Aegean Civilization - history.

Aegean Civilization - history. I INTRODUCTION Aegean Civilization, term used to denote the Bronze Age civilization that developed (circa 3000-1200 BC) in the basin of the Aegean Sea, mainly on Crete (Kríti), the Cyclades (Kikládhes) Islands, and the mainland of Greece. It had two major cultures: the Minoan, which flourished in Crete and reached its height in the Middle Bronze period, notably at Knossos (Knosós) and Phaestos; and the Mycenaean, which developed in the Late Bronze period on the mainland at Mycenae and other centers, including Tiryns and Pílos (Pylos). See Achaeans; Minoan Culture; Mycenae. Ancient Greek writers had related stories of an "age of heroes" before their time, but nothing definite was known about the Aegean civilization until the late 19th century, when archaeological excavations began at the sites of the legendary cities of Troy, Mycenae, Knossos, and other centers of the Bronze Age. II GREEK LEGENDS According to Greek mythology, there once was a time when great events had occurred and the gods had involved themselves in human affairs. The story of King Minos and the slaying of the Minotaur he kept in the labyrinth by the Greek hero Theseus may be the mythic rendering of the battle for hegemony in the Aegean in which Mycenae took over Knossos. Homer's epic the Iliad describes events of the Trojan War, which is believed to have brought about the fall of Troy sometime between 1230 BC BC and 1180 at the hands of the Greeks, or Achaeans as the poet calls them. The poet also mentions well-known places believed to be the centers of the Mycenaean period, such as "golden Mycenae," where King Agamemnon ruled; Pylos, where Nestor was king; and Phthia in Thessaly (Thessalia), the home of the hero Achilles. III ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES Mask of Agamemnon The so-called Mask of Agamemnon was discovered in a grave at Mycenae by German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. It is believed to be the death mask of a Mycenaean king. Nimatallah/Art Resource, NY A German amateur archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, was responsible for some of the most famous discoveries of the 19th century. In 1870 he began excavating a mound called Hisarl?k, in what is now Turkey, and found what is believed to be the ruins of Troy. In Greece he uncovered the sites of Mycenae in 1876-1878 and Tiryns in 1884. Finds of fortress palaces, pottery, ornaments, and royal tombs containing gold and other artifacts demonstrated the existence of a well-developed civilization that had flourished about 1500-1200 BC. Schliemann's work has been continued by modern archaeologists, including the American Carl Blegen. In 1900 the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans discovered at Knossos, Crete, a huge palace complex that he associated with King Minos and the labyrinth. Evans also found baked clay tablets with two types of writing, dating from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC; these are called Linear A and Linear B. Linear B tablets from about 1200 BC have been found at Pylos and other Mycenaean sites. The British cryptologist Michael Ventris and John Chadwick, a classical scholar, proved that Linear B is an early form of Greek. Linear A, the language of Minoan Crete, has not yet been deciphered. The discovery of Linear B on Crete supported the conclusion that the mainland people, the Mycenaeans, gained ascendancy over the Minoans. Cycladic Figure from Amorgos Highly schematic, nude human figures produced during the Bronze Age are typical of Cycladic culture. Their simplicity influenced artists of the early 20th century, such as Constantin Brancusi and Amedeo Modigliani. This figure, made about 2000 bc, comes from Amorgos, one of the many Aegean islands on which Cycladic culture flourished. It is now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York The existence of a Cycladic civilization that had connections with both the mainland and Crete is indicated by artifacts found in these islands. Since the 1930s Greek excavations of a Cycladic settlement on the island of Thíra (Thera), also known as Santoríni, have yielded frescoes and artifacts similar to the Minoan. Thíra was apparently destroyed by a great volcanic eruption about 1640 BC. The disaster may have been the basis for Plato's writings on the lost continent of Atlantis. More recent excavations on the islands encircling Delos tra...