Time Period 4 - Aegean Art

Art of the Aegean - 3000 B.C. - 1100 B.C. Minoan Art - 3000 - 1600 B.C. Art of the Cyclades - 2000 - 1600 B.C. Mycenaean Art - 1600 - 1100 B.C. Elaborate urban society with running water in structures and sewerage facilities Developed their own system of writing

Three distinct civilizations developed northwest of Egypt and Mespotamia in the area of the Aegean Sea. The first of these cultures to gain power was on the Island of Crete, the Minoan; a second on the southern penninsula of Peloponnesus, the Mycenaean; and the Cycladian in the Cyclades Islands between Greece and Crete. All three of these developed at different paces and their individual artistic phases often overlapped. However, although they were influenced by each other, they developed uniquely individual styles.

All traces of these civilizations were lost until 1871, when Heinrich Schlieman, inspired by his study of the Greek writer, Homer, began excavations proving that the cultures described in his epics did exist. He discovered the ancient ruins of the walled city identified as Homeric Troy.

In the early 20th century, Sir Arthur Evans discovered the remains of a vast palace at Knossos and it became obvious that an impressive society had once flourished on the Island of Crete (3000-1200 B.C.). He devoted his entire professional life to the restoration of Cretan culture.

Visit Sir Arthur Evans - Archeologist, and then complete your interview exam...... The Aegean - Meet Arthur Evans Exam

For the civilizations around the Aegean Sea, land was filled with lush vegetation and the life of the sea produced a rich inspiration of motifs of nature seen painted on wall frescos and pottery. Art was playful, full of life and rhythmic motion. The Cretan mural painters were keen observers of action.

Visit the early people of Crete (scroll down to the sketches of people) .......

There were two main styles in the art of the Minoan culture. One was the Marine Style (scroll down to see the "jug with octopus"), which had as its popular motifs, the murex shell, the nautilus, octopus, dolphin, seaweed, sea anemone, and the starfish.

The other style was the Alternating/ Geometric Style (scroll down to "Pyxis," enlarge) with its primary motifs being the figure-eight shield, double axe, and the sacral knot.

The most popular pottery motifs were spirals, floral-band, reed or grass patterns, the rosette, and the ripple pattern. The Minoan art (scroll down to see "Storage pithos" and "Kamares beaked olpe") reflected no signs of hunting scenes or warfare that were popular in the Mycenaean culture.

Art of the Aegean Minoan Art 3000 - 1600 B.C. Historical & Cultural

Architecture

The palaces you will explore:

• The Palace of King Minos - Knossos - Crete
• The Palace of Phaestros - Crete

Sir Arthur Evans named the Minoan civilization after the legendary Cretan King Minos. It was considered to be the richest culture in the Aegean world. In Greek mythology, Minos was the son of Zeus and Europa, and brother of Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. The brothers disputed over the kingship of Crete. Minos is said to have proven that the gods had chosen him to rule by successfully asking Poseidon to raise a bull from the sea. Minos promised to sacrifice it in return, but it was so beautiful that Minos kept it for his herd. The bull became the father of the Minotaur after becoming the mate of Minos's wife. The Minotaur was contained in the Labyrinth, and each year seven youths and seven maidens were said to have been sacificed to him.

Take a side trip back to the times of the Minotaur. Visit the labyrinth and read the Legend of the Minotaur.

The idea of society, people living in relation with each other, developed around the first great palaces of Crete at Knossos, Phaestos, and Malia. Although there is evidence of Egyptian influence, the Minoan culture developed its own architectural style as seen in these great palaces. They reveal a skill in design and in decorative beauty.

The Palace of Minos in Knossos (right), the main city of Crete, has had a long existence, having been rebuilt several times after periods of destruction. What is primarily known about this island civilization has come from the restorations of the ruins by Sir Arthur Evans and the fragments of frescos found at the Palace of Minos. Around 1700 B.C., the Greek Myceneans took control of Knossos. It is assumed that there was a shift in power. Knossos was rebuilt, only to be again destroyed and burned around 1400 B.C.

Visit The Palace of Minos as you complete the .... Tour of the Palace Exam

Today, the Palace of Minos, at Knossos, has been carefully excavated and partially restored. Its restoration has reconstructed a luxurious group of multi-storied buildings with small rooms and low ceilings. The rooms are organized around an oblong central court that was used for ceremonial, domestic, and service purposes. There is evidence of running water - a sewerage system with flush toilets. There were also store-rooms, terraces, a theater, and elaborate living quarters for the nobility. It was built of masonry with tapering columns of wood for both design and support.

The Palace of Minos is also known for the frescos that decorated the interior of the palace walls, filling rooms with color and portraits of life. Porticos, staircases, and airshafts gave the palaces an open-air feeling. The Minoan power of protection was based on the command of the sea. The palaces did not have to be heavily guarded; instead they were open and airy.

Take a photographic journey to the The Palace of Minos. Tour the exhibit.

Like Minos, The Palace of Phaestos, the second most prominent palace in Crete, was a center of religious and economic activities. The Palace was excavated by a team of Italian archaeologists. It was one of the largest palaces, but its importance lies in the found evidence that there were two successive palace periods in the Minoan civilization. The Old Palaces, built between 1900 - 1700 B.C., were destroyed by earthquakes. During a period of New Palaces - 1650 - 1400 B.C. - palaces were rebuilt on a stronger and grander scale. In Phaestos, the periods of destruction were not as extensive as in Knossos, Malia, or Zakros, where the other palaces were built.

Take a side trip - visit Phaestos.

Structures for the deceased were more practical than monumental. Royal Minoan tombs consisted of several chambers, like Egyptian tombs, while others were circular, called "tholoi." Some pit and shaft graves were found with large clay tubs used as sarcophagi - coffins to hold the body. Take a side trip - examine a sarcophagus.

Painting

The frescos you will see:

• The Bull-Jumping Fresco - The Palace of Minos - 1500 B.C.
• Dolphins - The Queen's Megaron - 1500 B.C.

At the Palace of Minos

After the first destruction of the palaces, around 1700 B.C., there was a century of slow recovery, followed by an explosive increase in wealth and in creative energy. With Mycenean influence, huge murals decorated every palace wall. These scenes from nature showing lush vegetation, birds, animals, and marine life can be pieced together, depicting a life of wealth and beauty. Only small fragments survived, but they have been avidly researched and delicately restored so that a larger idea of the original decoration can be interpreted.

Explore these artworks:

The Bull-Jumping Fresco is the largest and most dynamic Minoan mural recovered at the Palace of Minos. It shows a ritual game in which the performers vault over the back of a bull. The bull was a sacred animal in Minoan spiritual life and the act of vaulting over its back played an important role. Minoan art is representational, colorful, not at all stiff like the Egyptian formalism.

The Queen's Megaron, or apartment, has been restored. However, the fresco that was reassembled as a wall piece has been re-examined and found to be a floor painting instead. The latest studies have theorized that it possibly even came from the room above the Queen's Megaron that collapsed during an earthquake.

The Minoan Blue Ladies is fresco that you will find has a unique character.

The Blue Bird fresco is from the House of Frescos at the Palace of Minos. It is extremely naturalistic with the blue bird rising from the water in a field of blue leaves.

and, last but certainly not least, the Partridge Fresco.

Sculpture

• The Snake Goddess - 1600 B.C. - faience, Heraklion Museum, Crete
• Rhyton Bull's Head - 1500 B.C. - Archaeological Museum, Heraklion, Crete

The chief deity was a "mother goddess" associated with the snake. There were many sculptures of the Snake Goddess in the Minoan culture. Some have been made of faience, a clay glazed with a pottery technique using ground quartz which can be tinted, and some have been carved from ivory and decorated with gold bands.The snake-goddess image is believed to be either a religious goddess, a fertility symbol, or a daring young woman charming snakes. Exploits of skill and danger were admired by the Minoans.

Take a side trip to visit the Snake Goddess, and then complete the....... Aegean: The Snake Goddess Exam

The bull was an important animal depicted in all Minoan art and in many Greek myths. A rhyton was a vase for libations, or ceremonial drink. This Rhyton Bull's Head is one that was carved from stone, as a ritual vessel with eyes of crystal, inlays of shell, and horns of gold. Delicate incised lines are carved into steatite, a type of stone.

Visit the Rhyton in the shape of a bull's head. Notice the incised lines and patterns. What do you suppose they meant?

Monumental sculpture was unimportant, but the arts of goldsmiths flourished with figurines of bronze, ivory, and polychrome faience.

Art of the Aegean Art of the Cyclades 2000 B.C. - 1600 B.C. Historical & Cultural

The earliest settlers from the Aegean Period in the Cyclades Islands came from southwest Asia around 2000 B.C. One island, as you have already explored, played a significant part in the history of the Aegean Cultures - Crete. But other Islands, as well, had important contributions - Santorini, Syros, Milos..

Take a side trip to the islands of Santorini, Milos, and Syros, and then complete the.......
Aegean: Visit the Island of Santorini Exam

People of the Cyclades borrowed pottery designs from Crete and flying-fish fresco motifs from Minos. The sculpture of the Cyclades had a most impressive and unique character. It was highly stylized and made of marble. Vases were typically found in burial sites. After 1400 B.C., the distinctive character of this sculpture was lost, and the culture melded with that of the new Mycenaean peoples.

Art of the Aegean Mycenaean Art 1600 B.C. - 1100 B.C. Historical & Cultural Highlights Similar culture to that of the Minoans Built huge structures of layers of precisely cut stone, bee-hive tombs. The final, or Mycenean phase of the Aegean cultures brought warrior tribes from mainland Greece to the Islands to conquer and to settle along the shores of Peloponnesus. This new culture was centered around the settlement of Mycenae. The main evidence for this brief period of Mycenaean culture is linguistic. The Minoans used a syllabic writing system of pictographic origin called Minoan Linear, or Linear A. Today, it has not yet been deciphered, and does not appear to have Greek or Indo-European connections. In contrast, the Mycenaean phase, at Knossos, used a second version called Linear B or Mycenaean Linear. These writings were found on clay tablets that were accidentally baked and preserved in a fire that destroyed Knossos. It is with the use of this new written form, Linear B, that a new culture was brought to Crete. The Myceneaeans brought a dramatic change in royal burials, the tholos tomb. Many were also buried in grave circles. The riches found in these burials reflect on a society with an abundance of precious metals. The society of Mycenae was ruled by a governmental group. Each city had a wanax, a king, that was advised by a council of military chiefs. No record of the Mycenaean culture can be found after 1100 B.C. except in the epics of the Greek poet Homer. The Dorian invasion from the north was swift to conquer.

Architecture

You will explore these last great examples from the Mycenaean culture:

• Tholos Tomb - Treasure of Atreus - 1450 B.C.
• The Lion Gate at Mycenae - 1250 B.C.

The Citadel - Mycenae

Mycenaean palaces were hilltop fortresses of many rooms that were surrounded by huge walls of stone. They were the center of life. The palace was built on the acropolis or citadel, protected with "Cyclopean" walls.

In Greek mytholog,y they were regarded as the work of the "Cyclopes," a race of one-eyed giants. The development of these impressive structures reached their zenith in 1300 B.C.

The deep shaft graves and huge conical stone chambers called "bee-hive" or tholos tombs (click on "tombs") were constructed by layering precisely cut stone blocks. Advances in architecture can be seen in the "corbeled" roofs of these tombs. Only in Egypt, during the Old Kingdom, were burial places like these built. Tomb equipment and pottery show a rich transition from Minoan influences to Greek-Mycenaean motifs.

Vases from Mycenae show warriors, chariots, ships, animals, and plants. A dagger from Mycenae (click on "objects from tombs") is inlaid with a scene of warriors carrying their great "figure-eight" shields, hunting lions. Heinrich Schliemann found a large cache of gold in one of the tholos tombs, which he named the "Treasure of Atreus."

The main gate at Mycenae is The Lion Gate (right). It is a massive entrance topped with a stone relief over the doorway. Two huge lions, carved of limestone, stand atop a stone slab and act as guardians of the gate. They flank a column, typical of Minoan style.The lion was the emblem of the royal house.

Take a side trip - Visit The Lion Gate and the Upper Grave Circle .

The Mycenaean culture was absorbed around 1100 B.C. by conquerers from the north. These invading Dorians settled on the mainland and the conquering Ionians spread out to the Aegean Islands and Asia Minor. These were the early ancestors of the Classical Greek culture.

Sculpture

This diagram shows the inside chamber of the tholos tomb. The center is where the precious artifacts were found.

You will examine these treasures from the grave circle:

• Gold-Plated Disks - Mycenae - 1500 B.C.
• Sauce Boat - 2500-200 B.C.
• Gold-Plated Box
• Gold-Plated Rhyton - 1550 B.C.
• Vapheio Cup - tholos tomb - Vapheio - Lakonia

With the uncovering of the bee-hive tombs and the sunken royal graves, many artifacts of gold, silver, and other precious metals were discovered.

Take a side trip to see the precious-metal treasures of the grave circles......

• Gold-Plated Disks (click on "objects from tombs")
• Sauce Boat
• Gold-Plated Box
• Gold-Plated Rhyton in Shape of a Lion's Head
• Vapheio Cup

and then, go to ...... Discussion #7 - What amazed you the most?

Painting

The magnificent frescos you will explore:

• Fresco of Mycenaean Warrior - Palace of Nestor - Pylos
• Fresco of a Lyre Player
• Stucco Floor of a Throne Room

The frescos of the Mycenaean culture were as full of color as the Minoan, but the theme was quite different. Most of the preserved frescos show warriors in battle scenes. Figures are stylized, showing movement and action. Pattern and repetition of shapes are strong characteristics in this late Aegean art.

Extensions

Homer's The Iliad and the Odyssey
At the end of the Aegean culture, with the Myceneans in power, conflict and conquest abounded. Tales and true stories of fearless battles became both inspiration for verse and for art in the Greek civilization for the next hundred years. The epic storyteller, Homer, captured the late battles of the Mycenean culture in long verse. It is said that the art of war from The Iliad and the Odyssey was required study for all Greek young men. If you would like to explore further, you can read all or some of The Iliad and The Odyssey online.

Extra Credit Exam - The Iliad and the Odyssey

Art of the Aegean Aegean Art Aesthetics & Art Criticism

You will be making a formal presentation to the Ancient Community of Mycenae. Use any of the art pieces that you have seen in this time period to be the artist of. Use any of the information you learned about the Aegean cultures to describe your artwork. To enhance your presentation...you will not be able to use a descriptive word more than once. The presentation "notes" should be at least three sentences per question.

Now, go to...... Aegean: Formal Presentation to the Community

Create

Create an Aegean Kaleidoscope. The directions are available in PDF format. Don't forget to send your original "Create" project or a scanned image of your piece of art. When submitting digital work, upload it to your student folder by going to "My Tools," and then clicking on "Folders." Choose the file you want to upload. After uploading, scroll to the bottom of the page to make sure that it's associated with a specific assignment and MOST IMPORTANTLY that you "submit for grading." This triggers an e-mail to me that I have work to grade :)
	Student Examples

E-mail your instructor when you have completed Time Period 4, Aegean Art.

The Dorian invaders from the north settled in both the mainland of Greece and many of the Islands of the Aegean. The playful art of the Minoan disappeared. Life strived for perfection, to be equal to the gods. Your next journey will take you to the land of Classical Greece.


Go on to Time Period 5, Greek Art - 800 - 150 B.C.