4.3.2 The Mycenaeans By about 1375 BCE, invaders from cities like Mycenae and Athens took over the Minoans. The Mycenaeans were great traders and used bronze. They copied some Minoan culture, lived in palaces, and enjoyed music and sports. They spoke early Greek and used a writing that modern language experts have called Linear B, which was decoded in 1952. Homer’s Iliad tells how the Mycenaeans captured Troy around 1200 BCE.
SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Study SOURCE3 .Which civilisations are mentioned in the source? 2. What island is associated with the Minoan civilisation? 3. How did the geographical locations of the
SOURCE3 Crete, Greece and Egypt at the time of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations
GREECE
Troy
ANATOLIA
Thebes
Athens
Mycenae
Miletos
civilisations inþuence their trade routes and interactions with each other?
Sparta
Pylos
SEA OF CRETE
Rhodes
Khania
Cyprus
Knossos
Zakro
Crete
Byblos
MEDITERRANEAN
SEA
Megiddo
Gezer
Dead Sea
EGYPT
Saqqara
ARABIA
Lahun
Key
RED
Settlement
Lahun
0
250
500
SEA
EGYPT
Territory
kilometres
Thebes
Source: Map drawn by Spatial Vision.
Homer’s Iliad and the Trojan War The story in the Iliad is so famous it was even made into a movie. We don’t know if it’s true, and archaeological ýnds have added to the debate. The story was passed down for 300 years before Homer, who lived in the eighth century BCE, wrote it down. As the Iliad tells the story, there are several main characters. Among them are: • Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae • Menelaus, the king of Sparta and brother of Agamemnon • Helen, the wife of Menelaus • Priam, the king of Troy • Paris, son of Priam • Odysseus, a Mycenaean warrior hero.
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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