Ancient Aegean Cultures Aegean Art: Cycladic, Minoan Mycenean

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Ancient Aegean CulturesAegean Art Cycladic,
Minoan Mycenean
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Cycladic Cultures3000-1000 bce

• Stepping stones across the Aegean, the Cycladic
  islands were early settlement sites for migrants
  who developed a significant culture centuries
  before the emergence of the civilizations of
  Crete and Mycenae.
• Cycladites developed shipping and traded with
  mainland Greece, the coastal areas of Asia Minor
  and with the western Mediterranean, from the
  Neolithic period.
• The development of olive production helped in
  self-sufficiency.
• They buried their dead in box -shaped tombs of a
  trapezoidal shape, in circular ones, and in
  chambers carved on the rock. The dead were buried
  uncremated, in contracted positions. Bodies were
  accompanied by objects used in daily life vases,
  marble figures, jewelry, daggers, and blades.
• Cycladic History

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CycladicTombs
Top Cist grave of the Gotta-Pelos
culture.Middle Two-storeyed grave of the
Keros-Syros culture.Bottom Corbelled grave of
the Keros-Syros culture, of the type found on
Syros
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Types of Cycladic Figurines
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Abstraction Cycladic Influence on Modern Art
Constantin Brancusi
Amedeo Modigliani
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Minoan Crete
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Zeus and Europa

• For stories and images pertaining to the myths of
  the founding of Crete, the Minotaur and the
  labyrinth of Deadalus, go to
• Greek Mythology Crete

Karl Plattner The Rape of Europa
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The Minoans
ZEUS EUROPA HELIOS PERSE
CIRCE
MINOS PASIPAHAE
POSEIDONS BULL
DIONYSUS ARIADNE THESEUS PHAEDRA MINOTAUR
2 sons
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The Athenians
AETHRA - - - - AEGEUS ----- MEDEA ----- JASON
MEDUS 2 sons
HIPPOLYTA ----THESEUS ----- PHAEDRA
HIPPOLYTUS 2 sons
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NEOLITHIC PERIOD (6000- 2600 B.C.)

• Archeological excavations in Crete indicated that
  the island had been inhabited since 6000 BC .
• Neolithic ruins were found in Phaestos, Knossos
  and Sitia, where the first settlements were
  formed by farmers and stock-breeders.
• People lived in slate houses and caves such as
  the caves of Ilithia, Stravouitis, Ellinospileo,
  Trapeza Lasithiou, etc.
• Excavations brought to light pottery, weapons,
  tools, blades made of bone or stone and offerings
  to the goddess of fertility.

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PREPALATIAL PERIOD (2600-1900 B.C.)

• The extensive use of copper resulted in growth of
  the population and commercial activity
• The islands geographic location, the fertile
  ground and the long periods of peace favoured the
  development of a glorious civilization.
• The pre-Palatial period is divided into three
  periods
• In the first period, copper has not fully
  substituted stone and clay (utensils) and
  communication with the nearby areas is limited.
• The second period is characterized by growth in
  fishing, farming and shipping acctivities, as
  well as the trade of tin.
• The third period is known for the improvement of
  construction techniques, while new products are
  used, such as precious stones, elephant bone,
  from Egypt and gold. The various seals, from that
  period, are beautiful works of art.

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PALOPALATIAL PERIOD (1900-1700 B.C.)

• In 1900 BC the first palaces were built in Crete,
  including the magnificent palaces of Knossos,
  Malia and Kato Zakros.
• The settlements around the palaces had organized
  watering, sewage and street systems.
• The periods economy was based on agriculture and
  thrived on trade, as indicated by finds from
  Crete that have been located in Egypt as well as
  Cyprus.
• The end of this period comes after a strong
  earthquake in 1700 BC, which destroyed most of
  the palaces.

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Plan for the Palace at Knossos
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Palace at Knossos
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NEOPALATIAL PERIOD (1700- 1450 B.C.E.)

• The palaces were restored and the Neo-Palatial
  Period, the thriving years of the Minoan
  civilization, was inaugurated.
• The palace was the center of the economic, social
  and religious life.
• The locals were mostly occupied with shipping and
  wine and perfume oil trade, as well as with
  farming, pottery and weaving, although not in a
  large scale.
• The class of merchants, manufacturers and priests
  commanded respect, second only to the King who
  was worshipped as a High Priest, along with the
  Goddess of Fertility.
• The artistic production pottery, painting,
  seal-making, lithotomy, miniatures and jewels.
• Women played a prominent role in the Minoan
  civilization.
• In about 1450 BC, the cities and palaces of the
  Minoan civilization were swept away by a tidal
  wave, caused by a volcanic eruption in the island
  of Thera, while extensive fires demolished
  everything.

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Snake Goddesses
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Bull Leaping
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HieroglyphicsThe Phaistos Diskca. 1600 bce
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POSTPALATIAL PERIOD (1450-1100 B.C.E.)

• The Myceneans (Achaeans), exploiting the
  destruction of the Minoan civilization, occupied
  Knossos and established a strong dynasty.
• According to tablets written in Linear B script,
  the Myceneans soon took control of the island.
• The economy was still based on trade with nearby
  Egypt and Asia Minor, but change is evident in
  art and daily life. All ceramics, bronze objects,
  jewels etc., testify to the coexistence and
  influence of the two populations on one another,
  for a long time.
• In 1300 BC another strong earthquake destroyed
  the last remains of the Minoan civilization,
  including the palace of Knossos.
• According to historians, in 1200 BCE, Crete had a
  powerful fleet that raided the eastern part of
  the Mediterranean Sea.
• In the early 11th cent. BCE, European tribes
  descended on Crete from the North.

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Later goddesses
Goddess with Poppy-headed Pins. 1350 BC.
Bird Goddess. 1400-1200 BC.
Goddess with a Cone and Horns of Consecration.
1400-1200 BC.
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Leda and the Swan A sudden blow
The great wings beating still
Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
By the dark webs, her nape caught in the bill,
He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.
How can those terrified vague fingers push The
feathered glory from her loosening

thighs? And how can body, laid in
that white rush, But feel the strange heart
beating where it
lies? A shudder
in the loins engenders there The broken wall,
the burning roof and tower And Agamemnon dead.
Being so caught
up, So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?
-- William Butler Yeats
Leonardo da Vinci, Leda
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Helen and Menelaus

• For stories, images and background about the
  Mycenaens/Achaens and the TrojanWar, see
• Greek Mythology Troy

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The Spartans
Tyndareus Leda
ZEUS King of Sparta
Castor Pollux
Clytemnestra ---- Agamemnon Menelaus ----
Helen ---- Paris
King of King of
Prince of
Mycenae Sparta
Troy
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The Trojans
TROS
LAOMEDON
PRIAM ------ HECUBA
HECTOR -- ANDROMACHE PARIS POLYXENA
CASSANDRA
Astyanax
many others
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Aeschylus525-456 bceTHE ORESTAEIAAgamemnonThe
Libation BearersThe Eumenides