Minoan Civilization

1. Are there connections between myth/legend and archaeology?

          The Greek legend of the Minotaur is well known. The story starts off with King Minus who prayed to the Gods that a Bull would be send by the sea. Unfortunately for him, he offended the God Poseidon who decided to punish him by cursing his wife. She will have a sexual longing for a Bull. In the end, the Queen did fall for a Bull and together they had a child. This child was have human and half bull, also known as a Minotaur. Ashamed by her offspring the Queen had a her son hidden in a labyrinth that was constructed beneath the castle. It was this castle that was discovered in the island of Crete. The archaeologist discovered the throne of the King which  was the breakthrough in the search. Another legend well known derives from the story of Troy. One of its main character, Agamenon more specifically. Another archaeologist found what is known as the Mask of Agamemnon in Mycenae. These findings prove that there are connections between myths legends and archaeology.

2. Who was the leading Egyptian archaeologist? What is Mycenae - Egypt - Minoan connection?

           Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853 - 1942) was an English Egyptologist. He believed that the Mycenaeans were not the unique civilization. For example, if people look at the history Egyptian art (i.e. drawings, pottery, statues, etc.) there are some similarities between them and the Mycenaeans. Here, what is the most important fact is that the Egyptian came around 300 years before the Mycenaeans. This English Egyptologist did not believe the Mycenaeans inspiration came from the Egyptian only, rather from another Aegean civilization: the Minoans. The Minoans lived on the island of Crete for away from others. This civilization is known as the first European civilization and many of the archaeological discoveries done in Knossos, Crete, prove its major influence on other civilization.

3. What kind of Bull is this?

           The Bull was a crossbreed with a aurochs making them huge. An auroch was a type of cow that had big horns, measured around 200 cm, and was physically similar to a our present bulls. Based on the drawing that were left behind they would have huge horns, intimidating eyes, a body twice as big as a man, and where quite dangerous. Minoans left drawing and sculpture depicting these animals to show some of the use they were making of them as partners for bull-leaping. Some might think that their Bulls’ dimension is unrealistic but everyone knows’ that bulls exist as well aurochs who are now extinct for the past four centuries. Those two species merging does not seem that unlikely.

Auroch Bull-leaping

4. How is Minoan art reflective of their confidence?

           The Minoans show one of their most dangerous activities in paintings and drawings left behind on many different things, such as walls, potteries, etc. Bull-leaping is life threatening, because if the rider happens to miss his jump then he will die most likely. To be able to accomplish such a dangerous action the Minoans must have been quite a courageous and skilled civilization. Another art that demonstrates the Minoans’ confidence would be the remains of the fresco known as La Parisienne. This fresco depicts a woman showing the right side of her face, light skinned, long wavy dark hair, red lips with a blue scarf around her neck in a white dress. This gives the impression that all women in Crete as pretty and elegant as it is shown in the fresco.

Bull-leaping La Parisienne, fresco

5. What are the sites of Minoan civilization? How are at least two different?

           Two sites of the Minoan civilization would be Knossos and Gournia. Knossos would be the castle of the King Minus from the Minotaur mythology. Gournia would be a merchant city. Most of the castles found on Crete had the same basic. The castle itself, a monasteries, farmlands, a central courtyard, a public arena, and labyrinths. Gournia, being a merchant city, was situated by the sea. Their house would have been done with rocks and wood with around five rooms each.

Alexandria

The original city of Alexandria took many hits throughout centuries. The way it should have looked has been debated greatly between archaeologist. The city was situated in Egypt but has been cohabiting with the Roman cultures after there conquer.

The Arial View Graphically Designed of the Agora 

for the movie Agora

Drawing of the Arial View of the Agora

The presence of the Roman and Egyptian culture is highly present in the city. In front of the Agora are two huge Egyptian statues. There is the presence of an aqueduct, as well as the well paved roads. The image of the Egyptian goddess Isis was represented on the door of the Agora and a gran size sculpture of the Roman god Jupiter was present.

 

Drawing of well paved Roman roads

Egyptian statue in front of the Agora (recreated from for the movie Agora)

The Great Library of Alexandria was burned downed in ancient time before the conquering of the Agora by the Christians. People from all around the world at that time went to Alexandria to study under the care of the greatest minds of their time. Unfortunately, the only thing that can be found today are ruins.

Ruins of the Great Library of Alexandria

These people did not have as many options for entertainment as we do today but they did have theater, music, sports, and books. There instruments may seem weird to look at for us at present but some of them were the ancestors of what we have now.

The tibicen (Roman instrument)

The city was savaged by civil wars between two different groups of religious belief (i.e. Jews and Christians). Finding a map of the city around the 4th and 3rd century BCE was hard, so this map chose the aftermath of years of debate between the two groups.

Map of Ancient Alexandria between 1rst BCE and 1rst AD

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great was an amazing ruler and conqueror. After his death, many archaeological findings helped paint an image of his accomplishments during his reign. Researchers have found proof of the existence of monetary usage during his reign. He is not seen as the founder of coinage rather one of its leading supporters. The coin had the image of his head carved into its bronze material. On the site of the city Aï Khanum, in Afghanistan, was found the remains of the city during the time of Alexander the Great. What is sad about its discovery is that it happened after one of the many civil wars happening in the country. The site was ruined because of the bombing done by its own ignorant inhabitants. There, they found proof of Greek culture such as sculptures, pillars, a theater, a gymnasium, and many more. A statue of the director of the gymnasium was found in the building itself, in a traditionally Greek style, with perfect details that allows us, thousands of years later, to see the exact physical features of the old director. A fresco with a drawing of two people in a chase with one holding the horses’ reign was found and maybe link to Greek mythology. A small statue of the well known Greek hero, Hercules, was found but its representation is not what most people would have expected. There is a big piece of clay on which seven majors rules were written by Alexander the Great. It was found in the central shrine of the city. These findings showed great intellectual understandings of the past and showed what a great leader Alexander the Great was.

Coin of Alexander the Great                        A Fresco of Greek mythology

        

The director of the gymnasium      

 

   The major rules of Alexander the Great

Aphrodite: Cycladic figure

Name: None. Referred to as the "Standing female figure"

Date: ca. 2600-2400 B. C., Early Cycladic II

Material: Marble

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

My Black & White version

My Colored version

Mesopotamia-Egypt

Royal Tomb of Ur

The British version of the account of the Royal Tomb of Ur was told in a story-like manner that a child could understand and enjoy. As opposed to the American version, in which the article seemed to focus on advertising the Museum of Pennsylvania rather than truly giving an educational lesson. The director of the Museum of Pennsylvania, C. B. Gordon, was the one who taught of the idea of having a jointed expedition with the British Museum, contacting the museum director, Sir Frediric Kenyon. Together, they asked a mutual friend, Sir Charles Leonard Wolley to be in charge of the expedition. Through his search, he found a burial ground where some among the dead were royalty. To prevent a leak of information from occurring, Sir Charles Leonard Wolley send a telegram in Latin to the museum directors.  One thing that caught his attention in particular was Queen Puabi’s tomb. There, he discovered a bull-headed lyre. In the beginning of the excavation, the Sir Wolley’s interest was in the architectural aspect of the burial ground; it was only later on that he truly explored the site, revealing its treasure.  

Rosetta Stone

Under the rule of Napoleon, the French army invaded Egypt and found the Rosetta Stone, in Alexandria. In 1801, the English army soon defeated the French who had no choice but to surrender. The French general had sent out a letter asking for back-up but he was considered crazy and his request was denied. His troops consisted mostly of researchers, not fit to be soldiers. Under the supervision of the Englishmen, the Frenchmen were given the right to leave Alexandria with all there personal belongings which included the historical findings. Now, the Rosetta Stone was coveted by the English but the French general simply said it was his private property. Even though, the British ended up with the valuable artifact, how they managed to gain it is where it gets a bit sketchy. Based on the account of two men who had two different memory of how everything happened no one is really sure. The version that makes the most sense would be that the French general was betrayed and that is how he lost the stone. When the English scholar that was put in charge of decipher the writing on the Rosetta Stone, he had only managed to recognize the names of certain royalties. It was a French scholar that made a true breakthrough by understanding how the Egyptian writings worked themselves. It seems like the British owe the French for their discoveries of the ancient times, seeing as how they made all the efforts.

Ramses II

The statue of Ramses II represents the intelligence of the Egyptian culture as well as the power that this King had over his people. The Egyptian took into consideration the concept of proportion when they were making the statue. This showed that mathematics was involved. The number of people that was needed to create this wonderful piece of art is unimaginable. These people had to be trained, housed and fed, because this project most likely took years to accomplish. This showed that the Egyptians were a tight and well organized community. Of course, they needed a leader that made them be this well mannered which would be Ramses II. In the textbook, there is not a lot of talk about the statue rather it focuses on Ramses II himself. The book talks about all of this king’s major achievement and the statue is just one thing out of many. The things he managed to accomplished through the making of the statue can be seen through his other achievements. Like, for example, his control over his people when it describes his military success. The Egyptian people stayed loyal to him even when it seemed like they were going to lose the battle.