2: Mythical Histoy

Question 1

3 Major Periods of Bronze Age and how they are labeled

Answer 1

Early
Middle
Late
* labeled according to geographical areas

Question 2

Bronze Age and their Label in 3 Areas

Answer 2

Crete, Greece: Minoan → from the tradition of King Minos)
Islands: Cycladic
Mainland Greece: Helladic → Hellas is country in Greek

Question 3

Heinrich Schlieman

Answer 3

• Pioneering archaeologist: first to excavate at Mycenae
• Went to Troy, Mycenae, and Tiryns and confirmed the reality of the wealth and power of the Minoan-Mycanean Saga

Question 4

Chronology of the Bronze Age

Answer 4

3000-2000 BCE - Early Bronze Age
Early Minoan
Early Cycladic
Early Helladic

2000-1600 BCE - Middle Bronze Age
Middle Minoan
Middle Cycladic
Middle Helladic

1600-1100 BCE- Late Bronze Age
Late Minoan
Late Cycladic
Late Helladic a.k.a. THe Mycenaean Age due to its dominance

Question 5

When did the Minoan Civilization peak

Answer 5

Late Bronze Age

Question 6

Where was the Minoan Civilization and capital of what

Answer 6

Cnossus in Crete, Greece was the capital of a great thalassocracy and the Minoan power extended to Aegen and mainland Greece

Question 7

What is a thalassocracy

Answer 7

sea power

Question 8

Who was the Cnossus King and historical basis of what

Answer 8

• King Minos
• Historical basis for the legend of the labyrinth and slaying of the Minotaur by Theseus

Question 9

Sir Arthur Evans

Answer 9

• Excavated Cnossus on Island of Crete
• Unearthed the palace of Minos at Cnossus

Question 10

Labyrinth meaning

Answer 10

Labrys: means home of the double ax

Question 11

King Minos

Answer 11

• made a labyrinth to hold the Minotaur slain by Theseus
• Worship of a fetility mother goddess whic was basic in Minoan religion

Question 12

Island of Thera

Answer 12

• modern Santorini (northwest of Crete)
• volcanic eruption that resulted in earthquakes and tsunamis, cause of Minoan downfall?
• Cause of lost city of Plato’s Myth of Atlantis from his Critias and Timaeus?

Question 13

What year was the end of the Minoan Dominance

Answer 13

Ca. 1400 BCE

Question 14

When and what was the Mycenaean Age and what does Mycenae mean

Answer 14

• Late Helladic
• Mycenae means: “rich in gold”
• Indo-European invasion ca. Middle Helladic/Middle Bronze Age
• First Greeks to enter the peninsula and brought with them the worship of a supreme god of the sky, Zeus

Question 15

Cyclopean walls

Answer 15

• type of stonework found in Mycenean architecture
• walls so big they were thought to be built by the giant Cyclopes

Question 16

Heinrich Schliemann

Answer 16

established a link between traditional tales of Greek saga in the Homeric poems and actual placed named in them. Ex: Mycenae and Troy II

Question 17

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey- Mycenae and Cnossus rulers

Answer 17

• about heroes and locales
• Agamemenon was the king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Greeks) during the Trojan War
• Menelaus, brother of Agamemenon, led the Spartan contingent in the Trojan war
• In the ** Odyssey **, it was said that Minos, a friend of Zeus, ruled Cnossus for 9 years

Question 18

Carl Blegen and Pylos

Answer 18

excavated Pylos and found:
* megaron: central room with an open hearth and concluded that it was the palace of the family of Nestor
* Linear B Tablets

Question 19

How did Linear B tablets get deciphered

Answer 19

• Carl Blegen unearthed them in Pylos
• Alice Kober published the first 3 papers on the evidence of inflection
• Michael Ventris deciphered them based off her work. His work was called It’s All Greek to Me!
• Emmett bennett Jr. is the founding father of the study of Mycenaean scripts

Question 20

What are Linear B tablets and syllabary

Answer 20

• clay tablets inscribed with writing found on mainland Greece, lots in Pylos
• each symbol is a syllable, Cf. Japanese syllabary like Katakana or Hiragana
• Linear B was used for administrative purposes

Question 21

What was the Trojan War and who were the commanders of Greek side

Answer 21

Greek trying to take the city of Priam from Trojans (people of Troy)
* Agamemenon commanded the greeks
* Menelaus commanded the Spartan contingent

Question 22

How many settlements on the site of Troy and alternate name for Troy and what age was this

Answer 22

Alternate:* Ilios*
* During the Bronze Age
* 9 layers of settlement: Troy I-VI and VII/VIIa were of significance

Question 23

Settlements of Troy and their Significance

Answer 23

Troy I - Early Bronze Age

Troy II - Early Bronze Age
* Schliemann’s wife wearing jewelry from treasure he found called “The Gold of Troy” or “Priam’s Treasure”
* Schliemann incorrectly believed it to be the city of Priam

Troy III-V Early and Middle Bronze Ages
Troy VI Middle Bronze Age
* Troia or Ilios

Troy VII/VIIa Late Bronze Age - Early Iron Age
*Fall of Troy early iron age (1150) vs original traditional date of 1184
* Scene of the Trojan War
* This was Homer’s Troy (from Iliad & Odyssey)

Question 24

Hittite Texts

Answer 24

• “Willusa” = Ilios/Troy? from text called Alaksandu treaty
• Deity “Appaliunas” = Apollo? who took the side of the Trojans

Question 25

What were the possible causes of the end of Mycenean Age

Answer 25

• evidence of siege and fire
  Possible causes:
• Dorian invasion: now discounted
• Invasion of “Sea-Peoples”: sea-borne and land invaders. From Egyptian Inscription
• Transition to the “Dark Age” a.k.a. the Iron Age

Question 26

How was Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey transmitted and its content

Answer 26

Stories of earlier periods were through oral tradition transmitted by Bards or Singers
* Homeric poems was an amalgam (mixture) of Bronze and Iron Ages. Ex: Bronze weapons and “Iron-hearted Achilles”

Question 27

Meaning of Homer and Singer

Answer 27

“Homer”: Bard or Singer
Singer: Aoidos in Greek

Question 28

How and when was the Greek Alphabet invented

Answer 28

Invented Mid 8th Century
* Speculation that someone invented the Greek alphabet to transcribe Homeric poems
* The Greeks borrow the symbols of Phoenician (mdoern Lebanon) script and used them to create a true alphabet distinguished by each vowel and consonant unlike syllabic nature of Linear B tablets

Question 29

Significance of Archaic Period

Answer 29

• Greek culture began to develop and grow
• first poets emerget
• Solon developed the first idea of democracy, making Athens the first democracy in history
• when the Greek alphabet was invented