Greece - Korina Miller [10]
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Scholars divide the Cycladic civilisation into three periods: Early (3000–2000 BC), Middle (2000–1500 BC) and Late (1500–1100 BC).
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MINOAN CIVILISATION
The Minoans – named after King Minos, the mythical ruler of Crete – were the first advanced civilisation to emerge in Europe, drawing their inspiration from two great Middle Eastern civilisations: the Mesopotamian and the Egyptian.
The Minoan civilisation reached its peak during the Middle period; around 2000 BC the large palace complexes of Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Zakros were built, marking a sharp break from Neolithic village life. Evidence uncovered in these grand palaces on Crete indicates a sophisticated society, splendid architecture and wonderful detailed frescoes. It had highly developed agriculture, an extensive irrigation system and advanced hydraulic sewerage systems (that included the use of ventilation shafts).
The advent of bronze enabled the Minoans to build great boats, which helped them establish a powerful thalassocracy (prosperous maritime trade). As accomplished sailors, they exported their wares to Asia Minor (the west of present-day Turkey), Europe and North Africa, as well as to continental Greece. They used tremendous skill to produce fine pottery and metalwork of great beauty.
Scholars are still debating about the sequence of events that led to the ultimate demise of the Minoans. Scientific evidence suggests the civilisation was weakened by a massive tsunami and ash fallout attributed to the eruption of a cataclysmic volcano on Thira (Santorini) around 1500 BC. Some argue a second, powerful quake a century later decimated the society. And others blame the invading Mycenaeans.
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Most archaeologists split the Minoan civilisation into three phases: Early (3000–2100 BC), Middle (2100–1500 BC) and Late (1500–1100 BC).
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MYCENAEAN CIVILISATION
The decline of the Minoan civilisation coincided with the rise of the first great civilisation on the Greek mainland, the Mycenaean (1600–1100 BC), which reached its peak between 1500 and 1200 BC. The civilisation is named after the ancient city of Mycenae, though it’s also called the Achaean civilisation, after the Indo-European branch of migrants who had settled in mainland Greece and absorbed many aspects of Minoan culture.
Mycenaean society was characterised by independent city-states such as Corinth, Pylos, Tiryns and, most powerful of them all, Mycenae. Powerful monarchs ruled from imposing palaces heavily fortified within massive walls on easily defensible hill tops. The Mycenaeans adorned their palaces with frescoes and documented commercial transactions on tablets in Linear B (a form of Greek language 500 years older than the Ionic Greek used by Homer). But their most impressive legacy is the production of magnificent gold masks, refined jewellery and metal ornaments, the best of which are in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
The collapse of the Mycenaean civilisation came around 1200 BC, and is often attributed to Dorian incursion (see Geometric Age, Click here); however, scholars are still considering whether natural disasters are responsible.
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The Man Who Deciphered Linear B, by Andrew Robinson, tells of the fascinating story of Michael Ventris, the young genius who cracked the code in 1952, solving one of archaeology’s greatest linguistic mysteries.
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Geometric Age
The Dorians were an ancient Hellenic people who had settled in the Peloponnese by the 8th century BC. Their origins remain uncertain: they are generally thought to have come from Epiros or northern Macedonia, but some historians argue that they only arrived from that direction because they had been driven out of Doris, in central Greece, by the Mycenaeans.
In the 11th or 12th century BC these warriorlike people fanned out to occupy much of the mainland, seizing control of the Mycenaean kingdoms and enslaving the inhabitants. The Dorians heralded a traumatic break with the past, and the following 400-year period is