The ancient civilization of Greece and Rome are steeped in myth and history, gods and legends. Before the golden age of the Hellenes, the Minoans and the Myceneans made their mark in the Mediterranean, on the island of Crete and on the Peloponnesian peninsula.
On the island of Crete, halfway between Egypt and mainland Greece, the early Minoan culture emerged around 3000 BCE. Around 15th century BCE it is thought that a natural disaster - possibly an earthquake and the subsequent tidal waves - led to the downfall of the Minoan culture.
This was followed by the rise of the Mycenaeans on the mainland.
The Cretan, or Minoan architecture was picturesque. The island was protected by the sea. The Mycenaen architecture on the other hand was strong and massive, built to ward off attacks from mainland invaders.
"Path3959-83" by Own work - Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους, Εκδοτική Αθηνών, τ. Α' χάρτες σε σελ. 263-265, σελ. 290, 292-293 (επίσης [1]. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Path3959-83.png#/media/File:Path3959-83.png
"Psiloritis3(js)" by Jerzy Strzelecki - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Psiloritis3(js).jpg#/media/File:Psiloritis3(js).jpg
On the island of Crete we find the Minoan culture, so named for the mythical king Minos.
The legend goes that Minos and his brothers were debating who should rule over the land. They decided to enlist the help of Poseidon, the great Olympian god of the sea. So Poseidon sent a pure white bull from his domain - the sea - to Minos, confirming his fate. Minos was to sacrifice the bull to the Olympian, but could not bear to let it go. Instead he sacrificed an ordinary bull and in doing so enraged Poseidon. The god of the sea made the new king’s wife fall in love with the bull, and with the aid of an invention of the infamous Dadaelous, she mated with the bull and bore the mythical bull-headed man, the Minotaur. From this we have the legends of the labyrinth, of Dadaelus and his son Icarus, and Icarus’s eventual fall from the sky.
The bull is a common motif in Minoan art - it is seen in frescoes, pottery, and even on coins.
Archaeologist Arthur Evans uncovered, studied, and restored Cretan ruins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Here we see an image of the famous Torreador fresco depicting the acrobatic sport of “bull-leaping.”
One of Evans’s most important archaeological sites was at the Palace of Knossos. Thought to be the palace of the mythical king Minos, and is associated with the myth of the minotaur. The function of the palace was both administrative and religious - the king of Crete would also have served as the high priest. Residential, secular, and sacred programs were all woven into this complex site.
Though a large and elaborate palace, it was more picturesque than monumental. There were open courts and light and air shafts perforating both the plan and the section of the building. Large openings looked out to the panoramic view of the landscape and horizon over Poseidon’s sea.
Columns - widely spaced to frame these views - were inverted. The Minoan column is unique. Unlike the classical orders that have been adopted and adapted all over the world, the Minoan column is broader at the top, and tapers toward the bottom. The capital is a simple torus profile, and acts as a visual cushion between the lintel above and the shaft of the column.
"Reconstruccio Knossos" by Mmoyaq - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reconstruccio_Knossos.jpg#/media/File:Reconstruccio_Knossos.jpg
This spatially complex palace was painted in rich colors and decorated with vibrant frescoes.
On each level there were long, porous loggias wrapping around each space. The ceremonial hall of double axes - the ax being a symbol of Minoan and Mycenaean cultures - had the king’s throne at one end and may have had Minoan shields suspended on either side to symbolize the security of the place.
The queen’s megaron - or residential quarters - were open and airy and full of diffuse light let in by hidden light wells.
What do you think of this complex palace?
"Armon Knossos P1060073" by Deror_avi - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armon_Knossos_P1060073.JPG#/media/File:Armon_Knossos_P1060073.JPG
Somewhere around 1400 BCE the Cretan civilization fell due to a natural disaster, or a combination of natural disasters and their aftereffects. The Cretan population dispersed and moved to the mainland.
Here, on the Peloponnesean peninsula, the Mycenaeans had their own established culture. Notable among the Mycaneans was King Agamemmnon, commander in chief of the Greeks in the Trojan war.
Befitting of this character, the Mycaneaens, known as a warrior people, built great citadels, in contrast to the picturesque palaces of the Minoans.
The terrain of the land offered high points on which to built these defensible sites. They often included the royal palace at the heart of the compound. The surrounding walls were of heavy cyclopean masonry.
One example of such a defensive site is at Tyrins - a military compound built on a natural limestone outcropping. The protective walls measured up to 36’ thick at some points, and were lined with galleries that had corbelled ceilings. This place served as a refuge during war times.
The walls, made up of large stacked stones, were clad in thin decorative stone veneer. Though the primary purpose was protection and defense, a bit of the Minoan’s want for beauty seeps into the details of Mycenaean architecture.
The approach to the site was strategically laid out. Not only could anyone approaching be visible, but the actual approach to the site was carefully choreographed. The threshold was accessible only from the East wall, up a long ramp. Any potential attackers, while moving along this ramp, would have their un-shielded arm exposed so they could be fired on from within the citadel.
"Tiryns - Cyclopean masonry" by Nick Stenning - originally posted to Flickr as Tiryns. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tiryns_-_Cyclopean_masonry.jpg#/media/File:Tiryns_-_Cyclopean_masonry.jpg
"BurchtTiryns2" by Napoleon Vier from nl. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BurchtTiryns2.JPG#/media/File:BurchtTiryns2.JPG
One of the most well-known and elaborate of these fortresses was the Citadel at Mycenae. It sits on an impenetrable limestone site between Mount Zara and Mt Marta. What’s left of it today reflects its integral links to the land around it.
From atop the hill there are views out to the surrounding land and the sea. Like Tyrins, it is surrounded by Cyclopean walls, between 20 and 25 feet thick. The boulders that make up this wall weigh as much as 5 tons (so large that it’s only imaginable that a Cyclops could move it!). There is an underground access to fresh water, so that in times of siege, life can be sustained within.
One of the most iconic elements of this fortress is the Lions Gate. The gate is a megalithic post and lintel construction with a corbelled relieving arch above. This arch does exactly what the name implies - it relieves the stress that is loaded on the stone lintel that spans the opening. The lions then stand guard at a Minoan column, a symbol of society, on the decorative panel that infills this arch.
"Lions Gate detail" by Orlovic - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lions_Gate_detail.JPG#/media/File:Lions_Gate_detail.JPG
"Mycenaeacropolis". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mycenaeacropolis.jpg#/media/File:Mycenaeacropolis.jpg
The monumentality of the Mycenaean citadels was rivaled with that of their tombs. Though not so great in scale as to match the Great Pyramids, the tholos, or beehive, tombs of the mainland were monumental in their own right. The overall form is related to the passage or gallery tomb that we saw earlier in the semester. A long dromos, or entry procession, was cut into the earth and terminated in a large tholos, or round chamber. The overall form of the tholos was a corbelled vault - you can see the stacked stones in the section here. This round ceremonial form will influence temple forms and secular structure for centuries to come.
Above the opening into the tholos we see the same element that we saw at Lions Gate - a relieving arch. This void over the stone lintel allows relief so that the stone - weak in tensile strength - will not collapse in its span over the threshold.
The best-known beehive tomb is the Treasury of Atreus. Atreus was the king of Mycenae and the father of Agamemnon who led the Greeks in battle in the Trojan war.
"Treasury of Atreus Mycenae" by Ken Russell Salvador - originally posted to Flickr as kens pics 447. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Treasury_of_Atreus_Mycenae.jpg#/media/File:Treasury_of_Atreus_Mycenae.jpg
"Mycenae Burial chamber 04 HDR (7703475102)" by michael clarke stuff - Mycenae Burial chamber 04 HDRUploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mycenae_Burial_chamber_04_HDR_(7703475102).jpg#/media/File:Mycenae_Burial_chamber_04_HDR_(7703475102).jpg
In a time of continual flux and change, it is thought that around 1150 BCE the Mycenaeans were overcome by the Dorians, who were the direct descendants of the Hellenes. The Dorians brought figurative language and new god figures to the culture. Mount Olympus became the center of divine activity. As a new era began, the aesthetic influence of the Minoans, and the powerful forms of the Mycenaeans influenced the newfound culture of the Hellenes. And on the island of Crete and at the Citadel of Mycenae, all that remain are ruined foundations, but the stories - myths and epics - from these places and times live on.
