Flashcards
Study guide
- The Palace of Minos at Knossos is the best known of all Minoan buildings. What activities took place there? What features characterized its architecture? Search on the internet for pictures of the ruins; even if they have been heavily restored, they give some idea of the appearance of the palace, a good supplement to the ground plan illustrated here. Recommended: the Knossos Palace Virtual Tour, on the Knossos pages of the British School at Athens: www.bsa.ac.uk/knossos
- What evidence does the site of Gournia give about the appearance and nature of Minoan towns? Compare and contrast this evidence with that from Akrotiri, on Thera.
- In contrast with the Ancient Near East and Egypt, neither Minoans nor Mycenaeans constructed large, free-standing temples. Instead, small rooms embedded within the palaces were favored. What does this suggest about the contrasting social roles of religion in these different civilizations?
- Also in contrast with the Ancient Near East and Egypt, but in common with the Indus Valley civilization, images of the rulers are absent from Minoan and Mycenaean art. What might explain this absence?
- Describe the palace of Nestor at Pylos. How do its architectural features and functions compare and contrast with the palace of Minos at Knossos?
Useful websites
- Aegean prehistory: a detailed account, with illustrations, by Jeremy Rutter: http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/
- Akrotiri, Thera: The Thera Foundation: http://www.therafoundation.org/akrotiri
- Knossos: British School at Athens Knossos pages (including a virtual tour of the palace): http://www.bsa.ac.uk/knossos
- Mycenae excavations, of Dickinson College: http://www.mycenae-excavations.org
Images
Figure 7.1
Aegean Bronze Age Towns, second millennium BC.
Figure 7.2
Plan, The Palace of Minos, Knossos.
Figure 7.3
Fresco of the Bull Leapers, partly restored, from Knossos. Herakleion Museum.
Figure 7.4
Snake goddess, or priestess; faience figurine, head and left forearm restored, from Knossos. Herakleion Museum.
Figure 7.5
Lentoid flask with octopus; Marine Style, LM IB; from Palaikastro. Herakleion Museum.
Figure 7.6
Palace of Mallia from the north-west (reconstruction).
Figure 7.7
Town plan, Gournia.
Figure 7.8
House model, terracotta; MM IIIA; from Arkhanes. Herakleion Museum.
Figure 7.9
Thera (Santorini).
Figure 7.10
West House, Akrotiri, Thera. (Photo: Marie-Henriette Gates)
Figure 7.11
Ship Fresco (detail); South wall, West House; Akrotiri, Thera.
Figure 7.12
Overall site plan, Mycenae: the Late Bronze Age.
Figure 7.13
Gold funeral mask; Shaft Grave V, Grave Circle A; Mycenae. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Figure 7.14
Grave stele; Shaft Grave V, Grave Circle A; Mycenae. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Figure 7.15
Dromos and entryway, Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae. (Photo: Charles Gates)
Figure 7.16
The Lion Gate, Mycenae. (Photo: Alison Frantz)
Figure 7.17
Plan, Palace of Nestor, Pylos.