What is ancient Mycenae?

Mycenae is an ancient city located on a small hill between two larger hills on the fertile Argolid Plain in Peloponnese, Greece. The Bronze-age acropolis, or citadel built on a hill, is one of the great cities of the Mycenaean civilization that played a vital role in classical Greek culture.

What were mycenaeans also called?

Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750–1050 BC.

Why do they call it the Mycenaean civilization?

The Mycenaeans are named after the city-state of Mycenae, a palace city and one of the most powerful of the Mycenaean city-states. The Mycenaeans are the first Greeks, in other words, they were the first people to speak the Greek language. The Mycenaean civilization thrived between 1650 and 1200 BC.

Why is Mycenae important?

Mycenae is the largest and most important center of the civilization that was named “Mycenaean” after this very citadel. Mycenaean is the culture that dominated mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and the shores of Asia Minor during the late Bronze Age era (circa 1600-1100 BCE).

Is Mycenae a Sparta?

In modern and indeed classical Sparta itself, there are no traces of Mycenaean material. However there is an important Mycenaean site known as the Menelaion which lies some distance outside Sparta on the other side of the river on the eastern side, the opposite side to Mount Taygetus.

How was Mycenae destroyed?

New study finds: Ancient Mycenaean civilization might have collapsed due to uprising or invasion. For many years, the prevailing theory on how the Mycenaean civilisation collapsed was that devastating earthquakes led to the destruction of its palaces in the Peloponnese, southern Greece around 1,200 BC.

What was the largest city of the Mycenaeans?

The largest city (although not a capital city in any sense) was Mycenae, built on an impressive citadel and hill over 278 metres (912 ft.) above sea level where there are remains of large ‘palace’ buildings and hundreds of tombs and shaft graves, including nine large stone tholos tombs (1600-1300 BCE).

What was the most powerful Greek city state?

Of these, Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful city-states. Athens was a democracy and Sparta had two kings and an oligarchic system, but both were important in the development of Greek society and culture.

Why did the mycenaeans become rich and powerful?

The Mycenaeans were rich and powerful. They controlled the sources of precious metals and used them to earn income and dominate trading routes. The Mycenaeans fought against the Trojans in the Trojan War and Odysseus, a Mycenaean, got lost on his way home from Troy.

What event was the last legendary Mycenaean campaign?

In 1988, Manfred Korfmann excavated an ancient maritime cemetery near the hill believed to be the site of ancient Tory; althought some scholars disagree, Korfmann believes the Trojan War was a struggle for control of a crucial waterway in the in the Aegean Sea; in any event, the attack on Troy was probably one of the

What caused the fall of the Minoan civilization?

Volcanic explosion. Three and a half thousand years ago, the tiny Aegean island of Thera was devastated by one of the worst natural disasters since the Ice Age – a huge volcanic eruption. This cataclysm happened 100km from the island of Crete, the home of the thriving Minoan civilisation.

What is the difference between Minoan and Mycenaean?

The only differences are their iconographic elements. Minoans relied heavily on religious iconography, depicting the images of their gods and especially goddesses. Unlike Minoans, known for their peaceful thalassocracy, the Mycenaean society was oriented towards war and expansion, and it showed in their art.

Where was Sparta located?

Sparta was a city-state located in the southeastern Peloponnese region of ancient Greece. Sparta grew to rival the size of the city-states Athens and Thebes by subjugating its neighboring region of Messenia. Though Sparta absorbed this population, it did not integrate the conquered people into society.

Which factors started the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization?

Explanation: The one factor that started the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization was earthquakes. The correct option among all the options given in the question is option “c”. The Mycenaean civilization ended very abruptly.

What do we know about Mycenaean culture?

Mycenaean is the term applied to the art and culture of Greece from ca. 1600 to 1100 B.C. The name derives from the site of Mycenae in the Peloponnesos, where once stood a great Mycenaean fortified palace. Mycenae is celebrated by Homer as the seat of King Agamemnon, who led the Greeks in the Trojan War.