Mycenaean Civilization

Who were the Mycenaeans?

The Mycenaeans appear in the historical record around 1600 B.C., with the appearance of Linear B and shaft graves distinct from Minoan Linear A and burial practices. The Mycenaean people themselves are closely related to the Minoans; both groups likely split off from the same group of migrants. The Mycenaeans existed on mainland Greece and would have come into contact with the Minoan civilization as the Minoans expanded into parts of the Peloponnese. DNA evidence shows that they also intermingled with peoples from the north, perhaps via a second wave of migration.

We don’t know whether the Minoans subjugated the Mycenaeans, exacted tribute, or just lived alongside them, but we do know that the Mycenaeans learned a lot from the Minoans. They adopted the Minoan script to fit their own language, which I’ll talk about more in a moment. They also drew influence from Minoan art, as you’ll see, and prospered off trade with the Minoans.

The Mycenaean Takeover

Around 1450 B.C., possibly after the destabilization of the Minoan center on Crete due to a tidal wave caused by the eruption of Thera, the Mycenaeans assumed administrative control of the Minoan palaces. We know this because the language in use shifted from Linear A to Linear B. But we don’t know whether the Mycenaeans took over by force, though there are some reasons to believe they may have. From their art, we know that the Mycenaeans were a much more warlike people than the Minoans. And the Minoan palaces suffered damage during this time — though an earthquake could have caused that damage.

Following the takeover, Mycenaean architecture and burial practices became more elaborate. They began building more complex beehive graves and imposing palaces featuring throne rooms.

How do we know about the Mycenaeans?

First of all, there’s their script, Linear B. A brilliant architect, Michael Ventris, recognized it as an early form of Greek and was able to decipher it. Most of the Linear B inscriptions are basic record-keeping. Things like, “John brought three vases of olive oil to the palace today.” So we haven’t been able to learn much about Mycenaean culture, although we have learned that their economy was redistributive — that is, all products, specifically grain, were gathered in the center and then distributed back out to the population. Such an economic scheme would have required a strong, centralized government.

An example of the Mycenaean script Linear B. These tablets were found at Pylos.

It’s important to note that this scheme took place within fortress-cities, likely not within the whole of Mycenaean Greece. Unlike the Minoans, the Mycenaeans walled their cities to protect their populations from invasion — another testament to their warlike nature. We know that the Mycenaeans had kings, called wa-na-ka in Mycenaean Greek and wanax in modern English. And we have some information about the structure of their government and society from Homer’s two great epics.

The top of the “Lion’s Gate” at Mycenae, the supposed Mycenaean capital.

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey

Homer himself didn’t live until the 700s B.C., if indeed he was a single person. During that time, he composed the Iliad, which contains distinct echoes of a distant Mycenaean past. For example, Homer’s warriors wear boar’s tusk helmets, which were predominant during Mycenaean times. They eat a meat-based diet, whereas the people of Homer’s time had begun to rely on cereals as their main source of nutrition. And they’re ruled by warrior kings closely resembling the wanax. Moreover, Homer’s King Agamemnon rules the Greek world from a legendary fortress city called Mycenae.

Several other important lords, including Nestor from Pylos, come from areas of heavy Mycenaean influence where Mycenaean settlements existed. For this reason, scholars believe that Homer set out to gather together legends that occurred — in some fashion or another — during the age of the Mycenaean civilization. Whether or not the Trojan War actually took place is still hotly debated, but there is some archaeological evidence that suggests it may have occurred in the late Bronze Age near the end of the Mycenaeans.

How did the Mycenaean civilization fall?

If you’ve been waiting for the mystery, here it is. Around 1200 B.C., the Mycenaean civilization entered a period of decline. Historians aren’t sure what caused the Mycenaean decline, nor what caused the eventual fate of the Mycenaean fortress-cities, most of which were sacked. It’s possible that the Dorian tribe, migrating south, destroyed the Mycenaean centers.

Or a more mysterious group may lie behind the collapse of the Mycenaeans. Called the Sea People, the identity of this group (or groups) remains unknown. But they’re attasted to by Egyptian sources — around the same time the Mycenaeans fell, the Sea People attacked the Egyptian kingdom. The Egyptians were able to rebuff their advance, but many less powerful kingdoms fell prey to their raids — whoever they were. The decline of civilization throughout this time period is known as the Bronze Age Collapse. It may have been in part triggered by climate change.