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The Greek Adventure (The Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations (knowledge of…
The Greek Adventure
The Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations
island of Crete
Cretan culture called Minoan civilization after Minos, the mythical king of Krete
Minoan towns- led by Knossos on the northern coast
masters of a wide ranging maritime empire
played a part in the formation of the Greek civilization
established a seaborne commercial network - spammed most of eastern Mediterranean
around 1450 the Mycenaeans invaded Crete and destroyed many of the islands settlements - eventually settled there themselves
both Minoan and Mycenaean kings ruled from palaces
knowledge of this period comes from the Iliad and the Odyssey - two epics of ancient Greek written by the magnificent poet Homer
Iliad deals with the Mycenaeans' war against the powerful city state Troy
the Odyssey tells of the adventure of the hero Odysseus
experienced extensive internal warfare among competing towns - weakened them and they fell to a new wave of nomad from the north: the Dorians
culture of Greek peninsula decline 1100-about 800 BCE -called the Dark Age
Geography and Political Development
Greece was shaped by its geography
in ancient times- consisted of many small islands of the Aegean Sea
called the Cyclades Islands
consisted of the western end of Asia Minor
consisted of the mountainous southern tip of the European mainland
not much land suitable for large scale faming, no broad river valleys, and no expansive level plains
this geography encouraged political fragmentation
critical weakness in the development of a united Greek nation
Greeks were expert sailors so ships and shipping and oversea trade were very important
History of Ancient Greeks
three epochs
The Minoan-Mycenaean
from about 2000 BCE to the conquest of the Greek peninsula by invaders in the 1100's
The Hellenic Period
the time of Homer to the conquest of the Greek city-states by the Macedonians in the mid-300s
includes the Classical Age - when Greek philosophical and artistic achievements were most impressive
The Hellenistic Age
final blossoming of Greek cultural innovation
lasted from about 300 BCE to the first centure CE
political and intellectual interactions between Greeks and other peoples to produce a hybrid culture
very influential on the arts and science of Western and Asian civilizations