Mycenaean Civilisation Facts & Worksheets

• The time after the palaces was a time of change. Some places stayed inhabited and active even after central authority and huge building projects went away. During this time, Tiryns even got bigger. This was still a time of cultural decline, known as the Greek Dark Ages, which lasted until the rise of Archaic Greece in the 8th century BCE.

POLITICAL ORGANISATION

• Mycenaean palatial states were centralised political systems that ruled over nearby areas from the palaces they built. These palace-based governments are mentioned in ancient Greek literature and mythology, like the Iliad and the Catalogue of Ships. Archaeological finds, like those made by Heinrich Schliemann, a German archaeologist, have also confirmed their existence. A central palace managed most parts of the economy, the military and the government in each kingdom. The states divided their territories into provinces, each of which was run by a local administrative centre. There were even smaller districts within these provinces called damoi.
• Some grand palaces were part of larger kingdoms in the area. The fortified site of Gla in Boeotia probably belonged to the Orchomenos kingdom, for example. The strong palace at Mycenae ruled over a much larger area than other palatial states, possibly including nearby cities like Tiryns and Nauplion. It is conceivable that these smaller centres were governed by members of Mycenae’s royal family. The deciphered Linear B tablets, which are the written records of the Mycenaean government, are not complete enough to prove the full political structure of the time. 
• However, evidence from Hittite and Egyptian sources indicates that a significant political authority governed a more extensive territory. Some scholars think that there may have been a group of palatial states that worked together, with either Thebes or Mycenae as the main political centre. The political system of the Mycenaeans came from earlier Neolithic farming communities. Most of the Linear B texts that are still around are about administrative issues, which shows that the bureaucratic system was very well-organised. 
• The wanax, or king, was at the top of the social and political ladder. He had both religious and administrative power, and he probably also led the military. The wanax was in charge of rituals, festivals, the distribution of goods, and the management of skilled workers and soldiers. The lāwāgetas, a high-ranking official with mostly religious duties and maybe some military duties, was directly below him. They led a group of elite warriors called the eqeta, which means companions or followers. The wanax chose local officials to run the territory. 
• These were the koreter (governor), prokoreter (deputy) and damokoros, who probably kept an eye on the local damos or common people. The gerousía, a group of older people, also helped run the local government. At this time, the word ‘basileus’ meant leader of a community, but later it came to mean ‘king’ in Classical Greece. The people of Mycenaean society were either free citizens or enslaved people. Palace administrators and the damos, who worked for the state and paid taxes, were free men. The palace was also connected to skilled workers like farmers, craftsmen and maybe even merchants. Do-e-ro, or enslaved people, worked for the state or for certain gods and were at the bottom of the social ladder.

ECONOMY AND RELIGION OF THE MYCENAEAN CIVILISATION

• The Mycenaean economy worked through a centralised system called a palace economy, in which a central authority moved goods, services and labour around. Because this society existed before money was used, its economy relied on careful recordkeeping and strong management. Linear B tablets found at places like Pylos and Knossos show that the palaces kept a close eye on different industries, managed farmland, and gave rations to workers who depended on them. 
• The palace administration was also in charge of making and distributing goods. The Knossos records, for instance, talk about 80,000 to 100,000 sheep and keep track of the wool they made and how it was shared. Records from Pylos show that there was a structured way of working, especially in the textile industry, where workers had clear roles. But the level of palace oversight changed from region to region and industry to industry. The palace had strict control over some industries, like making bronze and scented oil. 
• Other industries, like ceramics, were only loosely managed. There is also not much proof that different palace centres traded with each other. The palatial centres put together big infrastructure projects, and sometimes these projects involved working together with other regions. These included the drainage systems for the Kopais basin and Nemea valley, the dam near Tiryns, and ports like the one at Pylos, which could hold big ships. Manufacturing was also important, as shown by the large workshops that made textiles, ropes, sails and ceramics.
• The Mycenaeans traded a lot in the Mediterranean. They brought in raw materials like metals and ivory and sent out finished goods like oil, wine, wool and pottery. There were both palace agents and independent merchants there. Archaeological evidence shows that people traded with Bronze Age societies like the Egyptians, Assyrians and Canaanites. 
• The Uluburun shipwreck shows that people traded metals to make bronze. Cyprus was an important link between the Mycenaeans and the East, but trade with the Hittites was limited. Mycenaean goods have been found in places like Georgia, Italy, Sardinia, Spain, and even parts of Central and Northern Europe. 
• In Mycenaean society, there were small shrines and sacred spaces for religious practices, but big temples were not very common. There was a later religious complex at Mycenae that was different. Records show that many gods were worshipped in palatial centres, where priests and priestesses were in charge of religious activities. Some gods from later Greek mythology, like Poseidon, Artemis and Dionysos, were already there, but they were not always the same shape or as important. There were many goddesses called Potnia (mistress), such as Athena and possibly Demeter. Some gods, on the other hand, do not have any known later versions.

ARCHITECTURE

• The palaces of Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos were built on high ground, like hilltops or rocky outcrops, so they could look down on the land around them. The best-preserved examples are at Pylos and Tiryns, while the ruins at Mycenae and the Menelaion are only partially intact. The palaces at Thebes and Orchomenos in Central Greece have only been partially dug up, and the palace on the Athenian Acropolis has almost been destroyed. At Dimini in Thessaly, another important building, probably a palace, has been found. In Laconia, near the village of Xirokambi, a Mycenaean palace has also been found.
• There were a lot of architectural features that were the same in Mycenaean palaces. The megaron, or throne room, was the most important part of each palace. It was the centre of both political and religious life. There was a circular hearth in this room, and four columns around it. The throne was usually on the right side when you walked in. The insides were decorated with rich things that often stood for the ruler’s power. A courtyard led to the megaron, and people could get there through a huge gateway called a propylon. Frescoes with ocean themes, like dolphins, fish and octopuses, were common at places like Pylos and Tiryns.
• There were different courtyards around the megaron that led to rooms used for storage, workshops, receptions and living spaces. There was also a big columned court in front of the megaron and a second, smaller megaron at Pylos, Mycenae and Tiryns. Staircases found in Pylos suggest that these buildings had two floors, with the royal family’s living quarters probably on the top floor.
• Mycenaean centres were known for their fortified buildings. Cyclopean masonry, which involves fitting together huge, unworked boulders without mortar, was used to heavily defend many places, such as Mycenae, Tiryns and Athens. These walls could be more than eight metres thick and often had walkways, parapets, and other defensive features like sally ports and bastions. The Classical Greeks later came up with the word ‘Cyclopean’ to describe these huge buildings. They thought that only the Cyclopes, who were mythical giants, could have built them. The palace at Pylos was not fortified, which is interesting.
• Mycenaean homes were usually built in the same way as homes from the Middle Helladic period. Mudbrick was the main material, but in some places, like Gla and Midea, fired clay roof tiles were also used.

LEGACY OF THE MYCENAEAN CIVILISATION

• After the Greek Dark Ages ended in the 8th century BCE, Greece came back with a lot of myths and legends, the most famous of which are the stories of the Trojan Epic Cycle. The Mycenaean period was seen by the Classical Greeks as a time of great wealth, heroic deeds and divine interaction. People generally thought that the Iliad and the Odyssey, two of Homer’s epics, were true stories about Greece’s past. Only in the 19th century did scholars start to doubt the historical accuracy of Homer’s stories. Schliemann did one of the first systematic digs in Greece at the site of Mycenae in 1876 to try to prove that Homer’s stories were true by matching the places mentioned in the epics to real historical sites.
• Some important parts of Mycenaean culture lived on in later Greek culture. A lot of the gods that people worshipped during the Mycenaean period became important gods in the Olympian pantheon of classical times. The Linear B script is the earliest known way to write Greek. It was used to write the Mycenaean language. There are also many words from Mycenaean Greek that are still used in modern English. 
• The Mycenaeans were also very good at building and engineering. They worked on big infrastructure projects that would not be matched in Europe until the Roman Empire came to power. These included making roads, bridges, culverts, aqueducts, dams and fortresses that could be used by wheeled vehicles. They also came up with important new building ideas, like the relieving triangle, which is a way to lighten the load above lintels. In addition to these accomplishments, they maintained and transmitted various artistic and craft traditions, many of which were shaped by the preceding Minoan civilisation. 
• Some researchers have posited that the enigmatic Sea Peoples who migrated to the Near East may have been Mycenaean Greeks. In a 2020 study, historian Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò posited that the biblical Levites may be linguistically linked to the Greek term ‘la-wo’ (subsequently laoi), signifying the people, potentially suggesting Mycenaean Greek origins.