Mycenaeans

Indo-Europeans

Minoan Civilization

Minoans

• Discovered by Arthur Evans in 1900• Palace structures as early as 2000 BC

• Hieroglyphic script• Linear A syllabic script• Complete destruction ca 1600 BC.

• Rapid rebuilding program• Knossos• Vibrant trade with all surrounding regions

DNA research shows that the Minoans were likely Indo-Europeans who migrated from Anatolia

Thera

• Akrotiri:• Discovered by Marinatos in 1967

• Apparent trading centre• Wood and Wheat• Volcanic eruption ca 1628 BC• Atlantis Legend

• http://www.therafoundation.org/

Minoan Myth

• Arthur Evans• (Re)constructed an image of an idyllic, sophisticated and benevolent culture of

artisans and traders• Thought they had come from Egypt.

• Jacquetta Hawkes (1960s)• Imagined a feminist society of peaceful nature worshippers

• Current DNA:• The earliest Minoans were from part of the Neolithic agriculturalist

emigration.• http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n5/full/ncomms2871.html

Harsh Realities

• Recent evidence suggests that the Minoans practiced child sacrifice and cannibalism

• Crete was conquered violently ca 1400 BC by a group using Linear B script, and a different language.

Mycenean Greece

• Proto-Greek, Indo-Europeans• Fully developed by 1600• Warrior (charioteer) elite• Mycenae, Pylos, Sparta, Athens

• Homeric Epics• Age of Heroes• Iliad• Odyssey

Mycenae

• Heinrch Schleiman• 1870 – 76• Excavations at Troy• Discovered Mycenae

The Megaron Model:Pyramid Economy

Farmers Craftsmen Traders

Military Overlord

Do the Math:• Athens in the Bronze Age +/- 8,000 people

• dozens of towns and villages surrounding it.• average size 1600 people• 400 families each earning $40,000 per year• Each pays 20%, or $8,000 to an overlord

• Overlord makes $3,200,000 per year.• 30 overlords each paying 20% ($640,000)

• King Makes;• $19,200,000 from his vassals• $16,000,000 from the capital

• The population is only about 56,000

MycenaeansIndo-EuropeansMinoan CivilizationSlide Number 4MinoansDNA research shows that the Minoans were likely Indo-Europeans who migrated from AnatoliaTheraSlide Number 8Slide Number 9Minoan MythHarsh RealitiesMycenean GreeceMycenaeSlide Number 14The Megaron Model:�Pyramid EconomyDo the Math:Slide Number 17