Mycenae -- Ancient History Encyclopedia

Definition

The Mycenaean civilization was one of the first true Greek-speaking civilizations in the ancient world, if not the first. Known to us primarily through myths, the Mycenaeans originated in the Peloponnesus of southern Greece and thrived from approximately 1600 to 1100 BC, when their society collapsed along with Bronze-Age civilization in the eastern Mediterranean.

Mycenae was first rediscovered by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876, six years after he discovered the site of Troy at Hisarlik in modern-day Turkey. Located on mainland Greece, Mycenae contained rich shaft graves with treasures of gold, including the famed ‘Mask of Agamemnon.’

Unlike the Minoans, Mycenaean culture emphasized elements of warfare. Images of warriors, armor, weapons, and chariots are common in Mycenaean art. Furthermore, Mycenaean palaces were heavily fortified and contained an elaborately decorated throne room known as the “megaron.” Mycenaeans used “Linear B” script, an adapted form of Minoan “Linear A.” In 1952, some Linear B tablets were deciphered by Michael Ventris, an English scholar, proving that Mycenaean language was in fact based on an archaic form of Greek. From these tablets, it is known that a Mycenaean king was called the “wanax.”

Many theories have been proposed about the factors that caused the demise of the Mycenaean civilization. Among them are prolonged “earthquake storms,” internal revolution, extended periods of drought, and/or overexploitation of agricultural resources. Most likely, it was a combination of several of these factors.

Written by stevenfife_06, published 02 September 2009.

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