Key elements about pre-hellenic Greek civilizations

1. The Minoans,Mycenaeans,
& the Dorians
Who were they?
Where did they come from?
What did they accomplish?
Where did they go?

2. Minoan civilization arose on the island of Crete.

3. Minoans – First advanced civilization
of what would become Ancient Greece
developed around c.2000 B.C.E on the
island of Crete. • Their legacy was as masters
of the sea and great
shipbuilders.
• Due to their location,
Minoans made a living
trading their goods by ship
across the Mediterranean
and Black Seas. Products
included honey, olive oil,
wine, gold, and grains.

4. Bull Leaping
• Based on frescoes
(painting on fresh plaster)
we know the Minoans
were lively and active
people who enjoyed life.
They were fond of
animals, dancing, and
sports. Bull leaping or
bull fighting was both a
sport and a religious
ceremony.

5. The Palace
• One of the largest cities on Crete was Knossos.
The legendary King Minos lived in a huge palace
with over 1,500 rooms. It was known as - the
Palace of Knossos. Even the poor in Knossos had
4-room houses with running water for drinking
and bathing as well as bathrooms that flushed!!

6. The palace had several
passageways.
The palace had a
network of paths
(maze) through which
it was difficult to find
one’s way.

7. The myth of the Minotaur
• Myth says, that in this
labyrinth, lived King
Minos’s son who was
half man and half
bull. They called this
monster the
Minotaur.

8. The Story of the Minotaur
and the Labyrinth
Every 7 - 9 years, seven youths and maidens came as tribute from Athens. These young people were
also locked in the labyrinth for the Minotaur to feast upon.
When the Greek hero Theseus reached Athens, he learned of the Minotaur and the sacrifices, and
wanted to end this. He volunteered to go to Crete as one of the victims. Upon his arrival in Crete, he
met Ariadne, Minos's daughter, who fell in love with him. She promised she would provide the means
to escape from the maze if he agreed to marry her. When Theseus did, she gave him a simple ball of
thread, which he was to fasten close to the entrance of the maze. He made his way through the maze,
while unwinding the thread, and he stumbled upon the sleeping Minotaur. He beat it to death and led
the others back to the entrance by following the thread.

9. Painting of Theseus
slaying the mighty
Minotaur.

10. Where did they go?
• No one is certain why
Minoan civilization came
to end. **
• By about c.1400 B.C.E.,
control of the sea and
Crete had passed to the
Mycenaeans.
** some say a volcanic eruption or perhaps
huge tidal waves that crashed to shore
following underwater earthquakes may
have played a role in the demise of the
Minoan people.

11. Where did they come from?
Mycenaeans (c.1400 – 1200 B.C.E.)
• The Mycenaeans came from the grasslands of Central
Asia and eventually made their way south to the Balkan
peninsula, where they settled in southern Greece. Their
name comes from their largest and most powerful city,
Mycenae. They exchanged goods and ideas with the
Minoans (CULTURAL DIFFUSION).
• Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenaeans were a warlike
people known for producing weapons. They built their
cities with armed fortresses on hillsides, all connected
together by huge stone walls. Their art is mostly of
battle scenes, and particularly the Trojan War.

12. Trojan War
• The Mycenaeans likely
went to war with Troy,
a city southeast of the
Balkan peninsula
because Troy controlled
a trade route and
unfairly taxed ships
sailing between the
Aegean and Black Seas.

13. Homer’s “The Iliad & The Odyssey”
• About 500 years later,
c.750 B.C.E. a blind
Greek poet, Homer,
included the story of
the Trojan war in his
famous epics, the Iliad
and the Odyssey - but
not quite exactly as it
happened.

14. Homer’s version of the Trojan War
• The Trojan prince
Paris fell in love with
Helen, the wife of the
Mycenaean king.
Paris kidnapped her,
taking her to Troy.
The Mycenaeans
followed to get her
back.
• After ten years of
fighting, Odysseus
suggested they build a
large wooden horse
and place their best
soldiers in it (think
SEAL Team 6). Then
the rest of the
Mycenaeans would
return to their ships
and sail away.
Helen of Troy

15. Homer’s version continued…
When the Trojans saw the horse and the
soldiers leaving, they thought it was a gift and
pulled it into the city. Once out of sight, the
ships turned around and began to sail back
toward Troy. During the night, the soldiers
inside the horse climbed out, opened the gate
and let the returning soldiers into Troy.

16. Trojan Horse

17. What happened. . .
• The Mycenaeans
killed the king of Troy
and burned the city.
• Then they returned to
their homes with
Helen.

18. What happened next?
• However, historians think the more reasonable
cause for their collapse given their warlike
ways, was the internal conflict between
kingdoms within the Mycnenaean region. This
conflict made trade almost impossible and in
this weakened state, made them easy prey for a
new band of invaders.
• Some historians think that a natural disaster,
such as a drought, which would have caused
widespread famine might to be blame for their
collapse.

19. Dorians (c.1100 B.C.E. – c.750 B.C.E.)
• According to Greek mythology, their name comes
from a city in central Greece called Doris. Stories
tell of a Mycenaean ruler driving 3 sons of
Hercules from Doris. The 3 brothers later took
revenge by invading the mainland of Greece to
reclaim what they saw as their rightful territory.
• The Dorians did have one advantage. Their
weapons were far superior to that of the
Mycenaeans (Iron v. Bronze).

20. “Dark Age”
• This began a “Dark Age.”
During this period,
overseas trade stopped,
poverty increased, and
people lost their skills
such as reading and
writing and craft making
(working with ivory and
gold). They even forgot
how to paint Frescos.
People once again began
to herd animals and farm
to survive.
• During the “dark age,”
BARDS, or singing
storytellers, kept alive
Mycenaean tradition.

21. Here we go again. . .
• By c.750 BCE a group of
Mycenaeans who were
able to flee Dorian
invasion and would be
known as Ionians started
to reintroduce culture,
crafts, and skills to their
homeland, including the
alphabet used by
Phoenician traders.

22. A New Name
Eventually a new Greek civilization with Mycenaean
elements emerged (began). They developed
independent communities and began calling
themselves Hellenes (HEH∙leenz), or Greeks.

23. The rest is history.