Greek speakers move into Greek mainland (from Anatolia?) in
several waves, starting late in EH II (c. 2300), and are fully
moved in by end EH III (c. 2000)
Middle Helladic (MH), 2000-1600 B.C.
Greek speakers have a culture with rather limited
sophistication, outside contact
near end MH, Shaft Graves at Mycenae (Circle B) show
increase in wealth (including practice of burying wealth with
dead)
NB: shaft graves do not mean new people
the increase in wealth is steady from Circle B to Circle
A
Circle B late MH into LH I; Circle A mainly LH I
richest graves in Circle B are not the latest; the very
rich move to Circle A shortly before Circle B goes out of
use in LH I
there is great continuity from MH past, in grave type,
pottery
Late Helladic (LH) I-II, 1600-1400 B.C. = Early Mycenaean
LH I: shaft graves continue; Circle B peters out, Circle A
mainly LH I in date
now amount of wealth buried with dead is substantial
finds show contact with Crete, and directly or indirectly
with Egypt
Minoan rings, Minoan religious artifacts, ostrich eggs
(Egyptian)
some finds show influence in techniques but not subject
matter; lion hunt, single
combat scenes have a purely Mycenaean flavor
masks also without parallel
NB Minoans did not bury dead with such wealth
LH IIA (c. 1500-1450)-LH IIB (c. 1450-1400)
balance of cultural influence shifts from Minoans to
Mycenaeans
Mycenaeans take over Crete in LH IIB
Mycenaean tholos tombs for those who can afford them
these began in shaft grave period in Messenia, move to
Argolid in LH II
tholos means 'beehive'--shape of domed chamber
corbelled vault, not a true vault--each course of stones
overlaps one below; diagram indicates how blocks are shaped
to resemble a dome
most famous example of a tholos tomb is the LH IIIB (late)
'Treasury of Atreus', so named
by Roman tourist Pausanias --see the flat capstone in; see
corbelling also in
tholoi usually robbed, but goods that do survive are like
shaft graves
gold Vaphio cups, showing bull capture
some think quiet cup is Minoan, violent cup is
Mycenaean; but it's not clear that we can tell them apart by
style alone
LH IIIA-B, c. 1400-1200 B.C.
height of Mycenaean contact and prosperity
c. 1200 all the Mycenaean palaces burned; it is not known how
or why
LH IIIC, 1200-1100 B.C.
Mycenaeans continue to live with reduced standard of
living
gradually Dorians filter in (see next handout)
some new elements come in during LH IIIC: cremation, new
armor
Culture during LH IIIA-B
excavated palaces at Mycenae, Tiryns, Midea, Pylos
main element--rectangular room with porch(es), columns in
porch and around central hearth in rectangular room--this
element is properly called a megaron:
Hittite documents may mention Mycenaeans by the name
Ahhijawa, but we can't firmly identify what Ahhijawa refers
to
no evidence for contact with Mesopotamia (inland)
Trojan War
story of Greeks sacking Troy is immortalized in the
Iliad and Odysseyof Homer
Homer lived c. 700 B.C. but preserved earlier tales
poems evolved over time, expanded and elaborated from
end of the Mycenaean period (c. 1200 B.C.) until they took
the form we know
site of Troy excavated,
first by Heinrich Schliemann 1870's-1880's
site had contacts with Mycenaeans
Troy VI was destroyed c.
1260--by man or earthquake ??
we don't know if Mycenaeans were really responsible for
this destruction
probably Iliad preserves, not full historical truth,
but memory of such wars
how does Homer match up with the real world of the Bronze
Age?
Bronze Age places in Homer: Pylos, Mycenae, Ithaca, Troy
itself, several others
Bronze Age objects in Homer: boar's tooth helmet; sword
with silver-covered rivets; tower shield of ox-hide;
chariots for use in battle; metal inlay technique; single
combat; megaron
Non-Bronze Age elements in Homer: hoplite battle
technique--massed ranks of infantry (introduced c. 700
B.C.); use of chariots misunderstood--used as taxis, not
fighting vehicles; burial customs--cremation instead of
inhumation the norm; Gorgon's head as shield device--c. 700
B.C.
Why this mixture? In an oral tradition, poems change
with each retelling
in each age, new elements introduced, old ones
remain
the result is a conglomerate; elements from each
period poem passed through
THEREFORE: can't use Homer to confirm historicity of
anything: history begins with artifacts, not myth
Cause of Mycenaean collapse c. 1200 is unknown: debate about
earthquake vs. human attack
attack certainly expected: from the middle of LH IIIB on
walls are built and other defensive measures visible in
architecture
Pylos--no excavated wall, but new evidence that a wall
existed, not excavated or dated yet)
plan of palace closed in in later LH IIIB, storage and
workshop areas added right next to main building, access
blocked except to main door
