L.O.:#36
Do Now:
The students will be able to identify
the aspects of Mycenaean Greece
and will discover why Greece had a
“dark age”.
Answer in your notebooks:
Is it better to
control people by
using the army or
by trading with
them?
Homework #36
Answer #5c on p.
607. Your assignment
should written in
complete sentences.
The Mycenaeans
The Mycenaeans were a warrior people who dominated
Greece after the Minoans. When Minoan civilization
weakened, the Mycenaeans began taking over cities in
Greece. By 1500 BC they controlled the Peloponnesus as
well as mainland Greece.
The Mycenaeans stayed in control of Greece until
about 1200 BC when there was major upheaval throughout
many civilizations in the Mediterranean.
Though the Mycenaeans were warriors, they are
renowned for their gold art. They also built strong castles
to defend their cities. By 1200 Mycenaean culture had
been seriously weakened and the last Mycenaean city was
finally abandoned in 1070 BC.
This is a
Mycenaean
death mask.
It supposedly
represents
the mythic
king
Agamemnon
Dark Age of the Aegean: 1200BC-800BC
This time period was characterized by chaos
and invasions of barbarians from the north.
Though pockets of Mycenaean culture remained in
Greece, much of Greece was in turmoil and didn’t
have a cohesive culture. Four cultures dominated
this time period; the Dorians, Ionians, Aeolians,
and Achaens.
In many ways it is a “dark age” not because
civilizations had collapsed, but because
archeologists haven’t found as many artifacts
from this period as from other periods.
Dark Age of the Aegean: 1200BC-800BC
Art from this period is also far less prolific and
there is archeological evidence that there were
more wars and many cities did fall into decline.
No one knows the cause of this decline and
theories range from plague to natural disasters.
By 800 BC, Greece had recovered and was
going to build one of the greatest civilizations of
all time.
Activity
Look at the handout on the Mycenaeans and
answer the questions on the following slide with
your group.
1) What area of Greece did the Mycenaeans control? What
effect could this have on Greece?
2) What is a Wanax? Describe the relationship the Wanax
has with the nobles and with the common people.
3) What effect could this relationship have on Mycenaean
civilization?
4) Why were scribes important to the Mycenaeans?
5) What was Mycenaean religion like?
6) Where did the Wanax get his power from?
7) How was Mycenae destroyed? Could the Mycenaeans
have stopped the end of their civilization? Explain.
Wanax
Nobles
Common
People
Element of
Mycenaean
Civilization from
Text
Wanax
Nobles
Palace
Trade
Weapons and
Commander
Destruction of the
Mycenaeans
What
was
it?
What effect did
it have on the
Mycenaeans?
What effect did
it have on
Greece?
1) How does Mycenaean government work?
2) What is the responsibility that nobles have to the Wanax?
3) What responsibility do the common people have to the
nobles and the Wanax?
4) What is a scribe? What was their job? Why are they
important?
5) What was the basis for the Mycenaean economy?
6) What was Mycenaean religion like?
7) How did the Mycenaean military work?
8) Describe how powerful the Wanax was.
9) How was Mycenae destroyed?
10) What happened to the Mycenaeans after they were
destroyed?
Summary:
What was the difference
between Mycenaean
civilization and Minoan
civilization?