How Did Mycenaeans Influence Minoan Civilization

The Mycenaean civilization thrived in the late Bronze Age, and extended its effect throughout the Peloponnese in Greece, across the Aegean, on Crete, and the Cycladic islands. The Mycenaean’s were influenced by the earlier Minoan civilization that had spread from its origins at Knossos. The Mycenaean’s were fierce warriors and great engineers, who designed and built outstanding bridges, fortification walls, and beehive shaped tombs, all employing Cyclopean masonry. They also elaborated drainage and irrigation systems that were all new to that era. In their architecture, we can see that the Mycenaean society had a war like culture basis portrayed by wide strong walls, large cut stones, and well-protected gates. One good example of this is the …show more content…
The Mycenaean Megaron was the foundation for the later Archaic and Classical temples of the Greek world. They consisted of an entrance porch, a vestibule, and the hall itself. This was the heart of the palace and contained a large circular hearth with four wooden columns supporting a holed ceiling; this was the throne room of the ruler. Without a doubt the Mycenaean culture was far more advanced than any other culture around them as they came up with new building techniques like the Megaron, and their citadel sites, which were built with ashlar masonry and massive stone blocks. One curious question that still baffles archaeologists and historians today is how they moved the large blocks they used to build these sites. The blocks were considered too large to be moved by man and were believed by ancient Greeks to have been erected by a one eyed giant named …show more content…
What we do know is that by the year 1200 BCE their civilization started showing signs of decline, and by 1100 BCE they were completely vanished. From what was left behind, we can see that their palaces were destroyed, as well as their art and system of writing. There are some theories as to why they collapsed, economy and natural causes. For example there is evidence of a climate change that occurred during the Mycenaean era. This terrible climate change caused drought and affected their crops and livestock. Water was a necessity for them not only because as humans they needed it, but also because their crops and cattle depended on water, without it they could not grow wheat, barley, or keep their livestock alive. This climate change became a problem into their society the Mycenaean were not able to fix, creating a domino effect on their economics, as they were not able to trade weakening the civilization. Another theory according to Greek legends is that half civilized Dorian invaders from the north replaced the Mycenaean. These invaders spoke a different Greek dialect and were a new wave of Greek migration. Having that said all this information and theories may very well be the exact reason of the Mycenaean extinction. Even though nothing has been completely proven, I believe that there is not just one exact reason to why their civilization crumbled and disappeared. Therefore, as