Aegean
 AEGEAN:  [Cyclades]  [Crete]  [Minoan] [Mycenaean] 

See also:  [Art Periods]
           [Greece]
                  [Art History (index)]
                  [TIME LINE]  (brought to you by Acme Time Conveyor Products)




On this page:  {The Usual Suspects} (civilisations)
               {Religion}
               {Chronology}


Note all "dates" are approx (ca. = circa (Latin, "about, nearly"))
Source:  Stokstad, Chapter on "Aegean Art".
Data on Eastern Earth (India, China, Korea, Japan, etc) 
        Source: Lee, PP. 12-13 (diagram), Pp. 14-15 (table)

REF:  Stokstad, Marily (2002). Art History - 2nd Edition, Volume 1.
                       Harry N. Abrams, Inc, Publishers,
                       ISBN 0.8109.0610.4, LCCN N'5300.S923'2001

      Lee, Sherman E (nd. ~1963). A History of Far Eastern Art.
                     Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated, New York.
                     Printed in West Germany, bound in Holland.
                     
                                   1450bce (Thera explosion)
    |----------+---------|---------+--|-------|-----------|----------------|
  3000 bce            2000bce             1000bce
     Aegean Bronze Age - 3000bce
     Indian Bronze Age - 2700bce Indus Valley, Harapa, Mohenjo Daro, Chanhu Daro  
           Chinese Bronze Age - 1700bce
               Cambodian Bronze Age - 350bec
                  Indonesian & Javaian Bronze Age - 300bce
                       Korean Bronze Age - 200bce 
                           Japanese Bronze Age - 0 to 50ce
 
Note *apparently* the neolithic migration proceeded in the same order,
                  of about 500 years or so.

             


Aegean

And important factor to remember is the size of each island.
Thus, in the case Crete - being so large and such. It gave the
inhabitants the use of "economies of scale". Thus, there would
be many more available sites for fields. While on a smaller
island, all available land would be used - even if this meant
using teracing, etc. 

Thus, the Minoan civilisation (named by the great archaelogist
Sir Arthur Evans (notably for seeking to decode the Linear-A
script of the Minoans) in honor of King Minos who is supposed 
to have ruled from the palace at Knosis on Crete - passed down 
thru Greek (mainland) mythology and tradition. Thus, it shows
the most advanced civilisation as evidenced by it use of bronze,
and other metals. This is not to say that even the smaller island
socieities of the Cyclades didn't progress as well (as evidenced
by their use of silver). It's simply a matter of how much living
space is available, and of course the specific climate and such. 


Later as the Bronze age progressed Crete became something of the
local "world leader" in both trading and industry. Oddly enough 
part of this was driven by the mineralogical SCARCITY of metal
ores - thus forcing it to trade with neighboring islands;
eg,  Cyprus (copper), the Cyclades (white marble), etc. It 
is important to remember that all of this trade occured in the
*relatively* calm waters of the Aegean sea rather than out into 
the Mediteranina, per se. Thus, Anatolia to the East was its
probably mainland trading partner; (much speculation on my part).

Another important aspect is that on the Greek mainland, the two
most important trading areas were Tiryns and more-inland, Mycenae.








The Usual Suspects

Cyclades  
Crete
Minoan
Mycenaean (and Helliac - proto Greek)


[Back to the TOP of this page]


Religion

As with all agrariant cultures, most religious 
devoition would have centered around the harvest,
home, and the community. As with all statistics 
it's usually mis-leading to rely on the small 
sample size of the relics available from each
culture. Regardless (stepping out on a limb here),
the Cycladic cultures seem to have been greatly
mother-earth oriented. The number of female figurines
un-earthed out-number male ones by a factor of 10:1.

As well, the focus would certainly been on when to
plant and when to harvest - thus implying a deep 
concern for the seasons; Stonehinge being one of the
most strident examples of this. We tend to forget 
that the seasons are a global phenomenon and that
peoples in what-ever area they might be face the 
same perplexing unpredictability of the weather,
despite the rather rigid cycle of the seasons.



[Back to the TOP of this page]


Chronology


Links


Human Migration

  -[The IBM/NGA Human Migration project]- 

  -[Inopedia Entry (general)]- 

  -[Archaelology (general)]- 
       -[Minoan]- 


  -[Minoan]- 



  -[]- 



  -[]- 



  -[]- 


  http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/ancient/aegean_art.htm

[Back to the TOP of this page]