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Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of '''Bronze Age Greece''', is the Late Helladic Bronze Age civilization of Ancient Greece . It is the historical setting of the Epic s of Homer and much other Greek Mythology . The Mycenaean period takes its name from the archaeological site Mycenae in the northeastern Argolid , in the Peloponnesos of southern Greece. Athens , Pylos , Thebes , and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites. MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION The Mycenaean period flourished between the arrival of the proto-Greeks in the Aegean around 1600 BC and the collapse of their Bronze-Age civilization around 1100 BC . The collapse is commonly attributed to the Dorian Invasion , although some archaeologists and historians doubt that any such invasion took place. The major Mycenaean city-sites were Mycenae and Tiryns in the Argolid, Pylos in Messenia, Athens in Attica, Thebes and Orchomenos in Boeotia, and Iolkos in Thessaly. In Crete, Mycenaeans occupied the ruins of Knossos . In addition there were some sites of importance for Cult , such as Lerna , typically in the form of house sanctuaries. Mycenaean settlement sites also appeared on islands in the Aegean, on the coast of Asia Minor, and then in Cyprus. Mycenaean civilization was dominated by a warrior Aristocracy . Around 1400 BC , the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete , center of the Minoan Civilization , and adopted a form of the Minoan script called Linear A to write their early form of Greek . The Mycenaean era script is called Linear B . Not only did the Mycenaeans defeat the Minoans, but according to legend, they defeated Troy , a powerful city-state that rivaled Mycenae's power. Because its only evidence is the '' Iliad '' of Homer and other texts replete with mythology, the existence of Troy and the Trojan War is uncertain. In 1876, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann uncovered ruins in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey ) that he claimed was Troy, yet these ruins do not match well with Homer's account of Troy (See Burkert ''Greek Religion'' pg 121 and E. Meyer, ''RE'' Suppl. XIV 813–15.) The Mycenaeans buried their nobles in Beehive Tombs (''tholoi''), large circular burial chambers with a high vaulted roof and straight entry passage lined with stone. They often buried daggers or some other form of military equipment with the deceased. The nobility were frequently buried with gold masks, tiaras, armour, and jeweled weapons. Mycenaeans were buried in a sitting position, and some of the nobility underwent Mummification . No priestly class has yet been identified. Worshipper and worshipped are identified in seals, rings and votives figures through their gestures: worshippers fold their arms, or raise the right arm in greeting, or place a hand on the forehead. Deities lift both arms in the "epiphany gesture" or reach forward to give or receive. The pantheon of Mycenaean deities has been reassembled from inscriptions in " which was retained as an Epithet . Apollo may be recognized at Knossos as PA-JA-WO, ("Paian"). Far more prominent are A-TA-NA PO-TI-NI-JA (" Athena Potnia ", "Athena the Mistress"), E-RE-U-TI-JA ( Eileithyia , later merely invoked during childbirth), Dionysus , Poseidon , already the "Earth-Shaker", either with his consort Poseida, who was not retained in the transition to Classical Greece, or at Pylos with the "Two Goddesses", apparently Demeter and Persephone . The Erinyes or Furies are already present, as are the Winds. Around 1100 BC the Mycenaean civilization collapsed. Numerous cities were sacked and the region entered what historians see as a Dark Age . During this period Greece experienced decreasing Population and they lost their literacy. Historians have traditionally blamed this decline on an invasion by another wave of Greek people, the Dorians , although the historical validity of this theory is now doubted. ARCHAEOLOGY The Pottery is characterised by dark paintings on a light background. The beginnings of the Mycenean decorated pottery on the Greek mainland date to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (Late Helladic I). The Typology of the Mycenean pottery was created by the Swedish archaeologist Arne Furumark based on the material from the Excavation s of Asine . He provided a list of pottery-shapes as well (Furumark 1-333) that is used internationally in the description of Mycenean and Minoan pottery. Table 1 provides the approximate dates of the Late Helladic phases (LH) on the Greek Mainland.
LHI The ''LHI pottery'' is known from the fill of the Shaft Graves of Lerna and the settlements of Voroulia and Nichoria ( Messenia ), Ayios Stephanos, ( Laconia ) and Korakou . Furumark divided the LH in phases A and B, but Furumark's LHIB has been reassigned to LHIIA by Dickinson. Some recent C-14 dates from the Tsoungiza site north of Mycenae indicate LHI there was dated to between 1675/1650 and 1600/1550 BC, which is earlier than the assigned pottery dates by about 100 years. The Bryn Mawr website (External links) gives 1675 to 1600 as conventional dates. LHII The description of the LHIIA is mainly based on the material from Kourakou East Alley. Domestic and Palatial shapes are distinguished. '''LHIIB''' sees a lessening of Cretan influences. Pure LHIIB assemblages are rare and originate from Tiryns, Asine and Korakou. C-14 dates from Tsoungiza indicate LHII was dated to between 1600/1550 and 1435/1405 BC, the start of which is earlier than the assigned pottery date by about 100 years, but the end of which nearly corresponds to the pottery phase. LHIII The uniform and widely spread LHIIIIA1 pottery was originally defined by the material from the Ramp house at Mycenae, the palace at Thebes (now dated to LHIIIA2 or LHIIIB by most researchers) and Triada at Rhodes . There is material from Asine, Athens (wells), Sparta (Menelaion), Nichoria and the 'Atreus Bothros', rubbish sealed under the Dromos of the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae as well. C-14 dates from Tsoungiza indicate LHIIIA1 should be more nearly 1435/1406 to 1390/1370 BC, slightly earlier than the pottery phase, but by less than 50 years. The LHIIIA2 pottery marks a Mycenaen expansion covering most of the Eastern Mediterranean. There are many new shapes. The motifs of the painted pottery continue from LHIIIA1 but show a great deal of standardisation. Again, Tsoungiza dates are earlier, 1390/1370 to 1360/1325. The definition of the LHIIIB by Furumark was mainly based on grave finds and the settlement material from Zygouries . It has been divided into two subphases by E. French, based on the finds from Mycenae and the West wall at Tiryns. LHIIIB2 assemblages are sparse, as painted pottery is rare in tombs and many settlements of this period ended by destruction, leaving few complete pots behind. Tsoungiza dates for all of LHIIIB are 1360/1325 to 1200/1190. The dating of the LH IIIC hinges on the destruction of Ugarit . The beginning of LH IIIC is now commonly set into the reign of Queen Twosret . The LHIIIC has been divided into LHIIIC1 and 2 by Furumark, based on materials from tombs in Mycenae, Asine, Kephallonia and Rhodes. In the 1960ies, the excavations of the Citadel at Mycenae and of Lefkandi in Euboea yielded stratified material that allowed the ss. There is a lot of regional variation in the LCIII, especially in the later phases. Late LH CIII pottery is found in Troy VIIa and a few pieces in Tarsus . Submycenean The ''submycenean pottery'' (called LHIIIC2 by Furumark) already belongs to the early Iron Age . It is best known from the cemeteries of Kerameikos in Athens , Salamis in Attica and Skoubris in Lefkandi ( Euboea ) and the settlements of Athens (Agora), Tiryns and Mycenae . The term was introduced in 1934 by T. C. Skeat. SEE ALSO FURTHER READING
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