Quiz 1 Important Terms Flashcards
1
Q
What does Ahhiyawa refer to?
A
- Greek Achaioi = Achaeans
- Reference to Bronze Age Mycenaeans, people who Homer calls Achaeans
2
Q
What is Cnossus and what is it’s significance to Greek history?
A
- Ancient Minoan palace and surrounding city on the island of Crete
- In 1900 CE, it was uncovered by English archaeologist Sir Arthus Evans and excavations begun
- Homer Odyssey: “Among their cities is the great city of Knossus, where Minos reigned when 9 years old, he that held converse with great Zeus”
- Size and magnificence suggests Cnossus was the center of a powerful naval state
- 3,000 Linear B tablets found here by Evans
- It’s location and natural harbours made it an important crossroads in the trade routes across the Mediterranean Sea
- Palace-centered economies
- Destroyed by a combination of earthquake and the invading Mycenaeans c. 1450 BCE with only the palace spared
3
Q
Who were the Minoans?
A
- Regarded as first civilization in Europe
- Bronze Age culture, centered on Crete
- Had unique art and architecture
- Labyrinth-like palace complexes, vivid frescoes, fine-gold jewelry, elegant stone vases, pottery with colourful decorations
- Sir Arthur Evans was the first to discover their presence, through excavating Knossus from 1900-1905 CE
- Evans discovered extensive ruins of a sophisticated Cretan culture and possible site of palace of king Minos
- Evans coined the term Minoan in reference to King Minos
- 1 of the most successful Mediterranean trading cultures of the Bronze Age
- Agriculture and trade allowed formation of large centralised centres
*Beautiful art and architecture
4
Q
What does the term wanax refer to?
A
A warrior king who took part in fighting along with his military commander
5
Q
What does tholos refer to?
A
- A very large stone chamber shaped like a beehive
- Built by late Bronze Age Mycenaeans
6
Q
Who was Michael Ventris?
A
An amateur linguist who was a cryptographer during WW2. Deciphered Linear B, the ancient Mycenaean Greek script
7
Q
What is the importance of Crete to Greek history?
A
- An island in the eastern Mediterraenean
- During the Bronze Age, produced the influential Minoan civilization with its distinctive art and architecture
- Major cultural centre in Roman times when it was a province with the Roman empire and centre of early Christianity
- Major archaeological sites - Knossus, Phaistos, Gortyn, all with important architectural remains
- Ist recognizable culture was Minoans who would provide some of antiquity’s most recognizable legends, architecture and artworks
- Palace-centered economies
- Ideal location for international trade for Minoans who highly participated in trade
8
Q
What are shaft graves?
A
- Deep rectangular pits into which bodies were lowered - cover more than a century of burials
- Contained bronze weapons (swords, daggers, spearheads, and knives) and hundreds of expensive objects, including gold jewelry
9
Q
Who was Alaksandu of Wilusa?
A
- Alexandros of Troy
(a king of Wilusa)
10
Q
Who was Heinrich Schilemann?
A
- An archaeologist who began large-scale diggings
- Excavator of Troy and Mycenae in 1871 (Turkey)
- In 1872-1873, discovered massive ruins of a Bronze Age wall citadel
- Discovered buildings and royal graves rich in gold in Mycenae
11
Q
Describe the Neolithic (New Stone) Age of Greece
A
- (c.7000 BC)
- Characterized by the beginning of a settled human lifestyle
- Inhabitants began to cultivate domesticated plants; to use domesticated animals; and to weave cloth on looms
- Artisans began creating figurines in clay and marble of animals and human beings and elegantly shaped, colourful pottery
- People were able to permanently settle down because of agriculture and eventually villages grew bigger into a community
- Society was probably egalitarian, with no in-equality outside of that related to sex, age, and skill
- Lasting leadership role emerged
Neo = new
Lithic = consisting of stone
12
Q
Why is Pylos significant to Greek history?
A
- Significant Bronze Age city (southern Greece)
- Provided the largest collection of Linear B tablets on the mainland and is the best preserved palatial centre of the Mycenaean civilization
- Mythology: Pylos was the home of the son of Posiedon; Neleus, and his son Nestor
- Palace of Nestor is the best surviving Mycenaean palatial site and has proivded the most information about the social stratification (from Pylos archives)
- Archive complex: contained the largest collection of Linear B tablets (palace was burned resulting in clay tablets being baked)
*Also Telemachus’ first testing ground on his larger rite of passage
Palatial: resembling a palace in being spacious and splendid
Social stratification: society’s categorization of it’s people into rankings of socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power
13
Q
What is the significance of Thera?
A
- Destroyed by a powerful volcanic eruption around 1628 BC, which preserved it, nearly intact, under a deep layer of volcanic ash
14
Q
Describe Bronze Age Greece (c. 3000-1600 BC)
A
- Humans first use of metal
- Use of bronze was a huge technical advance which lead to using other metals like lead, silver, and gold
- Rise of states and kingdoms
- Greece attained high level of social complexity
15
Q
What is Linear A?
A
- Linear A script was used by the Minoan civilization on Crete during the Bronze Age
- Never deciphered
- Clay tablets bearing this script have been found across the Mediterranean (evidence that Minoan trade was conducted with other islands like Rhodes, Thera, and the Cyclades)
- Composed of atleast 90 characters, which can be grouped into syllabic signs, ideograms and symbols which denote numbers and fractions
- An important indicator of a continuing though changing culture in the ancient Aegean
Syllabic: set of written symbols that represent the syllables which make up the words
