First Classics 36A Midterm

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Oral Composition

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this is where poets like Homer used to sing rhapsodies, improvised lyrics with a rhythm for entertainment at parties or for royalty. These improvisations were passed down generation to generation, which are now compiled as Ancient Classics

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Megaron

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Rectangular two-room building with an entrance and proch on the side in the middle Neolithic sesklo site. It had many purposes, many pertaining to nobility, and they were located all over the sites of Greece during the Mycenaean Age

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Palace of Nestor

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Only Bronze Age palace of its size and administrative capaibilities in Western Peloponnese. Located on the ridge like Acropolis

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Chamber tomb

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refers to a form of mortuary architecture that was used in the Late Bronze age in areas that were under cultural influence of the Aegean; from 1600-1100 BC, they were the most widespread of mortuary structures

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Linear B

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a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek; the oldest Mycenaean writing dates back to 1450 BC;

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Shaft Graves

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circular burial grounds at Mycenae that were monumental in size, with rich burial goods, indicating wealth and prestige of these warrior-leaders

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Heinrich Schliemann

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an archaeological excavator of the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns; his work lent weight to the idea that Homer's Illiad and Virgil's Aeneid reflect actual events; a pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age

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Cyclopean Masonry

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type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture (found in Mycenae and Tiryns); built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones

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Tholos tomb

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"beehive" tomb of Mycenaean culture; appeared on mainland before 1500 BCE and before palaces; inspired by the tholoi of Crete; built on the principle of a corbelled arch, long entryway, actual burial in side chamber;

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Peak Sanctuary

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widespread throughout the island of Crete; used for religious rituals; human and animal clay figurines have been found

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Michael Ventris

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English architect that deciphered Linear B, prodigy of languages; died before his first definitive work, Documents in Mycenaean Greek

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House of Tiles

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early Bronze Age archaeological site in Lerna, Greece; notable for several architectural features that were advanced for its time such as the roof covered by baked tiles; stems from the Early Helladic period (2500-2300 BC) and is referred to a palace or administrative center, althought its function remains unknown due to small finds since it was destoryed by the invaders before it was completed; destroyed 2100

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"Horns of Consecration"

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expression by Sir Arthur Evans to describe the symbol that represents the horns of the sacred bull in the Minoan civilization; He described the hrons to be an article of ritual furniture derived form the actual horns of the sacrificial oxen

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Lion Gate

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the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae; came up during the 13th century and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance

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Phaistos Disk

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disk of fired clay from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the Greek island of Crete, possibly dating the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age; the purpose and meaning are still being disputed because they have not yet fully deciphered the writing on the Phaistos Disk

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Linear A

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one of two currently undeciphered writing systems used in ancient Crete prior to its Mycenaean descendant Linear B; In Minoan times, Linear A was the primary script used in palace and religious writings; discovered by Arthur Evans unintelligible words

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Tiryns

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Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese; archaeological sites of Mycenae and Tiryns are the imposing ruins of the two greatest cities of the Mycenaean civilization, which dominated the eastern Mediterranean world from the 15th to the 12th century BC.

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Indo-European

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lived during the late Neolithic period; inhabited Mycenae in 2000 BC; arguments that they formed back to the oldest periods of the Indo-European settlement in Greece

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Milman Parry

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a scholar of epic poetry and the founder of the discipline of oral tradition; revolutionized Homeric studies by showing the Homeric style is characterized by the extensive use of fixed expressions or formulas, adapted for expressing a given idea under the same metrical conditions

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Dactylic Hexameter

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a form of meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme; associated with classical epi poetry in both Greek and Latin; premier examples are Homer's Illiad and Odyssey

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Central Court

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in Knossos, the complex was constructed around a raised Central Court; plot plans typically show the court with the long axis horizontal, with north on the top

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Wanax

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ancient Greek work for "tribal" king, lord, or military leader; inherited from the Mycenaean period

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Neolithic Revolution

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known as the Agricultural Revolution because it marks the transition form hunting and gathering to more settled farming; early Neolithic ca. 6000-5000 BC

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Sir Arthur Evans

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British archaeologist, most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island fo Crete and for developing the concept of Minoan civilization form the structures and artifacts found there; first to find excavate Linear A and Linear B, Cretan scripts

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Expedition Fresco

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a painting from Akrotiri shows the Macedonian king accompanied by his eldest son, Alexander and other courtiers during a hunting expedition; in a hunting scene, the rocky area on the right hand side of the fresco

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Pylos

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-located ont eh western coast of the Peloponnese in Greece
-dated as a Bronze Age site
-excavated by Carl Blegen
-over 600 tablets of Linear B were discovered in Pylos by Blegen in 1939
-Blegen concluded that the remains of the large Mycenaean palace as the the Palace of Nestor, named after the Homeric ruler, Nestor
-founded that the city of Pylos was abandoned after the 8th century BC
-destroyed and never reoccupied

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Lerna

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-located on the Gulf of Argos, or modern Bay of Nauplion
-dated back to the Early Bronze Age
-thought to eb a best example of an early Bronze or early Helladic site in Greece because of its significant archaeological sites
-significant archaeological sites include the House of Tiles which was built during the Early Helladic Period (2500 -2300 BC)
-House of Tiles was thoguht to be a proto-palace that contained two alrger rooms and two smaller rooms
-Lern was settled and abandoned in the Neolithic period and resettled in the early helladic period II
-the area's architecture contained double rings of defensive walls, with gates and towers
-besides the house of tiles (largest building at its time), another significant building was Building BG
-significant tales also took place in Lerna such as near the Argolic Gulf, there was the most famous site known as the lair of the Lernaean Hyrda, many headed snake, a creature of great antiquity when Hercules killed it

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Knossos

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-largest bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and considered as Europe's oldest city
-In 1899, Sir Arthur Evans discovered and excavated Knossos
-proto-palaces were discovered
-palace of Knossos was undoubtedly the ceremonial and political center of Minoan culture and civilization
-approximate graphic view of some aspects of Cretan life in the Bronze age is provided by the restorations of the palace's indoor and outdoor murals
-conclusions about the palace was that it showed that it was the political and economic center of Minoan culture; also that it was a highly organized re-distritbutive eocnomy such that king and palace controlled the allocation and use of surrounding land; widespread distribution of Minoan pottery throughout Eastern Mediterranean indicates an extensive trade network
-the architecture also shows a bull chamber, hall of double axes; storage room wtih pithoi; theatral area at KNossos; throne room; and a drainage system
-abandoned by the end of the late Bronze Age (1375 BC)

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Mycenae

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is an archaeological site in Greece, located in the northeastern Peloponnese. One of the major centers of the Greek civilization, their military stronghold dominated much of Southern Greece. Indo-Europeans who practiced farming and herding settled Mycenae close to 2000 BC. The period of Greek history from 1600-1100 is called Mycenaean. The city was divided into districts: administrative, military, and religious. Their military was led by their wanax or lawagetas, heavily armored, and used chariots drawn by horses. The architecture at Mycenae was also extensive. It includes shaft graves (circular gaves with rich burial goods, indicating wealth and prestige of the warrior leaders) and tholoi tombs (“beehive” tombs that includes a burial and ceremonial chambers). In the Tholoi tomb, they also discovered the treasury of Atreus. Through the evidence from the Linear B tablets, Mycenaean is demonstrated as a hierarchal society where the official is called the wanax . The collapse of the Mycenaean palaces were demo

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Nichoria

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-a major Bronze and early iron age site that is situated near the northwest corner of the Messenian Gulf
-during the bronze age, it was associated with Pylos, the major palace in its area
-one of the few Mycenaean towns to survive and develop into a Dark Age settlement
-During the Dark ages, it was part of the of the Mycenaean civilization
-reached its greatest extent and even sported a royal Pylos-style megaron
-destroyed in the same event which clained the main palace in Pylos
-the social differentiation was suggested byt eh large buildings
-The dark age at Nichoria was a period of continuity, despite its level of decline form its level of sophistication during the Mycenaean period
-they derived their pottery shapes and designes from the Mycenaeans

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Lefkandi

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-archaeological site from the Dark Ages (1200-750 BC)
-village and associated cemeteries located near the modern village of Eretria
-occupied approximately between 1500 BC thorugh 331 BC
-thought to have been the location where Mycenaeans located after the fall of Knossos
-975-900, cultural and commerical expansion in Lefkandi
-by late 8th century, there are other active settleemtns and Lefkandi declines in status and the site was destoryed and abandoned at the close of the 8th century
-the importance of Lefakndi is that it provides earliest evidence for renewal of Greek contact with teh east. By the 10th century, contact by inhabitants of Lefkandi with Athens, Thessaly, Macedonia, and especially Crete had been established; but distinct social differentiation revealed in the burials in the herroon

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Franchthi Cave

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-cave was occupied from the Paleolithic era through the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods
-archaeological dates from c. 20,000
-located in teh NE Peloponnese near the Argolid gulf
-contains some fo the earliest evidence for agriculture in Greece
-provides evidence for the Neolithic Revoltuion, transition from hunting and gathering to settled farming
-the first inhabitants were hunter and gatherers
-provides evidence that Paleolithic used no pottery, architecture, or burials, but obsidian was found
-during the Mesolithic times, large quantities of fish bones were found as well as more obisidan, the earliest burial site, but still no sign of pottery
-abandoned 3000 BC

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Sesklo

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-Neolithic sites that flourished in the Middle Neolithic (c. 5300-4400 BC)
-this site consists of Acropolis (defensible hill that forms the nucleus of a settlement) and Megaron (rectangular two-room building, used as the central room).
-demonstrates the appearance of settled communities, domestication fo animals and crops, and permanent buildings
-reveal the establishment of a farming economy and way of life that will continue into the Bronze Age and beyond
-ca. 4400, it was destoryed and abandoned for 500 years
-ca. 4200, no sign of Sesklo cutlure and replaced by the less advanced Dimini culture

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Dimini

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-ca. 3700 (late Neolithic)
-area contains both a Mycenaean and Neolithic settlement.
-seven concentric rings of walls
-central megaron-type building that is larger than Sesklo, and larger than other buildings at Dmini
-metallurgical technology may have come from the Blakans and Anatolia, no use of Bronze yet
-also important because it demonstrates the same as Sesklo (reveals the estatblishment of a farming economy and way of life that will continue through the Bronze Age and beyond)

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Juktas

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-mountain in north central Crete that was an important religious site for the Minoan civilization
-located a few kilometers from the palaces of Knossos and Fourni
-site of an important peak sanctuary in the Minoan world. At the base of the mountains, it was suggested to some that the Minoans practiced human sacrifice, but evidently is currently in question
-first excavated in 1909 by Sir Arthur Evans
-among the sanctuary were clay human and animal figurines, stone horns, stone altars, bronze double axes, both bowls, and tables with linear inscriptions

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Uluburun

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-late bronze age shipwreck that was discovered 1982
-located southeastern of Arzawa
-thought to be sailing to the region west of Cyprus
-boat was thought to be 15-16 meters long, no evidence of framing, keel appeared to be rudimentary, more of a keel-plank, carried more than 24 stone anchors
-much cargo that was from the Mycenaean era (raw materials such as copper, but also exotic materials like an ostrich egg)

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Akrotiri

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-Minoan Bronze Age settlement on the volcanic Greek island of Santorini
-associated with the Minoan civilization due to inscriptions in Linear A, similarities in artifact and fresco styles
-many art paintings from this site was founded by archaeologists
-Utilized drainage systems and built three story buildings
-destoryed in the Theran eruption about 1500 BC and buried in volcanic ash

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3. Compare and contrast the Mycenaean Age and the Dark Age. Be sure to use key archaeological sites in your discussion

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The Mycenaean Age refers to 1600 BC – 1100 BC, and the Dark Age refers to 1200 BC-750 BC. Both are significant periods of times in Greece. During the Mycenaean Age, the Mycenaean civilization expanded with Helladic culture in mainland Greece with Minoan influences as well. During this period in time, hierarchical structures as well as architecture developed in different parts of Greece. It was demonstrated in the Linear B tablet, that a warrior aristocracy dominated the Mycenaean civilization, with similarities to Minoan, where the wanax or the lawageda redistributed the allocation of land. Military was very important during this time, as demonstrated by the heavily guarded soldiers. The civilization was divided into districts: aristocracy, military, and religion. As for the architecture during this time, the nobles were buried in the tholos tombs, large circular burial chambers with a high roof and straight passage lined with stone. These tombs were buried with burial goods, such as treasures, which demonst

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Trace the development of human habitation in early Greece from the Paleolithic period to the period of the so-called Dark Age. For each time period, discuss a characteristic site and its most important features.

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-Paleolithic Period: skull from cave in Petralona dating back to 200,000; other finds include caves, rock shelters, open sites by lakes and rivers, and obsidian (hunter-gatherers typical of the Paleolithic period)
-Mesolithic: large quantities of fish bones, obsidian, millstones at the cave, stone tools; also the earliest burial site which is a 25 year old male buried at the mouth of cave
-Neolithic Period: Franchthi Cave date back to 20,000, which provides evidence for transition from hunting and gathering to settled farming aka the Neolithic Revolution; appearance of pottery;
-sesklo and dimini were also sites of Neolithic period: appearance of settled communities; domestication of animals; permanent buildings (megaron and houses)
-Early Bronze Age: introduction of Bronze which led to increase in the number of settlements, development of towns, and appearance of monumental buildings
-Lerna is the best example because of all the architecture: house of tiles, substantial buildings, and double ring of

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Discuss the essential features of the Mycenaean palaces and what we know about the way palace life was structured. How do Mycenaean palaces differ from Minoan palaces?

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Mycenaean palaces: shaft graves at Mycenae were monumental in size, with rich burial goods, thus indicating the wealth and prestige of these warrior-­‐leaders & two circular burial grounds found at Mycenae; gold treasures (mask and “nestor’s cup”); tholoi tombs (“beehive” tombs) built on the principle of a corbelled arch; circular stone structue with a long entryway (dromos); actual burial is in side chamber, in a cist grave in the floor or on the floor of the tholos;
developed on mainland only after the final destruction of Minoan palaces; height of Mycenaean palaces ca. 1300 BCE; Lion Gate – entrance to Mycenae, stone carvings of lions; great ramp leading up to palace; King’s megaron; “palace of nestor and the linear B tablets”: palace is located on at ridge-­‐like acropolis at Ano Englianos, Pylos; only bronze age palace of its size and administrative capabilities in western Peloponnese;
Social life: wanax (king/lord – highest status); lawagetas (“leader of the war host”); basileus (minor official); ex

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Discuss the essential features of the Minoan palaces and what we know about the way palace life was structured.

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Minoan palace: Crete had created a highly sophisticated palace civilization; construction of elaborate palaces which were decorated with elegant wall paintings; indications of a highly

regulated economy with collection and redistribution of goods; concern for written records; fine workmanship in various craft items; proto-­‐palaces have been discovered at Knossos and other sites; new palace structures were built right on top of the sites of the destroyed old palaces; palaces were built on a similar but slightly smaller scale; characteristics are built outward from a central court with elements added as needed; storage areas moved within palaces; light wells, often with stairways; pillar and door partitions; no external defensive walls; west wings have extensive storage rooms; some connect directly with rooms identified as shrines; east of central court are the private living quarters with extensive drainage system; highly skilled wall-­‐paintings used to decorate rooms;
Conclusions about Knossos and o