesos. The Minoans were a very cultured people in which the least of their worries was making war, instead they were more interested in the Art's. Up until the Mycenaean occupation, all the motifs in the palace at Knossos depict scenes of nature, such as Dolphins, fish, birds, etc. their religious system was based upon an early version of the Olympian God's. The economic system was based on a system we now call the re-distributive system. This distributive system was based around the Palace, which by the way was not defended any walls or defenses. People would bring their good's to be stored in the palace; in turn those in control would stockpile the food and good's to be traded for something that was lacking, or hold it in reserve just in case famine struck. It is unsure what language the Minoans spoke, since their language, now called Linear A, remains un-deciphered. The Minoan's were great sailor's and traded all over the Mediterranean.
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.
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...
The land of Greece occupied the southern portion of the Balkan Peninsula. It was covered with 75% mountains about 30% cultivatable lands. These mountains were a barrier for a trade and travel, and separated people from one another. Greece lacked raw materials, which made for sea travel. With a lot of sea travel Greeks found other lands and cultures. Greeks learned from Mesopotamia city-states that the most powerful city controlled the towns and villages. The technique of making cast copper came to Greece around 3000 B.C. and by 2500 B.C. the use of bronze became widespread throughout Greece. The Bronze Age marked a turning point in Greek social an...
The Mycenaeans existed within the years of 2000 b.c. It began with the people settling around the coastal area to provide good agriculture. This coastal area being near the Mediterranean. The Mycenaeans came after the Minoans, and were strongly driven by war, unlike it’s neighbors. The Mycenaeans were ruled over by a “warlord” king, and the civilization was always ready to fight for power. The civilization grew in power by overtaking other city-states etc. In this way it gained it’s wealth which is what was most important in the “Bronze age” of Greece. (Green 5) At one point in time, the Mycenae held rein over Greece and called it the early Helladic period. During this stage, the civilization was relatively calmer and less warlike. At first the society lived peacefully with the original inhabitants and took over the area successfully. In the middle Helladic period agriculture was proven to be tough. Geographically the Greek lived in a hot climate that made only a few things grow, such as olives and grapes. Due to this, people relied heavily on fishing. Other needs were supplied mostly by the Minoans, who bonded after a long period of trading. In the late Helladic period, the culture thrived at it’s highest. The cities gradually grew larger and more people occu...
I believe the Mycenaean’s took advantage of the confused Minoans to invade, burning most of the palaces and keeping Knossos as the head installation. We know the Mycenaean’s are a war-like people, so the concept of invasion is not out of character. Their invasion is proved by the new pottery and introduction of Linear B tablets.
The Greek and Roman civilizations differed from each other in ways, but were more alike than many other cultures. Persia for example, was much different from Greece specifically. Persia was an agricultural based empire with strict capitals throughout, whereas, Greece
Civilizations began specializing with ceramic pottery, metallurgy, and textiles. These crafts help discover new ways for communicating with the creation of cylindrical stone seals. The seals were engraved with images and rolled over wet clay to be reproduced. A more specific civilization existing within the Mesopotamian were the Sumerians. For several centuries’ Sumerian law, literature, art, science, and religion were the Mesopotamians primary practices. Cuneiform the Sumerian language was the more important advancement made by the civilization. During the Neopalatial period, Minoan trade networks extended across the eastern Mediterranean, and Minoan influence was widespread, especially in the Aegean Sea. This influence seems to have come
... of ancient Greece.? We now have an understanding of pre-Hellenic culture, something that used to exist only in legend.? The excavations of ancient Mycenae confirm the greatness of this civilization.? The wealth and skill of the Mycenaeans are demonstrated in their architectural marvels and the contents buried in their graves.? We now can picture the environment in which the great leader Agamemnon lived, ruling over southern Greece and trading throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
... Mycenae also changed over time. Each site ultimately displays similarities between the Mycenaean culture as well as differences based on region or the city’s distance from a major trade route making them interesting to study.
The two ancient civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome were the best of the best during their time periods. Ancient Greece began around 2000 B.C. by the inhabitants known as the Mycenaean’s, followed by the Minoans. The Minoans built the foundation of Greece. The Roman Empire was founded around 753 B.C. by the two twins, Romulus and Remus. Romulus ended up killing Remus and built the city of Rome on one of seven rolling hills. Architecture was very important to both civilizations and they were always trying to out due the other. The architectural style of the Ancient Greeks and Romans was overall constructed and used differently.
The Minoans and Mycenaeans are two civilizations that were created and developed during similar time periods of 2600-1600 BC. The Minoans were a civilization that concentrated on arts and culture, developing many different forms of unique art. The Mycenaeans were a civilization that focused more on military conquest and, thus, had a substantial army for a warfare. Eventually, the Mycenaeans conquered and the Minoans and appreciated their art and culture so much that they imitated and integrated it into their culture. This integration is the reason why the we see so many of the Minoan marine motifs such as nautiluses and animals included in Mycenaean art. The Mycenaean stirrup jar obviously takes influence from the Minoan Octopus Vase because
...zations and the start of the Greek civilization, you can still find some important similarities between the two. They are similar in religion, upbringing, government, and military as well as others. From the start of the Greek society they have had parallel attributes from the cultural path that the Mesopotamian society set and we can even trace some similarities all the way to current society.
“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...
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 rooms were used for everything from industry to meeting places and even sleeping quarters. The main function of these palatial buildings seemed to be economical. From clay tablets that have been accidentally preserved through fire historians know that the Mycenaean employed a ‘palace economy.’ The tablets, written in an ancient script called Linear B, are mostly records of good coming in and out of the palace. A palace economy was maintained by trading the surplus of goods produced by farmers and craftsmen with other cities around the eastern Mediterranean. Mycenaean pottery has been found in ancient sites in Palestine and Syria as well as Miletus, Rhodes and Egypt and it is a testament to the extent of trade that Mycenaean had with other cultures . It was essential that the trade routes be kept safe in order to maintain the flow of goods. By about 1300bce Mycenaean wares had been so standardized that regional differences were impossible to detect . This suggests that during the late Bronze Age, Mycenaean culture had become increasingly unified economically. The tablets found at Pylos suggest that Mycenaean must have used slaves to d...