Mycenaean Civilization ca. 1600 BC - 1150 BC

Mycenaean civilization: an ancient Aegean civilization known from the excavations at Mycenae and other sites. The excavations were first undertaken by Heinrich Schliemann and others after 1876, and they helped to revise the early history of Greece.

The people who would later become the Mycenaeans entered Greece from the north or northeast ca. 2000 B.C., displacing, seemingly without violence, the older Neolithic culture, which can be dated as early as 4000 B.C. These Indo-European Greek-speaking invaders brought with them advanced techniques in pottery, metallurgy, and architecture. Contact with Crete advanced and strongly influenced their culture, and by 1600 B.C., Mycenae had become a major center of the ancient world. The exact relationship of Mycenaean Greece to Crete between 1600 and 1400 B.C. is extremely complex, with both areas evidently competing for maritime control of the Mediterranean. After the violent destruction of Knossos in 1450 B.C., Mycenae achieved supremacy, and much of the Minoan cultural tradition was transferred to the mainland.

The Mycenaean commercial empire and consequent cultural influence lasted from 1600 to 1100 B.C., when the invasion of the Dorians and “Sea Peoples” ushered in a period of decline for Greece. Although the Mycenaeans had certain innovations of their own, they drew much of their cultural inspiration from the Minoans. The great Mycenaean cities—Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Thebes, and others—were noted for their heavy, complex fortifications and the massive, cyclopean quality of their masonry, while Minoan cities were totally unfortified.

Mycenaean palaces were built around great halls called megaras rather than around an open space as in Crete. Unlike the Cretans, the Mycenaeans were bearded and wore armor in battle. Their written language, preserved on numerous clay tablets from Pylos, Mycenae, and Knossos, appears to be a form of archaic Greek linguistically related to ancient Cypriot. The presence of this script, known as Linear B, at Knossos c.1500 B.C. indicates that Mycenaean Greeks had invaded and dominated Crete during the Late Minoan period before the final collapse ca.1400 B.C. The works of Homer have been radically reevaluated since the archaeological discoveries of Mycenaean Greece. He is now considered to have given admirable glimpses of the culture of the late Mycenaean civilization of the 12th century B.C.

During the Mycenaean period, the Greek mainland enjoyed an era of prosperity centered in such strongholds as Mycenae, Tiryns, Thebes, and Athens. Local workshops produced utilitarian objects of pottery and bronze, as well as luxury items, such as carved gems, jewelry, vases in precious metals, and glass ornaments. Contact with Minoan Crete played a decisive role in the shaping and development of Mycenaean culture, especially in the arts. Wide-ranging commerce circulated Mycenaean goods throughout the Mediterranean world from Spain and the Levant. The Levant is the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that

denotes a large area in Western Asia. The Levant includes Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Occasionally, Cyprus, Sinai and Iraq are included. The evidence consists primarily of vases, but their contents (oil, wine, and other commodities) were probably the chief objects of trade. Besides being bold traders, the Mycenaeans were fierce warriors and great engineers who designed and built remarkable bridges, fortification walls, and beehive-shaped tombs—all employing Cyclopean masonry—and elaborate drainage and irrigation systems. Their palatial centers, "Mycenae rich in gold" and "sandy Pylos," are immortalized in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Palace scribes employed a new script, Linear B, to record an early Greek language. In the Mycenaean palace at Pylos—the best preserved of its kind—Linear B tablets suggest that the king stood at the head of a highly organized feudal system.

Habitation

The settlements of Mycenaean civilization are largely known from archaeological remains. The citadels built during the Mycenaean Age were constructed using the Cyclopean stonework style, with huge entrances made with large stones. These citadels were administrative headquarters for the rulers. At the highest peaks of the citadels the palaces of the kings were built. The basic planning of these palaces was similar to Minoan structures, with different rooms for different functions, styled accordingly. The buildings were not complex in structure and were built around a central megaron. The structural design was an earlier element of Helladic architecture.

The common people lived at the foot of the citadels in the countryside or nearby regions. These settlements were generally based at hillocks or plains where land was fertile and water was abundant. Along with plains, port and coastal sites were of equal importance from the viewpoint of economy and trade.

Society

The king was also primarily a warlord, and Mycenaean society was constantly geared for battle and invasion. Their cities were heavy fortresses with unimaginably thick perimeter walls. While the Minoans surrounded themselves with delicate art of everyday life, Mycenaean art was about

warfare and hunting. Not only did the Mycenaeans stay on the defensive, they actively went looking for trouble. There are Hittite records in Asia Minor and the Middle East chronicling Mycenaean invasions, and the Egyptians list them among groups of raiders. And, after Minoan civilization had been weakened in a series of earthquakes, the Mycenaeans conquered Crete and other Aegean civilizations, establishing themselves over the culture that so deeply influenced their own. The most famous of the Mycenaean raids, of course, is the war against Troy, a wealthy commercial city on the coast of Asia Minor. This city, according to the archaeological evidence, was totally destroyed by the Mycenaeans.

During the Mycenaean civilization the class diversification of rich and poor, higher classes and lower became more established, with extreme wealth being mostly reserved for the King, his entourage and other members of the royal circle. Like the Minoans, the Mycenaeans built grand palaces and fortified citadels, with administrative and political powers firmly under royal authority. Mycenaean society was to some extent a warrior culture and their military was ever prepared for battle, be it in defense of a city or to protect its wealth and cultural treasures.

The difference of classes in societal structure can, to some extent, be derived from the goods that were buried in their graves. It is clear that there was a strong, ruling class and a lower group of the common people.

The political hierarchy consisted of the Wanax (or king), at the top, who was the political and religious leader. Below him were the local chiefs and controllers who looked after administrative duties. The safety of the state was the responsibility of the Lawagetas, the head of the army. Because of this efficient hierarchy, the Mycenaean Age was economically and culturally affluent, while weapons, arms and armaments found in graves and sites confirm their society as military inclined.

Economy

The Mycenaeans followed a bipartite system of working. There were two groups of people. One who worked in the palace for the rulers and another who were self-employed. But even those people who worked in the palace could run their own business if they wished. The scribes overlooked economic production and transactions. They also organised the distribution of rations and allotted work.

Agriculture

The agricultural economy was well organised and had well distributed storage centres for products and crops. The surplus was kept in palaces as a form of tax. We know this from records kept in the form of clay tablets. Important goods produced were cereals, olive oil and wine. Herbs, spices and honey were also cultivated. Sheep and goats were grazed for their wool and milk. Goods and produce were also exported to foreign countries, especially olive oil.

Industry

The textile industry was one of the most significant industries during the Mycenaean civilization. From the first stage of grazing the sheep, stocking the wool in the palaces to the last stage of the finished product in the form of a cloth, everything was meticulously organized. The palace of Pylos employed around 550 textile workers while at Knossos there were 900. Wool, fiber and flax were the most important textiles. Another important industry was the metal industry where metallurgy was practised in an advanced form. At Pylos about 400 workers were employed. At Knossos, tablets suggest, that swords and weapons were manufactured in quantity. Another interesting industry was the perfume industry. Oils of rose, sage, etc. were used to make perfumes and scents. Other skilled craftsmen included goldsmiths, ivory-carvers, stone carvers, and potters.

Religion

The pantheon of Mycenaean deities has been reassembled from inscriptions in Linear B found at Pylos and at post-palatial Mycenaean Knossos in Crete. Some of the deities are familiar—or at least their names are recognizably present in the Olympic pantheon of written myth. Others are not: Ares, for example, is represented only as "Enyalios" which was retained as an epithet. Apollo may be recognized at Knossos as PA-JA-WO, ("Paian"). Far more prominent are A-TA-NA PO-TI-NI-JA ("Athena Potnia", "Athena the Mistress"), E-RE-U-TI-JA (Eileithyia, later merely invoked during childbirth), Dionysus, Poseidon, already the "Earth-Shaker", either with his consort Poseida, who was not retained in the transition to Classical Greece, or at Pylos with the "Two Goddesses", apparently Demeter and Persephone. The Erinyes or Furies are already present, as are the Winds.

There are very few temples or shrines that have been found where religious practices might have been exercised: So we can assume all rituals took place on open ground or in peak sanctuaries. Some shrines that are found have a tripartite structural design. Minoans had a strong influence on most of the religious practices and rituals practised by the Mycenaeans.

The Mycenaeans buried their nobles in beehive tombs (tholoi), large circular burial chambers with a high vaulted roof and straight entry passage lined with stone. They often buried daggers or some other form of military equipment with the deceased. The nobility were frequently buried with gold masks, tiaras, armour, and jeweled weapons. Mycenaeans were buried in a sitting position, and some of the nobility underwent mummification, whereas Homer's Achilles and Patroclus were not buried but cremated and honored with gold urns, instead of gold masks.

Art

Pottery work such as stirrup jars, pitchers, kraters and chalices were made during this era. The vessels that were exported were more intricately designed and had beautiful motifs, often depicting warriors and animals. Vessels in the shape of tripods, basins, or lamps were found in large quantities at the archaeological sites. Terracotta statuettes included anthropomorphic figurines and sometimes zoomorphic figures, most of them being male or female. They were either single or multi-coloured and were often used as statues of worship. Painting themes included hunting, war scenes, processions, mythology and legend. Several frescoes have also been found in palaces, while similar artistic themes were also used in pottery.

Meanwhile, a variety of materials (wood, leather and metal) were used in the manufacture of armour, shields, helmets, spears, javelins, swords, daggers and arrows..

Language

The Linear B language that was written during the Mycenaean civilization consisted of about 200 syllabic signs and logograms. This language was an improved form of the Linear A, written during the Minoan Age. The language was used mostly in Knossos and in Pylos. The corpus of the Mycenaean Age consists of 6000 tablets. The Kafkania pebble is the oldest Mycenaean inscription dating back to the 17th century BC.

End of Civilization

There are two theories about the end of the Mycenaean civilization. One is population movement, the second internal strife and conflict. According to the first theory the Dorians launched a devastating attack, although this hypothesis has been questioned because the Dorians had always been present in the Greece of that time. Alternatively, it could have been the “Sea Peoples” who attacked the Mycenaeans. The Sea Peoples are known to have attacked various regions in the Levant and Anatolia, so perhaps this reading of events is more credible. The second theory suggests an internal societal conflict between the rich and poor, with the lower classes becoming impoverished towards the end of the Mycenaean period and rejecting the system under which they were governed. By ca. 1100 B.C., Mycenaean civilization had come to an end with the cities of Mycenae and Tiryns completely destroyed. The end of the “Age of Heroes” heralded the start of the Greek Dark Ages.

Mycenaean Civilization ca. 1600 BC -1150 BC Questions for Study

Directions: Respond to the following questions in your Ancient Greek History copybook. Properly title, date and organize your work. 1. What did the Indo-European Greek-speaking invaders bring with them to southern Europe around 2000 BC? 2. When was the peak of the Mycenaean commercial empire? 3. What were the great Mycenaean cities known for? 4. What type of cultural impact did the Minoans have on the Mycenaeans? 5. What is the Levant? 6. How were the Mycenaean palaces similar and different from the Minoan palaces? 7. Being bold traders, fierce warriors, and great engineers, the Mycenaeans also ruled efficiently. What characterized the rule of the Greek warlords? 8. Describe the political hierarchy of a Mycenaean city and its surrounding area. 9. What were some important agricultural goods and how did the kings maintain an agricultural economy? 10. What were the most significant industries in the Mycenaean Age? 11. How did Mycenaean religion relate to the Minoan belief system? What comparisons can one draw between the Mycenaean religion and popular Classical myth (the Olympians)? 12. What characterized Mycenaean art? 13. What is Linear B? 14. What are the two theories pertaining to the collapse of Mycenaean civilization?