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World civilization the minoan and mycenaean civilization
The Minoans The Mycenaeans characteristics
The Minoans The Mycenaeans characteristics
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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 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
As the name suggests the Bronze Age is a period of human culture, in which civilizations heavily used copper and bronze for various aspects of life and trading. The beginning of the Bronze Age is estimated to date before 3000 BCE in parts of Med. Europe, Middle East and China. Knossos and Mycenae are both archeological sites, and date back to the Bronze Age. Knossos was the capital of the ancient Minoan civilization; located on the island of Crete. Mycenae was a massive fortified palace, located between two hills on the plain of the Peloponnese, Greece.
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.
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
There were buildings found with complex drainage systems and wide, paved streets, perfect for merchants, showing sophistication unlike anything else from that time. The city was well planned and organized, and the size of some of the buildings indicate that they may have been used for religious or administrative purposes. The architecture is similar to that found on Crete, which is evidence of cultural diffusion between the two places, and their possible influence on each other. Crete-like architecture shows a trade route and influence from Crete, which means historians can find more connections between the Minoans on Crete and the Minoans in Akrotiri, which we would have not gained otherwise.
As you can see, Greeks and Romans were very brilliant civilizations. Their superior strategy, intelligent leaders, and crafty weapons lead them into the dawn of a new age. And basically lead us to our modern civilization.
In all societies, the practices associated with religion, burial and death have given archaeology and history detailed information concerning the nature of a society. It is through the study of symbology in particular that we are able to discern the significance of the Minoan religion as it represents various aspects of their religious beliefs and display the impact it has on their everyday lives. Key symbols like the birds, bulls, horns of consecration and double axe can be seen throughout the island of Crete as well as on votive offerings given to their gods from their worshippers.
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 Palace Complex Knossos on Crete has fascinating history. The structure of the Palace Complex is most unique as compared to its contemporaries of their time. They had an advanced development of their art and culture, so much so that their art and artists, crafts, and craftsmen were sought after throughout the known world. The ruins of their complex gave birth to the legend of king Minos and the myth of the Minotaur. Of all the art studied thus far, I find the Palace Complex Knossos at Crete the most
In the end, it is clear that the Minoans are sought out to be the peaceful civilization while the Mycenaeans are warlike and power seeking. Despite the two civilizations tight quarters, they could not be any more different even though they borrow some cultural values. The Greek era was one of the first freely expressed populations but also one that has hardly any evidence
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
The emergence of civilizations came with first cities, states, and unequal societies. For instance, Sumer developed as a river valley civilization along with Nubia, which developed on the Nile, closer to the Great Riff Valley, with high elevation. Egypt, however, lived in isolation. On the upper hand, they had a stable community and strong economical power.
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 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
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.