IN 1131 Aegean Civilization PDF

IN 1131 Jyle Mariz Marathon | University of San Carlos - Talamban Campus Came into being around 3000 BCE on the island of crete. Topic Outline:...

IN 1131 Jyle Mariz Marathon | University of San Carlos - Talamban Campus Came into being around 3000 BCE on the island of crete. Topic Outline: Topic I Topic II MYCENAEAN Helladic Helladic Period - meaning they use alot of metals HISTORICAL BACKGROUND and bronze. It was located in the lower rugged region of the AEGEAN CIVILIZATION Greek peninsula, called The Peloponnesus. the term used to denote the Bronze Age civilization that Overlapping with the Minoan period, as Crete was developed in the basin of the Aegean Sea, mainly on Crete, declining the Mycanaean culture on the mainland the Cyclades Islands, and the mainland of Greece. was rising. This splendid culture attained its full flowering INTRODUCTION around 1500 BC. Homer described it 700 years later as “rich in gold” The Mycenae seems to have been the center of this AEGEAN (3000 - 1000 BCE) civilization, although remains of large palaces have The Bronze Age started during neolithic time. been found elsewhere. The best known is the Aegean People were primarily farmers and herders, palace of Tiryns. their lives were greatly influenced by the sea. Palace Complexes strongly influenced by cultures RELIGION of Egypt and the Near East. Egypt and the peoples of the Ancient near east were especially important trading partners. Aegean Bronze Age ○ Using metal ores imported from Europe, Arabia, and Anatolia they then make They were polytheistic with beautiful objects they export. many gods including bulls, Greek civilization rose from the Dorianss who snakes, men, and women overwhelmed the Mycenaeans. AEGEAN ART FOCUSES THREE CULTURES 1. Early Cycladic 2. Minoan 3. Mycenaean EARLY CYCLADIC The Minoan religion is The Islands of the Cyclades dominant with the role of Islands specifically of Naxos and Paros had an the great Minoan mother goddess, with this ample supply of white marble. concomitant matriarchal Left no known written records, all we have is art to society. tell us about their culture MINOAN Crete On the Knossos seal The sea provided a natural defense and accounts impression, the palace is for the absence of fortification. depicted behind a goddess. It is a multitiered and The so-called Minoan civilization of the coasts and topped by “horns of island of the Aegean sea emerged about the same consecration” time as the river valley of Mesopotamian and Egypt. As a forerunner of Greek civilization, it has special significance for the development of Western civilization. Name comes from the much later legend that told of Minos, A king who ruled a Palace at Knossos. It was a wealthy sea power, trading with Egypt, Greece, the near east and beyond. IG: @laiysh4_ | 1  to diverse sanctuaries. Among the gods mentioned are Poseidon, Zeus, Dionysus (attested only on Crete), and There are no temples in Marineus. Goddesses named include Potnija, Ifimedia, Minoan Crete, although Diwija, and Posidaeja —the latter two being the female buildings associated with equivalents of Zeus and Poseidon, respectively. the cult have been found in mountain tops “peak The archeological evidence suggests that the Minoan and sanctuaries”. Mycenaean religions, despite their differences, had many common elements: palace-centered cults, absence of temples, hearths, and animal bones attesting to banqueting. Neither foreshadows the Greek polis religion. Typical offerings are statuettes of human, and FASHION animals, libation vessels and portable tables. Originally strongly influenced by the two civilizations of Egypt and Babylon, Cretan civilization became increasingly Rooms with benches and distinctive at the end of the status make their third millennium and the appearance, which beginning of the Bronze structurally resemble Age (c. 2100 BC). shrines both on mainland Greece, Syria and The manufacture of bronze Palestine. objects developed on a vast scale and supplied all the peoples on the coasts of the Eastern Many terracotta statues of Mediterranean ; the rapid goddess date to this era; growth of Cretan wealth they stood on the benches and art placed it on an and offerings were made to equal footing with Egypt them. and Babylon. MINOAN (CRETES) The mycenaean religion shares many symbols with minoan religion, Examples: The mycenaean palaces are also topped with horns. TEXTILES Inhabitants of Crete spun wool as far back as evidence existed. The Cretans also used flax the cultivation and The mycenaean palaces preparation of which appeared in Europe. included a megaron center Spinning and weaving were family industries. of where offerings are From sheep-shearing to cutting the cloth, made. everything connected with clothing was a domestic occupation. DYES AND COLORANTS The industry used vegetable pigments as well as the purple extracted from shellfish. The tablets record offerings to various gods, the titles of religious officials, and the dispensation of various goods IG: @laiysh4_ | 2  2100 - 1900 BC (Middle Minoan I), the terracotta In Cyclades, the cutting and figurines from Petsofa show sewing of loincloth was the main features of developed; And so, loincloth costume already developed; was worn in a different way. the upper part of the body is It was closed and converted bare, completely for men into short trousers. A piece and partially for women, the of stuff passing between waist is close-fitting, echoing legs and tucked into the belt the loincloth once tied round at back and front. the waist. We must see an inheritance from prehistory in this Cretan habit of leaving the torso bare. Loincloths and shorts were held at the waist by a tight belt, probably made of cloth more or less heavily decorated with metal; composed of a roll with metal edges. The celebrated head ornament from the “Treasure of Priam” at Troy consisted of 64 fine gold chains hanging over the brow and shoulders and ending in the same number of small medallions with idol motifs. ORNAMENTS Elegant women decorated their hair with gold bands or For ceremonial wear there was a long, one-piece gown diadems, which were made in bright colors with rich embroidery. sometimes gold, or else wore leaf-shaped, hinged Only worn by prince, high dignitaries and priests: it clothes gold plates. the official figures in processions and, on the Hagia Triada sarcophagus takes the form of a tunic descending from neck to calf or ankle for flute and lyre players, exactly as for the POLITICS women who take part in sacrifices or for the deceased to whom the funerary offerings are made. MINOAN There are also flounces sewn to their skirt and these Minos might form a checkerboard Legendary ruler of pattern in brown and beige Crete. or brown and light blue. Son of Zeus, the king of the gods and of Europa. In the palace of Knossos, a Minos obtained the more restrained fashion Cretan throne by the aid of the placed these pointed flounces only on the lower Greek god Poseidon, and from part of the skirt. Knossos (or Gortyn) he gained control over the Aegean islands, The long hair is topped with colonizing many of them a headdress. and ridding the sea of pirates. Under the late Minoan I, from 1580 to 1450 BC, various pieces of sewn He married costume using rich textiles Pasiphae, the daughter of began to appear:gowns Helios, who bore him, whose forms and trimmings among others, Androgeos, vary, aprons, bodices, Ariadne, and Phaedra, and culottes skirts, several types who was also the mother of of hat. For clothing, this the Minotaur. period is the most luxurious and the most curious. MYCENAEAN IG: @laiysh4_ | 3  Made of Marble Ranges from a few inches in length to 5 feet. Originally had painted facial features, hair and ornaments in black, red, and blue. Simple forms because Mycenaean civilization was the invention of stone fractures easily. mainland kingdoms that were tiny versions of the Females are more abundant than males. great states of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Figures often found Mycenaean kingdoms had centralized governments lying on graces - administered by elaborate bureaucracies, and they FIGURINE OF A position seems to be were intensely militaristic. Mycenaean kings were, WOMAN, FROM SYROS that of lying down like the Minoan rulers, merchant-princes. (CYCLADES) (folded arms, head Greece upright, toes pointed Agamemnon, in Greek legend, Marble down) 1’ 6” HIGH king of Mycenae or Argos. He was the son (or grandson) of The harp player is a Atreus, king of Mycenae, and fully developed his wife Aërope and was the sculpture. brother of Menelaus. When It has been reduced Paris (Alexandros), son of King its geometric Priam of Troy, carried off essentials, yet with careful attention to Helen, Agamemnon called on those elements that the princes of the country to best characterize an unite in a war of revenge actual musician against the Trojans. He himself Wedged between the furnished 100 ships and was echoing shapes of chosen commander in chief of the combined forces. chair and instrument, he may be playing for MALE HARP PLAYER, the deceased in the FROM KEROS afterlife, although the (CYCLADES) meaning of the Greece statuette remains Marble elusive. MINOAN Crete Name comes from the much later legend that told of Minos, A king who ruled a Palace at Knossos. It was a wealthy sea power, trading with Egypt, Greece, the near east and beyond. Came into being around 3000 BCE on the island of crete. The principal palace sites of Crete are at: Knossos, ART & ARCHITECTURE Phaistos, and Matia. The term Minoan, derived from the name of the EARLY CYCLADIC legendary king Minos, is used to refer to the society, The Islands of the Cyclades presumed to have come from Asia Minor (now Islands specifically of Naxos and Paros had an Turkey), that built up a scattering of settlements on ample supply of white marble. Crete—some twenty towns or small cities, each with Left no known written records, all we have is art to its own palace, and a population estimated at about tell us about their culture 80,000 supported by agriculture and fishing. ART Many luxurious villas were built at this time in the style of large palaces, most famous is at Hagia Triada, which probably the private villas of a Minoan king, ART IG: @laiysh4_ | 4  and smooth texture. Realistic element and formal, stylized ones The story is told of a great are so skillfully Labyrinth or maze built beneath combined in this figure the palace at Knossos to house it has both liveliness the fearsome Minotaur. and power. The blending of these elements creates the disagreements over whether this statue represents a deity or THE LABYRINTH her human attendant. (MAZE) 3 KINDS OF CRETAN WRITING: 1. HIEROGLYPHICS HARVESTER VASE, from hagia Defied translation triada. C. 1550 - 1500 BCE 2. LINEAR A Steatite Used for palaces and religious writings Width 4 ½” 3. LINEAR B Only used for records and inventories LEAPING MOUNTAIN GOAT, on the vase from the Palace at Kato Zakro. C. 1500 BC Limestone Originally covered with gold foil Length LINEAR B A syllabic script that was used for writing mycenaean greek, an early form of greek the script BRIDGE-SPOUTED JAR pre-fated the greek alphabet by several centuries. DECORATED IN A recent finding of the oldest mycenaean writing POLYCHROME, Late Minoan dates to about 1450 BC. period, C. 1400 - 1100 Found mainly in the palace archives at Knossos, Cydonia, Pylos, Thebes and Mycenae, disappeared with the fall of mycenaean civilization. On her crown is a wild MINOAN CULTURE cat. RHYTON, a vessel used for Female figurines pouring liquids during sacred incorporating snakes rituals were fashioned on A number of early Crete from as early as cultures associated 6000 BCEC their gods and They are associated god-rulers with with water, powerful animals, regenerative power especially the lion and and protection of the the bull. home. Minoan culture was This is a 1 foot tall fascinated with the figurine made of veneration of the bull faience. Liquids-water, wine or RHYTON blood were poured into ○ Faience is a 4 ½ in diameter glazing a hole in the neck and technique for flowed out from the ceramic mouth. vessels SNAKE GODDESS, utilizing a FROM THE PALACE AT glass paste KNOSSOS (CRETE), that, upon CA, 1600 firing, Faience acquires a 1’ 1 ½” HIGH lustrous shine IG: @laiysh4_ | 5  THE TOREADOR, from the Palace at Knossos (Crete), Greece. CA. 1450 - 1400 BCE Fresco 2’ 8” HIGH, including the border “Bull jumping”, a wall painted from Knossos This may have represented an initiation or fertility ritual. This has been restored and filled in the darker patches are restored portions. This corresponds with the legend of theseus. In typical Cretan fashion, the religious, residential, manufacturing and warehouse space was organized around a large central courtyard. This structure was built against the upper slopes and across the top of a low hill rising from the fertile plain. The great rectangular court, 52 x 275m, A detail of the dolphin fresco, the Minoan palace of around which the units of the palace are grouped, Knossos, Crete, (1700 - 1450) was built on ground that had been leveled in the time of the “old palace”. In Greek legend, the Knossos palace was called Vase paintings flourished with the labyrinth, meaning sea motifs as popular subjects. House of the double axes because the axe was used as an architectural motif. Because the layout Heads and upper torsos of three of the palace was women with long tresses, so complex, the headbands, flounced dresses of word labyrinth has open bodice. Blue is the come to mean a predominant color. maze. LADIES IN BLUE A spreading palace of stone and wood for the king, with so many chambers MINOAN FRESCO above and below ground. The site had been occupied in the Neolithic period, then built over with a succession of Bronze Age Detail from Knossos palace, ca. palaces. 1450 - 1400. It covered 6 acres. The last one was erected around 1900 BCE. ARCHITECTURE Discovered by Sir Arthur Evans, who spent the rest of his life excavating and reconstructing buildings he found. PALACE AT KNOSSOS IG: @laiysh4_ | 6  The pillars were made from wood Exterior walls are covered with white lime plaster with frescoes. The tops therefore, The term Mycenaean is used to identify the ruined palaces at could support the massive roof Mycenae and Tiryns on the Greek mainland, which date to beams the Late Bronze Age (1600–1250 b.c.e.). These were placed Red shaft on high ground and planned with fortification walls for Black capitals defense. The tree trunks ART from which they were made were inverted so that RHYTON IN THE SHAPE they tapered OF A LION’S HEAD, from a toward the bottom. shaft grave at Mycenae. C. 1550 BCE Gold Erected this palace caused Height 8” (20.3 cm) deforestation on the island STAIRWELL IN THE RESIDENTIAL QUARTER Repousse: A technique OF THE PALACE OF whereby metal is hammered KNOSSOS (CRETE), from the back to make a Greece, ca. 1700 - 1400 relief. BCE THE VAPHIO CUPS. C1500 BC. Gold Height 3-3.5” Frescoes lined interior and portico walls, wooden columns that taper from top THE “AGAMEMNON” to bottom; MASK, from tomb V at mycenae 16C. BC PALACE OF MINOS, KNOSSOS CRETE, C. 1500 BCE MYCENAEAN THREE DEITIES, from Helladic mycenae. C. 1500 - 1400 Helladic Period - meaning they use alot of metals BCE and bronze. Ivory Height 3” It was located in the lower rugged region of the Greek peninsula, called The Peloponnesus. Overlapping with the Minoan period, as Crete was declining the Mycanaean culture on the mainland was rising. ARCHITECTURE Mycenae was the land of the legend of Troy, a civilization found in the mainland settlement of Mycenae. TREASURY OF ATREUS or TOMB OF AGAMEMNON IG: @laiysh4_ | 7  An impressive “tholos” tomb on the panagitsa hill at Mycenae Greece. Constricted during the bronze age around 1250 BCE. Lintel stone above the doorway weighs 120 tons, the largest in the world. The tomb was used for an unknown period. Entrance of the Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon Their missing heads were sculpted separately of bronze or gold then fastened into holes in the stone. The Mycenaean sculptures placed a pair of 9.5 feet tall protector lions above the arch. Section of the tomb. The treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon The Mycenaean ruins are fortresses on a hill that is Corbeling arranges the entered through the Gate of lions or Lion gate. courses of layers of stone so that each level projects over a stone. A beehive tomb or tholos “round building” The Corbel Arch relieved the Lintel of the weight of the wall that rose above it to a height of about 50 ft. A Citadel is an area of a fortress or city placed in a high, commanding place. Has RING WALLS Later Greeks called this home of the THE CITADEL AT conquerors of Troy MYCENAE MYCENAE LION GATE C. 1350-1200 BC Limestone Relief Panel 9’ 6” HIGH Post and Lintel Construction with a relieving arch above. The arch is a Corbel Arch They are perched on an altar. IG: @laiysh4_ | 8  CORBELED GALLERY IN THE WALLS OF THE CITADEL, TIRYNS, greece, CA. 1400 - 1200 BCE. THE QUEEN’S MEGARON, Palace of Minos, Knossos, Crete, C. 1500 BCE Megaron - big room; prehistoric throne room. INTERIOR DESIGN MINOAN INTERIORS MYCENAEAN INTERIORS MEGARON PALACE AT KNOSSOS The Palace was in part three stories high and had ample lighted stairways which, together with numerous porticos and air shafts, must have given the palace a pleasantly open, airy quality. RECONSTRUCTION DRAWING OF THE MEGARON OF THE PALACE AT MYCENAE, GREECE, C. 1500 - 1300 BCE The megaron was a large rectangular or square IG: @laiysh4_ | 9  room, with a central hearth below a raised roof with an opening through which the smoke could escape. The entrance was from a porch with two columns, which, like the interior columns, tapered from a larger capital to a smaller base. Although the style of the roof is unknown, the artist’s impression shows that it may have been decorated with complex, abstract, painted patterns. Excavation of town sites has revealed compact clusters of houses, usually of four or five rooms, grouped along narrow streets or alleys winding about without formal plan. TOMB OF AGAMEMNON The form of the dromos Painted tiles, pottery, and wall paintings give some idea of convey the values and the design vocabulary of the Aegean cultures, but there are meaning of our long and no intact pieces of everyday furniture or other artifacts to sometimes difficult life path. suggest a more complete sense of the interior vernacular of The form of the tholos, houses. which symbolizes the dome of heaven, points to reward and bliss. The cities on Crete were all destroyed around 1400 b.c.e., probably by an earthquake. Mycenaean civilization lasted until sometime between 1200 and 1000 b.c.e., when it was displaced by the migration of Dorian invaders from the north of Greece. IG: @laiysh4_ | 10