The Minoans and Mycenaeans: Civilizations of the Bronze Age Aegean

Video

The Minoans and the Mycenaeans were both powerful civilizations of the Bronze Age Aegean, and often they are through to follow one after the other. However, this comparison video will detail through some of the similarities and differences between the Minoans and Mycenaeans, and the transmission of culture, practices and art which occurred between the two groups.

The Palace of Knossos is the most famous of the Minoan palatial centres, with its iconic bull leaping fresco and labyrinthine architecture layout. The prominence of the bull at Knossos links it to the mythological story of Theseus, King Minos, Ariadne and the Minotaur. The palatial centres of Mycenaean Greece are smaller than those on Crete, and we know more about how the centres functioned due to the Linear B archives, with the greatest number being found on Pylos.

The Mycenaeans had fortifications so large around most of the centres which were called 'Cyclopean', with the most outstanding being at Mycenae and Tiryns. However, they are not found at the site of the Palace of Nestor at Pylos. The grand centres of the Minoans did not have any type of fortifications, potentially due to different threats.

The Minoans and Mycenaeans shared facets of their cultures with each other, however due to the Minoans being present on Crete earlier than the Mycenaeans on mainland Greece, the Minoans had a greater influence on the Mycenaeans, rather than the other way around. They had a preference with trading with each other, and the Mycenaeans chose to be buried with a great number of Mycenaean crafts, and adopted many of their iconographic motifs.