Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

World History

The People of Ancient Greece:
The Minoans and Myceneans

About the People

Minoans:

Small, dark skin, and long dark hair.

Men wore striped loincloths, long flowery robes, or pants that bagged at the knees.

Women wore full skirts and jackets and lots of jewelry.

Men farmed and fished.

Women performed household duties, attended sporting events, and hunted in chariots.

Loved sports, especially boxing and bull-leaping. In bull-leaping men and women fought the bull together. The man grabbed the horns, the bull would toss him, he would somersault through the air, and the woman was supposed to catch him. Possibly a religious ceremony.

Myceneans:

Copied Minoans.

Lots of gold and bronze work, writing, shipbuilding, fashion.

Grew olives, squeezed them for oil. Olives were used for cooking, lamp fuel, and body rubs.

Mainly warriors. They had bronze armor, metal shields, spears, and swords.

Religion

Minoans:
Polytheistic, main goddess - Mother Earth. She made plants grow and brought children into the world. The people built shrines to her on hilltops. They believed that hills led to the heavens, and caves led to the underworld. On the back wall of the shrine were sacred horns made of clay. The hole between the horns held a double-headed ax. People left offerings of hair, fruit, flowers, jewels, and gold.

Certain things were sacred such as the lily and snakes. Most people had snakes in their houses. Since snakes came out of caves, the people thought they were spirits of the underworld and would protect the house. The double axe stood for the power of Mother Earth and the authority of the king.

Myceneans:
Same as Minoans.

Great Conquests

According to Homer's poem, Odysseus and other men from the
Greek army hid inside the wooden horse.

Minoans:
None

Myceneans:
Troy in 1200 BC. Paris, the son of a Trojan King, fell in love with Helen, the wife of a Mycenean King. Paris took her. The Myceneans sent 1000 ships to get her back, but couldn't get inside the fortress. War went on for ten years. The Myceneans built a big wooden horse, put their best soldiers inside, and the rest sailed away as though they were quitting. The Trojans thought they had won, and brought the horse inside. At night, the Myceneans jumped out, opened the gate, let the Mycenean soldiers in (who had sailed back), and won the war and took Helen home.

The whole thing was just a legend - it never happened.

Fall of the Minoans and Myceneans

Minoans:
Legend: Homer's Illiad - Theseus and the Minotaur. The Minotaur had a bull head, body of a man, and lived on Human flesh. Minotaur came about when the goddess had an affair with a bull. Theseus was put in the maze and fought the Minotaur with a magical sword and killed it. The power of the Minoans faded. Reality: Some type of natural disaster, like an earthquake or volcano, but no one really knows. Also, they were invaded by the Myceneans.

Myceneans:
Dorians (barbarians) conquered the Myceneans. This led to a dark ages as the Dorians destroyed everything.