In the Shadow of Mycenae (original) (raw)
They were called the Early Tumulus People in Archaeology because shortly after their departure another "tumulus people" arrived, a large population originating in areas north of the Alps, which then settled in the whole area of Central Europe, including the territories in the east, such as present-day Romania. Both these two populations, the earlier one and the later one, used to bury a part of their dead in a barrow or tumulus, which was not a custom at the funeral rites of the original populations. The Early Tumulus People appeared to have favoured, pursued, the preservation of their own identity, which ultimately led to the preservation of their characteristic culture in this period. Their cultural development, their way of live, as far as known, will be traced in one of the following chapters. Abstracts of the most relevant characteristics of the existing populations that were living in the Carpathian Basin will be given form in a separate chapter, while some cultures north of the Carpathian Mountain Range will also be given attention to. The last chapter will be dedicated to a discussion, in which will be tried to arrive at a satisfying analysis. However, this study will start with a brief description of the Mycenaean-Greek culture in Greece, more precise in their Mycenaean world on the Peloponnese, mainly Pylos and Mycenae, some time around 1400-1200 BCE, and will be followed by a chapter containing investigations on the anticipated Homeland in the Ural steppe regions. This will give form to the dramatic end of the Mycenaean culture in Greece and the supposed original living quarters of this population in the Trans-Ural area. These three major areas as referred to above constitute the only available sources of possible information for an approach to a thorough analysis of this complex problem. Chapter I-The Mycenaean Greeks The following text is meant to provide a limited view on the culture of the Mycenaean-Greeks in their final Aegean homeland from the archaeological period LH I onwards. It will mainly focus on identifying the most characteristic features in their culture, in order to compare these with those of this population in the other geographical territories in the preceding periods. The cultural circumstances in those areas, the Trans-Ural area and Middle Europe, will be paid attention to in the next chapters. This chapter will relate to specific elements of their cultural heritage in Greece in general terms. The intention is to try to clarify to what extent and in what way the Mycenaean Greeks in Greece can be related to the other cultures in the foregoing periods, under totally different circumstances. The Mycenaeans Mycenae The Greek population has been considered to have invaded the large southern peninsula in the Mediterranean area around 1600 BCE, at the end of the Middle Bronze Age in Middle Europe. They probably first arrived in Thessaly, whereupon groups of people travelled further south towards the Peloponnese, to gradually settle in the northern and western territories of that large peninsula. One of their large settlements was built in Mycene, where remnants have been found of an impressive and complex citadel, a palace, miscellaneous buildings and a number of large and important tholos graves, all built on a hill and surrounded by strong and massive defensive walls, all together an extremely powerful stronghold. This particular town was set up as the centre of a large community living in settlements around it in the area. The layout of this fortified complex, also interpreted as a forerunner of the later Acropolis constructions in Greece, is clearly visible on the next picture. The access to the palace on the hill was built within a very narrow entry, visible at the bottom of the picture at the right.. The fortifications are assumed to have been built around the middle of the 14th century BCE. Mycene is interpreted as having been the centre of the Mycenaean-Greek power in Greece in this period of the Middle Bronze Age. This culture is considered to have developed into a very mighty power in the Mediterranean world between 1600 and 1150 BCE. After Wikipedia The Lion statues After Wikipedia. Early imagery of a deity in Knossos, where she is flanked by two lionesses This worship to a Goddess, as shown on the earlier Minoan image, has on the gate been represented by a worship to the representative of the Goddess in the citadel's palace, for which a Minoan column has been choosen. The imagery in the gate marks the intense association between the Mycaneans and the Minoans in the preceding centuries. This monumental sculpture in relief is the earliest example or the kind in Europe. 1
The Collapse of the Mycenaean Economy
The Collapse of the Mycenaean Economy, 2017
In this book, Sarah Murray provides a comprehensive treatment of textual and archaeological evidence for the long-distance trade economy of Greece across 600 years during the transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age. Analyzing the finished objects that sustained this kind of trade, she also situates these artifacts within the broader context of the ancient Mediterranean economy, including evidence for the import and export of commodities as well as demographic change. Murray argues that our current model of exchange during the Late Bronze Age is in need of a thoroughgoing reformulation. She demonstrates that the association of imported objects with elite self-fashioning is not supported by the evidence from any period in early Greek history. Moreover, the notional 'decline' in trade during Greece's purported Dark Age appears to be the result of severe, economic contraction, rather than a severance of access to trade routes.
Homes for heroes: Mycenaean citadels in Bronze Age Greece
Homer’s Iliad seemed to be entirely mythical, until the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy. Having found the Trojans, the next logical step was to seek their Greek adversaries. Now, decades of archaeological work at Tiryns, Pylos and Mycenae have opened the door into the Mycenaean world of Homer’s Achaeans.
A Thousand Black Ships: Maritime Trade, Diplomatic Relations, and the Rise of Mycenae
R. Strootman, F. van den Eijnde, R. van Wijk (eds.) 2019: Empires of the Sea. Maritime Power Networks in World History. Leiden, Brill, 2019
In this chapter I discuss the role of the sea, and maritime trade in particular, in the rise of the city of Mycenae and the formation of what could be called a Mycenaean ‘Great Kingdom’ in the late 17th to 14th century bc. By focusing on Mycenaean activity in three ‘maritime worlds’ (one within the Aegean world itself, namely the Saronic Gulf – a so- called small world- , and two within the wider eastern Mediterranean, namely the eastern trade routes to Hittite Anatolia, and the route south to Egypt), I will argue that it was Mycenae’s ability to dominate the small world of the Saronic Gulf that enabled it to extend its territorial claims beyond the Argolid, which in turn led to a Mycenaean presence in Anatolia and the formation of what one could call a Mycenaean Great Kingdom.
The Demise of the Mycenaean Palaces: The Need for an Interpretative Reset
This paper dealing with the demise of the Mycenaean palaces is intended as a plea for an interpretive reset and a departure from any search for a single 'prime mover' allegedly responsible for this historical watershed. The doubts regarding the validity of the 'earthquake hypothesis' should be perceived as an opportunity to look for alternatives to previous explanatory approaches that were too simplistic. In order to do this, attention must shift away from events and towards assessing those structures and processes that enabled the palaces' demise. In this respect, three closely interrelated factors of historical, political, and social relevance to which I ascribe a crucial importance will be discussed: first, conflicts among the elites; second, large-scale construction projects; and, third, changes in the palatial armed forces. It is argued that the palaces were brought down first and foremost by internal contradictions that had long built up in the palatial polities and were exploited by members of the elite. Alongside antagonistic fault lines that developed over a long period of time, centrifugal forces were unleashed by social groups pursuing their own interests and forging alliances to strengthen their power base .
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 2020
Despite its ubiquity in historical and mythological narratives, the ancient region of southern Phokis in central Greece has been approached primarily as a backdrop for more prominent neighbors (e.g. Delphi, Boiotia), whose roles have been codified in extant histories. Archaeological research has been likewise limited, with the result that southern Phokis has remained largely untouched and unintegrated into the larger narratives of each of the major periods of antiquity. Recent work by the Southern Phokis Regional Project (SPRP) in the Desfina Plain is correcting this lacuna. SPRP is blending the strongest attributes of several disciplinary approaches (e.g. classics, archaeochemistry, digital humanities) to produce a comprehensive transdisciplinary study of the natural and cultural landscape of the region, thereby illuminating the important role of southern Phokis during some of the richest epochs of human history. Our 2018 study of Desfina's natural and cultural environs, bolstered by excavations at the Mycenaean citadel of Kastrouli (ca. 1350-1000 B.C.E.), is revealing that southern Phokis served as a major, if not the primary, gateway to points south and west for northern Phokis, western Boiotia, and perhaps even eastern Lokris by securing access to the Corinthian Gulf. Our survey has documented ambitious engineering works that include a major hydrological project reminiscent of the Kopais Basin and "Cyclopean" terrace walls that sculpt the landscape. These achievements testify to a level of socio-cultural complexity and interconnectivity previously overlooked. In the shadows of Mount Parnassos, Desfina makes the best case yet to be not only the home of Echedameia, destroyed by Philipp II during the Third Sacred War, but also Homeric Anemoreia.
Mycenaean archaeology and the Pylos texts
1984
The Mycenaean Greek Bronze Age is a relatively new field of study, if one takes the long view of historical enquiry, but it has managed to ca pture the imaginations of scholars and amateurs more than any ot her field of Classical studies. Mycenae was always known to the ancient world; nearly 25 centuries ago an exiled Athenian general turned historian, Thucydides, speculated about its size and the nature of its power. But not until a mere century ago did a German entrepreneur turned archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, begin recovering the material remains of Mycenae, Tiryns and other fortified citadels that dominated mainland Greece in the late second millennium OC: (Schliemann 1878; 1886; Schuchhardt 1891: Bennet, Figure 2). As a result of his discoveries, the term 'Mycenaeans' has been applied by archaeologists to all the Late Bronze Age inhabitants of Greece. Since Sehl iemann's time exploration has continued, and the material remains recovered suggest a sophisti ca ted, cosmopolitan culture, which reached its floruit in the 14th-13th centuries BC (summaries in: Vermeule 1972; Mylonas 1966; Stubbings 1973; 1975a; 1975b; Hooker 1977). Monumental bui !ding complexes-the term 'palaces' is convenient, so long as we resist its modern political and social connotations-have been excavated in different parts of Greece, and surveys have located sites of various sizes in the regions around the palaces. Mycenae is the focal point of one such grouping, or 'kingdom' ; others exist at Pylos and at Thebes (Bennet, Figure 2).