Mycenaean refugees migrated to Cyprus and the Levantine coast. Nevertheless, other regions on the edge of the Mycenaean world prospered, such as the Ionian islands, the northwestern Peloponnese, parts of Attica and a number of Aegean islands. The acropolis of Athens, oddly, appears to have avoided destruction.
Final collapse
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece | Final collapse
Cyprus and the Levantine coast Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. Mycenaean Greece perished with the collapse of Bronze Age culture in the eastern Mediterranean
where may have the mycenaeans ultimately ended up
user
Mycenaean refugees migrated to Cyprus and the Levantine coast. Nevertheless, other regions on the edge of the Mycenaean world prospered, such as the Ionian islands, the northwestern Peloponnese, parts of Attica and a number of Aegean islands. The acropolis of Athens, oddly, appears to have avoided destruction.
Mycenaean Greece | Final collapse
None of the defence measures appear to have prevented the final destruction and collapse of the Mycenaean states. A second destruction struck Mycenae in c. 1190 BC or shortly thereafter. This event marked the end of Mycenae as a major power. The site was then reoccupied, but on a smaller scale. The palace of Pylos, in the southwestern Peloponnese, was destroyed in c. 1180 BC. The Linear B archives found there, preserved by the heat of the fire that destroyed the palace, mention hasty defence preparations due to an imminent attack without giving any detail about the attacking force. As a result of this turmoil, specific regions in mainland Greece witnessed a dramatic population decrease, especially Boeotia, Argolis and Messenia.
Mycenaean Greece | Final collapse
The reasons for the end of the Mycenaean culture have been hotly debated among scholars. At present, there is no satisfactory explanation for the collapse of the Mycenaean palace systems. The two most common theories are population movement and internal conflict. The first attributes the destruction of Mycenaean sites to invaders. The hypothesis of a Dorian invasion, known as such in Ancient Greek tradition, that led to the end of Mycenaean Greece, is supported by sporadic archaeological evidence such as new types of burials, in particular cist graves, and the use of a new dialect of Greek, the Doric one.
Mycenaean Greece | Hypotheses for the collapse
Another theory considers the decline of the Mycenaean civilization as a manifestation of a common pattern for the decline of many ancient civilizations: the Minoan, the Harrapan and the Western Roman Empire; the reason for the decline is migration due to overpopulation. The period following the end of Mycenaean Greece, c. 1100–800 BC, is generally termed the "Greek Dark Ages".
Mycenaean Greece | Hypotheses for the collapse
Alternative scenarios propose that the fall of Mycenaean Greece was a result of internal disturbances which led to internecine warfare among the Mycenaean states or civil unrest in a number of states, as a result of the strict hierarchical social system and the ideology of the wanax. In general, due to the obscure archaeological picture in 12th–11th century BC Greece, there is a continuing controversy among scholars over whether the impoverished societies that succeeded the Mycenaean palatial states were newcomers or populations that already resided in Mycenaean Greece. Recent archaeological findings tend to favor the latter scenario. Additional theories, concerning natural factors, such as climate change, droughts or earthquakes have also been proposed.
Mycenaean Greece | Hypotheses for the collapse
By 1200 BC, the power of Mycenae was declining; finally, during the 12th century BC, Mycenaean dominance collapsed entirely. The eventual destruction of Mycenae formed part of the general Bronze Age collapse in the Greek mainland and beyond. Within a short time around 1200 BC, all the palace complexes of southern Greece were burned, including that at Mycenae. This was traditionally attributed by scholars to a Dorian invasion of Greeks from the north, although many historians now doubt that this invasion caused the destruction of the Mycenaean centres. Displaced populations escaped to former colonies of the Mycenaeans in Anatolia and elsewhere.
Mycenae | Decline
In some cases, arrangements were also made for the creation of subterranean passages which led to underground cisterns. Nevertheless, none of these measures appear to have prevented the final destruction of the Mycenaean palace centers in the 12th century BC. The reasons that lead to the collapse of the Mycenaean culture have been hotly debated among scholars. The two most common theories are population movement and internal conflict.
Military of Mycenaean Greece | Campaigns
The Mycenaean civilization ended at the beginning of Iron Age Greece (1100 BC), which is also known as the Dark Age of Greek history. The Early Iron Age still bears evidence of Mycenaean presence through archaeological remains at sites of Tiryns, Argos, Midea and Asine. Archaeological remains prove an earthquake disrupted Mycenaean sites such as the ones mentioned, and this earthquake led to a series of fires and smaller earthquakes; during this environmentally unstable period, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed due to political circumstances and community pressures caused by the environmental destruction.
Archaeology of Greece | Iron Age Greece
It appears that the Dorians moved southward gradually over a number of years and devastated the territory, until they managed to establish themselves in the Mycenaean centers. A new type of ceramic also appeared, called "Barbarian Ware" because it was attributed to invaders from the north. On the other hand, the collapse of Mycenaean Greece coincides with the activity of the Sea Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean. They caused widespread destruction in Anatolia and the Levant and were finally defeated by Pharaoh Ramesses III in c. 1175 BC. One of the ethnic groups that comprised these people were the "Eqwesh", a name that appears to be linked with the Ahhiyawa of the Hittite inscriptions.
Mycenaean Greece | Hypotheses for the collapse
None of the Mycenaean palaces of the Late Bronze Age survived (with the possible exception of the Cyclopean fortifications on the Acropolis of Athens), with destruction being heaviest at palaces and fortified sites. Thebes was one of the earliest examples of this, having its palace sacked repeatedly between 1300 and 1200 BCE and eventually being completely destroyed by fire. The extent of this destruction is highlighted by Robert Drews who reasons that the destruction was such that Thebes did not resume a significant position in Greece until at least the late 12th century. Many other sites offer less conclusive causes; for example it is entirely unclear what happened at Athens, although it is clear that the settlement saw a significant decline during the Bronze Age Collapse.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Greece
In general, in the second half of 13th century BC, trade was in decline in the Eastern Mediterranean, most probably due to the unstable political environment there.
Mycenaean Greece | Initial decline and revival
Various theories have been proposed for the end of this civilization, among them the Dorian invasion or activities connected to the "Sea Peoples". Additional theories such as natural disasters and climatic changes have been also suggested. The Mycenaean period became the historical setting of much ancient Greek literature and mythology, including the Trojan Epic Cycle.
Mycenaean Greece | Introduction
The Mycenaean civilization started to collapse from 1200 BC. Archaeology suggests that, around 1100 BC, the palace centres and outlying settlements of the Mycenaeans' highly organized culture began to be abandoned or destroyed, and by 1050 BC, the recognizable features of Mycenaean culture had disappeared, and the population had decreased significantly. Many explanations attribute the fall of the Mycenaean civilization and the Bronze Age collapse to climatic or environmental catastrophe, combined with an invasion by Dorians or by the Sea Peoples, or to the widespread availability of edged weapons of iron, but no single explanation fits the available archaeological evidence.
Greek Dark Ages | Fall of Mycenaeans
As a result, there is a general agreement that earthquakes did not permanently destroy Mycenae or Tiryns because, as is highlighted by Guy Middleton, "Physical destruction then cannot fully explain the collapse". Drews points out that there was continued occupation and attempts to rebuild at these sites demonstrating the continuation of Tiryns as a settlement. Demand suggests instead that the cause could again be environmental, particularly the lack of homegrown food and the important role of palaces in managing and storing food imports, implying that their destruction only stood to exacerbate the more crucial factor of food shortage. The importance of trade as a factor is supported by Spyros Iakovidis, who points out the lack of evidence for violent or sudden decline in Mycenae.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Greece
The final collapse of the Mycenaean civilisation appears to have occurred about 1000 BC. The palace at Knossus was once more destroyed, and never rebuilt or re-inhabited. Iron took the place of Bronze, and Aegean art, as a living thing, ceased on the Greek mainland and in the Aegean isles including Crete, together with Aegean writing. In Cyprus, and perhaps on the south-west Anatolian coasts, there is some reason to think that the cataclysm was not complete, and Aegean art continued to languish, cut off from its fountain-head. Such artistic faculty as survived elsewhere issued in the lifeless geometric style which is reminiscent of the later Aegean, but wholly unworthy of it.
Aegean civilization | Fall
In 1250 BC, the first wave of destruction apparently occurred in various centers of mainland Greece for reasons that cannot be identified by archaeologists. In Boeotia, Thebes was burned to the ground, around that year or slightly later. Nearby Orchomenos shared the same fate, while the Boeotian fortifications of Gla were deserted. In the Peloponnese, a number of buildings surrounding the citadel of Mycenae were attacked and burned. These incidents appear to have prompted the massive strengthening and expansion of the fortifications in various sites. In some cases, arrangements were also made for the creation of subterranean passages which led to underground cisterns.
Mycenaean Greece | Initial decline and revival
Another theory has drought as the primary cause behind the Mycenaean decline. Manolis Andronikos claimed that internal conflicts involving social revolutions were the sole cause behind the destruction of Mycenaean sites, but this is contradicted by the fact that all the Mycenaean centers throughout Greece were destroyed almost simultaneously. George E. Mylonas noticed that after 1200 BC, some attempt was made for recovery in Mycenae. He believes that in the Argolid there was internal fighting, and this was followed by the Dorian invasion. It seems that the Dorians moved southward gradually in small clans, until they managed to establish themselves.
Mycenae | Decline
Amos Nur argues that earthquakes played a major role in the destruction of Mycenae and many other cities at the end of the Bronze Age. However, no conclusive evidence has been brought forward to confirm any theory of why the Mycenaean citadel and others throughout Greece fell almost simultaneously at this time.
Mycenae | Decline
The nobility were often buried with gold masks, tiaras, armor and jeweled weapons. Mycenaeans were buried in a sitting position, and some of the nobility underwent mummification. Around 1100–1050 BC, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed. Numerous cities were sacked and the region entered what historians see as a "dark age". During this period, Greece experienced a decline in population and literacy. The Greeks themselves have traditionally blamed this decline on an invasion by another wave of Greek people, the Dorians, although there is scant archaeological evidence for this view.
History of Greece | Mycenaean civilization
Whether this was enough to trigger a Minoan downfall is debated. Mycenaean Greece conquered the Minoans during the late Minoan II period, and Mycenaean weaponry has been found in burials on Crete soon after the eruption. Many archaeologists believe that the eruption triggered a crisis, making the Minoans vulnerable to conquest by the Mycenaeans. According to Sinclair Hood, the Minoans were most likely conquered by an invading force. Although the civilization's collapse was aided by the Thera eruption, its ultimate end came from conquest. Archaeological evidence suggests that the island was destroyed by fire, with the palace at Knossos receiving less damage than other sites on Crete.
Minoan civilization | Collapse
Around 1200 B.C., the Sea Peoples seized a port on the west coast of Asia Minor, cutting of the Hittites from their trade routes from which their supply of grain came. Hattusa the Hittite capital was destroyed. While some Hittite territories survived, these were captured by the Assyrians in the seventh century B.C. The Minoan Civilization, based on Crete, was based around religious rituals and seaborne trade. In around 1450 B.C., it was absorbed into Mycenaean Greece. Mycenaean Greece itself went into serious decline around 1200 B.C. due to various military conflicts, including the Dorian invasion from the north and attacks from the Sea Peoples.
Societal collapse | Foreign invasions and mass migration
1650–1425 BC), and LHIII (c. 1425–1050 BC), the period of expansion, decline and collapse of the Mycenaean civilization. The transition period from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Greece is known as Sub-Mycenaean (c. 1050–1000 BC).
Mycenaean Greece | Chronology
Nancy Demand posits that environmental changes could well have played a significant role in the collapse of Athens. In particular Demand notes in the presence of "enclosed and protected means of access to water sources at Athens" as evidence of persistent droughts in the region that could have resulted in a fragile reliance on imports. Up to 90% of small sites in the Peloponnese were abandoned, suggesting a major depopulation. Again, as with many of the sites of destruction in Greece, it is unclear how a lot of this destruction came about. The city of Mycenae for example was initially destroyed in an earthquake in 1250 BCE as evidenced by the presence of crushed bodies buried in collapsed buildings.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Greece
Emily Vermeule suggests that the disruption of commercial networks at the end of the 13th century BC was disastrous for Greece and this was followed by the coming of the mysterious "Sea Peoples", who caused chaos in the Aegean. According to Egyptian records, the "Sea Peoples" destroyed the Hittite Empire then attacked the 19th and the 20th dynasties of Egypt, circa 1300–1164. They may be related with the destruction of the Mycenaean centers (the records of Pylos mention sea-attack). However at the end of LHIIIB period, the Mycenaeans undertook an expedition against Troy, which meant that the sea was safe with no indication of destruction in the Aegean islands.
Mycenae | Decline
Bronze Age collapse theories have described aspects of the end of the Bronze Age in this region. At the end of the Bronze Age in the Aegean region, the Mycenaean administration of the regional trade empire followed the decline of Minoan primacy. Several Minoan client states lost much of their population to famine and/or pestilence. This would indicate that the trade network may have failed, preventing the trade that would previously have relieved such famines and prevented illness caused by malnutrition. It is also known that in this era the breadbasket of the Minoan empire, the area north of the Black Sea, also suddenly lost much of its population, and thus probably some capacity to cultivate crops.
Bronze Age | Aegean collapse
While the use of Mycenaean Greek may have ceased with the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, some traces of it are found in the later Greek dialects. In particular, Arcadocypriot Greek is believed to be rather close to Mycenaean Greek. Arcadocypriot was an ancient Greek dialect spoken in Arcadia (central Peloponnese), and in Cyprus. Ancient Pamphylian also shows some similarity to Arcadocypriot and to Mycenaean Greek.
Mycenaean Greek | Survival
Alternatively, based on archaeological data, some sort of confederation among a number of palatial states appears to be possible. If some kind of united political entity existed, the dominant center was probably located in Thebes or in Mycenae, with the latter state being the most probable center of power.
Mycenaean Greece | Palatial states
The sites quickly achieved independence, as the "Tale of Wenamun" shows.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Southern Levant
Tiryns, Midea and Athens expanded their defences with new cyclopean-style walls. The extension program in Mycenae almost doubled the fortified area of the citadel. To this phase of extension belongs the impressive Lion Gate, the main entrance into the Mycenaean acropolis. It appears that after this first wave of destruction a short-lived revival of Mycenaean culture followed. Mycenaean Greece continues to be mentioned in international affairs, particularly in Hittite records. In c. 1220 BC, the king of Ahhiyawa is again reported to have been involved in an anti-Hittite uprising in western Anatolia. Another contemporary Hittite account reports that Ahhiyawan ships should avoid Assyrian-controlled harbors, as part of a trade embargo imposed on Assyria.
Mycenaean Greece | Initial decline and revival
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1600–1100 BC. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland Greece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art, and writing system. The most prominent site was Mycenae, in the Argolid, after which the culture of this era is named. Other centers of power that emerged included Pylos, Tiryns, Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, Athens in Central Greece and Iolcos in Thessaly. Mycenaean and Mycenaean-influenced settlements also appeared in Epirus, Macedonia, on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, the Levant, Cyprus and Italy.
Mycenaean Greece | Introduction
Following the collapse, fewer and smaller settlements suggest famine and depopulation. In Greece, the Linear B writing of the Greek language used by Mycenaean bureaucrats ceased and the Greek alphabet would not develop until the beginning of the Archaic Period. The decoration on Greek pottery after about 1100 BC lacks the figurative decoration of Mycenaean ware and is restricted to simpler, generally geometric styles (1000–700 BC).
Greek Dark Ages | Introduction
At approximately this time Hittite power in Anatolia collapsed with the destruction of their capital Hattusa, and the late 19th and the 20th dynasties of Egypt suffered invasions of the Sea Peoples. A theory, reported for instance by Thomas and Conant, attributes the ruin of the Peloponnesus to the Sea Peoples:"Evidence on the Linear B tablets from the Mycenaean kingdom of Pylos describing the dispatch of rowers and watchers to the coast, for instance, may well date to the time that the Egyptian pharaoh was expecting the arrival of foes." The identity of the foes remained a question. The evidence suggests that some of the Sea Peoples may have been Greek.
Dorian invasion | Destruction at the end of Mycenaean IIIB
The colonies of the Minoan empire then suffered drought, famine, war, or some combination of those three, and had no access to the distant resources of an empire by which they could easily recover.
Bronze Age | Aegean collapse
However, the site was rebuilt only to face destruction in 1190 BCE as the result of a series of major fires. There is a suggestion by Robert Drews that the fires could have been the result of an attack on the site and its palace; however, Eric Cline points out the lack of archaeological evidence for an attack. Thus, while fire was definitely the cause of the destruction, it is unclear what or who caused it. We see a similar situation concurring in Tiryns in 1200 BCE, when an earthquake destroyed much of the city including its palace. It is likely however that the city continued to be inhabited for some time following the earthquake.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Greece
While there is no evidence of any significant destruction at this site, lacking the remnants of a destroyed palace or central structure, the change in locations of living quarters and burial sites demonstrates a significant recession clearly. Furthermore, an increase in fortification at this site is suggestive of much fear of the decline in Athens to the extent that Vincent Desborough makes an assertion that this is evidence of later migrations away from the city in reaction to its initial decline, although a significant population did remain. It is possible though that this emigration from Athens was not a violent affair and other causes have been suggested.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Greece
Remains of a mansion with Minoan pottery date from Period I. During Period IA, the hill settlement was rebuilt. The structures included kilns for smelting bronze. In Period II, dated to LH3A1, a villa-type structure was built of a terrace formed from previous building material further down to the south. It was probably two-story, megaron-type, with "less substantial walls" but "a massive foundation for what could be a defense tower." It was connected to the top by stairs. Period III, LH3A2–LH3B2, begins with 150 years of apparent abandonment and then a limited reconstruction of a one-story structure on the terrace.
Eurotas (river) | Mycenaean Lacedaemon
Hogarth, not entirely at ease with Evans as commander, left the scene after the first year. Knossos was excavated 1900-1905. The site survives today mainly because of a decision made by Evans to restore it, not a total rebuilding, but an enhancement here and there for safety purposes. Hiring an architect (D.T. Fyfe), he shored up crumbling walls, recemented patios, replaced pillars, put collapsed ceilings back in place, and so on. Today's tourist site, which must be maintained every year, is the result. Much of the larger storage pottery was put back in place. Evans went so far as to hire an artist to reconstruct frescoes from fallen pieces.
Mycenaean pottery | The Cretan Mycenaeans
Mycenaean civilization originated and evolved from the society and culture of the Early and Middle Helladic periods in mainland Greece. It emerged in 1600 BC, when Helladic culture in mainland Greece was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete and lasted until the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces in c. 1100 BC. Mycenaean Greece is the Late Helladic Bronze Age civilization of Ancient Greece and it is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and most of Greek mythology and religion. The Mycenaean period takes its name from the archaeological site Mycenae in the northeastern Argolid, in the Peloponnesos of southern Greece.
History of Greece | Mycenaean civilization
During this period, the differences in ceramics from different regions become increasingly more noticeable, suggesting further degradation of trade at this time. Other than a brief 'renaissance' period that took place mid-twelfth century that brought some developments, the pottery begins to deteriorate. This decline continues until the end of LH IIIC, where there is no place to go but up in terms of technical and artistic pottery. The shapes and decorations of the ceramics discovered during this final period show that the production of pottery was reduced to little more than a household industry, suggesting that this was a time of poverty in Greece.
Mycenaean pottery | Post-palatial period
In the 8th century BC, after the end of the so-called Greek Dark Ages, Greece emerged with a network of myths and legends, the greatest of all being that of the Trojan Epic Cycle. In general, the Greeks of classical antiquity idealized the Mycenaean period as a glorious period of heroes, closeness of the gods and material wealth. The legends of Homer's Epics were especially and generally accepted as part of the Greek past and it was not until the 19th century that scholars began to question Homer's historicity. At this time, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann undertook the first modern archaeological excavations in Greece at the site of Mycenae in 1876.
Mycenaean Greece | Legacy
During this phase, Minoan civilization slowly decreased in importance and eventually the Mycenaeans rose in importance, possibly even temporarily being in control of the Cretan palace of Knossos. The mainland pottery began to break away from Minoan styles and Greek potters started creating more abstract pottery as opposed to the previously naturalistic Minoan forms. This abstract style eventually spread to Crete as well.
Mycenaean pottery | Middle Mycenaean
The Mycenaean civilization succeeded that of the Minoan civilization and resided on mainland Greece. Prominent sites include Mycenae, Pylos, and Argos. The Palace of Pylos in Messenia has contributed a significant amount of Linear B tablets to the archaeological record of the Mycenaeans; it has also revealed evidence of a previous settlement area surrounding the palace, through a survey of the site. The Shaft Graves in Mycenae are also an archaeological discovery relevant to the Mycenaean period; it took place in the 1870s.
Archaeology of Greece | The Mycenaean Civilization
1450 and there is evidence that Knossos was occupied by Mycenaeans until it too was destroyed c. 1370 BC. From then on, Mycenaean expansion throughout the Aegean was unhindered until the massive disruption of society in the first half of the twelfth century (LHIIIC) which ended Mycenaean civilisation and culminated in the destruction of Mycenae itself c. 1150 BC.
Mycenae | Late Bronze Age
In 1600 BC, the Mycenaean Greeks borrowed from the Minoan civilization its syllabic writing system (Linear A) and developed their own syllabic script known as Linear B, providing the first and oldest written evidence of Greek. The Mycenaeans quickly penetrated the Aegean Sea and, by the 15th century BC, had reached Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus and the shores of Asia Minor. Around 1200 BC, the Dorians, another Greek-speaking people, followed from Epirus. Traditionally, historians have believed that the Dorian invasion caused the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, but it is likely the main attack was made by seafaring raiders (Sea Peoples) who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean around 1180 BC.
Greeks | Mycenaean
Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites. Mycenaean civilization was dominated by a warrior aristocracy. Around 1400 BC, the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete, center of the Minoan civilization, and adopted a form of the Minoan script called Linear A to write their early form of Greek. The Mycenaean-era script is called Linear B, which was deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris. 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.
History of Greece | Mycenaean civilization
Mycenae was briefly reoccupied in the Hellenistic period, when it could boast a theatre (located over the Tomb of Clytemnestra). The site was subsequently abandoned, and by the Roman period in Greece its ruins had become a tourist attraction. The ancient travel writer Pausanias, for example, visited the site and briefly described the prominent fortifications and the Lion Gate, still visible in his time, the second century AD. Pausanias also describes being led to the site by shepherds, showing that the surrounding area was never completely abandoned.
Mycenae | Revival and abandonment
After the end of the Mycenaean period Ithaca's influence diminished, and it came under the jurisdiction of the nearest large island.
Ithaca | Mycenaean era
After the collapse of the Mycenaean world, communication ended, and Cypriot was differentiated from Arcadian. It was written until the 3rd century BC using the Cypriot syllabary. Tsan was a letter in use only in Arcadia until around the 6th century BC. Arcadocypriot kept many characteristics of Mycenaean, early lost in Attic and Ionic, such as the sound (digamma).
Arcadocypriot Greek | Later developments
The deterioration of these governments interrupted trade routes and severely reduced literacy in much of this area. In the first phase of this period, almost every city between Pylos and Gaza was violently destroyed, and many abandoned, including Hattusa, Mycenae, and Ugarit. According to Robert Drews, "Within a period of forty to fifty years at the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the twelfth century almost every significant city in the eastern Mediterranean world was destroyed, many of them never to be occupied again."
Late Bronze Age collapse | Introduction
The end of the Bronze Age is referred to as Mycenaean period in southern Greece and Crete, as these areas were under the cultural influence of Mycenae. During this time not only Mycenaean goods were traded in the Mediterranean, but also adopted Mycenaean culture and customs. Mycenaean graves and earthenware have survived from this period, the latter being very helpful in dating archeological findings. The northern limit of the spread of the Mycenaean culture is in Pieria, further north, no signs have been discovered.
History of Pieria (regional unit) | Mycenaean period
The catastrophe separates Late Cypriot II (LCII) from the LCIII period, with the sacking and burning of Enkomi, Kition, and Sinda, which may have occurred twice before those sites were abandoned. During the reign of the Hittite king Tudḫaliya IV (reigned c. 1237–1209 BCE), the island was briefly invaded by the Hittites, either to secure the copper resource or as a way of preventing piracy. Shortly afterwards, the island was reconquered by his son Suppiluliuma II around 1200 BCE. Some towns (Enkomi, Kition, Palaeokastro and Sinda) show traces of destruction at the end of LCII. Whether or not this is really an indication of a Mycenean invasion is contested.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Cyprus
The palatial structures at Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos were erected on the summits of hills or rocky outcrops, dominating the immediate surroundings. The best preserved are found in Pylos and Tiryns, while Mycenae and the Menelaion are only partially preserved. In Central Greece, Thebes and Orchomenos have been only partially exposed. On the other hand, the palace built at the acropolis of Athens has been almost completely destroyed. A substantial building at Dimini in Thessaly, possibly ancient Iolcos, is believed by a number of archaeologists to be a palace. A Mycenaean palace has been also unearthed in Laconia, near the modern village of Xirokambi.
Mycenaean Greece | Palaces
The cultural collapse of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria, and the Egyptian Empire in Syria and Palestine, the scission of long-distance trade contacts and sudden eclipse of literacy occurred between 1206 and 1150 BC. In the first phase of this period, almost every city between Troy and Gaza was violently destroyed, and often left unoccupied thereafter (for example, Hattusas, Mycenae, Ugarit). The gradual end of the Dark Age that ensued saw the rise of settled Neo-Hittite and Aramaean kingdoms of the mid-10th century BC, and the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Ancient Near East | Bronze Age collapse
Mycenaean influence first becomes perceptible, primarily through Mycenaean pottery. Mycenaean influence becomes more prevalent in Phylakopi III:iii, with the construction of a megaron, a sanctuary with Mycenaean figurines, a new fortification wall and the predominance of Mycenaean pottery, to the almost extinction of Cycladic pottery styles. The construction of a megaron, a feature of the Mycenaean palaces of the Greek mainland, has led to the suggestion that the Mycenaeans conquered and administered the settlement.
Phylakopi | Phylakopi III
In 1420 BC, the Minoan civilization was overrun by the Mycenaean civilization from mainland Greece. The oldest samples of writing in the Greek language, as identified by Michael Ventris, is the Linear B archive from Knossos, dated approximately to 1425–1375 BC.
Crete | Mycenaean civilization
Notwithstanding the above academic disputes, the mainstream consensus among modern Mycenologists is that Mycenaean civilization, exemplified in the Shaft Graves, originated and evolved from the local socio-cultural landscape of the Early and Middle Bronze Age in mainland Greece with influences from Minoan Crete. Towards the end of the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1600 BC) a significant increase in the population and the number of settlements occurred. A number of centers of power emerged in southern mainland Greece dominated by a warrior elite society, while the typical dwellings of that era were an early type of megaron buildings. Some more complex structures are classified as forerunners of the later palaces.
Mycenaean Greece | Shaft grave era (c. 1600–1450 BC)
The scant remains of the Mycenaean acropolis that is surrounded by Cyclopean walls is located on a hill called Palaiokastro which is to the Northwest of the town.
Thisvi | Introduction
Originally, two waves of destruction in c. 1230 BCE by the Sea Peoples and c. 1190 BCE by Aegean refugees have been proposed. Alashiya was plundered by the Sea Peoples and ceased to exist in 1085 BCE.
Late Bronze Age collapse | Cyprus
Among the Mycenaeans, one male sample was found to belong to Y-DNA J2a1 and mtDNA X2, while three female samples to mtDNA X2, X2d and H respectively.
Mycenaean Greece | Genetic studies
The Mycenaean civilization was an early Greek civilization which flourished during the period between 1600 BC, when Helladic culture in mainland Greece was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete, and 1100 BC, when it perished with the collapse of Bronze-Age civilization in the eastern Mediterranean. Through trading and conquest, Mycenaean civilization spread its influence from Mycenae to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe. Mycenaean bronze double axes and other objects (Rillaton Barrow, Pelynt Dagger) dating from the thirteenth century BC have been found in Ireland and in Wessex and Cornwall in England, proving at least indirect Greek contact with Ireland and Great Britain at the time.
Greeks in the United Kingdom | Mycenaean Greeks
Some former sites of Mycenaean palaces, such as Argos or Knossos, continued to be occupied; the fact that other sites experienced an expansive "boom time" of a generation or two before they were abandoned has been associated by James Whitley with the "big-man social organization", which is based on personal charisma and is inherently unstable: he interprets Lefkandi in this light. Some regions in Greece, such as Attica, Euboea and central Crete, recovered economically from these events faster than others, but life for the poorest Greeks would have remained relatively unchanged as it had done for centuries. There was still farming, weaving, metalworking and pottery but at a lower level of output and for local use in local styles.
Greek Dark Ages | Culture
The private quarters of the members of the royal family were presumably located on the second floor.
Mycenaean Greece | Palaces
The Costoboci were thus defeated.
Costoboci | Greece
The "Greek Dark Ages" ( BC) refers to the period of Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century BC to the rise of the first Greek city-states in the 9th century BC and the epics of Homer and earliest writings in the Greek alphabet in the 8th century BC. The collapse of the Mycenaean coincided with the fall of several other large empires in the near east, most notably the Hittite and the Egyptian. The cause may be attributed to an invasion of the Sea People wielding iron weapons. When the Dorians came down into Greece they also were equipped with superior iron weapons, easily dispersing the already weakened Mycenaeans.
History of Greece | Iron Age (1100–800 BC)
For instance, similar wall decoration was also found in the throne room of the Mycenaean palace of Pylos in the Peloponnese.
Throne Room, Knossos | Mycenaean influence
However, most of the destroyed Mycenaean sites are far from the sea, and the expedition against Troy at the end of this period shows that the sea was safe. Desborough believes that the sea was safe in central and south Aegean in this period.
Dorian invasion | Destruction at the end of Mycenaean IIIB
Crete was breaking away from the Ottomans with the support of the British Empire. After it became independent it would seek admission to Greece. Suddenly becoming his old self, Evans arrived in Heraklion as a journalist again, investigating everything, becoming a thorn in everyone's side. The last Turkish troops were ferried off the island by the British fleet. The new government was issuing permissions to excavate. Evans was first in line, so to speak. At Hogarth's suggestion he acquired land at Knossos, and in a grand style reminiscent of Schliemann's, led an army of Greek diggers there to excavate. MacKenzie was called from Phylakopi to superintend.
Mycenaean pottery | The Cretan Mycenaeans
Hence, the final sack of Qatna occurred after the royal palace was destroyed in 1340 BC, and before the death of Akhenaten, to whom the letter was addressed, in . Trevor Bryce suggested that Akizzi might have accepted Hittite overlordship again. In any case, he was the last known king. The city lost its importance following its sacking and never regained its former status.
Qatna | Collapse
Between the middle of the 15th century BC and the middle of the 11th century BC, relations between the Cyclades and the continent went through three phases. Right around 1250 BC (Late Helladic III A-B1 or beginning of Late Cycladic III), Mycenaean influence was felt only on Delos, at Aghia Irini (on Kea), at Phylakopi (on Milos) and perhaps at Grotta (on Naxos). Certain buildings call to mind the continental palaces, without definite proof, but typically Mycenaean elements have been found in religious sanctuaries. During the time of troubles accompanied by destruction that the continental kingdoms experienced (Late Helladic III B), relations cooled, going so far as to stop (as indicated by the disappearance of Mycenaean objects from the corresponding strata on the islands).
History of the Cyclades | Late Cycladic: Mycenaean domination
A triplet was a group of three sequences of signs exactly the same except for the final syllables. Kober had hypothesized that the last signs were the endings of an inflected word. Her death in 1950 of cancer, just when Ventris was beginning his work, prevented her from going further. In a flash of insight Ventris realized that some of the words could be interpreted as Cretan place names and material objects matching their depictions in the ideograms. He had developed a grid, or table of unknown vowels in rows and unknown consonants in columns. At each intersection of a vowel row and a consonant column was a CV syllable to be matched with a sign.
Mycenaean pottery | Issues of art history
Moreover, the palace of Mycenae appeared to have ruled over a territory two to three times the size of the other palatial states in Bronze Age Greece. Its territory would have also included adjacent centers, including Tiryns and Nauplion, which could plausibly be ruled by a member of Mycenae's ruling dynasty. The unearthed Linear B texts are too fragmentary for the reconstruction of the political landscape in Mycenaean Greece and they do not support the existence of a larger Mycenaean state. On the other hand, contemporary Hittite and Egyptian records suggest the presence of a single state under a "Great King".
Mycenaean Greece | Palatial states
Outside the walls are the remnants of an ancient aqueduct.
Nicaea | Ruins
It is possible to divide this phase into several different sub-phases.
Mycenaean pottery | Post-palatial period
Two further Mycenaean architectural complexes were found further south, in the area of the so-called "agora", which is separated from the "palace area" by a wall. The two complexes are parallel to each other (north-south orientation) and have similar plans. In each, a long corridor links buildings in the north and south of the complex. They are subdivided into small rooms. There is no scholarly consensus on their function. Suggestions include use as barracks, storage spaces/distribution centres, or workshops. The storage theory is supported by the discovery of large amounts of carbonised grain (probably burnt during the destruction of the site) in one of the buildings.
Gla | Agora
1400–1300 BC). It has been argued that different dynasties or factions may have competed through conspicuous burial.
Mycenaean Greece | Burial practices
When Turkish flags were seen flying above the Kerkoporta, a small postern gate that was left open, panic ensued, and the defence collapsed. Meanwhile, Janissary soldiers, led by Ulubatlı Hasan, pressed forward. Many Greek soldiers ran back home to protect their families, the Venetians retreated to their ships, and a few of the Genoese escaped to Galata. The rest surrendered or committed suicide by jumping off the city walls. The Greek houses nearest to the walls were the first to suffer from the Ottomans. It is said that Constantine, throwing aside his purple regalia, led the final charge against the incoming Ottomans, perishing in the ensuing battle in the streets alongside his soldiers.
Fall of Constantinople | Final assault
Whether the effects were enough to trigger the downfall of the civilization is intensely debated. The Mycenaean conquest of the Minoans occurred in the Late Minoan II period (1450–1400 BC). The Mycenaeans were a military civilization. Using their functional navy and a well-equipped army, they were capable of an invasion. Mycenaean weaponry has been found in burials on Crete. This demonstrates Mycenaean military influence not many years after the eruption. Many archaeologists speculate that the eruption caused a crisis in Minoan civilization, making them vulnerable to conquest by the Mycenaeans.
Minoan eruption | Minoan civilization
Foreseeing the end, Arthur Evans and his younger friend and protege, David George Hogarth, left the excavation at Phylakopi early. Not much could be done at Crete, as the Ottoman Empire was not giving permission to excavate there. Evans went home to tend to the Ashmolean and other affairs while Hogarth investigated Crete. While on a recreational tour in northern Italy Evans' beloved wife died unexpectedly of poor health. For a year he was totally lost, wandering dejectedly around the Mediterranean. In 1899 he received a cable from his young friend to come at once, as the political situation in Crete was changing rapidly.
Mycenaean pottery | The Cretan Mycenaeans
He also chose Minoan for the name of the civilization. Subsequently, Carl Blegen, excavator of Pylos, who found the main cache of Linear B tablets on his legendary first day's dig, extended Evans' system to "Helladic" (adjective of Hellas, "Greece." Abbreviation H) and "Cycladic" (adjective of Cyclades, abbreviation C). The Cyclades are a specific number of islands in the Aegean Sea. Subsequently, by convention, following Evans, the layers were grouped and numbered: E, M, L for early, middle, and late, Roman numerals for the subdivision of each one of those, capital letters still further down, Arabic numerals, small letters, and after that if necessary descriptive terms.
Mycenaean pottery | The archaeological code
The trade routes were expanded further, reaching Cyprus, Amman in the Near East, Apulia in Italy and Spain. From that time period (c. 1400 BC), the palace of Knossos has yielded the earliest records of the Greek Linear B script, based on the previous Linear A of the Minoans. The use of the new script spread in mainland Greece and offers valuable insight into the administrative network of the palatial centers. However, the unearthed records are too fragmentary for a political reconstruction of Bronze Age Greece. Excavations at Miletus, southwest Asia Minor, indicate the existence of a Mycenaean settlement there already from c.
Mycenaean Greece | Koine era (c. 1450 BC–1250 BC)
The Dorian invasion was followed by a poorly attested period of migrations, appropriately called the Greek Dark Ages, but by 800 BC the landscape of Archaic and Classical Greece was discernible. The Greeks of classical antiquity idealized their Mycenaean ancestors and the Mycenaean period as a glorious era of heroes, closeness of the gods and material wealth. The Homeric Epics (i.e. "Iliad" and "Odyssey") were especially and generally accepted as part of the Greek past and it was not until the time of Euhemerism that scholars began to question Homer's historicity. As part of the Mycenaean heritage that survived, the names of the gods and goddesses of Mycenaean Greece (e.g.
Greeks | Mycenaean
All culture became suddenly different, writing was lost completely, and previous art styles came to a swift end. They explained this hypothetical change as the first entry of the Greeks into Greece at that time. Wace termed this view "orthodox" because any other was speculative and unsupported by any certain evidence. Even Ventris when he first began his analysis of the script never suspected that it was Greek. When he began to consider the triplets of Alice Kober, a classics major from New York City, linguist, and voracious scholar, who also had taught herself braille, and had received a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Linear B, he was able to match some words with Cretan place names and objects depicted in the ideograms.
Mycenaean pottery | Issues of art history
The Mycenaean Greeks introduced several innovations in the fields of engineering, architecture and military infrastructure, while trade over vast areas of the Mediterranean was essential for the Mycenaean economy. Their syllabic script, the Linear B, offers the first written records of the Indo-European Greek language, and their religion already included several deities that can also be found in the Olympic Pantheon. Mycenaean Greece was dominated by a warrior elite society and consisted of a network of palace-centered states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social and economic systems. At the head of this society was the king, known as "wanax". Mycenaean Greece perished with the collapse of Bronze Age culture in the eastern Mediterranean, to be followed by the so-called Greek Dark Ages, a recordless transitional period leading to Archaic Greece where significant shifts occurred from palace-centralized to de-centralized forms of socio-economic organization (including the extensive use of iron).
Mycenaean Greece | Introduction
There is very little pottery found during this phase, thus not providing much information. It is clear, however, that the bountiful decorations of the developed phase are no longer around. When patterns did occur in this phase, they were very simple; most of the pottery was decorated with a simple band or a solid coat of paint.
Mycenaean pottery | Late phase
Mycenaean Greece was dominated by a warrior elite society and consisted of a network of palace-centered states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social and economic systems. At the head of this society was the king, known as "wanax".
Aegean Sea | Ancient history
The eruption of Thera, which according to archaeological data occurred in c. 1500 BC, resulted in the decline of the Minoan civilization of Crete. This turn of events gave the opportunity to the Mycenaeans to spread their influence throughout the Aegean. Around c. 1450 BC, they were in control of Crete itself, including Knossos, and colonized several other Aegean islands, reaching as far as Rhodes. Thus the Mycenaeans became the dominant power of the region, marking the beginning of the Mycenaean 'Koine' era (from , common), a highly uniform culture that spread in mainland Greece and the Aegean. From the early 14th century BC, Mycenaean trade began to take advantage of the new commercial opportunities in the Mediterranean after the Minoan collapse.
Mycenaean Greece | Koine era (c. 1450 BC–1250 BC)
The Turks, advancing rapidly, recaptured in quick succession Afion-Karahisar, Eski-Shehir, Kiutahia, Brussa, Oushak—and then Smyrna! Once again the banners of Islam floated proudly, tauntingly, over the Aegean coast opposite Chios and Mytilene. The whole of Ionia was in flames. Slaughter and pillage descended on the smiling city of Smyrna and in a few short days turned it into a ruin...As day succeeded day, Greece seemed to have become paralyzed, to have lost all will, all ability to resist the blows of fate. The swiftness of the catastrophe completely overwhelmed the State, flooded as it was by the thousands of fleeting soldiers and refugees who sought shelter on the Greek coasts.The nation was plunged into deep despair...Greece had lost her big gamble and had been uprooted from Asia Minor.
Megali Idea | Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and the end of the Megali Idea
Archaeology has provided a more complete story for the Mycenaean period. On the left bank of the Eurotas, across from Sparta, is a ridge on which sits a temple called the "Menelaon". In the 20th century a survey by the British School of Archaeology revealed that the entire ridge, located in the municipal unit of Therapnes, ancient Therapnē, had been covered by a walled Mycenaean town, dated to the late Bronze Age by the late Helladic (LH3) pottery with some middle Helladic (MH) pottery in "pockets in the bedrock." The archaeologists analyzing the site recognized a building Period I, dated between LH2B–LH3A1, the latter being brought to and end about 1425 BCE by a severe earthquake.
Eurotas (river) | Mycenaean Lacedaemon
Mycenae ( ; or , "Mykē̂nai" or "Mykḗnē") is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. The site is inland from the Saronic Gulf and built upon a hill rising above sea level. In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece, Crete, the Cyclades and parts of southwest Anatolia. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae.
Mycenae | Introduction
A temple dedicated to Hera was built on the summit of the Mycenaean citadel during the Archaic Period. A Mycenaean contingent fought at Thermopylae and Plataea during the Persian Wars. In 468 BC, however, troops from Argos captured Mycenae, expelled the inhabitants and razed the fortifications.
Mycenae | Archaic and classical periods
They were roughly fitted together without the use of mortar or clay to bind them, though smaller hunks of limestone fill the interstices. Their placement formed a polygonal pattern giving the curtain wall an irregular but imposing appearance. At the top it would have been wide enough for a walkway with a narrow protective parapet on the outer edge and with hoop-like crenellations. The term "Cyclopean" was derived by the latter Greeks of the Classical era who believed that only the mythical giants, the Cyclopes, could have constructed such megalithic structures. On the other hand, cut stone masonry is used only in and around gateways.
Mycenaean Greece | Fortifications
When collapse - whether through civil war, revolution, coup d'état, or military defeat and/or invasion - becomes unavoidable and immediate, law and order may break down. There may be ethnic cleansing or genocide. Hitler ordered the killing of invalids, Gypsies, Russians and Jews in the Final solution. In Ottoman Turkey, estimates for the death toll in the Armenian genocide vary between 300,000 and 1.5 million. In the Pacific theatre of World War II, Japan's collapse was hastened by nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When Ottoman Turkey collapsed at the end of World War I, it lost territory, including what became Syria, Iraq and Palestine; the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire gave rise to Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Austrian Republic, while Slovenia and Croatia became part of Yugoslavia.
State collapse | Crisis point
Excavation revealed much detail about the fortification walls (which were always visible) and, on the interior, remains of buildings from the Mycenaean period. The fortification encloses an area of nearly 20 hectares, about 10 times as much as the Mycenaean citadels of Athens or Tiryns.
Gla | Size
The Latin Empire, however, lasted only 57 years, when in 1261 Constantinople was reclaimed by the Byzantine Greeks and the Byzantine Empire was restored. However, in mainland Greece and islands various Latin possessions continued to exist. From 1261 onwards, Byzantium underwent a gradual weakening of its internal structures and the reduction of its territories from Ottoman invasions culminating in the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople resulted in the official end of both the Eastern Roman empire and the Byzantine period of Greek history.
History of Greece | From partial Byzantine restoration to 1453
The painting of the Mycenaean age was much influenced by that of the Minoan age. Fragments of wall paintings have been found in or around the palaces (Pylos, Mycenae, Tiryns) and in domestic contexts (Zygouries). The largest complete wall painting depicting three female figures, probably goddesses, was found in the so-called "cult center" at Mycenae. Various themes are represented: hunting, bull leaping (tauromachy), battle scenes, processions, etc. Some scenes may be part of mythological narratives, but if so their meaning eludes us. Other frescoes include geometric or stylised motifs, also used on painted pottery (see above).
Mycenaean Greece | Frescoes
In the absence of documents and objects that can be precisely dated, events at Mycenae can only be dated relatively within the constraints of Helladic chronology which relies on categorisation of stratified material objects, mainly pottery, within an agreed historical framework. Mycenae developed into a major power during LHI (c. 1550–c. 1450 BC) and is believed to have become the main centre of Aegean civilisation through the fifteenth century to the extent that the two hundred years from c. 1400 BC to c. 1200 BC (encompassing LHIIIA and LHIIIB) are known as the Mycenaean Age. The Minoan hegemony was ended c.
Mycenae | Late Bronze Age
Other factors that could have placed increasing pressure on the fragile kingdoms include piracy by the Sea Peoples interrupting maritime trade, as well as drought, crop failure, famine, or the Dorian migration or invasion.
Late Bronze Age collapse | General systems collapse
Mycenaean preserves some archaic Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Greek features not present in later ancient Greek. One archaic feature is the set of labiovelar consonants , written , which split into , , or in ancient Greek, depending on the context and the dialect. Another set is the semivowels and the glottal fricative between vowels. All were lost in standard Attic Greek, but was preserved in some Greek dialects and written as digamma or beta .
Mycenaean Greek | Phonology
"Further Information: Late Bronze Age collapse" The Ancient Levant had been initially dominated by a number of indigenous Semitic speaking peoples; the Canaanites, the Amorites and Assyrians, in addition to Indo-European powers; the Luwians, Mitanni and the Hittites. However, during the collapse of the Late Bronze Age, the coastal regions came under attack from a collection of nine seafaring tribes known as the Sea Peoples. The transitional period is believed by historians to have been a violent, sudden and culturally disruptive time. During this period, the Eastern Mediterranean saw the fall of the Mycenaean Kingdoms, the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and Syria, and the New Kingdom of Egypt in Syria and Canaan.
Greeks in Syria | Iron Age
Moreover, some island sites built fortifications or improved their defenses (such as Phylakopi, but also Aghios Andreas on Siphnos and Koukounaries on Paros). Relations were resumed during Late Helladic III C. To the importation of objects (jars with handles decorated with squids) was also added the movement of peoples with migrations coming from the continent. A beehive tomb, characteristic of continental Mycenaean tombs, has been found on Mykonos. The Cyclades were continuously occupied until the Mycenaean civilisation began to decline.
History of the Cyclades | Late Cycladic: Mycenaean domination