ART OF THE AEGEAN LECTURE BY IVY C. DALLY

SOUTH SUBURBAN COLLEGE

THE AEGEAN WORLD

Cultures of the Aegean: The

forerunners of European

Civilization

Cycladic 3000-2000 BCE

Minoan 2000-1400 BCE

Volcanic eruption 1628 BCE

Mycenaean 1500-1200 BCE

The Dark Age 1200-776 BCE

Culture grows out of the world of

the Ancient Near East, and trade

keeps the two worlds close.

Map of the Aegean World in the Bronze Age

CYCLADIC ART

Bronze age art of the Aegean found in the Cycladic Islands.

Pottery, metal goods, and marble statues produced. Noted for abstraction similar to forms seen in the early 20th century.

Found in graves. Theories range on use: toys, goddess figurines, fertility figures.

Emphasis on the breasts and pubic triangle indicate the idea of “femaleness” is associated with the content in some way.

Cycladic idol, ca. 2500-1100 BCE.

FIGURINES OF WOMEN, FROM SYROS

(CYCLADES), GREECE, CA. 2500–2300 BCE.

MARBLE, NATIONAL

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, ATHENS.

MALE LYRE PLAYER, FROM KEROS

(CYCLADES), GREECE, CA. 2700–

2500 BCE. MARBLE, 9” HIGH.

NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL

MUSEUM, ATHENS.

MINOAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

First great Aegean civilization known for lavish palace architecture and interior design.

Culture started on Crete, but as resources dwindled some sailed to nearby islands, bringing Minoan art and culture with them. Sailing also allowed for extensive trade.

Favored subject matter included sea life, bull-imagery, and boats.

Minoan culture declined after the volcanic eruption on Thera in 1450 BCE; by 1400 what survived was taken over by the Mycenaeans.

Perhaps the inspiration for the mythical island of Atlantis.

Fresco from Akrotiri of Minoan Ships

KAMARES-WARE JARS FROM

PHAISTOS (CRETE), GREECE, CA.

1800–1700 BCE.

KNOWN FOR ITS SHINY BLACK

BACKGROUND, ROSETTE MOTIFS,

AND RED ACCENTS

MARINE STYLE POTTERY

OCTOPUS VASE FROM CRETE,

CA 1500-1450 BCE

SNAKE GODDESS FROM KNOSSOS.

FAIENCE, CA. 1650 BCE

MINOAN PALACE CULTURE

Storage jars from the early Minoan palace at Phaistos

Lavish palaces with many rooms for both production of goods, storage, religious ceremonies, and politics/rule.

Most palaces located on hills with commanding views of the region

Beautiful frescoed walls show scenes from daily life.

IMAGES FROM THE “PALACE” AT KNOSSOS

Reconstruction of the Palace ca. 1500 BCE based on archaeological excavation led by Sir Arthur Evans.

Noteworthy features: Central courtyard

Covered walkways

Windows and “Skylights”

Areas for manufacturing, administration, commerce, and religion.

Bathrooms and a type of indoor plumbing.

Gypsum walls and floors.

AERIAL VIEW (LOOKING NORTHEAST) OF THE PALACE AT KNOSSOS (CRETE), GREECE, CA. 1700–

1400 BCE.

Plan of the Palace

Complex. Knossos,

Crete

Later Greek Kyllix showing the Minotaur

and his Mother Queen Pasiphae

STAIRWELL IN THE RESIDENTIAL QUARTER OF

THE PALACE AT KNOSSOS (CRETE), GREECE, CA.

1700–1400 BCE.

Wooden columns created from tree trunks tapered from top to bottom.

Tapering and the bulbous capitals allowed for bearing greater weight loads.

Believed the Minoans deforested their islands to meet timber needs.

Queen’s bedroom in Palace at Knossos (Late Minoan, c. 1500 BCE).

The “Throne Room,” Knossos (Crete),

Greece, ca. 1700–1400 BCE.

MINOAN FRESCOS

Pigments mixed with water and then painted on wet plaster walls.

Similar to Egyptian conventions: Profile view/frontal eye

Darker skin for men, lighter skin for women

Distinctly Minoan in use of: Curvilinear lines

Sense of motion

Cascades of curly black hair on figures

BULL-LEAPING, FROM THE PALACE AT KNOSSOS (CRETE), GREECE, CA. 1450–1400 BCE.

FRESCO, 2’ 8” HIGH, INCLUDING BORDER. ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, HERAKLEION.

The Queen's Megaron, from Knossos, Crete. ca. 1700–1300 BCE

Spring Fresco, from Akrotiri, Thera. ca. 1600–1500 BCE

MYCENAEAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Earliest known Greek speaking people living on the Greek mainland arrived ca. 2000 BCE.

Art/architecture shows the need for defense. Heavy stone, metal weapons indicate a society based in warfare.

By 1600 BCE large cities emerge, evidence of lavish graves.

Art inspired by the Minoans.

Gold Ryhton in the shape of a lion’s head,

Mycenae Grave Circle A.

MYCENAEAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Myth states the city of Mycenae was founded by Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae.

Built by the mythical Cyclops.

The Mycenaean people live on in Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey. Tales of the Trojan Horse and Achilles’ heel still fascinate modern audiences.

Heinrich Schliemann

THE MYCENAEAN WORLD

At its height from 1400-1200 BCE.

Civilization composed of loosely joined city states: Mycenae

Argos

Tiryns

Troy

Thebes

THE CITADEL

Citadel walls to protect the palace, administration buildings, and some homes on top of the hill.

3 stages of construction; final phases enclosed access to a water reservoir.

Lion Gate at Mycenae (c. 1300 BCE). Height of sculpture above lintel: 9’6 1⁄2”.

LION GATE, MYCENAE, GREECE, CA. 1300–1250 BCE. LIMESTONE, RELIEF

PANEL, 9’ 6” HIGH. GATE IS 10 FEET WIDE BY 10 FEET TALL.

Twin lions above the main entrance flanking a Minoan style column.

Metal heads missing.

Area is called the relieving triangle, as the carved slab weighs less than the surrounding stones. Reduced load.

Megaron, Great Room, Mycenae, 1300-1200 BCE

What features are

Minoan? What

features are new?

THOLOS TOMB (TREASURY OF ATREUS), MYCENAE,

1300-1250 BCE

Tholos (beehive) tomb made of concentric rings of stone. Corbelling technique.

Lintel weighs 120 tons, is 30 feet long, 16.5 feet deep and 3 feet high!

Relief plaque originally located in relieving triangle.

Façade approached by a ceremonial passageway open to the sky.

The Treasury of Atreus (Mycenaean, c. 1300–1250 BCE).

Corbeling

FUNERARY MASK, FROM GRAVE CIRCLE A, MYCENAE, GREECE, CA. 1600–1500 BCE. BEATEN GOLD, 1’ HIGH. NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, ATHENS.

Homer called the Mycenaean’s “Rich in

gold”; tomb finds have proved this true.

Vapheio Cups, 1600-

1500 BCE, Mycenae

WARRIORS VASE, FROM MYCENAE, GREECE, CA. 1200 BCE. 1’ 4” HIGH.

NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM, ATHENS.

THE END OF MYCENAE…

Mycenae collapsed during the 12th century.

Around 1250 BCE the palaces were burned, and Greece entered a Dark Ages for unknown reasons.

In Hellenistic and Roman times, Mycenae became a tourist attraction, and it is one today as well.

AFTER THIS LECTURE YOU SHOULD BE ABLE

TO…

Explain the formal characteristics of Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art and architecture.

Discuss the possible functions of Cycladic figurines.

Classify the various functions of Minoan and Mycenaean architecture and its relationship between the geography and lifestyles of these civilizations.