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Aegean Art
Aegean civilization consisted of four cultures
that flourished on the islands and shores of the
Aegean Sea between 3000 and 1100 B.C. These
cultures are called the Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean,
and Trojan cultures.
The Aegean civilization arose after the people of the
area discovered how to make bronze. During this period,
called the Aegean Bronze Age, the people became highly
skilled in architecture, painting, and various crafts. They
built richly decorated palaces and used systems of
writing.
The Aegean civilization collapsed in the 1100's B.C.
All their skills and knowledge were lost, and most trade
ended. The region made little progress during the next
300 years.
Aegean civilization consisted of four cultures that flourished on the islands and shores of the Aegean Sea between 3000 and 1200 B.C.
These cultures are called the Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean, and Trojan cultures. The Cycladic culture developed on a group of islands called the
Cyclades. The Minoan culture arose on the island of Crete, and the Mycenaean culture flourished on the mainland of Greece. The Trojan culture
centered upon the ancient city of Troy in what is now northwestern Turkey. (Heinrich Schliemann, 1870s; James T Bent, British – Knossos)
Kalymnos from air. Photo was taken during a flight from Athens to Rhodes
Female figurines, from Syros,
2500-2300 BC. Marble, 46 cm
h. National Archaeological
Museum, Athens.
(The Neolithic period saw the
production of large numbers of
human figurines, mostly nude
female, made of clay, limestone,
and occasionally white marble.
They vary in height from a few
inches to almost life size. Traces of
painted have been found on some.
They must have been primarily
funerary offerings.)
Female Cycladic
idol, from
Amorgos, 27002300 BC. Marble,
149 cm h.
National
Archaeological
Museum, Athens.
Male lyre player,
from Keros (Cyclades),
Greece, ca. 2700-2500 BC.
Marble, approx. 21.6 cm h.
National Archeological
Museum, Athens.
(A few male figurines
have been found, but they
are greatly outnumbered
by representations of
women.)
Minoan Civilization
(ca. 3000-1500 BCE)
The first major civilization in the region of
Greece arose on Crete, an island in the Aegean
Sea, about 3000 B.C. It is known as the Minoan
culture after King Minos, the legendary ruler of
Crete. The Minoans were expert sailors, and they
grew wealthy from trade.
The remains of luxurious palaces provide
evidence of the Minoans' prosperity and building
skills. The Minoans had a system of writing.
Scholars do not know what language they spoke,
except that it was not Greek.
This is the largest of palaces, built against the upper slopes and across the top of a low hill that rises
from a fertile plain. Other palace sites include Phaistos, Mallia, kato Zakro, and Khania, uncovered with rich
treasures of art and artifacts that document the power and prosperity of Minoan/palace civilization.
Bird’s-eye reconstruction drawing of the palace complex, Knossos, Crete. C. 1700-1300 BC.
Bird’s-eye reconstruction drawing of the palace complex, Knossos, Crete. C. 1700-1300 BC.
Ruins of the Palace at Knossos. 1600-1400 BC. Crete.
View of palace showing wooden columns and limestone bull’s horns near the
south entrance, Palace of Minos, Knossos.
Knossos
Knossos,
stairwell
"Palace of Minos", Knossos, West wing, underground
magazine with storage pithoi, ca. 1700-1450 B.C.
Storage Magazines
Terracotta drain running under pavement
Knossos excavations
showing channels for
running water
Knossos
Theatrical area on
southeast side
Theatral area on southeast side
Mural paintings liberally adorn the palace at Knossos, one of its most striking aspects. Unlike the Egyptians, who
painted in fresco secco, the Minoans used a true, or wet, fresco method, which required rapid execution and skill in
achieving quick, almost impressionistic effects.
Original bull’s
head, relief
resco.
Archaeological
Museum,
Herakleion,
Crete. Note the
paler quality of
the color of the
original before
reconstruction.
View of the “Throne Room,” Knossos, with a heavily restored fresco depicting griffins.
Artwork at the palace of Knossos
Naval Fresco
from Akrotiri, Thera (Santorini), c.1650-1500 BC. Fresco, 274 x 94 cm high. National
Archaeological Museum, Athens.
The exciting culture was covered by an enormous volcanic eruption around 1500 BC. The volcanic island was excavated in the 1960s.The paved
winding streets and houses of stone and mud-brick indicate a high standard of living. Homes had basements for storage, workroom space, and upperstory living quarters. Walls, as in Crete, were reinforced with timber and straw for flexibility in the event of earthquakes. Interior baths and toilets were
connected by clay pipes to an extensive drainage and sewage system under the streets. Equally remarkable was the attention paid to art. The walls of
public buildings as well as private houses were decorated with frescoes, which constitute an important new group of paintings. They represent a wide
range of subjects: landscapes, animals, sports, rituals, boats, and battles.
Naval Fresco
Museum, Athens.
from Akrotiri, Thera, c.1650-1500 BC. Fresco, 274 x 94 cm high. National Archaeological
Boxer and Antelope frescoes, from Thera, c.1650-1500 BC. Fresco, 274 x 94 cm high. National
Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Landscape with swallows (Spring fresco), from Akrotiri, Thera, c.1650-1500 BC. Fresco, approx. 7’6” cm h.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens. The artist celebrate the rhythms of spring. Never before have we encountered
Snake Goddess
from the palace at Knossos, Crete,
Greece, ca. 1600 BC.
Approx. 32 cm high. Archeological
Museum, Herakleion.
(faience 彩釉陶器)
Faience snake goddess,
from the palace at
Knossos, Crete, Greece,
ca. 1600 BC.
Kamares Ware jug,
from Phaistos, Crete. c.
2000-1900 BC. Ceramic,
27 cm h. Archeological
Museum, Iraklion, Crete.
Octopus Amphora from 15th century BC.
National Archeological Museum in Athens, from
Mycenaean cemetery at Prosymna, Argos.
Mycenaean Civilization (c. 1600-1200 BC)
The development of Greek civilization began about 2000
B.C., when small farming villages were set up by people who
came to Greece from somewhere to the north. By about 1600
B.C., they had built fortified towns, each centered on a palace,
in the major valleys. The culture that developed on the
mainland is called Mycenaean after the large and powerful town
of Mycenae in the Peloponnesus, the southern part of the
mainland.
The Minoans dominated the Aegean world until about 1450
B.C., when the Mycenaeans took control of the region. The
Mycenaeans adopted features of the Minoan culture. For
example, they adapted the Minoan writing system to Greek.
Mycenae was the legendary home of King Agamemnon
Historians believe Mycenae won a war against Troy, in Asia
Minor (now Turkey), in the mid-1200's B.C.
View of the citadel, Mycenae (the legendary city of Agamemnon).
Aerial view of Mycenae and its surroundings, late 13th century BC. Mycenae.
Royal Grave Circle A, c. 1600- 1500 B.C.
Reconstruction of Mycenae, c. 1400-1200
Reconstruction drawing of the Mycenaean megaron, showing the front porch with
two columns and the interior hearth enclosed by four columns.
“Goddess,” from the citadel of Mycenae. Fresco, approx. 1200 BC. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
The Lion's (Lioness) Gate, Mycenae, c. 1300-1250.
Two Lions (perhaps sphinxes or griffins) carved in high relief, Limetone, panel approx. 9’
Corbeled gallery in the
walls of the Citadel in East
ramparts Tiryns, ca. 13th
century B.C. Argolis,
Greece
Façade of the “Treasury of Atreus,” Mycenae, c. 1300 BC. Originally the door
was framed by half-columns made of gypsum
Interior of Treasury of Atreus. About 43 feet high, this was the largest vaulted space without interior supports
in all antiquity until the Roman Pantheon was built almost 1500 years later---utilizing a concrete construction.
Aerial view of Grave Circle and its surroundings, late 13th century BC. Mycenae.
Minoan and Mycenaean cups from Vaphio, near Sparta, buried with a king c. 1500 BC. Gold,
8.9 cm high. National Archaeological Museum, Athens. (repoussé technique,凸纹制作技术)
There is some controversy over the origin of the two cups. The one on the left seems to be the
work of a Minoan artist, which shows a man tying up a bull – possibly for the ritual Minoan bull
sport. The man’s thin waist and flowing curvilinear outlines further recall the human figures in
Minoan painting. The cup on the right is Mycenaean in execution, but its iconography is Minoan.
The so-called “Mask of Agamemnon”
Gold burial
masks from
Mycenae at
National
Archeological
Museum in
Athens.
Head of a sphinx?,
from Mycenae,
Greece, c. 13001250 BC. Painted
plaster, approx.
6.5 cm. National
Archeological
Museum, Athens.