The Mycenaeans

1. On the mainland of greece in an area known as the Peloponnesus Pennisula,a group of people called the Mycenaeans were growing even stronger.

1.1. These people were developing culture and expanding at the very time that the Minoans were becoming weaker.

1.2. The Mycenaeans had learned much from trading with the Minoans.

1.3. They built their palaces in the Minoan style of architecture and adopted their form of writing.

1.4. They also had built a strong fleet of ships able to capture trade routes and help them establish flourishing colonies.

1.5. The mycenaeans invaded and conquered Crete in 1450 B.C. and soon became the dominant civilization in the Aegean region.

2. These people were named after the mycenae,the city they came from which sat high on a hill overlooking the vast plains of Argos.

2.1. Unlike the minoans who had ample farmlands and fishing living in this hilly region meant few natural resources,so that Mycenaeans became traders.

2.2. The mycenaeans were also fine craftsmen of weapons,jewelry,and other artifacts made from imported raw materials.

3. The mycenaeans were much more warlike than the minoans.

3.1. By 1150 B.C.the mycenaean culture was weak and left a prime target for the Dorians to invade from the north.

4. All of the Mycenaean cities fell to Dorian rule except for Athens.

4.1. Historians believe its salvation was a secret underground supply of water in the Acropolis.

5. The dorians were uncivilized people possessing none of the skills or craftsmanship of the Minoans or the Mycenaeans.

5.1. The Dorians had no written language .

5.2. Since most Mycenaeans had fled the area,soon all written language disappeared.

5.3. Greece entered a period of decline called the dark age,which lasted about 1100 B.C. to 800 B.C.

6. The oral tradition of the Greeks allowed much of the history and heritage to be passed down from one generation to another.

6.1. Tales of the Mycenaean period were kept alive through songs and stories that were repeated during religious festivals or feasts.

6.2. Around 800 B.C. many people from the Ionia region in central Greece built cities and ports to expand trade once again.

6.3. These people had migrated from Athens ,which had survived the Dorian attacks.

6.4. A new written language soon developed based on the Ionic dialect and the Phoenician alphabet.

6.5. It was from this region that the first works of greek literature came.

6.6. The famous poet Homer wrote stories and epic poems based on the songs and tales about the Mycenaeans.

7. For the greeks,Home was the ultimate symbol of poetry and eloquence.

7.1. According to greek tradition,Homer was a blind bard,a wandering storyteller with an unmatched ability to dramatize a narrative.

7.2. He wrote two epic poems,or long poetic tales ,that celebrated the battle deeds and travels of heroes and the influence of gods.

7.3. The ilad recounts the story of the mycenaeans during the Trojan War.

7.4. Historians are still unsure whether a war actually occurred,but excavations in present-day Turkey have uncovered the remains of a city believed to be Troy.

7.5. Furthermore,investigation indicates that a siege may have occurred during the Mycenaean period,so many believe that homer's tale was based on fact.

7.6. Homer's second tale,the odyssey,describes Odysseus's perilous journey home from the Trojan War and his amazing encounters in foreign lands.

8. This new development in writing and culture marked the end of the Dark Age and the dawn of a new age of expansion called the Archaic Period.