Wide-Ruling Agamemnon

Minoans

Civilization in the Greek world began on the Mediterranean island of Crete about 2000 B.C. The civilization there has been long called the Minoan, from the mythical King Minos. We do not yet know exactly who these people were. Examples of their writing have been discovered, but the language is unknown. It is not Greek (referred to as Linear A).

The massive palace complex at Knossos, which covers 5 acres and has a central courtyard that is 55 meters by 25 meters, provides clues about the Minoans. The size, beauty, and decorations of the complex suggest wealth, leisure, and a developed aesthetic sense. Storehouses and Linear A documents suggest bureaucracy. Artistic motifs and, perhaps, architectural forms suggest contacts with the Near East and Egypt. The complete lack of fortifications suggests that the people were peaceful and nonaggressive.

Minoan civilization flourished from 1800 to 1550 B.C. In 1626 B.C., a volcanic eruption on Thera (Santorini), 70 miles away, caused heavy damage and may have initiated the decline of the Minoans. Much of the island was devastated by conquest circa 1550 B.C. The conquerors almost certainly came from mainland Greece. Civilization took hold slowly in Greece. The land is rocky; the soil, poor; and the climate, especially in the north, harsh. By 6500 B.C., villages showed signs of the Neolithic Revolution. Around 3000 and again around 2300 (or, to some, c. 1700), the Balkans saw impressive migrations. By 2600–2200, we see the first signs of urban development and the “Mediterranean triad” of crops: cereal grains, grapes, and olives. 

Myceneans

From about 2000 B.C., we can discern Mycenean civilization—named for the great citadel at Mycenae. Almost certainly, the Myceneans conquered the Minoans. Apparently, they had been learning from, and grew jealous of, the Minoans. The highpoint of Mycenean civilization was from 1400 to 1200 B.C.

The sources of our knowledge of the Myceneans are three.

1. Linear B documents: Linear B documents were found in profusion. These were deciphered by Michael Ventris and others in the early 1950s. They revealed a world of bureaucratic regulation.

2. Archaeology: Impressive remains have been found at several major sites, such as Mycenae, Sparta, Pylos, Corinth, and so on. Large fortified sites with strong defensive works and imposing royal residences suggest strong kingship and military rule. Tomb complexes suggest historical memory and dynastic continuity.

3. Homeric poems: Homeric poems, especially the Iliad, are the most important sources, but also difficult and controversial. The Homeric poems were put into something like their current shape after 800 and probably around 725 B.C., then written down about 550. How can they tell us much about the period from 1400 to 1200 B.C.?

After World War II, Milman Parry and Albert Lord studied poetic bards in Yugoslavia and discovered that they could recite up to 500,000 lines of material. Think of Alex Haley and Roots. Or of performers today with scripts and lyrics! Therefore, it is legitimate to think that much authentic material was transmitted over a long time to “Homer.”

The Mycenean elements in the story are the basic and concrete details: names of key places and, perhaps, people; some aspects of warfare in the “old” days; a vague sense of the diplomatic structure of the time. The Trojan War (traditional date 1194 B.C.) was probably a trade dispute and may have been
a Mycenean inheritance from the Minoans. The ethical teachings of the Iliad relate more precisely to the period when the poems were put into coherent form, our next subject. 

Sparknotes: The Iliad