2. Minoan Civilization
Europe---named after Europa, the daughter of the
king of Phoenicia who settled on the island of
Crete with Zeus (fable)
Crete was home to a brilliant early civilization
Called Minoans after King Minos (legendary king
of Crete)
Minoan success was based on trade not
conquest---they contacted peoples in the Nile
Valley and the Middle East---through their contact
with Egypt and Mesopotamia they acquired ideas
and technology that they adapted to their own
culture
7. Minoan Civilization
The rulers of the Minoan civilization lived in a
palace at Knossos
The palace housed rooms for the royal family,
banquet halls, working areas for artisans, and
religious shrines to honor gods and goddesses
The walls of the palace were covered in
colorful frescoes---these frescoes tell us about
the Minoan civilization
9. Minoan Civilization
By about 1400 B.C., Minoan civilization had
vanished
Archaeologists aren’t sure of the reasons but
hypothesize that the civilization could have
been ended by a natural disaster such as a
volcanic eruption or an earthquake
10. Rulers of Mycenae
Mycenaean civilization dominated the Aegean
world from about 1400 B.C. to 1200 B.C.
The Mycenaeans were sea traders and spread
out beyond Sicily, Italy, Egypt, and
Mesopotamia
They lived in separate city-states on the
mainland
A warrior-king ruled from a fortress
13. The Trojan War
The Mycenaeans are best remembered for
their part in the Trojan War, which took place
around 1250 B.C.
There was an economic rivalry between
Mycenae and Troy, a rich trading city in
present-day Turkey
The war may have started because Troy
controlled the straits that connect the
Mediterranean and Black seas
14. The Trojan War
Another more romantic version states that the
Trojan prince Paris kidnapped Helen, the
beautiful wife of a Greek king and then the
Mycenaeans sailed to Troy to rescue her
For the next 10 years the two sides battled
until the Greeks finally seized Troy and burned
the city to the ground
19. Trojan War
Many people believed that the Trojan War was
merely a legend
In the 1870s, Heinrich Schliemann set out to
prove that the legend was rooted in fact
He excavated the site of ancient Troy and
found evidence of a fire and war dating to
about 1250 B.C.
Modern scholars agree that the Trojan War
was an actual event
21. The Age of Homer
Not long after the fall of Troy, Mycenaean
civilization crumbled
The Dorians invaded from the north and as
Mycenaean power faded people abandoned
the cities and trade declined
From 1100 B.C. to 800 B.C., Greek civilization
seemed to step backward
People forgot many skills, including the art of
writing
22. The Age of Homer
We get hints about life during this period from
two epic poems---the Iliad and the Odyssey
Both poems are credited to the blind poet
Homer, who lived around 750 B.C.
His poems were passed on orally for
generations
25. The Iliad
It is our chief source of information about the
Trojan War, although the story involves gods,
goddesses, and even a talking horse
At the start of the poem, Achilles, the greatest
of Greek warriors, sulks in his tent after getting
in a fight with his commander. Even after the
battle turns against the Greeks, Achilles still
refuses to join in the battle. He only begins to
fight after his best friend is killed.
28. The Odyssey
Tells of the struggles of the Greek hero
Odysseus to return home to his faithful wife
Penelope after the fall of Troy
On his long voyage, Odysseus encounters a
sea monster, a race of one-eyed giants, and a
beautiful sorceress who turns men into swine
31. The Age of Homer
The Iliad and the Odyssey reveal much about
the values of the ancient Greeks
The heroes display honor, courage, and
eloquence
For almost 3,000 years, the epics of Homer
have inspired European writers and artists
