The Aegean civilization refers to the Bronze Age cultures of Greece surrounding the Aegean Sea, notably the Minoan civilization on Crete and the Mycenaean civilization on the Greek mainland. The Minoans thrived with advanced city structures and trade until around 1250 BCE, while the Mycenaeans, known for their warrior society, began their decline around 1200 BCE, leading to the eventual rise of ancient Greece. Key features of these civilizations include architectural innovations, religious practices, and a rich cultural legacy that influenced subsequent Greek culture and society.

1. AEGEAN
CIVILISATION
BY- ANUSHKA GAUR, GYANVEE YADAV, ADITYA RAJ PRAJAPATI,
ARJIT AGRAHARI , ANANYA AGARWAL

2. Aegean civilization is a general term for
the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece
around the Aegean Sea ( is a branch of
the Mediterranean Sea.)

3. It is bounded by the:
Greek mainland on the
west,
Asia Minor (now
Turkey) on the east,
Island of Crete on the
south.
1.
2.
3.

5. THE MINOAN CIVILISATION
It flourished from about 2600 BCE to about 1250 BCE on the
Island of Crete that arose the first great sea-power of the
mediterranean.
It represents the first advanced civilization in Europe and was
noted for its cities and palaces, extended trade contacts, and use
of writing

6. PRE
PALATIAL
3000-1900 BC
PROTO-
PALATIAL
1900-1700 BC
NEO-
PALATIAL
1700-1430 BC
POST
PALATIAL
1430-1250 BC
The history of Minoan Crete was divided into four eras :

7. THE PRE- PALATIAL ERA
3000-1900 BCE
The Minoans had developed significant naval power and
lived in contact with all the major civilizations of the time
like Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

9. MINOAN RELIGION
Temples and shrines were strangely rare in
these sites.
They lived in perfect communion with
nature , and embraced Pantheism(the belief
that God exists in all natural things) that was
never institutionalized into strict religion.

10. At the beginning of this period, the Minoan palaces were
established. They acted as the economic and religious centers
of the island.
The early palaces were also similar to one another, certainly a
sign of a central administration of some kind.
THE PROTOPALATIAL ERA
1900- 1700 BC

11. The main interest of the house
is its use of the 'but-and-ben'
(Scots for 'out-and-in')
method of planning, which
involves passing through the
entire length of one room to
enter another parallel with it.
This habit persists in Crete
throughout the Bronze Age
SOURCE- Pelican History Of Art,
A.W Lawrence

12. Palaces had to be rebuilt, hence
this era is referred to as the New
Palace or Neopalatial period.
This is the time when Knossos,
Phaistos, Malia, and Zakros were
built.
THE NEOPALATIAL ERA
1700-1430 BC
Palace of ZAKROS ruins

13. Dead were buried in Pithoi and
Larnakes, along rock-cut
chambers and above-ground
tholos tombs.
Pithoi- This large vase contained
the ashes of a deceased person.

14. The era following this turmoil on Crete is called the Post-
palatial period, which has a distinctively Mycenaean flavor.
With the destruction of Knossos the power in the Aegean
shifts to Mycenae.
THE POST-PALATIAL ERA
1430-1250 bc

15. Knossos and Chania are the only palace sites which are rebuilt
although with new Mycenaean architectural forms.
Chamber tombs and shaft graves included bronze vessels and
swords.
By 1200 B.C.E., the island appeared to be radically
depopulated.

16. Knossos , the largest Bronze Age
archaeological site on Crete and
has been called Europe's oldest
city.
Located at Heraklion, Crete,
Greece.
PALACE OF king minos, KNOSSOS

17. PALACE OF KNOSSOS
Indicates a highly centralised, bureaucratic system
Knossos Palace was not only the residence of the
monarch but also the ceremonial , economic ,
religious and political center of the Minoan
Civilization during the Bronze Age.

18. It was accessible from
three entrances located on
the north, west, and south
sides. Four wings develop
around the central
courtyard.

19. the long, monumental, cut ashlar stone
of the palace's west façade
the central court, now squared off in
the corners and paved. This court
functioned as a grand performance
space.
The two most distinctive features of this
earliest version of Knossos are:
It consisted of isolated structures built
around a rectangular court.

20. MYCENAEAN CIVILISATION
1750 - 1000BC
It was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece.
It was located on the Greek mainland, mostly on the Peloponnese, the southern
peninsula of Greece, they were the first people to speak the Greek language.
Introduced several innovations in the fields of engineering, architecture and
military infrastructure, while trade over vast areas of the Mediterranean was
essential for the Mycenaean economy.

21. Citadel palaces around which open township grew up, became centers of
small but powerful land empires, exploring heritage of Cretan mercantile
supremacy to maintain trade wealth across the sea.
It was dominated by a warrior elite society and at the head of this society
was the king, known as a WANAX.
Most of the finest Mycenaean art comes under the immediate suspicion of
either being Minoan art actually imported from Crete, or produced on the
mainland by Cretan or Cretan-trained artists.

22. It is the modern name for the main
entrance of what was the Bronze Age
citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece.
It was erected around 1250 BC, in the
northwestern side of the acropolis.
The actual sculpture is of two lions
separated by a single column and stands
about three feet high.
lion gate

23. A stepped ramp goes up
through the gate and it is
protected by a postern on the
right.
After entering the citadel
Grave Circle A is located on
the right and the megaron of
Mycenae located ahead. Some
other entrances into the city
also exist, such as the Postern
Gate
lion gate

24. lion gate
The gate represents a combination of Cyclopean
construction and Ashlar masonry.
Cyclopean construction is a form of megalithic
architecture, or building with very large stones.
Ashlar masonry is simply an organized way of laying out
square/rectangular cut stones in a regular manner.

25. It utilizes a post and lintel system, where a single
stone crosses over the doorway supported by
stones on either side.
Above the lintel is an area called the “relieving
triangle” because it is typically filled with a lighter
stone or some other material to take pressure off
of the lintel.
It is in this area that the actual carving of the lions
sits even though it still weighs nearly two tons.
lion gate

26. TREASURY OF ATREUS
The Tholos of aterus or Tomb of
Agamemnon is a large tholos or
beehive tomb on Panagitsa Hill at
Mycenae, Greece, constructed
around 1250BC.
Entrance of the tomb is through a
pathway called DROMOS .
The entranceway tapers inward as
it moves up.

27. treasury OF ATREUS
The entrance portal to the tumulus was richly decorated: half-columns in
green limestone with zig-zag motifs on the shaft, a frieze with rosettes
above the architrave of the door.
With an interior height of 13.5m and a
diameter of 14.5m,[3] it was the tallest and
widest dome in the world.

29. It was a rectangular hall that was
surrounded by four columns, fronted by an
open two-columned portico (refers to porch
leading to the entrance of the building), and
had a central open hearth that vented
though an oculus (it is a circular opening in
the center of a dome ) in the roof.
The interior of the megaron was lavishly
decorated, flaunting images designed
intentionally to demonstrate the political
and religious power of the ruler.
megaron

30. megaron
Access to the megaron was
provided through a court, which
was reached from a propylon.
Around the megaron a group of
courtyards each opened upon
several rooms of different
dimensions, such as storerooms and
workshops, as well as reception halls
and living quarters.

31. megaron of tiryns
A famous megaron is in the
large reception hall of the
king in the Bronze Age
palace of Tiryns, the main
room of which had a raised
throne placed against the
right wall and a central
hearth bordered by four
Minoan-style wooden
columns that served as
supports for the roof.

32. Cyclopean is the term normally applied to the masonry
characteristics of Mycenaean fortification systems and
describes walls built of large, unworked boulders more than
8 m (26 ft) thick and weighing several metric tonnes.
They were roughly fitted together without the use of mortar
or clay to bind them, though smaller hunks of limestone fill
the interstices.
cyclopean

33. FALL OF MYCENEAN
CIVILISATION
The Mycenaean civilization started to collapse from 1200 BC, the palace centers
and outlying settlements began to be abandoned or destroyed..
By 1050 BC, the recognizable features had disappeared, and the population had
decreased significantly .
Many explanations attribute the fall of the Mycenaean civilization and the Bronze
Age collapse to an invasion by Dorians or by the Sea Peoples, or even by a natural
disaster, or climate changes.

34. ANCIENT
GREECE

35. From the ashes of the Dark Ages rose a new civilization,
drawing from the Aegean civilizations, but also set apart
from them. This civilization was Ancient Greece.
Ancient Greece began around 800 BC.

36. GREEK CULTURE
The first written greek was found on mud baked tablets in the remains of palace of
Knossos.
LINEAR A and LINEAR B were the ancient languages in Greece.
Tradition in mainland Greece and Greek Islands either have a christian religious
character or come from pagan beliefs.
1. LANGUAGE-
2.TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS -

37. Churches can be seen in almost every
plot of land and even in caves and
gorges.
Churches vary in size and style , the
style is mainly BYZANTINE, while
in the islands of Cyclades, churches
are painted in Blue and White .
3. CHURCHES-

38. ORIGIN OF GREECE
ARCHITECTURE
Ancient Greek architects were experts at designing and constructing
buildings in part because of their excellent understanding of
Mathematics.
The word "ARCHITECTURE" comes from the greek word
*ARCHITECTON*, which means "MASTER CARPENTER".

39. The fundamental unit of Greece was the polis, or the city-
state. Although the basis for the polis was religious. Polises
were originally intended to show alliance to a certain deity -
they gradually became more of a political institution.
Greece consisted of many city-states, loosely united by
language and culture, but mostly independent of each other.

40. Ancient greek architecture is famous
for various things like Greek Temple,
Theatre, Agora, Acropolis and Stoa,
but it is best known for its temples ,
which were homes for the Gods and
Goddesses of Community and a place
to keep offerings.
An image or statue was usually located
in the middle of the Chapel.

41. ANCIENT GREEK RELIGION – HELLENISM
RELIGION
The word “HELLENISTIC” comes from the word HELLEIN which
means to speak with the Greeks or identify with the Greeks.
This era began from 323 B.C & lasted until 31B.C.
The religion included rituals which involved animal sacrifices and libation
myths to explain the origin of mankind and giving the gods human face,
building temples which dominated the urban landscape .

42. SPARTA
Sparta was a prominent city-state in
ancient Greece situated on the banks of the
Eurotas River in Laconia in southeastern
Peloponnese.
It emerged as a political entity around the
10th century BCE.
It is famous for its powerful army as well
as its battles with the city-state of Athens
during the Peloponnesian War.

43. SPARTA
Sparta was mostly a land of farming and the houses were simple 1-2 floors of mud
brick and clay and were sometimes painted white to keep it cool. and would sometimes
have a garden in the middle.
The three primary pieces of architecture in Sparta included the Menelaion(700
BCE); the Amyklaion, which was built in Sparta's Golden Age and was considered the
most beautiful and important temple in Lacedaemon; and the sanctuary of Artemis
Orthia.

44. Troy is a city ( bronze age ) of ancient Greece
civilization located in the north-west of Asia minor.
Ancient Troy wasn't merely a single place. "Troy"
actually consisted of 9 ancient settlements, built one on
top of the other over the course of centuries. These were
Troy I through Troy IX ; representing different eras of
the ancient cities.
troy

45. troy
Setting for the legendary
Trojan war in Homer's epic
poems the Iliad and the
Odyssey. The city of Troy
was besieged for 10 years &
eventually conquered by a
Greek army led by king
Agaemenon . THE TROJAN WAR

46. thank you