2. Aegean civilization is a general term for the
Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the
Aegean Sea.
3. PERIODIZATION:
There are three distinct but communicating and
interacting geographic regions
The Cyclades
CRETE (Minoan civilization)
MAINLAND (Mycenaean civilization)
4. The Cyclades
The Cyclades is a group of Greek islands in the
Aegean Sea encircling the island of Delos . The
islands were known for their white marble mined
during the Greek Bronze Age and throughout
Classical history. Their geographical location
placed them, like the island of Crete, in the center
of trade between Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and
the Near East. Indigenous civilization on the
Cyclades reached its high point during the Bronze
Age. The islands were later occupied by the
Minoans, Mycenaean's, and later the Greeks.
5. Cycladic art is best known for its
small scale marble figurines.
The purpose of these figurines is
unknown, although all that have
been discovered have been
located in graves. While it is clear
that they were regularly used in
funerary practices, their precise
function remains a mystery. Some
are found in graves completely
intact, others are found broken
into pieces, others show signs of
being used during the lifetime of
the deceased, but some graves
do not contain the figurines.
Furthermore, the figurines were
buried equally between men and
women. The male and female
forms do not seem to be identified
with a specific gender during
burial.
Cycladic marble figurines of
abstract male and female forms
have been found at burial sites.
These figurines are small,
6. The female figurines
depict a woman with
her legs together
and arms folded
over her abdomen.
Breasts and the
pubic region are
emphasized.
A Cycladic female figure, Greece. Ca. 2500
BCE
7. The male figures are often depicted sitting in a chair and
playing either a harp or a lyre.
A Cycladic male figure with
the harp, Greece. 2500
BCE.
Male Lyre Player Cycladic
culture, dating back to about
2700 BC.
8. Crete forms a significant part of the economy
and cultural heritage of Greece, while retaining
its own local cultural traits (such as its own
poetry and music). It was once the center of the
Minoan civilization (c. 2700–1420 BC), which is
currently regarded as the earliest recorded
civilization in Europe.
Crete is the largest island in Greece and the
fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It
is located in the southern part of the Aegean
Sea separating the Aegean from the Libyan
Sea.
Crete (Minoan civilization):
9. Minoan Architecture
Minoan architecture consists of several structures which acted as centers for
commercial, religious, and administrative life. Archaeologist have unearthed in
Crete a Minoan landscape filled with tombs, palaces, villas, towns and the roads
that connected them. All evidence of a thriving prehistoric culture able to survive
and expand in the Aegean sea.The Minoan palaces provided a forum for gathering and celebrations, while at
the same time they offered storage for the crops, and workshops for the artists.
They were built over time to occupy low hills at strategic places around the
island in a manner so complex that they resembled labyrinths to outside visitors.
The Minoan palaces were technologically advanced with expanded drainage
systems, irrigation, aqueducts, and deep wells that provided fresh water to the
inhabitants. The multi-storied palace buildings were laced with impressive
interior and exterior staircases, light wells, massive columns, storage
magazines, and gathering outdoor places -- the precursor to ancient theaters.
The construction method consisted of rough stones and ceramic bricks
connected by mortar in the interior walls, while the corners of the buildings were
fashioned by sharply defined large rectangular blocks. None of the Minoan
palaces unearthed to date was surrounded by defensive walls, a testament to
the Minoan supremacy at sea.
The Minoan palaces are Knossos, Malia, Phaistos, and Zakros.
12. WALL PAINTING
The Minoans decorated their palace complexes and homes with fresco wall
painting. The Minoans had a distinct painting style with shapes formed by curvilinear
lines that add a feeling of liveliness to the paintings. The Minoan color palette is
based in earth tones of white, brown, red, and yellow. Black and vivid blue are also
used. These color combinations created vivid and rich decoration.
Knossos Fresco painting:
Fragments of frescoes found at Knossos provide
us with glimpses into Minoan culture and ritual. A
fresco found on a upper story of the palace has
come to be known as the Bull-leaping fresco . The
image depicts a bull in flying gallop with one
person at his horns, another at his feet, and a third,
whose skin color is brown instead of white,
inverted in a handstand leaping over the bull. While
the different skin color of the figures may
differentiate male (dark) and female (light) figures,
the similarity of their dress and body shapes
suggest that the figures may all be male. The
figures participate in activity known as bull-leaping;
we still do not know exactly this was performed.
The human figures are stylized, with narrow waists;
broad shoulders; long, slender, muscular legs; and
cylindrical arms. Unlike the twisted perspective
seen in Egyptian or Ancient Near Eastern works of
Bull leaping Fresco. Knossos, Crete,
Greece. Ca. 1450-1400 BCE.
13. Vase Painting
Minoan ceramics and vase painting are uniquely
stylized and are similar in artistic style to Minoan
wall painting. As with Minoan frescoes, themes of
nature and marine life are often depicted on their
pottery. Similar earth-tone colors are used,
including black, white, brown, red, and blue.
Types of vases:
• Kamares-ware
• Marine-style
14. Kamares ware, a distinctive type
of pottery painted in white, red,
and blue over a black backdrop,
is created from a fine clay. The
paintings depict marine scenes,
as well as abstract floral shapes,
and they are often include
abstract lines and shapes,
including spirals and waves.
These stylized floral shapes
include lilies, palms, papyrus,
and leaves and fill the entire
surface of the pot with bold
designs. The pottery is named
for the location where it was first
found in the late nineteenth
century, at a cave sanctuary at
Kamares, on Mt. Ida. This style
of pottery is found throughout
the island of Crete as well in a
variety of locations on the
15. The Marine style emerged
during the late Minoan
period. As the name
suggests, the decoration on
these vessels take their cue
from the sea. The vessels
are almost entirely covered
with sea creatures such as
dolphins, fish, and octopi,
along with seaweed, rock,
and sponges. Unlike their
Kamares-ware predecessors,
the light and dark color
scheme is inverted: the
figures are dark on a light
background. Like the
landscape frescoes at Thera,
these paintings demonstrate
16. Minoan Sculpture
As with their painting, Minoan sculpture demonstrates stylistic conventions
including curvilinear forms; active, energized scenes; and long-limbed humans
with broad shoulders and narrow waists. Women are often depicted in large, long,
layered skirts that accentuate their hips . So far, only small-scale sculptures and
figurines have been found during Minoan excavations.Materials
The small-scale sculptures of the
Minoans were produced in many
different materials including ivory,
gold, faience, and bronze. The
variety of materials acknowledges
the extensive trade network
established by the Minoans. For
instance, faience, an quartz
ceramic, is an Egyptian material.
Its presence in sculpture found on
Crete demonstrates that the
material was shipped raw from
Egypt to Crete, where it was then
formed to create Minoan
sculpture. Bronze was an
important material in Minoan
culture and many figurines were
produced in this medium, mostly
17. Bull Leaper
The Bull Leaping bronze, depicting a bull and an acrobat, was created as single
group . The figures are similar in style and position, as seen in several bull-leaping
frescoes, including the one discussed above from Knossos.
The bull is in a flying gallop, while a bull leaper appears to be flipping over his
back. The acrobat's feet are planted firmly on the bull's rump, and the figure bends
backwards with its arms planted on the bull's head, perhaps preparing to launch
off of the bull. The two figures, bull and man, mirror each other, as the bull's back
sways in the gallop and the man's back is arched in a deep back bend.
The figures are made with curvilinear lines and the positioning of both figures adds
a high degree of movement and action that was commonly found in Minoan art.
18. MAINLAND (Mycenaean civilization)
Mycenaean culture can be summarized by its architecture, whose
remains demonstrate the Mycenaean's war-like culture and the
dominance of citadel sites ruled by a single ruler. The Mycenaean
populated Greece and built citadel sites on high, rocky
outcroppings that provided natural fortification and overlooked
plains used for farming and raising livestock. The citadel sites
vary from city to city but each share common attributes including
building techniques and architectural features.Mycenaean architecture reflects their warring society. A wide, strong
wall built from large roughly cut stones known as cyclopean masonry
(A type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with
massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal
clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar.) was one
method of protection, as was limited access to citadel sites and well
protected gates.
The central feature of a Mycenaean citadel site was the megaron(The
rectangular great hall in a Mycenaean building, usually supported
with pillars.) a room that functioned as the king's audience chamber.
The megaron is entered through a porch with two columns and the
19. The city of Mycenae was the center of Mycenaean culture. It
is especially known for its protective gateway, the Lion Gate,
and the Treasury of Atreus, an example of a tholos tomb.
20. Mycenae is also home to a subterranean beehive shaped tomb (also known
as a tholos tomb) that was located outside the citadel walls. The tomb today is
known as the Treasury of Atreus, due to the wealth of grave goods found
there .
Lion Gate. Limestone. Ca. 1300-1250
BCE. Mycenae, Greece.
Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece,
ca. 1300-1250 BCE.
21. Grave Circle A
and B, at
Mycenae, are a
series of shaft
graves enclosed
by wall from the
16th century
BCE. These
grave sites were
originally
excavated by
Heinrich
Schliemann in
1876, and the
grave goods
found there
demonstrate the
incredible skill
Grave Circle A
Grave Circle B
22. Gold Death Masks
Repoussé death masks were
found in many of the tombs.
The death masks were created
from thin sheets of gold,
through a careful method of
metalworking to create a low
relief. These objects are fragile,
were carefully crafted, and were
laid over the face of the dead.
The most famous of the death
masks is known as the Death
Mask of Agamemnon and was
declared to be the face of the
Homeric king . The mask
depicts a man with a triangular
face, bushy eyebrows, a narrow
nose, pursed lips, a mustache,
and stylized ears. This mask is
an impressive and beautiful
specimen, but when compared
to other death masks found at
Mycenaean Death Mask.
Gold. Ca. 1600-1500 BCE.
Grave Circle A, Grave Shaft IV,
Mycenae
Mask of Agamemnon. Gold.
Ca. 1600-1500 BCE. Grave Circle A,
Grave shaft V, Mycenae, Greece.
23. Bronze Daggers
Decorative bronze daggers were also found in the grave shafts. These
ceremonial daggers were made of bronze and inlaid in silver, gold, and
niello with scenes clearly influenced from foreign cultures. Two daggers
excavated depict scenes of hunts, which suggest an Ancient Near East
influence. One of these scenes depicts lions hunting pray while the
other scene depicts a lion hunt .
Mycenaean hunting dagger with scene of a lion hunt. Bronze with gold, silver,
and niello inlay. Ca. 16th century BCE. Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece.
24. The Warriors Vase
The Warriors Vase depicts
a woman bidding farewell
to a group of warriors .
The scene is simple and
lacks a background. A
single woman stands to
the left with her arm raised
and a group of identically
dressed and heavily
armed men marching off
to the right. The men all
carry round shields and
spears and wear helmets.
There is no way to tell
which woman is waving
goodbye, as all the figures
are generic and none
25. Rhytons
A rhyton was an
elaborate and
decorative
drinking cup that
often took the
shape of animals.
These drinking
cups could be
made of precious
materials, such
as gold or silver,
but were also
made of
terracotta.
