The Age of Heroes

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The Age of Heroes

• Power and Myth
• Mycenae and the late Bronze Age

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Mycenae, Trojan War Emergence of Greek
Civilization

• Feder Chapter 8
• Scarre Chapter 13 The Mediterranean World to
  page 503

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Archaeology

• Serious study of Greece begins only in 1868. All
  prior knowledge was derived from ancient
  histories (more legend than fact).
• Key early figures were Mamet, Schliemann, Evans
  (Mamets published reports were in Latin so only
  a few scholars knew of his research)

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• Many legends were attributed to Homer were oral
  traditions recorded for the first time in writing
  around 700 BC. (This is just when writing is
  beginning in Greece). Greek alphabet taken from
  the Phoenicians.

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Greek Dark Ages

• During the period between 1000 and 500 BC Greece
  was a place of petty kingdoms and politically
  disjointed, much the opposite of what is
  described in the legends.
• The glory that had been ancient Greece from
  1700BC -1000BC was nostalgically thought of as an
  Age of Heroes.

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Contemporary Civilizations 1700BC-1000BC

• Greece small city-states. Powerful Myceane,
  Sparta, Athens
• Egypt transition period from weak Middle Kingdom
  to New Kingdom
• Mesopotamia powerful Sumeria, Assyria,
  Babylonian Empire
• Crete Minoans
• Phoenicia maritime traders

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Related myths

• The Iliad (Tale of the Trojan War by Homer)
• The Odyssey (tale of Ulysses ten year struggle
  to return from the Trojan War, by Homer)

Homer. Roman sculpture 150 BC
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Trojan War Synopsis

• Paris, son of Priam (King of Troy) steals Helen
  of Sparta
• Mainland Greek states vs Troy and its allies.
• Mycenae, Athens, Sparta, Syracuse, others.
• War to restore Helen back to husband.

• War lasts ten years.
• War ends with a trickwooden horse.
• Key players Ulysses, Agamemnon, Achilles, Paris,
  Ajax, Hector, Helen, Clytemnestra, (actually
  Homer mentions over 100 heroes and dozens of
  kingdoms).

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Schliemann believed the ancient legends were
based in facts.
Henrich Schliemann in St. Petersburg, ca. 1856.
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On site of Troy
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Site plan for Troy.
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Work in progress at Troy 1871.
Most of Schliemanns trenches were dug deeper
than the level dated to the time of the famed
Trojan War of legend.
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Modern excavations have turned up evidence of
multiple episodes of construction and destruction.
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Paved roadway to the gates of Troy.
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The city has many layers spanning several
centuries.
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Priams Treasure
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Golden treasures of Priam
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Page from Schliemanns publication on excavations
at Troy. For sale by a book-breaker on E-Bay
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Sophia Schliemann wearing part of the treasure
recovered at Troy and later smuggled out to
Germany. This treasure would be lost after WWII
until discovered in a vault in the Kremlin in
Moscow in the 1990s. Artifacts remain in Russia
despite UNESCO lawsuits to have them repatriated.
Sophia married Schliemann when she was 17. He was
46.
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Site of Troy
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• Multiple levels at Troy reveal early occupation
  at site dates to 3000 BC.
• Site was also occupied long after period
  associated with the Trojan War, although in
  reduced state.

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Artists conception of Troy at its zenith.
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Splendor in Mycenae 1700-1450 BC

• Fresh from success at Troy, Schliemann sought the
  citadel of Agamemnon.
• He was just as enthusiastic and error prone as
  before, but found important ruins and tombs.

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Following the collapse of Minoan power, Mycenae
colonizes Crete.
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Lion gate at Mycenae from within the walls. This
style of construction is termed cyclopean.
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Face of Agamemnon? Schliemann declared this to be
the king described by Homer in the Iliad. The
concept of covering the face with a mask was
likely adopted from Egyptian practices.
Gold death masks predate Trojan war period by
several centuries
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• Schliemanns error was trying to fit his findings
  to a preconceived sequence and perception of
  ancient splendor.
• Myceane represented an unknown period in Greek
  history.

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Styles reminiscent of Minoan but more formalized
Fresco on wall at Mycenae.
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Fresco
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Mycenaean life

• Militaristic
• Centered on citadel
• Agricultural and trade based
• Cyclopean architecture provides evidence of
  power.
• Art is influenced from abroad, much of it from
  Crete.

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Bronze swords and bronze armor from shaft
graves. Shaft graves were reserved for royal
elite.
Bronze armor, boar's tusk helmet from grave at
Mycenae.
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Shaft grave era 1700-1450 BC
Mycenaean daggers from shaft graves.
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Ceremonial sword from Mycenae. Gold with lapis
lazuli and colored glass.
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Signet stamps. Note the one at right depicts
Minoan boat type.
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Mycenae. Female idols, depicted fully clothed.
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Mycenae from above.
Shaft graves. Grave circle A (excavated 1876)
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• Shaft Grave period 1700-1450 BC. Several phases
  of royal burials carved into soft rock. Slab
  style may have been influenced by Egyptian
  mortuary practice.
• Arguably the origin of Greek culture can be
  traced to the late Bronze Age and decline of
  Mycenaean dominance after 1400 BC.

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Tholos tomb. So-called Treasury of Atreus.
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Mycenaean pottery. Highly formal and
conventionalized. Preferences fro symmetry or
single balanced design.
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Dancers? Painted box 13th century BC, Mycenae.
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Despite his many faults and errors

• Schliemann's work gave rise to first professional
  archaeology and first Scientific archaeology
• Established hypothesis based on observation and
  stated question
• Followed testing procedures for evidence
• Published results
• Followed interdisciplinary approach

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• The questions that emerge are
• Are all ancient legends based in fact?
• If Troy and Mycenae could be found, is the story
  of Atlantis also based on fact?
• Important to recall that Schliemann did not
  enlarge on the data or speculate beyond his
  evidence. Many who seek Atlantis pursue lines of
  speculation not contained in the original story.

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Next week

• Ancient trade
• Ancient technology
• The search for Atlantis in its many forms