Case Study - Troy Flashcards
What were the three main influences of ancient Greece’s geography?
Isolated cultures
Trading
Sailing
Isolated Cultures
The people of ancient Greece considered their kingdoms to be individual nations/regions which had little interaction with each other due to geographical barriers.
This made ancient Greece an oligarchy, meaning the small groups all had control of their own area.
Trading
Lack of fertile land meant that the ancient Greeks regularly formed colonies for the trade of resources.
The Myceneans were able to trade in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Sailing
The regular trade meant that the Greeks became expert sailors and ship makers.
The Minoans (c. 2000 - 1500 BCE)
Located on the island of Crete.
Written artefacts recovered were hieroglyphic and referred to as Linear A.
Heavily influenced by Mesopotamian and Egyptian culture, evident in their architecture and art.
Maintained power through strong navy and isolated position.
Peace and prosperity through architecture, status of women and art.
Volcanic eruption levelled Crete’s cities, created a tidal wave that destroyed the navy, and poisoned crops with volcanic ash.
The Myceneans (c. 1500 - 1100 BCE)
Located in the Peloponnese, but conquered Crete to assume Minoan dominance.
Written artefacts recovered were mainly tax records and inventories and are referred to as Linear B.
Three types of evidence are used to gain information about Mycenae: the city-states, remaining fortifications and Homer’s descriptions in his works.
Warlike and prosperous based on their fortifications and quality of possessions.
Societal structure from highest to lowest: king (’Wanax’), local chiefs/controllers, soldiers.
Textile and agricultural industries were most significant.
Greek Dark Age began with the fall of Mycenae by either earthquake, invasion or in-fighting.
Heinrich Schliemann
German businessman.
First visited in 1868 and began excavation is 1870.
Went to Hissarlik for Calvert and funded him.
Corresponded with Charles Newton (head of Greek and Roman Department in British Museum).
Created Schliemann’s Great Trench by digging through the foundations of Hissarlik.
Frank Calvert
US Vice Consul in Turkey.
Discovered Hissarlik and enlisted Schliemann’s help in 1870.
Wilhelm Dörpfeld
German archaeologist.
Excavated Troy VI in 1890, which he thought was Homeric Troy because of its infrastructure and pottery.
Carl Blegen
American archaeologist.
Excavated Troy VIIa in 1932, which he thought was Homeric Troy because of the evidence of siege.
His work was left unfinished due to the outbreak of WW2.
Manfred Korfmann
German archaeologist.
Dated Troy VIIa to 1250 BCE in 1988.
Used remote sensing to discover that the previously excavated area was only the citadel, and that Homeric Troy was actually 10x bigger.
Surveyed agricultural fields and conducted Bronze Age investigation.
Charles Brian Rose
American archaeologist.
Worked with Korfmann to date Troy VIIa to 1250 BCE.
Ernst Pernicka
German archaeologist.
Current excavator of Hissarlik.
[insert layers of Hissarlik stuff]
What written evidence was found for Troy? (3)
Homer’s Iliad (and other texts)
Linear B Tablets (Mycenean Archive)
Hittite Archive
