Ancient Greek History: Supplemental Readings 01
Instructions: These required readings supplement and expand on the material presented in class.
Most of them are quite short and can be read in a matter of minutes, though some are longer. The
study questions will help you understand what you should be getting from the reading and will guide
your note-taking. Content from these readings may appear on your exams.
A General Timeline of Major Periods of Greek History
© 2009 The Lukeion Project
Map: General Regions of Greece
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Ancient Greek History: Supplemental Readings 01
Minoans & Mycenaeans
1) Introduction: The Land of Greece
a) Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
i) http://www.penn.museum/sites/Greek_World/land.html
(1) What are the distinctive topographical characteristics of the land we call “Greece”?
(2) How did the land influence the development of the Greeks?
2) Minoans
a) Metropolitan Museum of Art
i) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mino/hd_mino.htm (In addition to reading the
material on this page, please feel free to explore the links at the bottom of the page)
(1) What are some notable characteristics of Minoan palaces?
(2) Describe the evidence for writing and the type of scripts used in the Minoan Palaces.
(3) What were the Minoans importing and exporting?
(4) Click on the “See works of art” (below pictures and scroll through the pictures
b) Archaeological Museum of Herakleion
(1) http://www.latsis-foundation.org/eng/electronic-library/the-museum-cycle/thearchaeological-museum-of-herakleion
(2) Click on “Read the e-book” if it doesn’t open automatically
(3) Type 77 in the page number box below the pages to go to the beginning of the section
on the Minoans. Information on the Minoans continues through page 355!!! Please
read the textual material through page 88. Skim through the pictures of the museum’s
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Ancient Greek History: Supplemental Readings 01
Minoan collection of artifacts – add some general observations to your notes about (1)
the kinds of artifacts that survive from these remarkable people, (2) the quality of those
artifacts, and (3) the different materials used by Minoan craftsmen.
3) Mycenaeans
a) SOURCE DOCUMENTS: Our knowledge of the Mycenaeans comes from archaeology; however,
we do have references to what the Classical Greeks thought about some related topics.
i) http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kyklopes.html
(1) You do not need to read the whole page. However, please scroll down to the section
labeled “CYCLOPES CONSTRUCT FORTIFICATIONS” for ancient explanations of how the
“Cyclopean Masonry” of Mycenaean fortifications came into being
b) Metropolitan Museum of Art
i) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/myce/hd_myce.htm
(1) What were some of the great achievements of Mycenaean culture?
(2) Click on the “See works of art” (below pictures and scroll through the pictures
c) National Archaeological Museum, Athens
(1) http://www.latsis-foundation.org/eng/electronic-library/the-museum-cycle/thenational-archaeological-museum
(2) Click on “Read the e-book” if it doesn’t open automatically
(3) Type 94 in the box at the bottom to go to the beginning of the section on the
Mycenaeans; it continues through page 151, but the text is very brief – the rest is
pictures of the art and cultural remains of the Mycenaeans
(4) What event does the writer see as pivotal in making the switch from Minoan to
Mycenaean domination of the Aegean, and of sea trade throughout the Mediterranean?
(5) Where are Mycenaean artifacts found in the Mediterranean, demonstrating their farflung trade contacts?
(6) What did the Mycenaeans get from the Minoans? In what ways were they different?
(7) What are some of the factors that probably contributed to the downfall of the
Mycenaeans?
d) Jeremy Rutter: Summary of Theories about the End of Mycenaean Civilization
i) http://www.dartmouth.edu/~prehistory/aegean/?page_id=615
(1) Scroll down on the page (or click the link) to go to the major heading “4. A Selection of
Theories as to the Cause(s) if the Mycenaean Palatial Collapse.” You do not need to
memorize which theory is advocated by which author, but read through, digest them,
and be able to summarize the most common theories. This will help you to get a sense
of how thorny an issue this is, and of the scholarly debate that has raged about it. Pay
attention to the summary of proposed theories in Rutter’s “Conclusions” section, and to
the questions he asks. A question about possible reasons for the collapse of Mycenaean
civilization WILL be on an exam.
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Ancient Greek History: Supplemental Readings 01
Know the chronology of the Minoan and Mycenaean palaces.
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