Week 4 - Bronze Age Crete and Cyclades

Question 1

The Aegean Bronze Age

Answer 1

aegean sea (area of the Mediterranean sea between Greece, Turkey and Crete)
-bronze was primary material during this time

Question 2

Redisocvery of the Minoans

Answer 2

happened in the late 19th century / Knossos

Sir Arthur Evans did the major excavations at Knossos

Question 3

King Minos

Answer 3

king of crete who lived in the palace Knossos (he upset Poseidon)

Question 4

Minotaur

Answer 4

Curse from poseidon made Minos wife Pasiphae fall in love with a bull

Question 5

Dadealus and the Labyrinth

Answer 5

created to hide the Minotaur and Athens send Athenian children as tribute to the Minotaur

Question 6

Where did minoans worship?

Answer 6

peak santuaries on mountains, after palaces were made that they worshiped in palaces

Question 7

Men and women division

Answer 7

Genders were divided in terms of religious practice for Minoans

Question 8

Minoan style influenced by

Answer 8

influenced by Egyptian style, very static style

men wear breach claws, women usually have exposed breasts

Question 9

Prince of the Lilies

Answer 9

meant to be a God

uncommon headress,

Question 10

Faience Snake Goddess

fertility goddess

Answer 10

a woman who wore typical Minoan clothing, carrying snakes that sets her apart from others

long skirt, exposed breast. figurines found peak santuaries

Question 11

Bull Iconography for Minoans

Answer 11

Bull’s head rhyton (expensive design, holds offerings, used to pour)
Horns of Consecration: abstract form of bull horns

Question 12

Bull leaping fresco(wet plaster), Knossos

Answer 12

dark parts are the original parts
what is happening: a person leaping over a bull. This is a single person and these are the three stages of this exercise: holding the horn, leaping over and landing. Skin colour change = youth entering into adulthood.

Question 13

Minoan writing

Answer 13

three scripts: cretan hieroglyphics, phaistos disc, Linear A

all three are SYLLABIC and undeciphered. Seal-stone features Cretan Hireoglyphs has a sun leaf thing in the middle.

Question 14

Phaistos Disc

Answer 14

mysterious. only script stamped in, not carved in. cannot deciphiper this, however has repeated patterns, assume it is religious text/prayer

Question 15

Linear A script Minoans

Answer 15

• linear script
• dates to protopalatial
• main script of the Minoans
• used in palace administration

Question 16

Proposed origins of the Minoan Language

Answer 16

Luvian or Semitic languages
No relation to Greek language

Question 17

What is Linear A talking about

Answer 17

-administrative records (record storage)
- prayers (like the Libation Formula

Question 18

Four main Minoan palaces

Answer 18

Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia and Zakros

Question 19

Minoan Palaces Architectural Style

Answer 19

-ashlar masonry (style of blocks) / rectangular blocks that create the walls
-tapered columns
-open airy spaces with lightwells
- lots of frescoes (wall paintings)

Question 20

Key features of Minoan Palaces

Answer 20

-central courtyard (big open spaces, probably for assembelies)
-warehouses/storage areas (Pithoi, very tall jugs)
-lustral basin (room sunken into the ground, sacred bathing area?, ritual objects)
-minoan hall (posts/spaces used to keep light in or out, lots of linear A tablets found here, probably adminstrative function)
- western main entrance
- theatral areas (performance area)

Question 21

Function of Minoan Palaces

Answer 21

• political (seat of power)
• religious (one of the main centres for community/private religion)
• economic (redistributive economy)

Question 22

The Minoan Palace Economy

Answer 22

-redistributive economy (similar to West Asia)
-records kept by sealings (from seal stones) and clay tablets
-imprints from sealing mark ownership

Question 23

Minoan Political Structure

Answer 23

• priest king?
• images of women in prominent positions is much more common
• throne room? small throne for woman? could be for rituals ?

Question 24

The Cyclades

Answer 24

group of 30 islands located within the Aegean
-lots of interregional trade
-mineral wealth
-source of high quality marbles

Question 25

Cycladic figurines

Answer 25

-marble
-early cycladic
-infleunce on modern art
-geometric and abstract
-minamilist

folded arm figurine

Question 26

The Minoan influence in the Cyclades

Answer 26

-new palace period
-cycladic culture was heavily influened by the Minoans
-trade with Minoans resulted in change in their culture

Question 27

Truth in myth? (Minoans ruling over Cyclades)

Answer 27

Thucydides said that Minos made himself master of what is called the Hellenic sea and ruled over cyclades

Question 28

Akrotiri

Answer 28

-town in southeren Thera
-strong Minoan influence in late Bronze age
-the best preserved of all Bronze Age sites

Question 29

The Boxing Boys Fresco (Akrotiri)

Answer 29

-children’s bodies
-wrap around hand
-sport or ritual activity
-long pieces of hair

Question 30

The Eruption of Thera during Bronze Age

Answer 30

-massive volcanic eruption
-people were able to evacuate before the eruption
-no luxury goods found at the site

Question 31

Atlantis

Answer 31

-Thera is not Atlantis

Question 32

The Impact of the Eruption on the Minoans

Answer 32

-up to 5cm of pumice in some areas of northern Crete
-wide impact on trade
-the theor that led to the downfall of Minoan civilization is inaccurate

Question 33

The End of the Minoans

Answer 33

-ca. 1450
-destruction of most sites and palaces
-Material culture on crete changes from Minoan to Mycenaean culture