CHAPTER 5

Section 1

Minoan Civilization

Europe---named after Europa, the daughter of the king of Phoenicia who settled on the island of Crete with Zeus (fable)

Crete was home to a brilliant early civilization Called Minoans after King Minos (legendary king of

Crete) Minoan success was based on trade not

conquest---they contacted peoples in the Nile Valley and the Middle East---through their contact with Egypt and Mesopotamia they acquired ideas and technology that they adapted to their own culture

Europa

King Minos

Island of Crete (Minoan Civilization)

Minoan Civilization

Minoan Civilization

The rulers of the Minoan civilization lived in a palace at Knossos

The palace housed rooms for the royal family, banquet halls, working areas for artisans, and religious shrines to honor gods and goddesses

The walls of the palace were covered in colorful frescoes---these frescoes tell us about the Minoan civilization

Minoan Fresco

Minoan Civilization

By about 1400 B.C., Minoan civilization had vanished

Archaeologists aren’t sure of the reasons but hypothesize that the civilization could have been ended by a natural disaster such as a volcanic eruption or an earthquake

Rulers of Mycenae

Mycenaean civilization dominated the Aegean world from about 1400 B.C. to 1200 B.C.

The Mycenaeans were sea traders and spread out beyond Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and Mesopotamia

They lived in separate city-states on the mainland

A warrior-king ruled from a fortress

Mycenae

Mycenae

The Trojan War

The Mycenaeans are best remembered for their part in the Trojan War, which took place around 1250 B.C.

There was an economic rivalry between Mycenae and Troy, a rich trading city in present-day Turkey

The war may have started because Troy controlled the straits that connect the Mediterranean and Black seas

The Trojan War

Another more romantic version states that the Trojan prince Paris kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king and then the Mycenaeans sailed to Troy to rescue her

For the next 10 years the two sides battled until the Greeks finally seized Troy and burned the city to the ground

Troy

Helen

Trojan War

Trojan Horse

Trojan War

Many people believed that the Trojan War was merely a legend

In the 1870s, Heinrich Schliemann set out to prove that the legend was rooted in fact

He excavated the site of ancient Troy and found evidence of a fire and war dating to about 1250 B.C.

Modern scholars agree that the Trojan War was an actual event

Heinrich Schliemann

The Age of Homer

Not long after the fall of Troy, Mycenaean civilization crumbled

The Dorians invaded from the north and as Mycenaean power faded people abandoned the cities and trade declined

From 1100 B.C. to 800 B.C., Greek civilization seemed to step backward

People forgot many skills, including the art of writing

The Age of Homer

We get hints about life during this period from two epic poems---the Iliad and the Odyssey

Both poems are credited to the blind poet Homer, who lived around 750 B.C.

His poems were passed on orally for generations

Homer

Homer

The Iliad

It is our chief source of information about the Trojan War, although the story involves gods, goddesses, and even a talking horse

At the start of the poem, Achilles, the greatest of Greek warriors, sulks in his tent after getting in a fight with his commander. Even after the battle turns against the Greeks, Achilles still refuses to join in the battle. He only begins to fight after his best friend is killed.

Iliad

Achilles

The Odyssey

Tells of the struggles of the Greek hero Odysseus to return home to his faithful wife Penelope after the fall of Troy

On his long voyage, Odysseus encounters a sea monster, a race of one-eyed giants, and a beautiful sorceress who turns men into swine

Odyssey

Odysseus

The Age of Homer

The Iliad and the Odyssey reveal much about the values of the ancient Greeks

The heroes display honor, courage, and eloquence

For almost 3,000 years, the epics of Homer have inspired European writers and artists