Study Guide 2 Flashcards
Why did Poseidon curse the Minoans with the Minotaur?
Minos asked for proof that he was the true heir, so Poseidon provided him with a magnificent bull with orders to sacrifice it. But Minos liked it, so he didn’t obey Poseidon; he kept it. So, Poseidon made Minos’ wife fall in love with it, and they had the Minotaur.
What did King Minos use the Minotaur for? Why was he particularly angry at Athens?
The Minotaur was used as the capital punishment. It was also used for the tributes from Athens. This came to be because when Minos sent his son there, the king sent him on an impossible mission, and the son died. This made Minos very mad, so every 9 years, 7 male tributes and 7 female tributes were sent to Crete to fight the Minotaur. All of them were eaten/defeated until Theseus came along, who volunteered as a tribute and was aided by Ariadne.
Why did the peaceful Minoan civilization practice human sacrifice?
The Minoans thought if they did this, they would appease Poseidon. The next best thing from bulls is humans. Poseidon was known as the Earthshaker, and there were a lot of earthquakes in that area. So, they sacrificed humans.
Describe the Minoan civilization.
- main sport- bull leaping
- frescoes- don’t glorify war
- advanced engineering (toilets, running cold and hot water)
- palatial culture (social, religious, economic, political)
- aristocracy is remotely flat
- no defensive units around or in the castle
Major Minoan exports
- saffron- from a plant
- gold
- ceramic
- bronze (tin + copper)
What architectural features of their cities suggest that the Minoans were a powerful naval force?
- no walls
* no defensive units in or around the castle
What was the Minoan Peace?
A naval power of the Cretan fleet brought this with the ancient trading in the south of the Mediterranean Basin.
What are some reasons for the decline of the Minoan civilization?
- The volcano on Thera erupted and caused tidal wave which wiped out the Minoans enough to devastate the economy/civilization.
- It just faded away.
Why did Aegeus throw himself off a cliff?
When Theseus was sent to Athens to fight the Minotaur, Aegeus was very worried. So, he told Theseus to raise a white flag if he was still alive when he came home, but Theseus forgot and kept the black flag up. So, Aegeus threw himself off the cliff.
Who was the Mycenaean’s major trading partner?
The Minoans
The words of Herodotus demonstrate this Greek attitude to other civilizations. What is it and how does it relate to Herodotus?
The term is ethnocentric. Herodotus said that the only real human beings were the Greeks. So, this went that Polycrates was the first “human being” to rule or control the seas. This is an example of ethnocentrism because Minos was actually the first to rule the seas, but Herodotus wanted the Greeks to be first.
Why do you suppose the relatively isolated and independent early Greek city-states shared trade, language, and culture?
Common origin from Mycenae
What evidence in Minoa/Crete suggests that Mycenaeans may not have taken the kingdom by forcible invasion?
A lot of things did not change. For example, the Linear B, the tombs, and the pottery are very similar if not the same.
Where are these people from and what are there roles in the Trojan war? • Helen • Achaens • Agamemnon • Menelaus • Achilles • Hektor • Paris
Helen- might’ve started the war (when the Trojans took her); Sparta then Ilion
Achaens- another name for the Greeks so the Greek side of the war
Agamemnon- king of Mycenae
Menelaus- King of Sparta
Achilles- hero who killed Hektor; from Mycenae
Hektor- hero on the Trojan side of the war; from Troy
Paris- hero on the Trojan side, stole Helen; from Troy
The most complete account of the fall of Troy is told in which epic? What does this epic say about the final undoing of Troy?
The epic is the Aeneid. A beautiful, man made, gigantic, wooden horse was the undoing because the Greeks hid in it and later came out to attack the Trojans while they were inside the walls partying. They had taken the horse in as a gift early when they found it outside their walls thinking it a surrender gift from the Greeks.
