The Minoans and Mycenaeans

836 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Greece and its influence on western culture

The Minoans and Mycenaeans were both from the Greek era. They differentiated quite a bit between each other. While the Minoans were peaceful people, the Mycenaeans were brutal and warlike. These two civilizations help the people of today learn about ancient culture. Although the two places were varied much from one another, the cultures wrote the most understandable historical evidence about themselves. This paper will tell how these close regions compared and contrasted.

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...

... middle of paper ...

...y the similar techniques that were used. Each made their fair share of pottery which is still preserved in museums today. Another comparison is the climate each place maintains, both have hot and humid atmosphere. Due to the similar climates, both have fertile farmlands and good agriculture. This is because of their locations near the ocean, the ocean being both of their main source of transportation. Although the Minoans and Mycenaeans sailed for different reasons, both were very advanced sailors.

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

Show More
Related

  • Knossos and Mycenae of the Bronze Age

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Subsystems in Ithaca

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    Renfrew, Colin. The Emergence of Civilisation: The Cyclades and the Aegean in the Third Millennium B.C. London: Metheun 1972.

    Read More

  • Fashion in Greece- Discoveries through Art and Literature

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    Greece is known for their utilization, almost to a uniform extreme, of all their products which contributed to fashion. There is very few amounts of clothing that have survived the ages of time, therefore most knowledge is derived from painting and sculptures. If we look at the sculptures, bas reliefs and frescos we are able to see the lifestyle of both the Archaic, Minoan and Mycenaean eras. In the Archaic era the use of literature is reopened, where it was stopped during the dark ages. Art has emphasis on sculptures and pottery at this time. Political theory also advanced, including the development of a democracy. They brought the belt along with making clothing practical for use, such as carrying supplies in aprons and covering the head like we would know today as a sort of hoodie. This is the time between 750-500 BC. In the Minoan era the economy was growing and due to the agricultural movement such as herding sheep and growing of flax allowed for the expansion of clothing such as weaving. There was a political change which shows status as a greater importance than before and the clothing was different for political leaders such as the king. They brought the concepts of geometric design as well as natural designs. They also started wearing more fitted clothing, and still wore the belt from the archaic era. This is the time between 2000-1400 BC. In the Mycenaean era the class diversifies into rich and poor, high classes and lower classes. Members of the royal circle, along with the king, is where most of the wealth lied. They had fitted clothing and started what we see as costumes today, drapery in clothing. Most of the customs were passed on from the Minoan era. This is the time between 600-1100 BC.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Egypt And Mesoamerica

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Egyptian and Olmec had remarkable advances. They even had some same creations which had same functions, but had a little differences in detail. For example, they both had accurate calendar. However, Egypt just had an 365 days calendar which bases on the movement of the moon and the bright of star Sirius, but Olmec used combined two- calendars system--one is 260-day sacred calendar, the other one is 365 solar calendar. Also they was amazingly advanced in mathematics. Egyptian were capable to calculate area and volume and use geometry to survey flooded land; they also use mathematics to help build monuments. Olmec had a written numerical system, the bar and dot system, and also used zero which was considered as an advanced concept. Not just had a lot of achievement on science, they also created massive artworks. Both of them made colossal statues, like the Great Sphinx in Egypt which had a body of a lion and a head of human, the huge heads in Olmec which were used to glorify the rulers. They also had strong painting skills which were showed in many places, especially on ceremonial

    Read More

  • Etruscan Civilization

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    beginning of the end of Etruscan greatness. Thus its history corresponds in time to that phase of Greece's

    Read More

  • A Comparison Between Roman Society and Medieval Society

    416 Words  | 1 Pages

    Another part of the cultures to compare is infra-structure. In Pompeii, they had aqueducts, which was an advanced water piping system and stone roads. In Achen, the most they had was ruins of the Roman civilization. This relates to the affect of trade in the time periods.

    Read More

  • Mycenae

    2104 Words  | 5 Pages

    ?Mycenae in southern Greece is one of the oldest cities in the world, the center of rich myth, culture, and history.? For centuries, legends abounded about the wealth, fame, and power of this city, particularly concerning its involvement in the Trojan War.? Yet, just 200 years ago, people wondered whether the ancient city of Mycenae even existed.? However, archaeological work in the past two centuries has confirmed the existence and greatness of this ancient civilization.? The major finds include the city?s walls, palace, and tombs.? These discoveries provide a connection to this ancient city and make it come to life again today.

    Read More

  • Ottoman And Russian Empires Similarities

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    To start there are their similarities. The biggest similarity of the two is that both empires survived into the 20th century while their other contemporaries did not. Secondly the two empires were alike in their strong armies. Their armies which were made strong most notably by their rulers, the Russian Peter the Great and the Ottoman Suleiman the Magnificent, and a further but related

    Read More

  • Cycladic Minoan And Mycenaean Culture

    425 Words  | 1 Pages

    For the three, lengthy videos for this assignment, I learned more on the history of art in other cultures. In the first video, I was displayed the different forms of art from the Aegeans as it was compared to other civilizations. The Aegeans experienced their Bronze age which lasted from 3000-1200 BCE. Three European cultures emerged at the same time in the Aegean region: Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean. The Aegean people were farmers and herders. They were also master traders who traded with Egypt and parts of the middle East. The first art pieces compared in the video were paintings of a woman. The left was an Egyptian painting from 1300 BC while the right was a Minoan painting from 1400 BC. The two paintings are fairly similar as they are

    Read More

  • Mycenaean Fortifications

    2583 Words  | 6 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Minoans And Mycenaeans

    284 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Greek Romans And Barbarians Summary

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians (1988) is written by Barry Cunliffe who is an Emeritus Professor of European Archaeology at Oxford University. He specializes in European archaeology from the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD. In Greeks, Romans, and Barbarians, Cunliffe focuses on the development of core and periphery relationships between the Mediterranean area and the interaction with “barbaric” Europe from 600 BC to 400 AD. In addition, he looks at the processes of trade and exchange between these two areas. Cunliffe identifies that the three European-centered cycles that convey core-periphery relationships is Minoan-Mycenaean, Greco-Roman, and West European, however, his focus in this book is on the Greco-Roman cycle. Cunliffe argues that the connection among the Greece and Rome cores and the North European periphery is complex and interconnected. In addition, he argues that the Greek and Roman cores and the North European periphery are

    Read More

  • Minoan Civilization Research Paper

    367 Words  | 1 Pages

    Minoan and Mycenaean civilization have many things in common. Although, each civilization was at different dates they each had historical and artistic values. Like trade routes, used metals, gold for nobles, bronze for tools, small figurines for religious practices. Some are used in different ways than others. Most important, is the shared similar art styles and structure layouts and religious views they each have.

    Read More

  • The Birth Of Western Civilization: Tigris And Euphrate

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    Around 4000 B.C.E, the first people settled down next to the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia and alongside the Nile in Egypt. It wasn’t until another 1000 years that these civilizations began writing down what went on around them. This began a domino effect of people recording events, real or myth, that impacted them on an individual and a grander scale. Through these archives, one can analyze the congruencies and discrepancies between the culture that survived between the Tigris and Euphrates and the society that blossomed beside the Nile. Around 3000 years after the first settlements appeared, on of the best-known societies cropped up. It may be unknown to most that the Greeks before the Macedonians

    Read More

  • Mesopotamian and Greek Societies

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

More about The Minoans and Mycenaeans

Open Document