The Mycenaean civilization flourished in ancient Greece from around 1600 BC to 1200 BC. They established fortified palaces and elaborate tombs, and traded extensively throughout the Mediterranean. The Mycenaeans were influenced by the Minoan civilization of Crete in their art, architecture, and religion. By the late Bronze Age, Mycenaean cities like Mycenae and Tiryns featured massive fortification walls, megaron-style palaces, and shaft graves containing rich treasures. The Mycenaean civilization mysteriously collapsed around 1200 BC, possibly due to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and invasions.

2. - Late bronze age (1600-1200 BCE) and
extended its influence throughout the
Peloponnese (Pylos, Mycenae, Tiryns)
in mainland Greece Athens, Thebes),
on Crete, and on the Cycladic islands.
- Influenced by the Minoans in art,
architecture, writing (and also myth and religion?)
- Palaces with huge fortification walls,
elaborate tombs
- Trade with Western Europe, Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Levant, Anatolia, Cyprus
- Comes to mysterious end around 1200
BCE (possibly a “perfect storm” of eath
quakes, volcano eruption,in-fighting and invasion?).
z

3. • Mycenae was a city in ancient
Greece, located 10km north of agros
in the southern peninsula
The Mycenaean civilization flourished
during the period roughly between 1600 BC, •
It perished with the collapse of bronze age
civilization in the eastern Mediterranean. • The
major Mycenaean cities were Mycenae and
Tiryns in Argolis, Pylos in Messenia, Athens in
Attica, Thebes and Orchomenus in Boeotia,
and Iolkos in Thessaly.

6. • The style of architecture used by the Mycenaeans in their cities developed during the
Early Mycenaean period.
• The plan and layout of the Bronze Age cities on the mainland resemble the “palaces” of
Crete in many ways, however, the Mycenaeans did develop their own style over the
following centuries.
• Architecture of the heroic age in southern Greece from the 17th to 13th century B.C.
Exemplified in the earliest phase by shaft graves cut into the sloping rock, with sidewalls
of stone masonry and a timber roof;
• In the middle period by monumental beehive tombs constructed of superimposed
layers of enormous stone blocks progressively projecting to create a parabolic corbeled
vault, with a stone-faced, inclined access passage leading to the entrance composed of
upward-slanting jambs and a heavy stone lintel supporting a characteristic Mycenaean
relief triangle
• In the late period by fortified palaces having Cyclopean walls, underground passages
with corbeled vaults, postern gates, and cisterns, laid out on an irregular ground plan,
with distinctive propylaea, one or more unconnected columnar halls with porches facing
individual courts, and long corridors linking auxiliary and storage rooms.

7. • Two sets of graves found in the soil of Mycenae have given a fascinating glimpse of
the wealth and artistic accomplishments of this city.
• The graves in each were enclosed within a circular wall. The older set, tentatively
dated between 1700 and 1600 B.C., was outside the walls that surround the citadel of
Mycenae
• There were wealthy Greeks, perhaps from a royal family or clan. Alongside the bodies,
the surviving relatives had deposited various offerings, for example, a golden rattle in a
child's grave.
• The second set of graves, inside the citadel walls, far surpassed the older ones in
wealth. Their contents include such stunning luxuries as three masks of gold foil that
were pressed on the faces of the dead and a complete burial suit of gold foil wrapped
around a child, as well as swords, knives, daggers, and hundreds of gold ornaments.

8. • The tombs of the Mycenaeans are
famous for their unique construction
and, of course, the amazing riches
that were found in many of them.
• The first style of tomb popular on
the mainland was the shaft grave.
Two well preserved examples from
Mycenae are known as Grave Circle
A and Grave Circle B. Both were
communal graves, the first held 19
skeletons and the second, 24. The
spectrum of ages represented in
each suggest common family burials.
Both contained many fine examples
of Early Mycenaean art pieces,
including the now infamous Mask of
Agamemnon.

11. •The Lion Gate of Mycenae was the entrance
to the city. Atop the gate, two lions rampant
are carved in stone relief. Similar basreliefs of
two lions rampant facing each other are found
in a number of places in Phrygia in Asia Minor.
•The gate was about 10 feet wide and 10 feet
high; the carved stone with the lions is about
three feet high. It forms what is called a
"relieving triangle", because the carved slab
weighs much less than the stones to the right
and left; this reduced pressure on the lintel
block below it. That block weighs two tons or
so. The door was made up of two wooden
leaves opening inward.
•The lions originally had heads made of metal,
but they have long since disappeared. The
column the two lions stand beside perhaps
represented the god of the royal house; the
lions served to guard the entrance. L

12. • The palaces of the mainland Mycenaeans are sprawling
buildings usually located at the center of the fortified
citadel.
• Mycenaean palaces were built around great halls called
megaron rather than around an open space as in Crete.
• The best examples of the Mycenaean palace are seen in
the excavations at Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos.
• Within the palace complex residential space,
storerooms and workshops were arranged around the
central megaron, considered to function as the audience
chamber for the royals. Most were probably two-storied,
but in all cases the second story has not survived and must
be hypothesized from stairways.
• The plan of the palace varies a great deal from site to
site, but they all share the megaron as their central
feature
• This plan features two megarons suggesting a public
audience chamber as well as one reserved for more
important visitors and family.

13. •The city of Tiryns, situated on a ridge in the plain between
Nauplion and Mycenae, has been inhabited since the Neolithic
Age but attained its greatest splendour in the late Mycenaean
period (c. 1400-1200 BCE).
•The bluff on which it stood was only 18 m (59 ft) higher than
the surrounding plain, which in ancient times was a salt
march.
• The palace on the summit of the citadel was excavated
(1884- 85) by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann
and until the later discoveries in Crete was considered the
most complete example of the home of a prehistoric king in
the Aegean area.
• It includes entrance gates, paved courts, large halls,
vestibules, smaller rooms, and a bath.
• It was apparently built by stages; the complex of buildings
representing both earlier and later palaces. Tiryns survived
into the classical period but was destroyed by Argos about 468
BCE. •Tiryns survived into the classical period but was
destroyed by Argos about 468 BCE.

15. :Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient
Italy in an area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, whom the ancient Romans called Etrusci
or Tusci. Their Roman name is the origin of the names of Tuscany, their heartland, and
Etruria, their wider region.
The Attic Greek word for them was Tyrrhenioi, from which Latin also drew the name Mare
Tyrrhenum (Tyrrhenian Sea). The Etruscans themselves used the term Rasenna.
Culture that is identifiably Etruscan developed in Italy after about 800 BC approximately
over the range of the preceding Iron Age Villanovan culture.
The Etruscans were influenced by Greek traders and Greek neighbours in Magna Graecia,
the Hellenic civilization of southern Italy.There is considerable evidence that early Rome
was dominated by Etruscans until the Romans sacked Veii in 396 BC.

16. -The origins of the Etruscans are lost in
prehistory. The main hypotheses are that they
are indigenous, probably stemming from the
Villanovan culture, or that they are the result
of invasion from the north or the Near East.
-Rome is located on the edge of what was
Etruscan territory. When Etruscan settlements
turned up south of the border, it was
presumed that the Etruscans spread there
after the foundation of Rome, but the
settlements are now known to have preceded
Rome

17. settlements were frequently built on a hill-the steepe
r the better-and surrounded by thick walls.
It is believed that the Etruscan government style
changed from total monarchy to oligarchic democracy
(as the Roman Republic) in the 6th century. But it
is important to note this did not happen to all the city
states.
At right: Etruscan walled town, Civita di Bagnoregio.
The Etruscans, like the contemporary cultures of Ancient
Greece and Ancient Rome, had a significant military tradition.
In addition to marking the rank and power of certain
individuals in Etruscan culture, warfare was a considerable
economic boon to Etruscan civilization. Like many ancient
societies, the Etruscans conducted campaigns during summer
months, raiding neighboring areas, attempting to gain territory
and combating piracy as a means of acquiring valuable
resources such as land, prestige, goods, and slaves

18. The Etruscan system of belief was polytheistic. All visible
phenomena were considered to be a manifestation of divine
power and that power was subdivided into deities.
There were three levels of gods:1. The indigenous or lesser gods
of the sun, moon, love, war, death, etc.
2. Ruling over the lesser gods were the higher ones, common to
many Indo-European culturesuch as the sky god and the Earth
goddess. Athena
,3. As well, the Etruscans incorporated Greek gods into their
pantheon such as Dionysus and Artemis as well as great heroes
from Homer's epics.
The architecture of the ancient Etruscans adopted the external
Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so
different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural
style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical
architecture. The Etruscans also had much influence over Roman
architecture

20. Most examples we find now are
funerary inscriptions in tombs or
identification of ownership on
common place items (mirrors, urns).
Unlike Greek and Latin, Etruscan,
the third great ancient language of
culture in Italy, does not survive in
any great literary works. An Etruscan
religious literature did exist and
evidence suggests that there was a
body of historical literature and
drama as well
.There is also evidence to suggest
music and plays were written in
form.
વાર બદલ રહા 1
AEtruscans had a written
language.Partially decipherable, it
contains many different dialects and
interpretations.The Pyrgi Tablets:
laminated sheets of gold with a
treatise both in Etruscan and
Phoenician languages.

22. The Etruscan AfterlifeTomb sites are most of
the archeological evidence of the culture. The
aristocracy were buried in rich tombs or
necropolises next to cities such as Tarquinia,
Caere, Vulci and Veii
.Etruscan tombs were designed as houses for
the dead. They featured windows, doors and
porticos. They were cozy places, really,
equipped with paintings of beds, livestock, and
even luxury items like slippers. For these
people, death was simply a joyful continuation
of life.

26. The Persians based their empire on tolerance
and diplomacy. They relied on a strong
military to back up their policies. Ancient
Persia is where Iran is today

27. 550 BC – Conquered several neighboring kingdoms
Military genius
Controlled an empire spanning 2000 miles
Kindness toward conquered people
Honored local customs and religions
538 BC - Allowed the Jews to return to their homeland,
Jerusalem
Considered by the Jews to be one of God’s anointed
ones

29. 518 BCE
King Darius utilized influences and
materials from all over his empire,
which included Babylon, Egypt,
Mesopotamian and Greece
Debris was followed by his son,
Xerxes (ruled 485-465)
The Apadana (Audience Hall)
features wonderful low relief
sculpture

31. After decay of the Indus Civilization when the art of building
again comes into view this no longer consists of well laid out
cities of finished masonry, but takes a much more rudimentary
form of village huts being constructed of reeds and leaves and
hidden in the depths of forest. The culture of the people begins
again.
VEDIC CIVILIZATION The study of Vedic Culture provides for the
first efforts being made in response to a need, before any ideas of
architectural effect were conceived
. The difference between the Indus valley inhabitants and those
who are responsible of this culture is fairly clear as there was a
wide difference in the conditions under which each of these
population existed, I their mode of life, and notably in the type of
building produced by the method of living

32. According to some historians,
Around 1,500 BC, speakers of Indo
- European languages gradually
infiltrated the Indian
subcontinent.
These people referred to
themselves as Arya(Aryan).
As historians do not have much
archaeological evidence for this
era, they rely on the sacred book
of hymns composed by these
people.
These scared books are known as
Vedas: hence this lecture will
refer to the Vedic Civilization.

33. VEDIC CIVILIZATION A collection, in multiple volumes, of hymns, rituals, and philosophies The
vedas include stories that attempt to explain how the world was created, who the gods are,
etc. Thought to be the earliest written texts Oldest one is the Rig Veda.
Other vedas were eventually composed later.
– the veda of verses, is a collection of poems, hymns and invocations of deities,
reflecting myths, rites, battles and insights of many kinds. Texts and procedures for rituals and
rites of brahmanans are generally derived from it.
– the veda of chants consists of verse (poetry) and prose (writing style) largely
concerned with rituals.
– the veda of sacrificial formulas on the other hand, consists mostly of parts of
rigvedam set to music, and a few (less than 100) stanzas of its own. But the tune of rendering
(chanting) saamavedam is totally different from that of rigvedam and yajurvedam, and is
melodious.
– the veda of atharva priests, is somewhat similar to rigvedam, but with stress
on the practical aspects, and is probably addressed to a different stratum of society.

34. Primary Building Material : Earth
and timber , The surrounding
forests provided ample building
material in the form of bamboo
and mud .
• The aryan hut in its most basic
shape was circular in plan with a
thatched roof over a network of
bamboo ribs .
• Cluster of these huts formed a
courtyard .
• To protect themselves and their
property from the ravage of wild
animals, they have surrounded
their collection of huts with a
special kind of fence or palisade
• Huts were arranged in threes
and fours around the square
courtyard .

35. VEDIC • Towards the middle of first
millennium BC, the social system
expanded such town arose at certain
imp centers and were reproduced at
larger scale and more substantial
form. o Strongly fortified o
Surrounded by ramparts and wooden
palisades o Buildings almost always of
wood
• Era of Timber Construction It is not
surprising, therefore, that in later
ages timber construction techniques
were employed even though the
material of construction was radically
different - i.e. stone.

36. VEDIC VILLAGE
• Palisade encircling the village entrance were of a particular kind.
• In course of time these peculiar railing became emblem of protection, used
not only to enclose the village, but o Paling around fields o Eventually anything
sacred in nature.
• In another form it still survives as Gopurams(cow -gate) and Buddhist
archways like Toranas .

37. VEDIC VILLAGE PLANNUNGThe planning of the village was organic in the way
that it was planned according to the a User groups/varnas function in the Society.
Society was divided into the four varnas –
• The brahmans who were the center of all knowldege,
• the kshatriyas – who were the controllers of political power,
• the vaishyas- who were tradesmen and farmers and the shudras – who were the
artisans and the craftsmen
THE CITIES OF THE VEDIC PERIOD:
• RECTANGULAR IN PLAN
• DIVIDED INTO FOUR QUARTERS BY TWO
MAIN THOROUGHFARES INTERSECTING AT
RIGHT ANGLES, EACH LEADING TO A CITY GATE
. • ONE QUARTER HAD CITADEL & ROYAL
APPARTMENT