bronze age greece- minoan civ Flashcards
when does the bronze age minoan civilization fully develop?
~2000 BCE
where is the minoan civilization centered?
crete
what is the largest center in crete and what were the other centers?
knossos was the largest, phaistos, malia, and kato Zakro are next biggest
were the minoans greek?
no
where did the minoans influence?
spread to greek islands and mainland greece
when does dominance occur?
middle bronze age
what is the geography of crete?
mountains and valleys good for stock
coastal plains, good for stock
natural harbours
good supplies of timber
why was the sea so important?
sea gave them timber which they used for everything, also gave them access to trading, inports and exports
is there writing in the minoan civilization?
yes but its not decipherable, so we cant understand it
what is the first evidence of greek monumental building?
palaces (houses on a huge scale)
who is arthur evans?
he discovered the site at knossos, bought the site and then excavated it
where are the minoans from?
we dont know
what palace in the minoan civilization was the biggest?
knossos
who resided in the palace?
the royal family, but also a center for politics religion and administration
where was the first palace at knossos built?
it was built on top of old houses that were demolished
why did the minoan society have a hierarchy?
someone has to have power, otherwise the palace wouldnt exist and the community wouldnt be successful
what was the hierarchy society like?
presumably a king or powerful enough to assemble a large population to work for them
maybe slaves , priests, military
how did the palaces get bigger suddenly?
early palaces were destroyed or damaged suddenly, they were then repaired and rebuilt on a bigger and better scale
what damaged the palaces?
most likely an earthquake
what are general palace features?
royal family quarters
large state rooms
working quarters
storage areas for provisions and for items for barter and trade
large central courtyard for public ceremonies and spectacles
what did the minoans export?
textiles, oil, wine, and ceramics
what did the minoans import?
tin, copper, luxury materials
what trade routes did the minoans maintain?
the mainland, cyclades, rhodes, cryprus, egypt, levant, sicily
what did trade lead to?
settlement
what did minoan settlement in the cyclades do?
put an end to the distinctive cycladic civilization
when did the minoan civilization end?
~ 1375 BCE once the palaces were destroyed
why are the minoans called the minoans?
evans named the minoans after king minos of crete
what are cretan hieroglyphic traits?
350 seals and impressions
found only in crete
150 individual signs
logographic and syllabic
what is logographic hieroglyphics?
logograms (symbols) with no relationship between the logogram and the word
what is syllabic hieroglyphics?
signs represent the sound of the syllables of the word
what is alphabetic hieroglyphics?
signs represent the sounds of the letters of the word
what is linear A?
inscribed on clay, gold, stone, ceramics
linear appearance of signs, often arranged in squares or rectangles
4 to 9 lines long
logographic and syllabic
written left to right
what is the phaistos disk?
fired clay disk, covered on both sides with stamped signs in a spiral pattern
groups of 2-7 seperated by verticle lines
242 stamps 45 unique signs
what do we know about minoan religion?
no evidence of temples
centred on forced of nature
dominanted by goddesses rather than gods
religious symbols, horns of consecration, labrys ‘double axe’
where are evidence for cemeteries and burial sites impressive?
palace sites
is there writing in the minoan civilization?
yes, but we don’t know what it says
was there a hierachical system in the minoan civilization?
yes, but we dont know the exact structure
what were the potential members of the hierarchical system?
ruler, advisor, administrators, artisan, servant, slaves, non-productive members
why weren’t there any fortifications?
because the sea provided as much protection as they needed, they may have had a powerful navy
what were there depictions of?
wealth, luxury, leisure, peace
