Key sites test Flashcards
When did the Mycenean age occur?
- 1600 BC to 1150 BC
Why was it called the Mycenean age?
- time where there were many similar successful cities
- similar culture, buildings, administration, had palaces at the heart of them
- not linked or united
Which other period did the Mycenean age overlap with?
- bronze age
Why was it difficult to date Mycenean period?
- greek alphabet did not exist, cannot be precisely dated
- similar to minoan culture, hard to distinguish which culture it came from
What are the two methods that are used to date items from this period?
- comparing pottery styles with ancient Egypt (historical records kept more accurately)
- based on radioactivity in carbon based objects eg. wooden objects and timbers
Where was Minoan culture based and how does it differ from Mycenaean culture in terms of dating?
- based in Crete 3500 - 1400 BC
- overlaps in time + area with Mycenaean culture
- did not build many walls
What is a citadel?
- ancient city built on higher ground
- defended by walls
Where was Mycenae?
- Northeast Peloponnese, Greece
- built on hill
- 40-50 m above plains
- perimeter of 900m
- small by modern standards
Who did the Greeks believe to have founded the Mycenae?
- Perseus, man who killed Medusa
- given help building city by cyclopes
How did the cyclopean walls get their name?
- Greeks thought no human could have built such huge walls
Who was Agamemnon?
- king of Mycenae several centuries after Perseus
- leader of Greek forces at Troy
- richest of all Mycenaens
Where was Tiryns?
- East Peloponnease, Greece
- 10 miles from Mycenae
Mycenae
What was the sally port for?
- defensive feature
- defenders could rush out and surprise attackers
- could be seen from a distance = not very effective?
Mycenae
What were sally ports and how big are they?
- 2 narrow exits on north and south of walls
- 2.5m wide
What is corbelling?
- technique used to span a gap between 2 walls
- place increasingly larger blocks of stone onto each other
- creates vaulted roof
Where is corbelling used in Mycenae?
- underground cistern
- roof of Treasury of Arteus
What is the underground cistern used for and where does the water come from?
- keeps water cool and it from evaportating
- collected water by clay pipes on roof, water is from spring
- freshwater supply within citadel for under siege
- 18m below ground level
Describe the development of the cyclopean walls
- originally only surrounded on top of city
- enlarged a century later
- final perimeter = 900m
What were the dimensions of the cyclopean walls and what were they made of?
how were they kept together?
- orginal height = 12m
- length = 900m
- width = 5.5-7.5m
- made of limestone, quarried near Mycenae
- no mortar used
- used smaller stones in between large blocks to hold it together
When was the Lion Gate built?
13th century BC
What was the Lion Gate and how large was it?
- main entrance to citadel
- 3m wide square
- 20 ton lintel
- wooden doors
- relief sculpture of a pair of lions/ griffins with front paws on altar
What was the function of the Lion Gate?
- main entrance = small amount of gates limit number of weak points
- majestic/ powerful lion relief = reflects people of city, impress visitors
- small size to limit flow of enemies
Where was Grave Circle B, when was it built, how big is it and what was in it?
- just outside of citadel, surrounded by stone wall
- 28m in diameter
- 16-17 century BC
- shaft graves with objects in it
- just over half were graves of royal family
- uncarved stelai = female
- carved stelai = male
- 35 bodies, 24 graves
How big was Grave Circle A, how did it expand and what was in it?
- 28m in diameter
- originally surrounded by low walls
- lion gate built = raised walls + ground
- could have been outside originally but walls were widened
- shaft graves with precious goods (gold, silver etc)
What were the tombs of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus like?
when were they built?
- both 13m in diameter
- T.C. is 13m high
- T.A. roof collapsed
- both built in 14th century
- empty - goods were raided/ stolen
- arch achieved with corbelling
- beehive shape
not actual graves of the both of them- Schliemann was just delusional
Who were Clyclemnestra and Aegisthus?
- wife of Agamemnon
- second husband of Clyclemnestra
What is the Treasury of Atreus?
- place to store treasure
- Atreus was Agamemnon’s father
How big was Tiryns?
- 18m above land that surrounds it
- 300m long
- 45-100m wide
How high were the walls of Tiryns?
- 10 m high
Who was the founder of Tiryns?
Protios
- brother to Acriscus who was grandfather of Perseus
Was Mycenae or Tiryns older?
Tiryns
Describe the bull leaping fresco
- boy leaping over bull
- blue background, maroon spots on cow, yellow hooves
- may have been festival to show men’s courage/ sport
- copied Minoans? (happened more in crete)
Which famous hero was said to be born in Myceneae?
Heracles
What was the date of the earliest buildings in Tiryns compared to Mycenae?
- 2500 BC
- first Mycenaean style building = 1400 BC
How did Tiryns justify the description in the Iliad as “surrounded by walls”?
- wall on western side added with curving defense
What was the tactical advantage of the main entrance of Tiryns?
- attackers trapped in long narrow passage between 2 gates beyond entrance
- defenders hurl objects at them
killing box
What was the main entrance of Tiryns like?
- 3m high
- 3m wide, similar to Lion Gate
- pivot holes for doors still seen
- slots in gate posts for bar to lock gates
What was the Cyclopean Ramp like and where was it?
- given name because of size
- small part remains now
- little clue of how impressive it was
- short walk to main gate
What was the tactical advantage of the Cyclopean Ramp?
- narrow = reduces number of people charging at once
What were the Galleries?
- area containing workshops and houses added in 13th century BC
- created extra loop of walls to north
- built into outerwalls of city
- corbelling to create vaulted roofs
- some up to 30m long
- leading off galleries = large number of rooms
What were the defences of Tiryns?
- walls are relatively straight
- wall of west city = deliberate, significant curve
- stairway leading to narrow corridor
- double gate + bend = killing box
- killing box traps enemies inside, can’t charge
- harder to attack uphill
- high lookout point
Tiryns
What would have the palace been like?
- on highest part of Tiryns
- protected by own defensive walls
- floor is plastered, had images of octopi + dolphins
- walls covered in plaster (frescoes painted on damp plaster, rich ladies, hunting scene, patterns)
- around megaron- series of apartments & colonades for rulers
- bathroom floor made with polished limestone slabs, holes drilled into floor for drainage
What would the Tholos tomb have been like?
- 6m tall + wide
- entrance = 1.5m high
- inside tomb -> large round stone (altar?)
- superb corbelled roof
- massive blocks of stone to hold up entrance
- away from town
What was the evidence for Troy VI for being the site of Homer’s Troy?
- destroyed around 1250BC, Trojan War = 1200BC
- rich city with numerous houses
- 7m high walls, Iliad mentioned high walls
- walls had towers = matches Iliad
- large area with population of 10000 = thriving city in Iliad
What was the evidence against Troy VI being the site of Homer’s Troy?
- destroyed by earthquake, not fire from ancient literature
What was the evidence for Troy VIIa being the site of Homer’s Troy?
- large towers
- crowded single storey houses = emergency housing during War
- storage jars underground = food for under siege
- destroyed by fire
- partial human remains have been found possibly killed in warfare
- 3 bronze arrowheads have been found
What were the arguments against Troy VIIa being the site of Homer’s Troy?
- houses crammed together = city not rich
- sunken jars may not have been from siege (lack of space storing food)
- fire could have been accidental (eg cooking fire)
How big were palaces?
occupied large percentage of city
What is a collannade and how was it used by the royal family?
- sheltered area with columns to block the sun/ elements
What other types of rooms would have been included in the palace?
- rooms for official documents
- shrines
- potteries
- oil press rooms
- armouries
- storerooms for food
What was the most important room in the palace and where was it positioned?
- megaron
- highest point of city, dominating the area
What was the shape and layout of the megaron?
- rectangular
- entrance porch with 2 columns
- vestibule behind it
- usually contained more than 1 courtyards
What were the most important features of the megaron and what is it used for?
- the hearth, stone circle surrounding fire
- surrounded by 4 columns
- kings throne
- smoke escapes through the roof + lets light in
- religious purposes or cooking
What was the flooring in the megaron made out of?
- marble
What two important events would the megaron would have been used for?
- feasts like the ones described in the Odyssey
- poetry recited
