Aegean Architecture

The architecture that developed on mainland Greece (Helladic) and in the

basin of the Aegean Sea (Minoan) belongs to the Greek cultures that
preceded the arrival in about 1000 bc of the Ionians and the Dorians. The
Minoan culture (3000-1200 bc) flourished on the island of Crete (Kríti); its
principal site is the multichambered Palace of Minos at Knossos (Knosós),
near present-day Iráklion. On the Pelopónnisos near Árgos are the fortress-
palaces of Mycenae and Tiryns, and in Asia Minor the city of Troy—all of them
excavated by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the last
quarter of the 19th century. Mycenae and Tiryns are believed to represent
the Achaean culture, the subject of Homer’s epic Iliad and Odyssey.
Knossos or Knosós, ancient city of Crete (Kríti), on the north side of the
island, some 5 km (some 3 mil) from the coast, near the modern city of
Iráklion. In the 2nd millennium bc Knossos was a center of the highly
developed Aegean civilization of the Bronze Age. The city is frequently
mentioned in Greek mythology; the Dictaean cave, legendary home of the
infant Greek god Zeus, is nearby, and the labyrinth, home of the monster
known as the Minotaur, is within the palace of King Minos. The prehistoric
culture of Crete is known as Minoan, from Minos, the name of several
legendary kings of Knossos.

The city was founded before 3000 bc. After about 1000 bc it was dominated
by the Dorians and about the 3rd century bc it became a Roman colony. In
modern times the city has been the site of extensive archaeological
investigations, the first of which were made about 1900 by the British
archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Evans excavated the royal palace, the
greatest of a series of magnificent buildings. Knossos's decline dates from the
destruction of the palace shortly after 1400 bc.

Crete (Greece)
I INTRODUCTION
Crete (Greece) or Kríti, island, Greece, southeast of the mainland, fifth largest in the
Mediterranean Sea, constituting a region of the country. The island is oblong in shape,
extending 260 km (160 mi) from east to west; its breadth ranges from 10 to 56 km (6 to 35
mi). The area is 8,260 sq km (3,190 sq mi).

II THE LAND

Crete has a mostly mountainous terrain with extreme elevations in the western portion in
which are located the Lévka Óri range, of which some peaks exceed 7,500 ft (equivalent to
2,286 m) in height. Elevations are generally lower in the east, where only a few peaks exceed
1,500 m (5,000 ft). Notable among the physiographic features of the island are a series of flat
upland basins and the large number of caves. The northern coast of Crete has a number of
good harbors, notably Suda Bay (Kólpos Soúdhas). The southern coast, consisting largely of
precipitous escarpments, is inaccessible to shipping. The island is relatively well watered by
numerous natural springs and several rivers.

III ECONOMY AND POPULATION

Agriculture is the chief source of wealth in Crete. Primitive techniques generally handicap
cultivation, although modern methods are employed in the cultivation of olives, the leading
crop. Other important agrarian products include oranges, lemons, grapes, and grain; sheep
and goats are raised. The only notable industries are food processing and the manufacture of
soap and textiles. The population of Crete in 1991 was 540,054. Iráklion is Crete’s capital and
largest city. Khaniá, the former capital, is the second largest city.

IV HISTORY

Modern archaeological discoveries reveal that from about 3000 to 1200 BC Crete was the
center of a flourishing Bronze Age civilization, classified as the Aegean, which was preceded by
a Neolithic stage of development dating from about 6000 BC. The Cretan cultural achievements
of the Aegean period, sometimes called the Minoan (see Minoan Culture), rivaled those of
contemporary Egypt and Mesopotamia.

One of the earliest historical references to Crete occurs in the Odyssey by Homer. The
population of the island, according to this source, was unusually diverse, consisting of
Achaeans, Dorians, Pelasgians, Cydonians, and Eteocretans, the pre-Hellenic natives. The
island had 90 independent cities, the greatest of which was Knossos (Knosós), capital of the
realm of the legendary Cretan king Minos. Few traces of the Aegean civilization of Crete
remained at the beginning of the classical period of history. The Cretans, then predominantly
of Dorian stock, figured only slightly in the affairs of ancient Greece. In 67 BC the island was
conquered by the Romans. In 395 it passed to the Byzantine Empire. The island fell to the
Arabs in 826 and remained under their rule until 961, when it was reconquered by Nicephorus
Phocas, later Byzantine emperor. Following the Fourth Crusade Crete was sold (1204) to the
Venetians.

In 1645 the Ottoman Empire began military operations in Crete against the Venetians,
securing control of the island in 1669. Cretan revolts against Ottoman rule subsequently
occurred, notably during the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829), but the Ottomans
maintained control of the island until 1830. In that year, by agreement of the European
powers, Crete was ceded to Egypt, which in 1840 returned control of the island to the Ottoman
Empire. Thereafter, friction between the Orthodox Christian and Muslim sections of Crete’s
population resulted in successive rebellions by the Christians, culminating in a full-scale revolt
in 1896. The following year Greek forces intervened in behalf of the revolutionists. The ensuing
war between Greece and the Ottoman Empire was terminated (1898) by Britain, France, and
Russia. These European powers then administered the island through an international
commission headed by Prince George of Greece. Although popular unrest forced George’s
resignation in 1906, and despite insistent Cretan demands for annexation to Greece, Crete
remained an Ottoman possession under international control until 1912. A Cretan uprising in
March 1912 resulted in the establishment of an independent provisional government, the
delegates of which were formally installed in the Greek parliament the following October. By
the terms of the Treaty of London (1913), which ended the First Balkan War between Greece
(supported by Balkan allies) and the Ottoman Empire, the Ottomans formally ceded Crete to
Greece.

After conquering the Greek mainland in 1941, during World War II, the Germans launched an
airborne invasion of Crete, rapidly occupying the entire island. British forces liberated it in
1945.

Minos
Minos, in Greek mythology, legendary ruler of Crete (Kríti). Some ancient writers identified
several kings by his name, especially Minos the Elder and his grandson Minos the Younger, but
this distinction never appears in the accounts themselves. Minos was the son of Zeus, father of
the gods, and of the princess Europa. From the city of Knossos (Knosós) he colonized many of
the Aegean islands, and he was widely considered a just ruler. In the most famous story about
Minos, he refused to sacrifice a certain bull. The god Poseidon punished him by making his wife
Pasiphaë fall in love with the animal, and she subsequently gave birth to the Minotaur.
According to Attic legend, Minos was a tyrant who took harsh measures to avenge the death of
his son Androgeos at the hands of the Athenians. At stated intervals he exacted a tribute from
Athens of seven youths and seven maidens to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Minos eventually
met his death in Sicily, and he then became one of the judges of the dead in the underworld.
The legends concerning Minos probably have a historical basis and reflect the age when Crete
was supreme in the Aegean region and certain cities of Greece were subject to the kings of
Knossos.

Tiryns
Tiryns, ancient city of Greece, in the Pelopónnisos (Peloponnesus), immediately southeast of
Árgos, near the head of the Argolic Gulf. According to tradition, it was founded by the
mythological character Proetus, the brother of King Acrisius of Árgos. Proetus was succeeded
on the throne of Tiryns by Perseus, grandson of Acrisius. A later mythological king of Tiryns
was Eurystheus, to whom the hero Hercules was in servitude and for whom he performed his
famous labors; thus Hercules was sometimes called Tirynthius. In the historical period, Tiryns
was often subject to Árgos, although during the Persian Wars it was independent and in 479 BC

sent troops to fight the Persians at Plataea. Some time later, probably about 468 BC, the city
was taken by the Argives; after this period, Tiryns remained uninhabited and only the massive
walls of its citadel were left standing, the wonder and admiration of later ages. These walls,
about 7.5 m (about 25 ft) thick and constructed of huge stones, were believed by the ancient
Greeks to be the work of the Cyclopes, three mythological giants.

The greatness of Tiryns dates from the prehistoric period. The city seems to have been
inhabited from the 3rd millennium BC and to have attained its greatest splendor in the late
Mycenaean period (circa 1400-1200 BC). The palace on the summit of the citadel was
excavated (1884-85) by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and until the later
discoveries in Crete (Kríti) was considered the most complete example of the home of a
prehistoric king in the Aegean area. It includes entrance gates, paved courts, large halls,
vestibules, smaller rooms, and a bath; it was apparently built by stages, the complex of
buildings representing both earlier and later palaces.

Aegean Civilization
I INTRODUCTION

Aegean Civilization, term used to denote the Bronze Age civilization that developed (circa
3000-1200 BC) in the basin of the Aegean Sea, mainly on Crete (Kríti), the Cyclades (Kikládhes)
Islands, and the mainland of Greece. It had two major cultures: the Minoan, which flourished in
Crete and reached its height in the Middle Bronze period, notably at Knossos (Knosós) and
Phaestos; and the Mycenaean, which developed in the Late Bronze period on the mainland at
Mycenae and other centers, including Tiryns and Pílos (Pylos). See Achaeans; Minoan Culture;
Mycenae.

Ancient Greek writers had related stories of an “age of heroes” before their time, but nothing
definite was known about the Aegean civilization until the late 19th century, when
archaeological excavations began at the sites of the legendary cities of Troy, Mycenae,
Knossos, and other centers of the Bronze Age.

II GREEK LEGENDS

According to Greek mythology, there once was a time when great events had occurred and the
gods had involved themselves in human affairs. The story of King Minos and the slaying of the
Minotaur he kept in the labyrinth by the Greek hero Theseus may be the mythic rendering of
the battle for hegemony in the Aegean in which Mycenae took over Knossos. Homer’s epic the
Iliad describes events of the Trojan War, which is believed to have brought about the fall of
Troy sometime between 1230 BC and 1180 BC at the hands of the Greeks, or Achaeans as the
poet calls them. The poet also mentions well-known places believed to be the centers of the
Mycenaean period, such as “golden Mycenae,” where King Agamemnon ruled; Pylos, where
Nestor was king; and Phthia in Thessaly (Thessalia), the home of the hero Achilles.

III ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES

A German amateur archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, was responsible for some of the most
famous discoveries of the 19th century. In 1870 he began excavating a mound called Hissarlik,
in what is now Turkey, and found what is believed to be the ruins of Troy. In Greece he
uncovered the sites of Mycenae in 1876-1878 and Tiryns in 1884. Finds of fortress palaces,
pottery, ornaments, and royal tombs containing gold and other artifacts demonstrated the
existence of a well-developed civilization that had flourished about 1500-1200 BC. Schliemann’s
work has been continued by modern archaeologists, including the American Carl Blegen.

In 1900 the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans discovered at Knossos, Crete, a huge palace
complex that he associated with King Minos and the labyrinth. Evans also found baked clay
tablets with two types of writing, dating from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC; these are
called Linear A and Linear B. Linear B tablets from about 1200 BC have been found at Pylos and
other Mycenaean sites. The British cryptologist Michael Ventris and John Chadwick, a classical
scholar, proved that Linear B is an early form of Greek. Linear A, the language of Minoan Crete,
has not yet been deciphered. The discovery of Linear B on Crete supported the conclusion that
the mainland people, the Mycenaeans, gained ascendancy over the Minoans.

The existence of a Cycladic civilization that had connections with both the mainland and Crete
is indicated by artifacts found in these islands. Since the 1930s Greek excavations of a
Cycladic settlement on the island of Thíra (Thera), also known as Santoríni, have yielded
frescoes and artifacts similar to the Minoan. Thíra was apparently destroyed by a great
volcanic eruption about 1640 BC. The disaster may have been the basis for Plato’s writings on
the lost continent of Atlantis. More recent excavations on the islands encircling Delos traced
back the Cycladic culture to the 4th millennium BC, when merchants, in search of obsidian (a
volcanic glass), and fishermen established seasonal settlements there. Although no examples
of writing have been identified, Cycladic culture possessed viable pottery, jewelry, and
characteristic marble idols, generally of women and often life-size in scale, that were originally
lavishly painted. Incorrectly termed “mother goddesses,” these idols associate the deceased
with the powers of the sea, which was central to Cycladic life.

IV HISTORICAL RECORD

Recent archaeological discoveries, such as the excavated village of Dimini in Thessaly,

produced material evidence of a cultural progression from the Neolithic (New Stone Age) to the
Bronze Age, which commenced about 3000 BC and of which three phases were recognized:
Early, Middle, and Late.

A Early Bronze Age

About 3000 BC new people apparently arrived in the Aegean, perhaps from Asia Minor. They
used bronze for their weapons and tools, thus introducing the Bronze Age to the area. On the
mainland their villages appear to have been small independent units, often protected by thick
walls; over time, the buildings on Crete and in the Cyclades became more complex. Burials
were communal throughout the Aegean, but burial practices varied. On the mainland, pit
graves and some of more elaborate construction were common; in the Cyclades, stone-lined
burial chambers (cists); and on Crete, circular stone tombs, rectangular ossuaries (bone
depositories), and caves. All had places for cult offerings, and the dead were often buried with
beautiful objects.

B Middle Bronze Age

About 2200-1800 BC another wave of newcomers arrived in the Cyclades and on the mainland.
They caused considerable destruction, and for about two centuries civilization was disrupted,
especially on the mainland. New pottery and the introduction of horses at this time indicate
that the invaders were of the Indo-European language family, to which both Ancient and
Modern Greek belong.

On Crete, impressive buildings, frescoes, vases, and early writing are evidence of a flourishing
culture of the 2nd millennium BC, which came to be known as Minoan. Great royal palaces built
around large courtyards were the focal points of these communities. The most magnificent of
the palaces was at Knossos. Destroyed presumably by an earthquake or a foreign invasion
about 1700 BC, it was rebuilt on a grand scale. It seems likely that the Minoans maintained a
marine empire, trading not only with the Cyclades and the mainland but also with Sicily, Egypt,
and cities on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean.
Minoan religion featured a female snake deity, whose worship involved the symbolism of
fertility and the lunar and solar cycles. The central cult figure may have been a goddess of a
Middle Eastern type, together with her dying and resurrected consort, symbolic of the seasons.

C Late Bronze Age

The destruction of the Cretan palaces about 1450 BC (that of Knossos took place shortly after
1400 BC) was followed by the decline of the Minoans and the subsequent rise of the
Mycenaeans. Some scholars have connected this change with the volcanic eruption on Thíra,
but recent calculations place this disaster some 200 years earlier. Mycenaean-style art and
Linear B tablets found on the island of Crete indicate the presence there of people from the
peninsula. In any case, heavily fortified mainland cities became the new centers of Aegean
civilization. Extant painted vases and weapons depict hunting and battle scenes that suggest
the Mycenaeans were warlike. The styles are also more formal and geometric than those of
earlier examples, anticipating the art of classical Greece.

A typical Mycenaean city had, at its center, the fortress palace of the king. The cities were
fortified with massive structures of unevenly cut stones, known as Cyclopean walls. The Linear
B tablets from this time include names of Greek gods, such as Zeus, and contain detailed
records of royal possessions. The gold masks, weapons, and jewelry found by Schliemann at
the royal burial sites suggest the great wealth and power gained by the Mycenaeans when
they took over the Minoan trading empire. Troy, which is believed to have been situated on the
mainland of Asia Minor (now Turkey) near the Hellespont, was in a good position to harass
shipping and collect exorbitant tolls from the Mycenaeans. Archaeological evidence indicates
that a city on this site was destroyed about 1200 BC, close to the date (1184 BC) accepted by
the ancient Greeks.

Shortly after 1200 BC the Aegean civilization collapsed, a fact that was attributed by some
scholars to natural disasters, or, most likely, to widespread fighting among the Mycenaean
Greeks. A period generally described as the Dark Age followed.

V AEGEAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Aegean art is remarkable for its naturalistic pictorial style, originated in Minoan Crete; the
movement and variety of Minoan art, even in its earlier abstract phases, suggest living things.
From Crete, this style spread to the other Aegean islands and the Greek mainland, where it
was modified by geometric tendencies. The rhythmic pulse that characterizes Aegean art
suggests a deep reverence for the divinities of nature.
A Architecture

Treasury of Atreus
After about 1600 BC the Mycenaeans, ancient inhabitants of the southeastern Greek mainland, buried their
dead in tholos tombs, stone chambers with beehive-shaped domes. From about 1300 to 1250 BC they built
this tholos tomb, mistakenly called the Treasury of Atreus by its discoverer. It was constructed with
measured stone blocks placed in ascending concentric circles. The vault of this dome reaches a height of
about 12 m (40 ft).

The organic quality of Minoan style is seen most clearly in the palaces of Crete. The four major
palaces known—at Knossos, Phaestos, Mallia, and Zakros—followed the same basic plan.
Rooms, on several levels, were functionally organized around a large central court. These
courts must have accommodated crowds of worshipers, who gathered in front of the cult
rooms to the west. The palaces also had extensive basement storage areas, artists’
workshops, dining halls, and sumptuous living quarters (including bathrooms) for the noble
ruling families. The structures were light and flexible, rather than monumental, and entirely
unfortified. The distinctive Minoan column, with its downward taper, suggests movement
rather than stability. Another specifically Minoan feature was the polythyron, a wall made of
doors, which allowed for flexibility in ventilating or closing off a room.

The private habitations of Minoan Crete ranged from simple peasant dwellings to rich
mansions and villas, constructed with the same features and fine techniques as the palaces. A
wide variety of buildings were constructed for burials. The most distinctive were the tholos
tombs of southern Crete, circular buildings with corbelled stone vaulting, built large enough to
accommodate family burials for many centuries.

On the Greek mainland, the palaces of the rulers were completely different from those of
Crete. They incorporated the characteristic megaron, a dominant central hall. The megara of
the best-known palaces—at Mycenae, Tiryns, and Pylos—were strikingly similar. Each was
entered from a courtyard through a porch flanked by columns and had a large central hearth
surrounded by four columns. The mainland sites tended to be fortified with huge walls of
cyclopean masonry, constructed of massive, irregular blocks. Recent excavations at Mycenae
indicate that, as in Crete, the palaces served as centers of worship as well as of government.
For royal burials the Mycenaean Greeks first used shaft graves; later they adopted the Minoan
tholos tomb and developed it into an impressive burial structure. The tombs were covered with
earth tumuli, or artificial mounds, and were entered through long passageways. In the most
developed tombs, such as the so-called Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae, the large, circular
spaces were dramatically vaulted with thick canopies of stone.

B Painting and Sculpture

Minoan painting is found in two forms, the vivid frescoes on the palace walls and the graceful
designs that decorate Minoan pottery. Surviving Minoan sculpture, with a few exceptions, is
largely restricted to statuettes and figurines in various materials and to intaglio-cut
semiprecious stone seals.

B1 Frescoes

Toreador Fresco
The palace at Knossos (about 1700-1400 BC) on the island of Crete was the home of this mural, known as
the Toreador Fresco. Remarkable for its energetic and graceful line quality, the mural depicts the moment
in which a young man has just grasped the bull’s horns and leaped over its back. The Minoans worked in
wet fresco technique, in which the artist had to be able to create the picture in the short time before the
plaster dried.
Sarcophagus Fresco
This Minoan fresco (1450-1400 BC) from Ayia Triadha was painted on the side of a sarcophagus. The central
image depicts a funerary rite in which two women pour a libation into an urn while three men bring gifts to
the tomb. A lyre player stands between them, and the deceased is standing on the far right.

In Crete the palaces and houses were often decorated with bright murals. The Minoans made a
major contribution to the art of landscape painting. Only in the Aegean were landscapes
depicted for their own sake, without human figures. Minoan artists represented the terrain with
undulating contours and swirling striations of color to emphasize the life of the earth. The
scenes were enlivened with animals, such as monkeys and birds, in sprightly movement amid
swaying foliage. The Minoans had a special facility among ancient peoples for capturing
motion. Figures were depicted in instantaneous moments of action and in a great variety of
poses. Minoan figures are usually slender, which enhances their look of mobility. It is primarily
in ritual scenes, such as the bull-leaping fresco from the palace at Knossos, that human figures
are depicted. Occasionally, frescoes were rendered in a special shorthand method of painting
known as the miniature style, whereby crowds of people were depicted in a small area with a
few light sketchy strokes.

Recently excavated on Thíra, in the Cyclades, well-preserved frescoes from prosperous private
homes show a close relationship to the art of Crete, although the nature scenes are rendered
more abstractly. Many of the Thíra frescoes feature children, who are portrayed at different
ages and with their heads shaved, except for specific hairlocks. One especially important
painting, from a site known as the West House, presents a narrative scene in an elaborate
setting, the most extensive landscape known before the Hellenistic period. An entire Aegean
world is depicted, with a fleet of lavishly ornamented ships sailing from town to town. Despite
the remarkable achievement of the painting, the artist clearly had no notion of perspective.
The Minoan pictorial repertoire and fresco technique were later adopted on the Greek
mainland, where religious scenes similar to those from Crete and Thíra were depicted. Hunting
and fighting scenes were also popular. Recent excavations at Tall al Daba in the western delta
of Egypt have uncovered fragments of frescoes, the motifs of which include bull-jumping
scenes and the like painted with Minoan, not Egyptian, colors. The relationships between
Egyptian and Minoan painting must now be investigated anew.

B2 Sculpture

Among the earliest examples of sculpture from the Aegean are those from the Cyclades in the
form of schematic idols recalling the contours of violins. From these beginnings evolved life-
sized, brightly painted marble figures, generally of women with their arms folded beneath their
breasts, and an astonishing array of seated male figures generally playing harps or holding
drinking cups in their hands.

Lion Gate, Palace of Mycenae

The Lion Gate in the outer wall surrounding the palace of Mycenae (built and expanded in the 14th and
13th centuries BC) is made of limestone. Above the huge lintel, corbeled stones form an arch, creating a
triangle that is filled by the two lions carved in relief on either side of a sacred Minoan column. The heads
of the lions, now lost, were made of separate pieces of metal or stone.

Unique among the artifacts of the Aegean civilization are the bronze figurines associated
exclusively with Minoan sites. These metal sculptures include male and female worshipers with
their arms raise in adoration as well as an image of a crawling infant, a bull with its jumper,
and a reclining goat. The Minoan artists excelled in the carving of ivory figurines to which
secondary materials were added to enhance their effect. To the goddesses associated with
animals can now be added an extraordinary image of a youthful god, the body of which is
sculpted in ivory covered with gold leaf and the head of which is carved from a single piece of
blue-gray serpentine. This image was first excavated at Palaikastro in 1987.

The Minoans excelled in the sculpting of stone vessels as well, many of which were enhanced
with relief decoration. Stone sculpting on a large scale, however, is best represented by
Mycenaeans, who embellished their architecture with reliefs. The facade of the so-called
Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae is adorned with contrasting red and green marbles in the form
of columns and a frieze of spirals. The stone stelae, or commemorative plaques, recovered
above the royal shaft graves at Mycenae, contain both geometric and figural motifs. Within this
context the monumental stone relief of the Lion Gate at Mycenae, in which the felines—whose
heads were made of different material—heraldically flank a column, is not exceptional. The
Mycenaeans excelled as well in the carving of circular ivory containers, statuettes, and
decorative plaques.

C Pottery and Metalwork

With the building of the great Cretan palaces came the development of pottery as a luxury art.
Employing the same three-part firing technique later used by Attic potters, Cretan artists
created splendid vases of numerous shapes and a seemingly endless variety of colorful
decorations. Highly regarded in the ancient world, Minoan pottery was copied throughout the
Aegean and even exported to Egypt and the Near East. In the later periods, the decoration
included naturalistic motifs, such as floral forms and the well-known Marine style, with
octopuses, shellfish, and seaweed painted in rich overall designs. Minoan pottery was imitated
on the Greek mainland, where it gradually evolved in both shape and decoration into stricter,
more disciplined forms. In the final phase, the Mycenaeans introduced pictorial elements, such
as animals and human figures, as decoration.

Late Minoan Vase

This vase, from the island of Thíra (formerly
Santoríni) near Crete, was made during the Late
Minoan period (circa 1600-1500 BC). The ceramic
piece, which may have been used for water, is
decorated with a stylized image of a dolphin, an
image that was used repeatedly in pottery and
frescoes of the Minoan civilization.
Vaphio Cups
The Vaphio Cups (15th century BC) were found in a tomb at Vaphio, near Sparta. Their origins, which are
not certain, are either Minoan or Mycenaean. They are made of two sheets of gold fastened together. One
sheet is left smooth for the inside; the other is done in repoussé relief for the outside. The scenes on the
cups depict a ritual involving bull catching.

The art of fine metalworking was also developed in Minoan Crete under palace patronage (see
Metalwork). Although little remains, a few objects such as the granulated gold “bee pendant”
from Mallia testify to Minoan expertise at working precious metals. The most impressive
Mycenaean finds of metalwork were discovered in the shaft graves and tholos tombs of the
mainland. They include gold masks and grave goods embossed with geometric designs. The
burials also contained luxurious gold and silver vases and ornamented bronze weapons, many
by Minoan artisans. Some of the vessels were decorated with elaborate figures and scenes
hammered in repoussé relief. Other vessels, as well as daggers of bronze, were inlaid with
designs of different colored metals, a technique sometimes referred to as “painting with
metal.” These intricate products of the metalworker were by no means minor arts; they were
the most prized objects of the Aegean.
 Cosmic Myths

Statue of Zeus
According to the ancient Greeks, Zeus
was the most powerful of all the gods.
Greek sculptor Phidias created the 12-
m (40-ft) tall Statue of Zeus in about
435 BC. The statue, depicted in this
engraving by 16th-century Dutch artist
Maarten van Heemskerck, stood in
Olympia and was perhaps the most
famous sculpture in ancient Greece.

Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes, depicted in
this hand-colored engraving by
Maarten van Heemskerck, was built
about 280 BC. Standing 30 m (100 ft)
high, it was built to guard the
entrance to the harbor at Rhodes. The
ancient Greeks and Romans
considered it to be one of the Seven
Wonders of the World.

Statue of Zeus According to the ancient Greeks, Zeus was the most powerful of all the gods.
Greek sculptor Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall Statue of Zeus in about 435 bc. The statue,
depicted in this engraving by 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck, stood in
Olympia and was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece.

Cosmic myths are concerned with the world and how it is ordered. They seek to explain the
origin of the world, universal catastrophes such as fire or flood, and the afterlife. Nearly all
mythologies have stories about creation, a type of story technically known as cosmogony,
meaning “birth of the world.” Creation stories also include accounts of how human beings first
came into existence and how death and suffering entered human experience.
Myths of the Gods

Rhea and Cronus Greek mythological figure Rhea is the

mother of the gods. She is shown here handing her
husband, Cronus, a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes
in place of their son, Zeus. This work, created between
the 1st and 3rd centuries, is on the base of a stone
statue at the Museo Capitolino in Rome, Italy.Art
Resource, NY/Erich Lessing

Hermes and Argus According to Greek mythology, Zeus

ordered his messenger, Hermes, to slay Argus. In this
painting by Ubaldo Gandolfi, Hermes has lulled Argus to
sleep prior to beheading him. This work belongs to the
North Carolina Museum of Art.CORBIS-BETTMANN/North Carolina

Many myths do not directly concern human beings, but focus rather on the activities of the
gods in their own realm. In many mythologies the gods form a divine family, or pantheon (from
the Greek pan, meaning “all,” and theos, “god”). The story of a power struggle within a
pantheon is common to a large number of world mythologies—for example, the Babylonian
Enuma elish centers on Marduk’s struggle for supremacy and his eventual victory over Tiamat.
Greek mythology features a similar story of struggle between generations. In Greek
mythology, the earliest gods were Gaea (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven), and their children were
called the Titans. The eldest of the Titans, Cronus, overthrew his father and was eventually
overthrown by his own son, Zeus, who became the new master of the universe. Similarly, the
Aesir–the pantheon of the Norse gods—had to overcome an older group called the Vanir before
gaining power. Unlike the Greek and Babylonian accounts, the Norse myth features a
reconciliation between the two sides.

In Greek mythology, Hermes (best known as the messenger of the gods) was a famous
trickster.

Across cultures, mythologies tend to describe similar characters. A common character is the
trickster. The trickster is recklessly bold and even immoral, but through his inventiveness he
often helps human beings. In Greek mythology, Hermes (best known as the messenger of the
gods) was a famous trickster. In one version of a characteristic tale, Hermes, while still an
infant, stole the cattle of his half-brother Apollo. To avoid leaving a trail that could be followed,
Hermes made shoes from the bark of a tree and used grass to tie them to the cattle’s hooves.
When Apollo nonetheless discovered that Hermes had stolen his cattle, he was furious. In the
end, Apollo was so enchanted with the music of a lyre that Hermes had made that he allowed
Hermes to keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. Other tricksters of mythology are the West
African god Eshu, who tricked the supreme god Olodumare into abandoning the earth to dwell
in heaven; the Indian god Krishna, whose trickery often aims at a higher moral purpose; and
the Native American Coyote, who scattered the once-orderly stars in the sky and strewed the
plants on earth.

Eshu This carved wooden staff from West Africa shows the mischievous deity known as Eshu.
He is said to serve as a messenger between the gods and humans, and plays an important role
in many rituals for the Yoruba, Fon, and other West African groups.Corbis/Seattle Art Museum

Osiris and Anubis Egyptian mythological figure Osiris lived in the fabled underworld as the ruler
of the dead. He is shown here, center, with the jackal-headed Anubis, another god of the dead.
This depiction dates from the 18th dynasty in Egypt (1550-1307 bc) and is in the Museo Egizio
in Turin, Italy.Art Resource, NY/Nimetallah

Myths about the gods are as numerous as the cultures that produce them. Other types that
occur across various cultures include myths about the Great Mother (for example, the
Mesopotamian Ishtar, who journeys to the underworld to rescue her lost lover Tammuz); the
Dying God (for example, the Egyptian Osiris, who is murdered and dismembered but ultimately
resurrected); and the Savior God (for example, the Greek Prometheus, who helps humanity at
the cost of incurring Zeus’s anger).

Palace at Knossos
The ancient city of Knossos was the center of the Minoan civilization, an advanced society on Crete named
after Minos, a legendary Cretan king. Skilled in such fields as engineering and architecture, the Minoans
constructed the palace at Knossos in 1700 BC.
Kárpathos Island Town
Brightly painted houses crowd a hillside on Kárpathos Island in the Dodecanese islands in Greece. Rising
from the clear blue waters of the Aegean Sea, Karpathos depends on agriculture and tourism to support its
population.

Thíra, Greece
The Greek island of Thíra is part of the southern Cyclades Islands in the Aegean Sea. Here, a typical
Cycladic church sits on a cliff overlooking the water.

Atreus, House of, in Greek mythology, royal family of Mycenae, named for Atreus, who was
elected king by the Mycenaean notables. The ill-fated house of Atreus was a favorite subject of
ancient Greek writers, including Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, and Pindar. The
cause of the misfortunes that befell the house was the behavior of Tantalus, king of Lydia, who
offended the gods and was punished forever in Tartarus. His son Pelops was cursed by the
charioteer Myrtilus after accepting Myrtilus's assistance in gaining the hand of Hippodamia in
marriage and then throwing him into the sea to drown. Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, was
punished by the gods for her arrogance.

Atreus, son of Pelops, and his children and grandchildren felt the full weight of divine wrath.
First, Atreus's brother Thyestes seduced the wife of Atreus. In revenge, Atreus served the
boiled flesh of two sons of Thyestes to their father at a banquet. Thyestes' third son, Aegisthus,
later killed Atreus to avenge this deed. Of Atreus's sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus were the
most famous. The abduction of Menelaus's wife, Helen of Troy, was the cause of the Trojan
War. After the war, Menelaus and Helen were reconciled and, following many adventures,
returned to Sparta, where they lived happily. Agamemnon, on the other hand, was killed on
the day of his triumphant homecoming by his wife, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthus, whom she
had taken as her lover. Agamemnon's death was avenged seven years later by his children
Electra and Orestes. When Orestes was at last acquitted of blood guilt in the murder of his
mother by the Areopagus in Athens, the curse on the house of Atreus was finally lifted.

Ruins at Olympia
The site of the ancient Olympic Games was a sanctuary consisting of temples and buildings to honor the
mythological gods of ancient Greece. The games, which, according to tradition, began in 776 BC, opened
with a ceremony and sacrifice to the gods. The exedra, or sitting area, pictured here is among the ruins at
Olympia.
The Ruins of Pergamum
The ancient city of Pergamum was an important center of Greek culture, housing an impressive library and
an altar to Zeus. The city was the capital of the kingdom of Pergamum, one of several so-called Hellenistic
kingdoms that emerged after the breakup of the vast empire of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. Today the
ruins of Pergamum lie on the outskirts of the town of Bergama, Turkey.

Citadel Ruins
Stone walls are all that remain of a citadel in the ancient Greek city of Tiryns. The ruins attest to the
wealth of the Mycenaean culture that inhabited the area from around 1400 to 1200 BC. The city was
rediscovered by German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1884.
Ajax Defends Greek Ships
The Greek hero Ajax wields his spear in defense of Greek ships as Trojan warriors try to set the wooden
vessels on fire with their torches. This encounter, shown in a late-18th-century illustration, occurs in Book
15 of the Iliad, an epic attributed to Greek poet Homer that recounts events from the Trojan War.

Trojan War
Trojan War, in Greek legend, famous war waged by the Greeks against the city of Troy. The
tradition is believed to reflect a real war between the Greeks of the late Mycenaean period and
the inhabitants of the Troad, or Troas, in Anatolia, part of present-day Turkey. Modern
archaeological excavations have shown that Troy was destroyed by fire sometime between
1230 BC and 1180 BC, and that the war may have resulted from the desire either to plunder the
wealthy city or to put an end to Troy's commercial control of the Dardanelles.

Legendary accounts of the war traced its origin to a golden apple, inscribed “for the fairest”
and thrown by Eris, goddess of discord, among the heavenly guests at the wedding of Peleus,
the ruler of Myrmidons, and Thetis, one of the Nereids. The award of the apple to Aphrodite,
goddess of love, by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, secured for Paris the favor of the goddess
and the love of the beautiful Helen of Troy, wife of Menelaus, the king of Sparta. Helen went
with Paris to Troy, and an expedition to avenge the injury to Menelaus was placed under the
command of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Agamemnon's force included many famous Greek
heroes, the most noted of whom were Achilles, Patroclus, the two Ajaxes, Teucer, Nestor,
Odysseus, and Diomedes.

After the Trojans refused to restore Helen to Menelaus, the Greek warriors assembled at the
Bay of Aulis and proceeded to Troy in 1000 ships. The siege lasted ten years, the first nine of
which were uneventful. In the tenth year, Achilles withdrew from battle because of his anger
with Agamemnon; Achilles' action furnished Homer with the theme of the Iliad. To avenge the
death of his friend Patroclus, Achilles returned to battle and killed Hector, the principal Trojan
warrior. Subsequent events, described in later epic poems, included Achilles' victories over
Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, and Memnon, king of Ethiopia, and the death of Achilles at
the hands of Paris.

The city of Troy was captured at last by treachery. A force of Greek warriors gained entrance
to the city by hiding in the interior of a large wooden horse. Subsequently the Greeks sacked
and burned the city. Only a few Trojans escaped, the most famous being Aeneas, who led the
other survivors to what is present-day Italy; this story is told by Virgil in the Aeneid.

The return of the Greek warriors to Greece inspired epic poems, the most celebrated being
that of Odysseus, whose 10-year wanderings and arrival in Ithaca are told in Homer's Odyssey.
Pilaster from the Severan Basilica
This is a pilaster, or a rectangular column. It is part of the Roman basilica built by Lucius Septimius Severus
in his native city, Lepcis Magna, in the 3rd century AD. Elaborately carved out of marble, it has a capital like
other columns but functions more decoratively than structurally.

Dorians
Dorians, one of the three principal peoples of ancient Greece, the others being the Aeolians
and the Ionians. According to legend, the Dorians took their name from Dorus, the son of
Hellen, who settled in Doris, which the Dorians regarded as their mother country. Dorians
migrated to Crete (Kríti), the Dodecanese and other Aegean islands, and Laconia, Argolis, and
Corinth in the Pelopónnisos (Peloponnesus). The Dorians apparently kept themselves separate
from the conquered tribes only in Laconia, and consequently the inhabitants of that region
were always considered of unmixed Dorian blood. Greek legend held that the Dorians
conquered the Pelopónnisos in about 1104 BC, aided by the mythical return of the Heraclids,
the descendants of Heracles or Hercules. But scholars believe the widespread destruction in
the region during that period was caused by numerous conflicts among Mycenaean rulers, and
probably major earthquakes, not by an invasion from a unified Dorian force. Migrations by
small groups of Dorians took place during the 12th and 11th centuries BC or even earlier. From
the Pelopónnisos the Dorians colonized the southwestern corner of Asia Minor and the
neighboring islands and planted settlements in Sicily and southern Italy. They spoke a dialect
of ancient Greek called Doric.
Greek Architectural Orders
The ancient Greeks developed three major architectural styles, or orders, that determined the major
features of a temple facade. The Doric is the oldest and simplest order. The Ionic and Corinthian orders
added a base to the column and developed a more elaborate scheme for the column’s capital. The
entablature (above the columns) also differs in each order. Click on the red arrows to see the capitals and
entablatures in more detail.

Ancient Greek
Selinus
The ruins of ancient
Selinus sit on the
southwest coast of
Sicily. Founded in
about 628 BC, the
city was captured
and destroyed twice
by the Carthaginians.
The ruins contain
several splendid
temples including the
temple to Apollo, one
of the largest of its
kind.

Ionians
Ionians, one of the three important ethnic divisions of the ancient Greeks, the others being the
Aeolians and the Dorians. In Greek mythology the eponymous ancestor of the Ionians was Ion,
son of Xuthus and brother of Achaeus. The Ionians seem to have been one of the earliest
Greek-speaking peoples from the north to have reached the mainland of Greece. They may, in
fact, have been the first, and were possibly the originators of Mycenaean culture. The name
Iones or Iavones was current in remote antiquity; Javan, a variant form, occurs in Genesis 10:2,
and in Hebrew usage applies to the entire Greek race. In historical times the Ionians occupied
Attica and parts of Euboea (Évvoia), most of the islands of the Aegean Sea, and the narrow
strip along the western coast of Asia Minor known as Ionia. The Ionian Greeks possessed
greater artistic and literary ability than either the Aeolians or Dorians, but they were also less
vigorous and hardy and exhibited tendencies toward sensuality.

Corinth (ancient)
Corinth (ancient), city of ancient Greece, near the southern extremity of the Isthmus of
Corinth, southwest of the modern city of Corinth. Discoveries of pre-Mycenaean pottery in
Corinth indicate the existence of a settlement there in ancient times. The city flourished under
the Dorians, who conquered it before 1000 BC. With harbors on both the Gulfs of Corinth and
Saronikós, it was well situated for trading and by about 650 BC was the chief commercial center
of Greece. Among the many colonies founded by Corinth during this period were Corcyra (now
Corfu) and Syracuse in the 8th century and Potidaea in the 7th century.

With the rise of Athens as a rival commercial and naval power, Corinth joined Sparta against
Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). After the fall of Athens, the Corinthians formed
an alliance with that city and warred against Sparta in the Corinthian War (395-86 BC). In 338
BC, Corinth was occupied by the Macedonians. The city joined the Achaean League in 224 BC,

soon becoming the leading member. In 146 BC, following absorption of the league by the
Romans, the Roman army destroyed Corinth. Julius Caesar rebuilt the city about 44 BC, and it
afterward became capital of the Roman province of Achaea. Corinth was ravaged by the Goths
in AD 395. In the following centuries, it was successively captured by the Ottomans (1458), by
the Venetians (1687), and again by the Ottomans (1715), who held it until Greek insurgents
recaptured it in 1822. In 1858 the city was completely destroyed by an earthquake. Since
1896, numerous archaeological discoveries have been made among the ruins of Corinth,
including Greek and Roman sculpture and remnants of some of the principal Greek and Roman
buildings, including the Greek temple of Apollo and a Roman amphitheater.

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