Mycenaean* Civilization*(MY-se-NEE-an)

Marc Kitteringhamhttp://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/mycenae_mask.jpg

Time PeriodMycenaean Greece was an early period in Greek history. The Mycenaean culture started in 1600 BCE and ended in 1100 BCE. It flourished when the Helladic culture was influenced by Minoan Crete. The culture was mainly fueled by conquest and war, but by the time the bronze-age collapsed, the Dorian civilization invaded and Mycenaean culture had disintegrated. The Dorian warriors had stronger weapons made of iron and were therefore stronger. Their swords penetrated Mycenaean armor like butter.

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Social structures

Mycenaean society was dominated by warrior aristocracy. This means that warriors were the highest class in the society. Warriors were in the same class as kings. Also, there were common folk. Common folk were the peasants and farmers. Finally at the end of the social ladder were the slaves. The slaves were not owned by common folk, rather they worked at the palace or for the deities themselves.

Politics

the structure of Mycenaean politics is not fully known. As per tradition, there were several states and capital cities. Three confirmed cities are Mycenae, Pylos, and Orchomenos. Some historians even think Sparta and Ithaca were part of Mycenae. The states were ruled by a king. He was a general, a priest and a judge. He was assisted by the leader of the army, and the knights (also called “companions”).

Map of Mycenaean Cities**site names in French

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sites_myc%C3%A9niens.png

Mycenaean Civilization

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/ralimage/map4gree.jpg

The economy of Mycenae is very much based on the social structures of the country. The only difference was that people could start their own businesses if they were already working for the palace. Mycenaens therefore had the first entrepreneurs. Scribes took inventory of incoming and outgoing product, assigned work for laborers and were in charge of rations. They were kind of like the foremen of today. Many workers had specific jobs. This was especially true in the case of textiles. Textiles were the biggest industry in the Mycenaean culture. Second is metallurgy. Finally perfumery was the third largest industry. There was not very many records of commerce for Mycenaean people. Pieces of Mycenaean products have been found in Sicily and even Great Britain.

Economic Structure and Industry

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Earring_Mycenae_Louvre_Bj135.jpg

Agriculture

The territory of Mycenae was divided into two parts. Palace land and communal land. Like in most of Greece, the main products cultivated were olives, grains and grapes. The grains were mainly wheat and barley, but flax and sesame were planted for more cosmetic applications. Sheep and goats were the main livestock. Horses were also bred, but only for pulling chariots in battle.

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Gender Roles

in Mycenae, women had only limited access to land. They were a main part of the family, like in the classical Greek period. Genders had already become associated with power and prestige. However, in Mycenaean governed Crete, women played a completely different role. They were in charge of precious goods, landowners, and religious officials.

http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/womanface4.jpg

Architecture• Fortresses

Main towns well fortified Built on top of hills, against

cliffs, and on coastal plains to prevent sieges

Had cisterns (wells) in case of siege

Walls up to 8m thick (26ft) Huge monumental gates and

also small hidden doorways for secret escape

• Houses Rectangular shaped Small one-room houses for

lowest classes (5m x 20m) Larger multi-room houses for

higher classes (20m x 35m) The larger houses resembled

palaces with courtyards and many rooms

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Mycenae_lion_gate_dsc06382.jpg

Architecture • Palaces

• Group of courtyards opening onto rooms of various sizes

• These rooms were storage areas, workshops, kitchens, closets etc.

• In middle of palace was the megaron (throne room)

• Megaron was circular with pillars lining the walls

• Throne located on right hand side upon entering megaron

• Staircases were found suggesting that palaces had two stories

• Upper stories were probably living quarters for royal family

• Other architectural factors• Roof tiles• Some buildings had roofs made

with fired tiles• First civilization with roof tiles• Arches and domes

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Tiryns.Castle.03.png

Armaments

Mycenae existed during the bronze age. All of their weapons were made from bronze. Helmets were made from pieces of boar’s tusk that was sewn onto a leather backing. Shields were either in a figure 8, or “fiddle shaped” or rectangular. They were large enough that a warrior could completely cower behind a shield. Bronze spears and javelins have been found. Swords were made to stab and hack at an enemy. The points and edges were the sharpest parts of the blade. Arrowheads have been found, attesting to archery. Mycenaean warriors also had daggers. One of the most interesting pieces of battle gear was the Dendra Panoply.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Mycenaean_Treasure.jpg

The Dendra Panoply is a complete bronze cuirass. It is extremely heavy and has very limited mobility. There were 15 separate pieces of bronze that encased the wearer from the neck down. The panoply was supposedly worn by horsemen because of the movement restriction. Mycenae was the first civilization to make a full set of armor out of a metal.

Dendra Panoply

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Mycenaean_armour_1400BC.jpg

Not very much is known about Mycenaean religions. No records exist and there are no ruins of religious temples. Many of the gods worshipped were also in the classical period of Greece. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Dionysus, Artemis, Athena, Erinya were all worshipped in Mycenae. Poseidon was a very prominent diety.

Religion

http://www.greek-islands.us/greek-gods/poseidon/poseidon.jpg

Arts

Mycenae made lots of pottery. Vessels designed for export were usually more intricate and beautiful than those used for everyday applications. Bronze vessels were also made. There were no large statues made in this period, only smaller terracotta statues. Frescoes were painted onto palace walls. They depicted hunting, battles, processions, and mythological narratives.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Mycenaean_Woman.jpg

Mycenae Video

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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1076565447413304874&ei=gx_ASqOIHKjWqAOZyvD9BQ&hl=en#

Sources1. http://www.apaclassics.org/AnnualMeeting/99mtg/abstracts/olsen.html2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenaean_Greece

3. http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/mycenae_mask.jpg4. http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=91345&rendTypeId=4

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sites_myc%C3%A9niens.png6. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/ralimage/map4gree.jpg

7. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Earring_Mycenae_Louvre_Bj135.jpg

8. http://images.google.ca/imghp?hl=en

9. http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/womanface4.jpg

10. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Mycenae_lion_gate_dsc06382.jpg

11. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Tiryns.Castle.03.png

12. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Mycenaean_armour_1400BC.jpg

13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendra_panoply

14. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Mycenaean_Treasure.jpg

15. http://www.greek-islands.us/greek-gods/poseidon/poseidon.jpg

16. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Mycenaean_Woman.jpg