Early Aegean Civilization & The Rise of Hellenic Civilization

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Early Aegean Civilization & The Rise of Hellenic Civilization. Parthenon, Athens - 450 BC. Sir Arthur Evans , 1900 Discovered the Palace of Knossos (Minoan civilization). Sea themes on Cretan pottery. North entrance of Palace of Knossos. The Throne Room of King Minor c 1600 BCE. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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  • Early Aegean Civilization & The Rise of Hellenic Civilization

  • Parthenon, Athens - 450 BC

  • Sir Arthur Evans, 1900 Discovered the Palace of Knossos (Minoan civilization)

  • Sea themes on Cretan pottery

  • North entrance of Palace of Knossos

  • The Throne Room of King Minor c 1600 BCE

  • The Queens Room

  • Prince With Lilies, c. 1500 BCThe Fisherman, Crete, c 1400

  • Minoan ladies, 1400

  • Bull leaping Mural, Palace at Knossos

  • The Palace at Knossos, 2200 -1400 BC

  • Heinrich Schleiman

  • Homer, The Iliad

  • 12th C. : The Trojan Wars

  • Origin of the Trojan War

  • Helen, Paris and Aphrodite

  • The Lions Gate, 1350 BCKyriakos Pittakis, 1841

  • The Treasury of Atreus c 1300 BCE

  • Pottery, swords, knives and 100s of gold ornaments have been foundTwo sets of gravesites were discovered at Mycenae

  • Mycenaean Queen, c. 1350

  • Mycenaean bull, 1350 BCE

  • Invasions usher in a Dark Age. (1100-800 BC)

  • Invasions usher in a Dark Age. (1100-800 BC)Mycenaean civilization disappeared- warfare, poverty, insecurity and isolation.Extensive trade ceasedThe knowledge of writing was forgottenPalace workshops were abandonedArt reflected primitive formsSimple burialsNo massive buildings/architectureFewer water wells were dug

  • How did life change after 800 BC? The Greek Renaissance 800 600 BCWriting again became part of Greek culture (Phoenician script!)Population increased dramaticallyUrbanization quickened A merchant class emerged Colonies around the Mediterranean multiplied Overseas trade expanded Rise in use of metals

  • Hesiod,wroteThe TheogonyandWorks & Days

  • The poet Homer: broke with the traditional treatment of the heroes of myth and legendNot just deeds and actions, but added what the hero thought and felt about his behaviorDeveloped characters who were complex in their motives, who expressed emotions such as anger, vengeance, guilt, remorse and compassion.

  • The Polis is the name for the independent city-state of the ancient Hellenes people.

  • The polis developed into a self-governing community that expressed the will of free citizens, not the desires of gods, hereditary kings or priests.

  • The great Greek contribution to political life:Individual members shared a sense of belonging to and participating in the polis.Community problems are caused by human beings and require human solutions.Laws expressed the rational mind of the community to insure its will and needs are met.

  • Sparta: the ultimate military state

  • Spartan warriors, c. 450 BC

  • The ruins of Ancient Sparta

  • Athens, cradle of democracy

  • Draco Solon 620sBC 570sBCPisistratus, 540s BC

    Cleisthenes, 508 BC

  • **The ancient Greek world stretched from spain, along north Africa Siciliy, so Italy, the coast of Asia minor and the Black Sea.And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Parthenon reigns as the most copied building in the world, from the French Parliament, to the U.S. Supreme Court, to banks, museums and countless buildings that aspire to convey wealth, culture and power. Since it was built, in the fifth century B.C.E., it has been shot at, exploded, set on fire, rocked by earthquakes, converted to a church then a mosque, and in the 19th century, looted for its magnificent sculptures. Hidden behind its columns, a rescue mission is under way. The team must take apart, repair and reassemble tens of thousands of its pieces. And although the Parthenon appears to be geometrically straight and made from interchangeable parts, subtle curves make each piece unique, varying by fractions of a millimeter.CATHY PARASCHI (Acropolis Restoration Project): The quality of the engineering work and the precision is unmatched, even from us today.NARRATOR: The restoration team has taken over 30 years and spent well over $100 million restoring what the ancient Athenians built in just eight or nine years.But while all of Athens flourishes, the Acropolis still lay in ruins from the Persian invasion. Then, in 449 B.C.E., Pericles proposes to rebuild the temples destroyed by the Persians. He opens the question to debate.JEFFREY M. HURWIT: Every monument, every element of the Periclean building program had to be voted upon so that these monuments would, in fact, be monuments of the democracy and not of one man, such as Pericles himself.*In 1900, Evans unearthed a civilization older than Mycenaean Greeks on the island of CreteThe Cretan or Minoans were not Greeks but their influence on the mainland was considerable and enduring. Islanders proably came from Asia Minor around 3000 BC. Influence on Greece is so significant that the history of the Greeks must start here.;asted 1350 years from 2600 BC to 1250 BCMagnificent palaces

    *Cretan artifacts have been found in Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece, attesting to a substantial export trade. They include clay vases, bronze daggers and knives decorated with enamel. Ivory carving of different animals and scenes.*Knossos, Crete, ca. 1500 B.C. Excavated by Sir Arthur Evans in the early part of the century, the elaborate palace reminded the excavator of the legend of "Theseus and The Minotaur." The Minotaur was a monstrous half man- half bull who lived at the heart of a labyrinth built by Daedalus for King Minos of Crete. The palace was named for the legendary king. Built several stories high around a central courtyard, the palace had light wells to admit light into the lower reaches of the palace. The palace is also noted for columns that taper downward instead of upward. A Pictorial Guide of the Palace and Dartmouth's Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean are both very useful sites to explore. *Knossos mural, the so called 'Prince with the Lilies' or 'Priest King' Fresco (Knossos, c. 1500 BC) . Walls decorated with these types of frescoes-light, vivid, playful, showing the Cretan delight in nature, gardens, birds, fish. *Young men vaulting over the horns of a bull. Could be symbolic- the bull represents raw nature being tamed by an agricultural society. Also popular was boxing. Bull Leaping Fresco Knossos. Painted ca. 1500 B.C., fragments of this fresco were discovered and the fresco was restored by Sir Arthur Evans in the Palace of Minos at Knossos on the island of Crete during the early years of this century. The fresco has a lively vitality that is regarded as a hallmark of the Minoan style. The fresco depicts a ritual game in which an athlete leaped upon the back of a bull, like a modern gymnast vaulting over a pommel horse.

    *A gold ring*Thucydides tells us 1000 years later! That King Minos cleared the sea of pirates, captured the Aegean islands and placed his sons in control of them. Peaceful island- no walls! Other palaces on Crete, but none as elaborate as this one a Knossos.*Trojan War, a war, in about the 12th century B.C., in which the Greeks besieged and destroyed the city of Troy, or Ilium, in Asia Minor. The war was long believed to be pure legend, but on the basis of archeological findings it is now accepted by scholars as historical fact. The Trojan War and its aftermath gave rise to many folk tales and ancient writings, including Homer's epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey.*The Lion Gate is the name given to the main entrance to the citadel of Mycenae after of the sculpture that sits above it. The gate was excavated and restored by the Greek archaeologist Kyriakos Pittakis, the first to excavate Mycenae in 1841. The actual sculpture is of two lions separated by a single column and stands about three feet high. The heads of the lions are now missing, indicating that they were originally made of metal but for some reason or another are no longer around today. The gate represents a combination of Cyclopean construction and ashlar masonry. Cyclopean construction is a form of megalithic architecture, or building with very large stones. Ashlar masonry is simply an organized way of laying out square/rectangular cut stones in a regular manner. The opening for the gate is about ten feet by ten feet and utilizes a post and lintel system, where a single stone crosses over the doorway supported by stones on either side. Above the lintel is an area called the relieving triangle because it is typically filled with a lighter stone or some other material to take pressure off of the lintel. It is in this area that the actual carving of the lions sits even though it still weighs nearly two tons.

    Entrance to the citadal, built around 1350 BC. Two lionesses stand guard. Note the large stones, a reflection of the power of the city. The lintel stoneAt the entrenceway weighs over 100 tons!. *After about 1600 BC the Mycenaeans, ancient inhabitants of the southeastern Greek mainland, buried their dead in tholos tombs, stone chambers with beehive-shaped domes. From about 1300 to 1250 BC they built this tholos tomb, mistakenly called the Treasury of Atreus by its discoverer. It was constructed with measured stone blocks placed in ascending concentric circles. The vault of this dome reaches a height of about 12 m (40 ft). *Two sets of gravesites have been found at Mycenae which gives us a glimpse of the life of its inhabitants.. Also tablets in Linear B-a form of writing found on the island of Crete. c. 1952-1954 *The wealth and artistic achievements are shown by the mask of gold foil that was pressed on to the face of the dead.*Fresco fragment - Mycenae Greece- Minoan influence. Most war murals are scenes of battle and boar hunting.*Found in Mycenae shows influence of Crete*Between 1300 and 1200, mauraders called sea-peoples made trade by sea so dangerous that exports from Greece came to a halt. BUT even more significant were a series of land attacks from the north between 1200-1100 BC which proably overran and destroyed Mycenae. These invaders spoke a version of Greek known as doric and this time is known as the Dorian InvasionsDealt not just with a heros actions or deeds, but with what the hero thought and felt about his behavior.A poetic genius who could reveal a human beings deepest thoughts, feelings and conflicts in a few brilliant linesHis characters, complex in their motives, expressed emotions such as wrath, vengeance, guilt, remorse, compassion and live

    Sparta (Grk. ) was an ancient city in Greece, the capital of Laconia and the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. The city lay at the northern end of the central Laconian plain, on the right bank of the river Eurotas. The site is strategically sited, guarded from three sides by mountains, and controls the routes by which an army can penetrate Laconia and the southern Peloponnessus and the Langhda Pass over Mt Taygetus connecting Laconia and Messenia. At the same time its distance from the seaSparta is 27 miles from its seaport, Gythiummade it difficult to blockade. Settled by Dorian invaders, Sparta conquered neighboring Messenia, forcing the people to work as farm laborers or helots.The Spartan aim was to produce strong-bodied, fearless men and women to maintain their powerSpartan boys left home at age 7 and spent the next 23 years in military barracks ready for battle at a moments notice.In all of Greece, there were no braver warriors than them.

    This dual kingship, a phenomenon unique in history, was explained in Sparta by the tradition that on Aristodemus's death he had been succeeded by his twin sons, and that this joint rule had been perpetuated. Modern scholars have advanced various theories to account for the anomaly. Some suppose that it must be explained as an attempt to avoid absolutism, and is paralleled by the analogous instance of the consuls at Rome. Others think that it points to a compromise arrived at to end the struggle between two families or communities, or that the two royal houses represent respectively the Spartan conquerors and their Achaean predecessors: those who hold this last view appeal to the words attributed by Herodotus (v. 72) to Cleomenes I: "I am no Dorian, but an Achaean."