CAMS 025 Lecture 3 Jason Brooks The Pennsylvania State University
• We’re finally dealing with Greeks – Greek speakers – Primarily in mainland Greece • Mycenaean Greek and Indo-European Languages – Linear B is I.E. – Linear B is Greek (perhaps “proto-Greek”)
• Indo-European = language family with many subgroups – Hellenic, Balti-Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Romance, etc. • The case of “3”
• Linear B = Greek – Linear B = syllabary • Each symbol represents a syllable – E.g., ka-ra-te-ra » Κρατήρ » Krater – Ti-ri-po-di-ko » Τρίπους » Tripod • Linear B was thus a clumsy way to represent Greek. • By end of 14th cent. BCE, Minoan language was becoming Greek (on which more later) • Destruction at Minoan Palaces after 1500 BCE
• Palace/City Complexes • City/Palace Fortifications – Cf. Minoans – Mycenaean wall of stone up to 8m (approx. 26 ft.) thick! • Tiryns
• Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) – Savvy businessman – Polyglot (as many as 18 languages!!) – Educated German… – Discovered Troy (?) • Followed Homer – Problematic • Found Bronze-Age ruins of a city – Evidence of being overrun – Evidence of destruction by fire – “What else can I find this way?” • Agamemnon
• Schliemann and Mycenae (1876 CE) – Grave Circle A • Lavish burials – “Mask of Agamemnon” – Gold weapons – Jewelry » w/amber… – Drinking vessels of gold, silver, bronze, ceramic • The artifacts Schliemann found date to 100s of years BEFORE Trojan War.
• Burial Practices @ Mycenaean Cities – Death masks • Women did not get death masks – Jewelry • Including AMBER – Northern Europe! – Cretan stoneware – Cycladic ceramics – Minoan metalwork
• Social Status – Burial practices are v. informative about the class system of Mycenaean Greece • Very Lavish – Why? • Tholos Tombs – (tholos = “dome”) – Ostentatious – Honor » Monumental construction » Treasury of Atreus – The upper classes went to great lengths to separate themselves
• Wealth in Mycenaean Greece – Competitive – Obsessive showiness • Levels in Society – Heavily Stratified – Linear B tablets • No narratives, but titles – wa-na-ka » (F)ἄναξ [(w)anax] = ______– qa-si-re-u » Βασιλεύς [basileus] = ______– do-e-ro / do-e-ra » Δοῦλος / δούλη [doulos / doule] = ______
• Gods of Mycenaean Greece – Linear B tablets reveal names of gods: • Athena • Hera • Hermes • Zeus • Dionysus • et al. » NB: NOT Aphrodite • Mycenaean Art – NOT like Minoan art – War, hunt
• By mid-15th cent. BCE, Mycenaeans controlled Cretan palaces – Linear B replaced Linear A • There was probably a violent takeover – Evidence suggests this – Once established, Mycenaeans almost certainly: • Imposed their rule and language • Absorbed and benefited from the Minoan cultural advances