The ongoing excavation at Akrotiri, on the volcanic island of Thera, which lies 100 kilometers north of Crete, continues to yield information about the civilization of the Aegean Bronze age (3000-1100 BC). Forsyth (classical studies, U. of Toronto) discusses ancient Thera in terms of its geography, history, society, city life, relations with Crete, and the violent eruption that buried the buildings of Akrotiri under mounds of volcanic debris. Includes numerous small maps of archeological sites. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
The Greek Bronze Age, roughly 3000 to 1000 BCE, witnessed the flourishing of the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations, the earliest expansion of trade in the Aegean and wider Mediterranean Sea, the development of artistic techniques in a variety of media, and the evolution of early Greek religious practices and mythology. The period also witnessed a violent conflict in Asia Minor between warring peoples in the region, a conflict commonly believed to be the historical basis for Homer's Trojan War. The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean provides a detailed survey of these fascinating aspects of the period, and many others, in sixty-six newly commissioned articles. Divided into four sections, the handbook begins with Background and Definitions, which contains articles establishing the discipline in its historical, geographical, and chronological settings and in its relation to other disciplines. The second section, Chronology and Geography, contains articles examining the Bronze Age Aegean by chronological period (Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age). Each of the periods are further subdivided geographically, so that individual articles are concerned with Mainland Greece during the Early Bronze Age, Crete during the Early Bronze Age, the Cycladic Islands during the Early Bronze Age, and the same for the Middle Bronze Age, followed by the Late Bronze Age. The third section, Thematic and Specific Topics, includes articles examining thematic topics that cannot be done justice in a strictly chronological/geographical treatment, including religion, state and society, trade, warfare, pottery, writing, and burial customs, as well as specific events, such as the eruption of Santorini and the Trojan War. The fourth section, Specific Sites and Areas, contains articles examining the most important regions and sites in the Bronze Age Aegean, including Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Knossos, Kommos, Rhodes, the northern Aegean, and the Uluburun shipwreck, as well as adjacent areas such as the Levant, Egypt, and the western Mediterranean. Containing new work by an international team of experts, The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean represents the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date single-volume survey of the field. It will be indispensable for scholars and advanced students alike.
Recent excavations and new theoretical approaches are changing our view of the Cyclades. This volume aims to share these recent developments with a broader, international audience. Essays have been carefully selected as representing some of the most important recent work and include significant previously-unpublished material.
This textbook offers an up-to-date academic synthesis of the Aegean islands from the earliest Palaeolithic period through to the demise of the Mycenaean civilization in the Late Bronze III period. The book integrates new findings and theoretical approaches whilst, at the same time, allowing readers to contextualize their understanding through engagement with bigger overarching issues and themes, often drawing explicitly on key theoretical concepts and debates. Structured according to chronological periods and with two dedicated chapters on Akrotiri and the debate around the volcanic eruption of Thera, this book is an essential companion for all those interested in the prehistory of the Cyclades and other Aegean islands.
What is the social role of images and architecture in a pre-modern society? How were they used to create adequate environments for specific profane and ritual activities? In which ways did they interact with each other? These and other crucial issues on the social significance of imagery and built structures in Neopalatial Crete were the subject of a workshop which took place on November 16th, 2009 at the University of Heidelberg. The papers presented in the workshop are collected in the present volume. They provide different approaches to this complex topic and are aimed at a better understanding of the formation, role, and perception of images and architecture in a very dynamic social landscape. The Cretan Neopalatial period saw a rapid increase in the number of palaces and 'villas', characterized by elaborate designs and idiosyncratic architectural patterns which were themselves in turn generated by a pressing desire for a distinctive social and performative environment.
Our thesis is that the archaeological evidence suggests a severe economic dislocation during the Late Minoan IB ceramic period in Crete. This appears to have been triggered, first by a tectonic earthquake and shortly afterwards by the eruption of Thera early in the Late Bronze Age (Late Minoan IA) after which the situation gradually worsened, accompanied by a general feeling of uncertainty caused by the eruption and its effects. The tectonic earthquake led to abandonments at some sites or an effort to rebuild in attempt to re-establish normal economic and social life. The result of these two natural disasters gave local centers greater independence from the traditional "Palaces". This fragmentation of Minoan Crete brought about the end of the most highly developed economic system in the Aegean although it was somewhat resurrected in the following "Mycenaean" period. The natural events which proved to be the catalysts for change, presaged the end of the traditional ruling elites which appeared to have lost their assumed divine support. They tried in vain to maintain their special status, but with major problems in food production and distribution, the existing system disintegrated resulting in a process of decentralisation with an increase in the regional exploitation of land chiefly for local consumption; numerous lesser elites may well have prospered in this environment. However, as in the Hellenistic period, the fragmentation of Crete into many small centres may have led to internal Cretan conflict and a massive wave of fire destructions in Late Minoan IB, indicating a state of anarchy by the end of the period. That Mycenaeans from Mainland Greece arrived on the island at some stage during the Late Bronze Age is clear, although precisely when they arrived is a matter of fierce debate. The "crisis years" of LM IB-II, in the fifteenth century B.C., appear the most likely and opportune. During the succeeding "Mycenaean" period, only the Palace at Knossos seems to have functioned as a major centre. During LM II-III, there was a gradual but general decrease in the sophistication of architecture and arts. The LM II period may perhaps be regarded as the final phase of decline which began in LM IB, with some major centres suffering destructions once again. By Late Minoan II, a new Knossian elite or dynasty appears to have taken control and installed a modified socio-political and economic system. The dynasty relied heavily on administration and bureaucraty to maintain its position. The Santorini eruption is here given the role of a precipitant or catalyst, which began an entire series of changes which eventually resulted in the absorption of Minoan Crete into the Mycenaean, and ultimately, the Greek world.
An up-to-date, systematic depiction of Bronze Age societies of the Levant, their evolution, and their interactions and entanglements with neighboring regions.
Thoroughly researched, Rodney Castleden's Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete here sues the results of recent research to produce a comprehensive new vision of the peoples of Minoan Crete. Since Sir Arthur Evans rediscovered the Minoans in the early 1900s, we have defined a series of cultural traits that make the ‘Minoan personality’: elegant, graceful and sophisticated, these nature lovers lived in harmony with their neighbours, while their fleets ruled the seas around Crete. This, at least, is the popular view of the Minoans. But how far does the later work of archaeologists in Crete support this view? Drawing on his experience of being actively involved in research on landscapes processes and prehistory for the last twenty years, Castleden writes clearly and accessibly to provide a text essential to the study of this fascinating subject.
