For the chronology of the Bronze Age of the Greek continental area the term Helladic is used. Within the three phases into which it is divided (Ancient, Middle and Recent), the Mycenaean civilization is framed within the Recent Helladic —HR for short. This, in turn, is divided into HR I, HR II and HR III and each of these is divided into shorter periods designated by the letters A, B and C. Sometimes the numbers 1 and 2 are also used to divide these latter periods. As for the absolute dates to which each of these phases correspond, they are under constant review. Furthermore, dating based on the comparison of Mycenaean archaeological material—mainly ceramics—with material from Egypt and the Near East can be distinguished from dating based on scientific studies such as carbon 14. These methods have produced different results and that is why we speak of a low chronology and a high chronology.[Pi. 2]​.

The findings from different Middle Helladic necropolises show that between this period and the later period there was cultural continuity. Between the end of the Middle Helladic and the beginning of the Recent Helladic, it is estimated that the formation of the Mycenaean kingdoms occurred. The tombs in Circle B at Mycenae date from this transitional period, around 1650-1550 BC. C. Those in Circle A are somewhat later (1600-1500 BC). Weapons and rich finds have been found in these necropolises, many of them imported from abroad, showing a dominant oligarchic elite that maintained strong contacts with Crete and other areas of the Mediterranean.[Pi. 3]​.

HR II saw a strong increase in the number of Mycenaean populations in the continental area while in Crete, around 1450 BC. C., many Minoan settlements were destroyed. Of the previously existing Cretan palaces, only that of Knossos was rebuilt. Some researchers have assumed that the Mycenaeans would have been responsible for these destructions and would have settled on the island, around Knossos, while others believe that the arrival of the Mycenaeans would have occurred later. It has also been suggested that the presence of cultural elements that combine Minoan and Mycenaean characteristics of that period may be due to the fact that the Mycenaean hegemony on the island was supported in some way by a sector of the Minoan population. However, the palace of Knossos suffered another destruction around 1350 BC. C.[6]​.

During HR III the Mycenaean civilization continued to expand. In this period large palaces and fortifications were built. In addition to Crete, other islands in the Aegean Sea (such as Kos, Kalymnos and Rhodes) show Mycenaean sites and were even established in colonies in other more distant places, within the Mediterranean. [Ga. 1]​.

The main tholoi of Mycenae fall between HR IIA and HR IIIA2. They are examples of the considerable monumental wealth that the Mycenaean kings have accumulated. This period constitutes the apogee of the Mycenaean civilization.

Regarding the destructions, most of those in the Greek continental zone occurred at the end of HR IIIB2. Since they are associated with the fire produced in them, most of the Linear B texts belong to HR IIIB2—which corresponds to approximately 1200 BC. C.— but some are older, in particular a part of the Knossos archive, which is from the transition period between HRII and HR III.[Pi. 4]​.

The HR IIIC period corresponds to the final moment of the Mycenaean civilization, after the destruction of the palaces of the Greek continental area. In general, a decrease in the number of settlements can be seen in this period.[S. 3]​.

Contenido

La civilización micénica forma parte de la civilización egea o, en plural, civilizaciones egeas, que son denominaciones historiográficas para la designación de un grupo de civilizaciones prehelénicas (es decir, anteriores a la civilización griega) que se desarrollaron en la protohistoria en el espacio en torno al mar Egeo. Además de la micénica, están las civilizaciones cicládica (en torno a las islas Cícladas), y la minoica (isla de Creta). También se ha especulado con una cuarta civilización, la luvita.[7]​.

Tras la traducción de las tablillas en lineal B, se descubrió que aquellos que se llaman impropiamente «micénicos» son en realidad griegos. No obstante, estos griegos no estuvieron siempre en territorio de Grecia, sino que fueron uno de los pueblos indoeuropeos que eran seminómadas, trajeron el carro y el caballo y migraron, en torno a los años 2100-1900 a. C., desde un área indeterminada que algunas teorías sitúan en territorios al norte de los mares Negro y Caspio. Se mezclaron con la población que ya vivía en ese territorio, a los que se han denominado pelasgos.[Pi. 5]​.

Ninguna fuente escrita que provenga de un yacimiento micénico indica cómo se llamaba este pueblo a sí mismo (su autoetnónimo). Se ha tratado de identificar cómo nombran a los micénicos las fuentes de otros imperios de la Edad del Bronce. En este sentido se piensa que la mención de Ahhiyawa de las fuentes hititas y el topónimo Tanayu") que aparece en fuentes egipcias, designaban a la Grecia micénica o, al menos, una parte de la misma. Estos nombres se han relacionado, respectivamente, con los términos aqueos y dánaos de los poemas homéricos.[Pi. 6]​.

Scientific studies

Among the conclusions of a 2017 genetic study led, among others, by Iosif Lazaridis"), it was found that the Mycenaeans and the Minoans were related and that both civilizations descended from people who were already in Greece or who came from southwestern Anatolia or the eastern Caucasus. As a main difference, the Mycenaeans had a percentage of DNA from ancestors that came from the north (eastern Europe or Siberia).[8]​.

Another genome study published in 2021 carried out by Olga Dolgova"), among others, shows that the populations of the Cyclades, Crete and the Greek continental area were genetically similar in the Early Bronze Age and mainly had ancestors from the Neolithic Aegean, but in the Middle Bronze Age changes are observed in the inhabitants of the northern Greek continental area, who had approximately 50% of ancestors coming from a wide region around the Black Sea and the Sea. Caspian.[9]​.

The language spoken in this civilization was a dialect of Greek that has been conventionally designated as "Mycenaean" and is the one recorded in the texts of the Linear B tablets that have been preserved. It is a dialect that is quite homogeneous in all the centers in which testimonies have been found, although some differences have been found in the derivational morphology and in the lexicon, even within the same center. Some of these variations are attributed to the fact that there would be differences between the commonly spoken Mycenaean and the more formal Mycenaean typical of the administration of the palaces.

On the other hand, the linguistic characteristics of Mycenaean relate it to the Ionian-Attic and Arcadian-Cypriot dialect groups, but it is not believed that it was a direct ancestor of either of the two, but rather that it only shares certain features with them.[10]​.

Mycenaean geography

The general political organization of the Mycenaean world is not known with certainty. Despite this, it is estimated that the settlements in which archeology has found archives of some importance in linear B were prominent centers of power. This is the case of Pylos, Knossos, Mycenae, Thebes "Thebes (Greece)") and Ayios Vasilios—the latter in Laconia, near later Sparta.[Pi. 7]​ In the specific case of the Argive plain, due to the important archaeological remains, it has been suggested that it would have had a complex system in which Mycenae would have total control of that territory, the palace of Tiryns would control the port, and two other prominent fortified centers, Midea "Midea (Argolis)") and Argos "Argos (Greece)"), would have the function of controlling the land connections between the two.[11]​ On the other hand, in Orchomenus "Orchomenus (Boeotia)"), no documents have been found in Linear B but this settlement must have divided the region of Boeotia "Boeotia (historical region)" with Thebes: Orchomenus would control the northern part and would include Lake Copaide and the fortification of Gla, while Thebes would belong to the southern area of Boeotia and at least the central area of Euboea.[12] It is possible that in Crete There were other administrative centers, in addition to Knossos, such as Chania, in the western area. Archaeological remains such as tombs and seals "Seal (stamp)") also confirm the existence of Mycenaean settlements in Attica, Phocis, Ionian Islands, Aetolia, Acarnania, Thessaly and Euboea, in addition to other areas of the Peloponnese not mentioned above. Outside the limits of these geographical areas, the Mycenaeans possibly had some trading colonies in Anatolia, Sicily, the Italian peninsula and Epirus.[Pi. 7]​[Ga. 2]​[Note 1]​.

The mention of a "king of the Ahhiyawa" in Hittite sources has been compared to the "king of the Achaeans." But nothing proves that the Ahhiyawa are the Achaeans (although it seems the most logical solution) and the location of their kingdom remains disputed: Asia Minor, Rhodes, Thrace, mainland Greece...[13] In any case, it is also unclear whether Mycenaean Greece was a confederation of states dominated by a king, or if these states functioned as kingdoms independently.[Pi. 8]​.

The states of Pylos and Knossos

On a smaller scale, there is information through linear B sources about the internal organization of the best-known kingdoms: Pylos and Knossos. But there are not many certainties there either.

These states were led by a king, the wa-na-ka (ϝάναξ / wánax)[Note 2]​ who, in addition to being at the top of political power, probably also held military leadership. There are authors who have argued that in the religious sphere the wa-na-ka would also have had an important role as a high priest or could even have been clothed with a divine character.[Note 3]​[Ga. 3]​.

The wa-na-ka is supported by the ra-wa-ke-ta, whose functions are the subject of debate, but in any case he was a powerful character.[Pi. 9]​[Note 4]​ Both have their own territorial domain, the te-me-no (τέμενος / temenos).[Ga. 4]​.

In addition to the members of the court, other dignitaries are in charge of the local administration of the territory. The kingdom of Pylos is divided into two large provinces, de-we-ro-a3-ko-ra-i-ja., the nearby province, around Pylos, and pe-ra3-ko-ra-i-ja, the distant province, whose possible capital would be the city of re-u-ko-to-ro. The kingdom is further subdivided into sixteen districts, which in turn are made up of a series of towns or municipalities.[14]​[Note 5]​ To lead the districts, the king appoints a ko-re-te (koreter, "governor") and a po-ro-ko-re-te (prokoreter, "sub-governor"). A da-mo-ko-ro (damokoros, "one who takes care of the dada"), takes care of the towns or municipalities, the da-mo (literally "towns", compare with δῆμος / dễmos), and a qa-si-re-u (a word directly preceding βασιλεύς / basileús) also exercises a position at the local level, poorly known - appears to lead a group of bronzers, but some believe that his functions were broader.[Pi. 10]​ It is interesting to note that in the Homeric poems the basileus will be the king.[15]​.

Mycenaean society seems to be divided into two groups of free men: the palace environment and the town. The latter is reflected in the texts with the term "da-mo", which would be a local administrative entity that is essentially linked to agricultural tasks and that must pay taxes. But within the "da-mo" we could also distinguish an elite that would be made up of people who would have some position related to land management, and the rest, who in any case would be owners of small plots of land.[Pi. 11].

Linked to the palace were the "e-qe-ta", whose name means "followers" and whose possessions indicate that they had a high social level. It is possible that they held military and perhaps also religious functions. Other dignitaries are the te-re-ta (telestai), who appear in the texts as landowners who had some type of obligation to the state.[Ga. 5]​[S. 4]​ Within this high-level sector of society, the series of officials in charge of managing the different districts of each kingdom can also be included.[Pi. 12].

Regarding women, in linear B texts they often appear as textile workers. On the other hand, some documents mention categories of women linked to the religious sphere ("e-ri-ta" and "ka-pa-ti-ja") who must have been at the top of the social scale since, at least in the Pylos texts, they owned land and slaves.[Pi. 13].

At the bottom of the social scale are slaves, "do-e-ro" (masculine) and "do-e-ra" (feminine) (compare Greek δούλος / doúlos), although some are listed as landholders, suggesting that they may have been reduced to slavery for failing to pay their debts. Sometimes these slaves are linked to sanctuaries, to specific gods, to livestock, to the textile industry or to the production of bronze.[Pi. 14].

La organización económica de los reinos micénicos conocida por los textos de lineal B es limitada, dado que estos conservan solo registros de los intereses de los palacios. Los escribas anotan las entradas y salidas de productos tanto agrícolas como artesanales, el reparto de tareas de producción y la distribución de las raciones de los equipos de trabajo dependientes de los palacios. Lo que se conoce a través de los documentos de las actividades de la población que no dependía del palacio es solo referente a cargas fiscales.[S. 5]​[Pi. 15]​.

Agriculture

Although the question of the possession of arable lands presents many doubts, it is estimated that most of them probably belonged to the da-mo, that is, the community. It is not clear whether the sanctuaries participated in the possession of part of these lands and it is possible that the palace also had interests in them, since they appear registered in its archives. Furthermore, another part of them belonged directly to wa-ka-na and ra-wa-ge-ta, as seen above.[Pi. 16]​ The lands could be cultivated by their owners or they were leased, which was known as o-na-to, although there was also another type of land ownership called e-to-ni-jo, which must be more beneficial than having it leased.[Pi. 17].

The agricultural production of these kingdoms follows the traditional "Mediterranean triad": cereals, olive trees and vineyards. The cereals grown are wheat and barley. There are also olive plantations for the production of oil, which is not necessarily used for food, but for body care and perfumes. Various wines are obtained from the vine. In addition, flax is grown for clothing, sesame for oil and trees such as the fig tree or the terebinth. Other documented products are sedge, cilantro, safflower, and saffron. On the other hand, legumes are not present in linear B texts but archaeological finds indicate that it was another of the common foods of the Mycenaeans.[Pi. 18]​[Ga. 6]​.

Livestock, hunting and fishing

The information provided by the linear B texts, especially those from Knossos, indicate that the most important livestock was sheep, which provided an abundant production of wool,[Note 6]​ as well as meat and milk.

Goats, cows, oxen and pigs were also raised. Cows and oxen, in addition to the food products and skins they provided, were used for field work and were often used in religious sacrifices. Pigs and goats were also sometimes destined for this type of sacrifice. Horses and donkeys are dedicated to field work and pulling war chariots. The production of honey is also documented.

Hunting was an activity that was very present in Mycenaean society. Representations of this practice abound in decorative elements of some weapons, funerary steles, ceramics and other examples of art of the time, while the hunting of deer, wild goats and wild boars is documented in the texts. On the other hand, fishing is not reflected in the linear B documents but it must have been important, as shown by some artistic representations and archaeological finds of fishing gear.[Pi. 19]​[Ga. 7]​[S. 6]​.

Industry

The textile industry was one of the main sectors of the Mycenaean economy. Wool and linen were worked. While in Crete a large number of sheep are attested that produced a significant amount of wool, in Pylos the work of flax was more important. The boards allow you to follow the entire production chain. An ideogram represents a vertical loom that is believed to have been an innovation of the Mycenaeans. Dyeing took place before spinning. At least six types of cloth, around twenty textile trades and a large number of workers are registered, which indicates a high degree of specialization.[16]​.

Regarding the metallurgical area, at least five metals were worked: gold, silver, copper, tin and lead.[Note 7] Copper and tin were used to form bronze. Written sources record groups of bronzesmiths to whom the metal was distributed to carry out their work.[S. 7] It has been calculated that 400 workers were employed in Pylos in these tasks. Containers, tools and weapons were produced with bronze. In addition to the making of goldsmith's objects, the use of gold in ornaments that decorated furniture is attested.[17]​.

The perfume industry is also attested. The tablets describe the manufacture of perfumed oils: with the smell of rose, sage, etc. Likewise, the texts attest to the production of leather, furniture, glass paste, wheels and war chariots.[Pi. 20]​.

Other industrial or artisanal areas are known more from archeology than from epigraphic testimonies, such as ivory work, the carving of precious or semi-precious stones and pottery. This last activity was the main source of export products.[18]​.

Trade

Written sources provide very little data on Mycenaean trade. In them only direct testimony of a shipment of fabrics from Mycenae to Thebes has been preserved. Even so, it is estimated that internal trade between the different Mycenaean kingdoms must have been a common activity through which the states balanced their respective surpluses and needs. Archeology has provided an example in the discovery of jars in Thebes, Eleusis, Mycenae and Tiryns whose provenance was western Crete.[Ga. 8]​.

As for international trade, since the Mycenaeans mastered the art of navigation and shipbuilding, they may have sailed great distances for commercial purposes. It is known that the Minoans had maintained commercial relations with Ancient Egypt and it has been suggested that these relations would have been resumed when the Mycenaeans came to control the island of Crete after the fall of the Minoan civilization. However, there are historians who argue that their foreign trade was an important part of their economy, but others believe that it was mainly a kind of gift exchange and that the Mycenaeans did not have an important role in foreign trade, which would be controlled mainly by Cypriots.[Pi. 21].

Tracking some of the Mycenaean export products can be done through archaeology. Among these, the remains of Mycenaean pottery stand out especially, which contained products such as wine, perfume and oil, although the pottery itself, which often appears with outstanding decoration, was considered a luxury product.[Pi. 22] Numerous amphorae have been found in the Aegean Sea, Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, but also western Sicily. It is also accepted that Mycenaean merchants could have acted as intermediaries with respect to some commercial products such as glass paste beads used for necklaces that have been found in other more remote areas of the western Mediterranean, as far as the Iberian Peninsula, as well as in areas of Central Europe and Great Britain. Aside from these archaeological finds, it is accepted that the Mycenaean textile industry was largely destined for export.[S. 8]​.

It is estimated that, of the products necessary to make bronze, copper must have been imported by the Mycenaeans from Cyprus and tin from Anatolia or the Mediterranean Levant. Other imported products were luxury goods such as gold, perhaps from Egypt, amber from the Baltic and ivory from Syria,[S. 9]​ in addition to some noble woods from Africa and alum, used to dye skins and fix colors in fabrics.[Pi. 23.

In general, the circulation of Mycenaean goods can be traced thanks to the "nodules." These are small clay prisms, usually three-sided. One of them had a logogram that indicated the type of object and other information was sometimes added to the other sides, such as the type of contribution paid through it, the origin or destination. They had a hole through which a cord was passed that served to tie the nodule to the object.[Pi. 24]​ 56 nodules, which have been found in Thebes in 1982, carry ideograms that represent cattle animals.[19]​ Thanks to them it has been possible to reconstruct the itinerary of the animals: coming from all over Boeotia "Boeotia (historical region)") and Euboea, they are taken to Thebes to be sacrificed. The nodules served to prove that they were not stolen animals and to demonstrate their origin. Once the animals reach their destination, the nodes are checked and collected to make an accounting tablet.[20] The nodes are used for all types of objects and explain the rigor of Mycenaean accounting: the scribe does not have to count the objects himself, he relies on the nodules to make his tablets.

El hecho religioso es bastante difícil de identificar en la civilización micénica, en particular cuando se trata de yacimientos arqueológicos, donde resulta complicado identificar con seguridad un lugar de culto. En cuanto a los textos, hay listas de ofrendas que dan los nombres de los dioses, de algunos santuarios y de algunas festividades.[Pi. 25]​.

Divinities

The Mycenaean pantheon already shows numerous divinities found later in classical Greece. Poseidon seems to occupy a privileged place, especially in the Pylos texts.[Note 8]​ At this time he was probably a chthonic deity, associated with earthquakes. There are also a series of "Ladies" (Potnia), associated with places of worship, such as a "Lady of the Labyrinth" in Crete - which recalls the myth of the Minoan labyrinth, as well as the presence of a god called Daedalus. Zeus appears in the forms Di-we (dative) or Di-wo (genitive). There is also a divinity called with a name that correlates with that of Zeus: Di-u-ja. Other identified divinities found during later times are Hera, Ares, Hermes, Athena, Artemis, Dionysus, Erinia, etc.[Ga. 9] Other names of divinities, however, apparently have no relationship with the classical gods.

Places of worship

No large temple from the Mycenaean period has been identified. Among the spaces of worship, it is estimated that the throne room of the palaces must have held religious rituals. In addition, other buildings found in the citadels must have served as places of worship. This is the case of the so-called "Cult Center of Mycenae" and other sanctuaries such as those found in Tiryns, Agia Irini (island of Ceos) and Filacopí (island of Melos). Other buildings whose finds of cult statuettes and benches allow them to be identified as sanctuaries were in more isolated places.[Pi. 26]​ Some of the places of worship of this time were later important religious centers of classical Greece, such as Epidaurus,[21]​ Eleusis[22]​ or Mount Lyceum "Lyceum (mountain)").[23]​ There are authors who have suggested that in fountains, caves or in other places where deposits of large numbers of statuettes have appeared, a type of popular cult must have been practiced, as opposed to the official one. Examples of this type of cult have been found in Delphi and Ayios Vasilios.[Pi. 26].

Rituals

The presence of both priests and priestesses and the performance of animal sacrifices in honor of the deities are attested in the texts. Possibly part of the sacrificed animal was offered to the gods and then the edible meat would be consumed at great banquets.

Other rituals that must have been important in the cult were libations, as well as offerings of properly scented dresses, luxurious vessels and even people.[Note 9] Processions were also carried out in which participants carried different objects related to the preparation of a party or the image of a divinity. On the other hand, people wearing animal masks also had to participate in some type of ritual.[Pi. 27].

Types of graves

The most common form of burial during the Late Helladic period is inhumation. It is buried under the floor of homes or outside residential areas, in cemeteries, sometimes in mounds. The individual tombs are cist-shaped, with a stone facing. In HR I funerary furniture appears, which was absent in previous periods. At the beginning of the recent Helladic period, the presence of common tombs, rectangular in shape, is also noted.

Later, between the centuries and BC. C., two types of tombs stand out: the tholos, which probably derive from tumuli; and the chamber tombs. The tholos are stone buildings that are crowned by a vault and that are buried under a layer of sand and stones that produce a layer of mud that protects it. The chamber tombs are underground and are carved into the rock. Both the tholos and the chamber tombs were accessed through a door to which a corridor called dromos led.[Pi. 28].

The most impressive tombs have been found in Mycenae: two sets of pit tombs belong to the oldest Mycenaean period, Tomb Circle A and Tomb Circle B, in which rich funerary goods have been found and where the presence of many objects from Crete or directly influenced by the Minoan culture has been noted. [Ga. 10]​ Also in Mycenae, in the shape of a tholos, the Treasure of Atreus stands out - it is the most monumental of the Mycenaean tholos although both the burials it contained and its funerary trousseau are unknown, given that it was looted in Antiquity - the Tomb of Clytemnestra and the Tomb of the Jinn. In Orchomenus the tholos called Treasure of Minias stands out; In Thebes there is the Tomb of the Sons of Oedipus, the largest known chamber tomb, and in Pylos there is another important pit tomb: the Tomb of the Griffin Warrior.[24]​[Pi. 29].

After the destruction of the palaces, in HR III C, a change in the types of tombs is noted, since individual burials become more common, directly underground, in cista, or sometimes in pitoi. On the other hand, the rite of cremation begins to appear and expand from the region of Attica.[Ga. 11].

Funeral rites

Some pictorial representations are known that probably describe funerary rites, such as that of the Hagia Triada sarcophagus. It has been assumed that a procession took place between the deceased's home and the grave. Once the body was deposited, offerings were made that could consist of food, drink, perfume, jewelry, clothing, weapons and figurines, among other objects. The tomb was then closed, although it was often reopened to be reused for another burial.[Pi. 30]​.

The strengths

In their beginnings, the Mycenaean palaces were not fortified. The construction of the first defensive structures did not occur until the century BC. C.[Ga. 12]​ From then on, some of the main Mycenaean centers had imposing walls, such as Athens, Tiryns, Mycenae and Gla.[Fi. 2]​ However, other important centers such as Pylos or Iolco were never walled. [Sa. 1]​ In addition to the citadels, isolated fortresses have also been found that undoubtedly served for military control of the territory.

The Mycenaean walls are often of the "cyclopean" type: they are built with large blocks of stone, stacked one on top of the other and smaller stones were used to fill the gaps between them.[Sa. 2]​ In some of the most important places on the walls these structures were converted into ashlars.[25]​ On the other hand, there were sophisticated systems of entrances and wells inside the citadels to be able to face possible sieges.[Sa. 3]​.

Habitat

The Mycenaean sites show different types of residences, which could have one or two floors.[26] This last case was the most widespread in more recent times. The smallest were quadrangular in shape and measured between five and twenty meters on each side. The lowest layers of the population resided in them. They were constructions with solid stone bases, in which at the top of the walls, thick wooden slats were inserted into the masonry.[26]​ This framework gave the whole, which was not founded, more cohesion and perhaps a certain elasticity that made it more resistant to earthquakes.[26]​ The tiled roofs were exceptional, since the houses were generally covered with terraces.[26]​.

The warehouses and granaries were made of sun-dried bricks or dried mud.[27]​.

It seems that some houses did not have doors: they must undoubtedly have been at a certain height, as can be seen in an ivory plaque from Knossos that represents the façade of a house. It was a precaution against flooding or strong water runoff in the streets, in climates with torrential rains.[28]​.

Particular mention should be made of the houses, generally rural, oval or with apses. Houses with apses appear in mainland Greece in the Neolithic and are found in the HA and HM. They are commonly found in HR III, but existed in periods preceding the Mycenaean, at Termo "Thermo (Greece)") in Aetolia in particular.[28] They are sometimes of the megaron type, consisting of one or two rooms and built in a rather crude manner. There are in the western parts of Greece, in Nijoria, Malthi-Dorio "Dorio (Messenia)"), Tris Langadas (Ithaca), Dodona, Delphi, Iolco, in Macedonia (Kastanas, Limnotopos-Vardino,), in Thrace (Asartepe), in Asia Minor (Miletus), in Cos (Seraglio) and in Crete (Knossos and Arjanes). You can see in them an imported tradition. Rather, it is a revival of ancient indigenous traditions.[28]​.

The largest residences were more elaborate, measuring between approximately 20 and 35 meters on a side and consisting of several rooms and even a central patio. They were organized according to a model close to that of the palace. However, it is not certain that these were residences of Mycenaean aristocrats, since there is another hypothesis that wants to see these buildings as auxiliary rooms of the palace, often located nearby.

The Mycenaean palaces

The Mycenaean palaces have their most beautiful examples in those excavated at Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. They are the centers of the administration of the Mycenaean states, as the archives found have shown. From an architectural point of view, they are the heirs of the Minoan palaces, but also of other great residences of continental Greece from the Middle Helladic period. The palatial structures of the three mentioned palaces were erected on hilltops or rocky outcrops, dominating the immediate surroundings.[Fi. 3]​ The best preserved are found in Pylos and Tiryns, while that of Mycenae is only partially preserved. In central Greece, Thebes "Thebes (Greece)") and Orchomenus "Orchomenus (Boeotia)") have only been partially brought to light. On the other hand, the palace built on the acropolis of Athens has been almost completely destroyed. An important building at Dimini in Thessaly, possibly ancient Iolcus,[29] is considered by several archaeologists to be a palace.[Fi. 3]​ In 2008 a Mycenaean palace was also found in Laconia, about 12 km south of Sparta, at the site of Ayios Vasilios "Agios Vasilios (Laconia)").[30]​[31]​.

The palatial structures of continental Greece share a series of common characteristics.[32]​[33]​ They are organized around a set of courtyards to which various rooms of different sizes open, among which are warehouses and workshops, as well as residence and representation areas. The central point of the socio-political aspect of a Mycenaean palace was the megaron, the throne room.[Fi. 3]​ It was arranged around a circular hearth surrounded by four columns. The throne was generally located on the right side upon entering the room, while the interior of the megaron was lavishly decorated, displaying images intentionally designed to demonstrate the political and religious power of the ruler.[Fi. 4]​ Access to the megaron was through a courtyard, reached from a propylon.[33]​ The iconography of the palatial chambers is remarkably uniform throughout Greece. For example, in Pylos and Tiryns the paintings focus on marine motifs, offering representations of octopods, fish and dolphins.[32]​ Around the megaron a group of courtyards each opened onto several rooms of different sizes, such as warehouses and workshops, as well as reception rooms and living quarters.[33]​ In general, the Mycenaean palaces have provided a large number of artifacts and fragmentary frescoes.[33]​.

The palaces at Pylos, Mycenae, and Tiryns share other common features;[33]​ a large colonnaded courtyard lies directly in front of the central megaron,[Fi. 5]​ while a second, but smaller, megaron is also found within these structures.[33]​ The stairs of the palace at Pylos indicate that the palaces had two floors.[Fi. 6]​ The private chambers of the members of the royal family were presumably on the second floor.[Fi. 7].

• - Plan of the palace of Tiryns.

• - The home of the megaron of Pylos.

Public works

Among the public works carried out by the Mycenaeans, we can mention the network of roads that ran through their territories, as well as the bridges built - of stone or earth - to facilitate communications.[28] The water supply systems from natural sources through underground pipes that have been found in the citadels also stand out. On the other hand, a large-scale work was the canalization system carried out on Lake Copaide for agricultural purposes. In the vicinity of Tiryns they also built a cyclopean dam.[Ga. 13] Another cyclopean dam also partially subsists between Tiryns and Agios Hadrians, in Argolis.[28]​.

Glasses

Archeology has found a large quantity of ceramics from the Mycenaean period, of very varied shapes.[34]​.

In HR I, two types of decoration can be highlighted: that of those containers with geometric lines that form different compositions in each structure of the glass, which has been called "architectural style" and, on the other hand, other containers that have a decoration that covers the entire glass, which has been called "unitary style." In the HR II B, the so-called "efirean cup" was very common, consisting of two handles and a very stylized foot.

In HR III there are glasses that have been called "champagne glasses" because of their shape, small, with a handle and without decoration. Also in this period, kilices and stirrup jars abound, [Pi. 31]​ which consist of two handles at the top of the glass that is completely closed and provided only with a cylindrical and vertical pouring spout.[35]​.

In the peak phases of civilization, the models become standardized throughout the Mycenaean space and production increases considerably in quantity. Common decorative motifs include spirals, leaves, double axes, flowers and marine motifs, often influenced by Minoan ceramics. Another type of vessel decoration uses motifs present in wall paintings, such as warrior or animal themes, among others.[36]​.

In addition to ceramic vessels, abundant examples of metal vessels (mainly bronze, but also gold), as well as other luxurious materials such as ivory, have been found in Mycenaean archaeological sites.[Pi. 32].

Among the unique pieces of outstanding artistic value we can mention the "Vafio vessels", which are made of gold with a decoration that represents the capture of a bull and which belong to HR II; a gold rhyton in the shape of a lion's head found in Mycenae, a krater found in Enkomi, Cyprus, which represents a landscape with two people in a chariot in front of another person holding a scale and the "pyx "Pyx (ceramic)") of the lyre player", found in Crete, which belongs to MR III A and represents a man holding a lyre in one hand and what looks like an ear of wheat in the other.[Pi. 33].

• - Ephyrean cup found in Koraku "Korakou (Corinth)"), Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth.

• - Enkomi Crater, Cyprus Museum.

• - «Pyx of the lyre player», Chania Archaeological Museum.

• - Stirrup jug. Around 1200 BC. C. (HR IIIA-B).

Sculpture

The Mycenaean period did not produce large statues. Most of the sculpture of the period consists of fine baked earth statuettes, found mainly at the site of Philacopí, but also in Mycenae, Tiryns or Ásine.[37] Most of the statuettes represent anthropomorphic figures (although there are also zoomorphic ones), male or female. The figures are in different postures: arms extended, raised towards the sky; arms folded over the hips; sitting. They are painted, monochrome or polychrome. Their meaning is not clear, but it seems likely that they are votive objects, found in contexts that appear to be places of worship.

The most representative figure is the so-called Mycenaean Trio, which represents two women and a girl, whose interpretation could be that they are divinities or the same woman passing through three ages.[Pi. 34] An image of the mother goddess with her son on her lap also stands out.

Idols in psi, fi or tau are also common, so called because of their similarity to these letters of the Greek alphabet. It is mainly found in tombs and shrines.

The only stone bas-reliefs carved in Mycenaean Greece that are preserved come from the site of Mycenae, from the early Late Helladic period. These are thirteen steles found in the pit tombs of this site, which represent scenes of war, hunting or animal fighting in a rough style, decorated with spiral decorative motifs.[38]​[39]​ They have no known posterity. The only recent but later Helladic bas-relief comes from the same site: it is the decoration over the Lions Gate. It represents two headless animals, identified without certainty as lions, placed on both sides of a column and resting their front paws on a type of altar. The decoration has also disappeared. The style of this work is reminiscent of Cretan seals, unlike the previous funerary bas-reliefs which are properly Mycenaean.[40]​.

• - Trio of Mycenae. Athens, National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

• - Head of a woman, one of the rare examples of Mycenaean monumental plastic art. Athens, National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

• - The Lady of Filacopí; Handmade ceramic figurine of a goddess or priestess from the Western Sanctuary in Filacopí. Late Helladic Period III-A (century BC) in the Archaeological Museum of Milos.

• - Bronze figure of a man from the Sanctuary of Philacopí, from the Mycenaean culture, in the Archaeological Museum of Milos.

Paint

Some fragments of mural frescoes have been found in the palaces and in some other notable buildings that denote that Mycenaean painting was greatly influenced by Minoan painting, although differences can be seen in the themes represented since in addition to processions and religious figures, which also appear among the Minoans, activities more associated with the Mycenaeans such as war and hunting are represented.[Pi. 35] Other frescoes are made up of geometric motifs. On the other hand, there are paintings that are not only intended to decorate or represent religious figures, but are also useful to integrate viewers into a context related to a particular cult ritual.[41] Various paintings are also found on sarcophagi; In these cases the themes probably had different funerary symbols as their axis.[Pi. 36].

• - Fresco found in Pylos, around 1350 BC. C.).

• - Fresco from Tiryns (around 1300 BC).

• - Lárnax "Larnax (sarcophagus)") from Tanagra with the representation of a sphinx (centuries - BC).

Glyptic

Glypticism, an art that already had an important development in the Minoan civilization, was also prominent in the Mycenaean world, although it is often difficult to know whether the seals found in excavations in the Greek continental area were made by the Mycenaeans or were imports from the Minoans. "Seal (stamp)" stamps were made as personal amulets or to label objects. The materials in which these seals were carved were very diverse: glass, semi-precious stones, gold, among others. The themes represented were also very varied, such as hunting, hybrid beings, sacrificial rituals, processions and fights. One of the most outstanding unique seals was found in Pylos in 2015. It is the "Pylos combat agate", which represents a combat with great detail.[Pi. 37].

Arms

Military elements have been found among the treasures of the Mycenaean period. The most impressive find is Dendra's "Armor (Combat)") armor, the complete equipment of a warrior. The breastplate he wears is composed of bronze plates sewn onto a leather dress. The weight of the armor had to impede the warrior's mobility, so it is believed that he was a combatant on a chariot, although there are authors who believe that it could also be used standing in combat or in single duels.[Sa. 4]​.

In addition to armor, defensive weapons consisted of shields and helmets. Among the helmets, the model of wild boar tusks stands out, [Sa. 5]​ which is absent from the last levels of recent Helladic. Two types of shields were used: an 8-shaped model and another rectangular model, also called "tower".[Sa. 6]​.

Offensive weapons were mainly made of bronze. Spears and javelins have been found, as well as a set of swords of different sizes, which were initially made to hit with the rapier-like edge and in the final Mycenaean period were made to be used mainly in combat to cut. The rest of the weapons used by the Mycenaeans consisted of daggers, bows, arrows and slings.[Sa. 7].

• - Fresco from Mycenae representing a shield in the shape of an eight.

• - Helmet made of boar tusks found in a chamber tomb in Spata (Attica).

• - Dagger with representations of nautiluses.

El fin de la civilización micénica presenta una serie de problemas que no han sido resueltos todavía, tanto desde el punto de vista cronológico como de interpretación de los hechos.

Destruction and reorganization

Signs of a deteriorating situation in the Mycenaean world may be present as early as the century BC. C., perhaps related to a decline in long-distance trade circuits that would have generated tensions between states, but this remains to be confirmed.[42]​ The end of Recent Helladic IIIB1 was marked by some destruction, especially in Mycenae.[43]​ In Recent Helladic IIIB2, around 1250/1200 BC. C., an increase in the defense systems of the Mycenaean sites is observed, a sign of growing insecurity. However, this is not necessarily a period of crisis, since these levels have provided archaeological material that shows a level of wealth that has nothing to envy of the previous ones. The end of this period is marked by numerous destructions of much of the Mycenaean palace sites in mainland Greece, and this time the palaces were not rebuilt: some such as Mycenae and Tiryns were reoccupied, but in a more modest way, while Pylos and Thebes were completely abandoned. The destruction also affected secondary sites, but it is unclear to what extent it affected this category of poorly excavated habitat. Similar destruction is found in Crete.[44][45]​.

The decline is, therefore, evident at the end of the century BC. C., when the Recent Helladic III C begins, which constitutes the "postpalatial" period. The administration characteristic of the Mycenaean palace system had disappeared, the writing of tablets in Linear B had ceased, luxury items were no longer imported.[45]​ But the Mycenaean material features remain for at least a century, so the period, although without palaces, is characterized as a phase of Mycenaean civilization.[Le 1]​ A revival is detected in several places in the middle of the century, but it is not lasting. The presence of burials of warriors indicates that an elite still existed in the century BC. C.[44]​[Le 2]​ This could be related to the change towards times of chronic insecurity.[Le 3]​ In fact, instability seems to be a constant of the period, which probably sees important population movements, perhaps due to the increase in insecurity (revolts, pirate raids).[44]​ In the post-palatial period there was a decrease in the number of settlements in Greece,[46]​ which could have been very significant in some regions (9 of them disappeared). every 10 settlements in Boeotia, 2 out of 3 in the Argolis). Some settlements such as Mycenae or Tiryns remained occupied, their citadels were maintained and the material culture found in them continued to have Mycenaean features, but in other places the situation is less known, although the discoveries have advanced knowledge of the period. day was attributed to external invaders, and the painted pottery of the period has been considered an antecedent of geometric styles. In this period the practice of cremation of corpses also increases. Thus, the post-palatial period is not exempt from creativity and innovation.[48]​ In more general terms, the homogeneity of material culture that was the order of the day during the palatial period was coming to an end, giving way to greater regional diversity, which implies a diversity of situations in the way the crisis was experienced and the impact it had.[45]​.

In Crete, the structure of settlements changes: coastal locations are abandoned in favor of inland locations on high altitudes, which is explained by the search for protection and increased insecurity at sea.[49]​[50]​ In the Cyclades, contacts with the mainland are decreasing, and it has been proposed that the disturbances detected in some places are due to the arrival of refugees from the mainland. After the period of disturbance there is a settlement of great wealth in Grotta, on Naxos "Naxos (island)"), but the situation on the other islands remains obscure.[51] On the coast of Asia Minor and Crete, groups from the Mycenaean or "Mycenainized" world of the Aegean settled in this period, but it is not known how important they were; Whatever the case, they initiated important changes for these regions.[Le 5]​ In more general terms, this crisis is part of a context of collapse of the civilizations of the Bronze Age, which affects the ancient world from the eastern Mediterranean to Mesopotamia, and devastates several important kingdoms (first of all the Hittites, also Ugarit) and sees the marked decline of others (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon "Babylon (kingdom)"), Elam).

Search for the causes

Even today, researchers continue to speculate about the underlying causes of the decline of the Mycenaean civilization in this period[52]​[44]​[Le 6]​ Beyond the destructions, which are not unprecedented in the previous history of the Aegean world of the Bronze Age, the most striking phenomenon is the absence of reoccupation of the large sites and the end of the palace administration, which thus creates an important rupture, and is what has stimulated the greatest reflections.[Le 7] Several explanations have been proposed. Those based on natural catastrophes (climate change, earthquakes, drought, also epidemics) are usually rejected but resurface regularly, and should not be completely discarded. Traditionally two main theories dominate: that of population movements and that of internal conflicts. The first attributes the destruction of the Mycenaean sites to the invaders. Sometimes the Dorians are invoked, sometimes the Sea Peoples. The former, to whom later Greek historians refer, are now considered to have already been present in mainland Greece before, so there is a tendency to stop accepting the ancient theory of a Dorian invasion that devastated the civilization of the Achaeans ("Achaean (people)"), which does not appear in the archaeological record and is based solely on linguistic arguments. The movement of Balkan peoples towards the Near East during this period, mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions that refer to the invaders as "Sea Peoples", is well documented, although poorly understood. These peoples are known to have participated in population movements that were probably responsible for much destruction in Anatolia or the Levant, but the chronology of this destruction is very poorly established. The material culture that spread with these migrations has, in any case, strong affinities with the Aegean world, particularly that of the first Philistines who arrived in the Near East. The mention of a town called Aqweš (reminiscent of the term Achaean) in an Egyptian text from the century BC. C., has led some scholars to assume that the Mycenaeans would have participated in these population movements, especially since the Mycenaeans probably settled in Cyprus around the year 1200 BC. C. But, once again, these arguments remain unprovable, and current research is oriented towards a vision of groups that mix people of diverse origins (Mycenaeans, Mycenaized Aegeans, Anatolians, Cypriots). The second theory is that the Mycenaean civilization collapsed during internal social conflicts, caused by the rejection of the palace system by the most disadvantaged social strata, who would become impoverished at the end of the late Helladic period. This hypothesis is sometimes combined with the previous one, when an attempt is made to mix social divisions with ethnic ones (revolt of the "Doric" people reduced to servitude according to J. Hooker). Other proposals have directed the search for explanations towards a logic of socioeconomic transformation, qualifying catastrophism: the final period of the Mycenaean civilization would rather see a process of social recomposition, of redistribution of power in society, which would explain the disappearance of the Mycenaean elites and the characteristic features of this social group (palaces, tombs, art, writing, etc.), but which would affect the rest of society less.[53] Due to the uncertainties chronologically, it is difficult to be more precise, and explanations based on a single cause seem excluded: it is a complex phenomenon based on several factors, in which a "snowball effect" intervenes that makes the situation increasingly less controllable and explains the magnitude of the collapse and the chaotic aspect of the situation that follows the destructions.[44]​.

Towards the Dark Ages

Whatever the causes, the Mycenaean civilization definitively disappeared in the last years of recent Helladic IIIC, when Mycenae and Tiryns were destroyed again, then abandoned, and became minor places for the rest of its existence.[54] This end, which must be dated to the last years of the century BC. C. or shortly after, it occurs at the end of the long decline of the Mycenaean civilization, which took a long century to become extinct. Instead of an abrupt break, Mycenaean culture gradually disintegrated. Afterwards, its main features were lost and were not preserved in later periods.[45]​[Le 8]​ Thus, at the end of the Late Bronze Age, the great royal palaces, their administrative records in Linear B script, the collective tombs and the Mycenaean artistic styles had no continuity: the entire "system" of Mycenaean civilization collapsed and disappeared.[55]​ No trace of the elite remained; The habitat was made up of towns or villages grouped together without public or religious buildings; artisanal production lost a lot of variety and became essentially utilitarian; Differences in ceramic production and funerary practices are strong even between neighboring regions.[44]​ The beginning of the century BC. C. opened a new context, that of the "sub-Mycenaean" phase, whose ceramic material was considerably poor compared to the palatial phases[56] Greece then re-entered the Dark Age of the historiographic tradition, which marks the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, and towards the "geometric" ceramic traditions (the protogeometric period begins around the middle of the century BC). The cultures that developed after the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization were less open to the outside, their elites were less wealthy and their socioeconomic organization was less complex, although the pessimistic outlook that previously prevailed has been qualified.[57]​.

The rupture created by the "dark centuries" is such that the Mycenaean civilization seems to fall into oblivion and its social and political characteristics disappear. On the cultural aspect, elements of continuity are debated. A first point is the fact that the Greek language was preserved during this period, although the Mycenaean writing was forgotten, and that at the end of the Dark Ages the Greeks went to the Near East to adopt their alphabet. The vocabulary of the Mycenaean period can be understood because it has much in common with that of ancient Greek, but the meanings of the words undergo notable changes between periods, which refers to the changes that occur in the civilization of Greece. Archeology also shows many changes, as seen above: the Mycenaean palace system disappears around 1200 BC. C., and then the other material features of the Mycenaean civilization disappear during the course of the century BC. C., particularly its ceramic styles. The abandonment of many Mycenaean sites is another indicator of the radical nature of the rupture that occurred at that time, as well as the changes in burial and settlement practices and also in architectural techniques. A system collapses, then a civilization, and something new is born, on new foundations. The fact that archaeological data remains limited, however, prevents us from fully measuring the extent of the rupture that occurred, its modalities and its rhythm.[58]​.

The question of the extent of the break between the Bronze Age and the Dark Ages is often raised in the area of ​​religion. Mycenaean tablets have indicated that the Greeks of this period already worshiped the main deities known from the archaic and classical eras, with some exceptions. But the structure of the pantheon seems to show significant differences, and there are few continuities that emerge from the study of rituals and religious vocabulary,[59]​ although sacrifice to the gods was already the central act of the cult, following principles that seem to correspond to those of the historical periods.[60]​ Furthermore, little or nothing is known about the functions and powers that the deities of the Mycenaean period embodied, so the comparison is usually limited to the names: but nothing allows us to affirm that the Zeus of the period Mycenaean has the same aspects as that of the archaic and classical periods. As for the question of the continuity of the places of worship, it is no more obvious to resolve: there are certainly traces of Mycenaean occupation in certain important sanctuaries of classical antiquity (Delphi, Delos), but nothing indicates with certainty that they are sanctuaries. In fact, very often, when there is continuity of occupation, a sanctuary arises during the Dark Ages from a Mycenaean site that has no obvious religious function, with some exceptions (such as Epidaurus or Agia Irini, the latter on the island of Ceos). This implies at least the conservation of a memory of the Mycenaean period, even if it is blurry, which ensures the continuity of the occupation and even the attribution of a sacred aspect to a site. But the sanctuaries of the first millennium BC. C., with its temples and temenos, do not look at all like those identified for the Mycenaean period, which seems to indicate a deep rupture in religious beliefs and practices.[61]​.

Another recurring question is the extent to which the Homeric narratives, and more broadly the epic cycles, provide information about the Mycenaean period. This dates back to the time of Schliemann's discoveries, who explicitly linked his findings at Mycenae and Troy with the Homeric epics (which guided his research), and was followed in this by historians and archaeologists of the following decades. One of the pioneers of the history of Greek religion and mythology, Martin P. Nilsson, considered that the heroic narratives referred to the Mycenaean period, since several important places from this period are presented as main kingdoms (Mycenae, Pylos), and also that they document a period in which the royal institution is paramount, which corresponds well to the Mycenaean era. Furthermore, he saw antecedents of certain Greek myths in Mycenaean iconography. But these interpretations are far from unanimous, since the Mycenaean images are the subject of several very divergent explanations, several important places of the Mycenaean period are not attested in the epic texts and some important kingdoms of the epics have left no trace of the Mycenaean era (first of all Ithaca, the homeland of Odysseus).[63] Since the 1950s, with the translation of the tablets Mycenaeans, which allowed us to improve the knowledge of this civilization, then the works of M. I. Finley, and the archaeological discoveries that followed, the consensus that has emerged is that the Homeric texts do not describe the Mycenaean world, which was long before the time of their writing (around the second half of the century BC) and very different from what is shown in these stories. It has been proposed that the texts are not based on the Mycenaean era, but on the society of the period of their writing and that of the immediately preceding period (i.e., the Dark Ages), while adding reminiscences of the Mycenaean era.[64]​[Le 9]​ Thus, it has been proposed that the Homeric texts would preserve some authentic memories of the ritual traditions of the Bronze Age.[65]​ In a passage from the Iliad (X,260-271) a boar's tusk helmet similar to those known in the Mycenaean period is accurately described), while this type of object is unknown in the Homeric period, indicating that knowledge of some elements of Mycenaean material culture may have survived.[66]​.

• - Other Mycenaean sites not mentioned in the text: Category: Mycenaean settlements.

• - Achaeans "Achaean (people)").

• - Mycenaean conules.

• - Pre-Hellenic goldsmithing.

• - Mycenaean painting.

• - Submycenaean.

• - Chronology of ancient Greece.

• - — The Mycenaean world. [1977]. Madrid: Alianza, 1st reprint, 2000, ISBN 8420679208.

• - — (in French) Le déchiffrement du linéaire B. Paris: Gallimard (col. Bibliothèque des Histoires), 1972.

• - — (in English) with L. Godart, J. T. Killen, J.-P. Olivier, A. Sacconi and I. Sakellarakis: Corpus of mycenaean inscriptions from Knossos (4 vol.). Cambridge University Press, 1987-1999.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Mycenaean civilization.

• - Jaime Almansa, Beatriz del Mazo and José María Señorán: «Mycenaean palaces?», in ArqueoWeb magazine 8-2 (2007).

• - María Rosario Arco Coca: «Study of the Mycenaean lexicon referring to the perfumed oil industry», doctoral thesis, Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​2015.

• - Carlos Various García: «The documents on linear B of Micenas. Global interpretation essay", doctoral thesis, Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​1993.

• - "The Mycenaean civilization", lecture by Juan Piquero on May 25, 2021, at the Juan March Foundation.

• - (in Greek) Μυκηναϊκή Ελλάδα, on the website of the Ίδρυμα Μείζονος Ελληνισμού (Foundation of the Hellenic World).

• - (in English) «Prehistoric archeology in the Aegean world», at Darthmouth College.

• - (in English) Gregory Nagy: «Diachronic Homer and a Cretan "Odyssey"» Archived August 3, 2019 at the Wayback Machine., on the CHS or Center for Hellenic Studies site, 2017.

For the chronology of the Bronze Age of the Greek continental area the term Helladic is used. Within the three phases into which it is divided (Ancient, Middle and Recent), the Mycenaean civilization is framed within the Recent Helladic —HR for short. This, in turn, is divided into HR I, HR II and HR III and each of these is divided into shorter periods designated by the letters A, B and C. Sometimes the numbers 1 and 2 are also used to divide these latter periods. As for the absolute dates to which each of these phases correspond, they are under constant review. Furthermore, dating based on the comparison of Mycenaean archaeological material—mainly ceramics—with material from Egypt and the Near East can be distinguished from dating based on scientific studies such as carbon 14. These methods have produced different results and that is why we speak of a low chronology and a high chronology.[Pi. 2]​.

The findings from different Middle Helladic necropolises show that between this period and the later period there was cultural continuity. Between the end of the Middle Helladic and the beginning of the Recent Helladic, it is estimated that the formation of the Mycenaean kingdoms occurred. The tombs in Circle B at Mycenae date from this transitional period, around 1650-1550 BC. C. Those in Circle A are somewhat later (1600-1500 BC). Weapons and rich finds have been found in these necropolises, many of them imported from abroad, showing a dominant oligarchic elite that maintained strong contacts with Crete and other areas of the Mediterranean.[Pi. 3]​.

HR II saw a strong increase in the number of Mycenaean populations in the continental area while in Crete, around 1450 BC. C., many Minoan settlements were destroyed. Of the previously existing Cretan palaces, only that of Knossos was rebuilt. Some researchers have assumed that the Mycenaeans would have been responsible for these destructions and would have settled on the island, around Knossos, while others believe that the arrival of the Mycenaeans would have occurred later. It has also been suggested that the presence of cultural elements that combine Minoan and Mycenaean characteristics of that period may be due to the fact that the Mycenaean hegemony on the island was supported in some way by a sector of the Minoan population. However, the palace of Knossos suffered another destruction around 1350 BC. C.[6]​.

During HR III the Mycenaean civilization continued to expand. In this period large palaces and fortifications were built. In addition to Crete, other islands in the Aegean Sea (such as Kos, Kalymnos and Rhodes) show Mycenaean sites and were even established in colonies in other more distant places, within the Mediterranean. [Ga. 1]​.

The main tholoi of Mycenae fall between HR IIA and HR IIIA2. They are examples of the considerable monumental wealth that the Mycenaean kings have accumulated. This period constitutes the apogee of the Mycenaean civilization.

Regarding the destructions, most of those in the Greek continental zone occurred at the end of HR IIIB2. Since they are associated with the fire produced in them, most of the Linear B texts belong to HR IIIB2—which corresponds to approximately 1200 BC. C.— but some are older, in particular a part of the Knossos archive, which is from the transition period between HRII and HR III.[Pi. 4]​.

The HR IIIC period corresponds to the final moment of the Mycenaean civilization, after the destruction of the palaces of the Greek continental area. In general, a decrease in the number of settlements can be seen in this period.[S. 3]​.

Contenido

La civilización micénica forma parte de la civilización egea o, en plural, civilizaciones egeas, que son denominaciones historiográficas para la designación de un grupo de civilizaciones prehelénicas (es decir, anteriores a la civilización griega) que se desarrollaron en la protohistoria en el espacio en torno al mar Egeo. Además de la micénica, están las civilizaciones cicládica (en torno a las islas Cícladas), y la minoica (isla de Creta). También se ha especulado con una cuarta civilización, la luvita.[7]​.

Tras la traducción de las tablillas en lineal B, se descubrió que aquellos que se llaman impropiamente «micénicos» son en realidad griegos. No obstante, estos griegos no estuvieron siempre en territorio de Grecia, sino que fueron uno de los pueblos indoeuropeos que eran seminómadas, trajeron el carro y el caballo y migraron, en torno a los años 2100-1900 a. C., desde un área indeterminada que algunas teorías sitúan en territorios al norte de los mares Negro y Caspio. Se mezclaron con la población que ya vivía en ese territorio, a los que se han denominado pelasgos.[Pi. 5]​.

Ninguna fuente escrita que provenga de un yacimiento micénico indica cómo se llamaba este pueblo a sí mismo (su autoetnónimo). Se ha tratado de identificar cómo nombran a los micénicos las fuentes de otros imperios de la Edad del Bronce. En este sentido se piensa que la mención de Ahhiyawa de las fuentes hititas y el topónimo Tanayu") que aparece en fuentes egipcias, designaban a la Grecia micénica o, al menos, una parte de la misma. Estos nombres se han relacionado, respectivamente, con los términos aqueos y dánaos de los poemas homéricos.[Pi. 6]​.

Scientific studies

Among the conclusions of a 2017 genetic study led, among others, by Iosif Lazaridis"), it was found that the Mycenaeans and the Minoans were related and that both civilizations descended from people who were already in Greece or who came from southwestern Anatolia or the eastern Caucasus. As a main difference, the Mycenaeans had a percentage of DNA from ancestors that came from the north (eastern Europe or Siberia).[8]​.

Another genome study published in 2021 carried out by Olga Dolgova"), among others, shows that the populations of the Cyclades, Crete and the Greek continental area were genetically similar in the Early Bronze Age and mainly had ancestors from the Neolithic Aegean, but in the Middle Bronze Age changes are observed in the inhabitants of the northern Greek continental area, who had approximately 50% of ancestors coming from a wide region around the Black Sea and the Sea. Caspian.[9]​.

The language spoken in this civilization was a dialect of Greek that has been conventionally designated as "Mycenaean" and is the one recorded in the texts of the Linear B tablets that have been preserved. It is a dialect that is quite homogeneous in all the centers in which testimonies have been found, although some differences have been found in the derivational morphology and in the lexicon, even within the same center. Some of these variations are attributed to the fact that there would be differences between the commonly spoken Mycenaean and the more formal Mycenaean typical of the administration of the palaces.

On the other hand, the linguistic characteristics of Mycenaean relate it to the Ionian-Attic and Arcadian-Cypriot dialect groups, but it is not believed that it was a direct ancestor of either of the two, but rather that it only shares certain features with them.[10]​.

Mycenaean geography

The general political organization of the Mycenaean world is not known with certainty. Despite this, it is estimated that the settlements in which archeology has found archives of some importance in linear B were prominent centers of power. This is the case of Pylos, Knossos, Mycenae, Thebes "Thebes (Greece)") and Ayios Vasilios—the latter in Laconia, near later Sparta.[Pi. 7]​ In the specific case of the Argive plain, due to the important archaeological remains, it has been suggested that it would have had a complex system in which Mycenae would have total control of that territory, the palace of Tiryns would control the port, and two other prominent fortified centers, Midea "Midea (Argolis)") and Argos "Argos (Greece)"), would have the function of controlling the land connections between the two.[11]​ On the other hand, in Orchomenus "Orchomenus (Boeotia)"), no documents have been found in Linear B but this settlement must have divided the region of Boeotia "Boeotia (historical region)" with Thebes: Orchomenus would control the northern part and would include Lake Copaide and the fortification of Gla, while Thebes would belong to the southern area of Boeotia and at least the central area of Euboea.[12] It is possible that in Crete There were other administrative centers, in addition to Knossos, such as Chania, in the western area. Archaeological remains such as tombs and seals "Seal (stamp)") also confirm the existence of Mycenaean settlements in Attica, Phocis, Ionian Islands, Aetolia, Acarnania, Thessaly and Euboea, in addition to other areas of the Peloponnese not mentioned above. Outside the limits of these geographical areas, the Mycenaeans possibly had some trading colonies in Anatolia, Sicily, the Italian peninsula and Epirus.[Pi. 7]​[Ga. 2]​[Note 1]​.

The mention of a "king of the Ahhiyawa" in Hittite sources has been compared to the "king of the Achaeans." But nothing proves that the Ahhiyawa are the Achaeans (although it seems the most logical solution) and the location of their kingdom remains disputed: Asia Minor, Rhodes, Thrace, mainland Greece...[13] In any case, it is also unclear whether Mycenaean Greece was a confederation of states dominated by a king, or if these states functioned as kingdoms independently.[Pi. 8]​.

The states of Pylos and Knossos

On a smaller scale, there is information through linear B sources about the internal organization of the best-known kingdoms: Pylos and Knossos. But there are not many certainties there either.

These states were led by a king, the wa-na-ka (ϝάναξ / wánax)[Note 2]​ who, in addition to being at the top of political power, probably also held military leadership. There are authors who have argued that in the religious sphere the wa-na-ka would also have had an important role as a high priest or could even have been clothed with a divine character.[Note 3]​[Ga. 3]​.

The wa-na-ka is supported by the ra-wa-ke-ta, whose functions are the subject of debate, but in any case he was a powerful character.[Pi. 9]​[Note 4]​ Both have their own territorial domain, the te-me-no (τέμενος / temenos).[Ga. 4]​.

In addition to the members of the court, other dignitaries are in charge of the local administration of the territory. The kingdom of Pylos is divided into two large provinces, de-we-ro-a3-ko-ra-i-ja., the nearby province, around Pylos, and pe-ra3-ko-ra-i-ja, the distant province, whose possible capital would be the city of re-u-ko-to-ro. The kingdom is further subdivided into sixteen districts, which in turn are made up of a series of towns or municipalities.[14]​[Note 5]​ To lead the districts, the king appoints a ko-re-te (koreter, "governor") and a po-ro-ko-re-te (prokoreter, "sub-governor"). A da-mo-ko-ro (damokoros, "one who takes care of the dada"), takes care of the towns or municipalities, the da-mo (literally "towns", compare with δῆμος / dễmos), and a qa-si-re-u (a word directly preceding βασιλεύς / basileús) also exercises a position at the local level, poorly known - appears to lead a group of bronzers, but some believe that his functions were broader.[Pi. 10]​ It is interesting to note that in the Homeric poems the basileus will be the king.[15]​.

Mycenaean society seems to be divided into two groups of free men: the palace environment and the town. The latter is reflected in the texts with the term "da-mo", which would be a local administrative entity that is essentially linked to agricultural tasks and that must pay taxes. But within the "da-mo" we could also distinguish an elite that would be made up of people who would have some position related to land management, and the rest, who in any case would be owners of small plots of land.[Pi. 11].

Linked to the palace were the "e-qe-ta", whose name means "followers" and whose possessions indicate that they had a high social level. It is possible that they held military and perhaps also religious functions. Other dignitaries are the te-re-ta (telestai), who appear in the texts as landowners who had some type of obligation to the state.[Ga. 5]​[S. 4]​ Within this high-level sector of society, the series of officials in charge of managing the different districts of each kingdom can also be included.[Pi. 12].

Regarding women, in linear B texts they often appear as textile workers. On the other hand, some documents mention categories of women linked to the religious sphere ("e-ri-ta" and "ka-pa-ti-ja") who must have been at the top of the social scale since, at least in the Pylos texts, they owned land and slaves.[Pi. 13].

At the bottom of the social scale are slaves, "do-e-ro" (masculine) and "do-e-ra" (feminine) (compare Greek δούλος / doúlos), although some are listed as landholders, suggesting that they may have been reduced to slavery for failing to pay their debts. Sometimes these slaves are linked to sanctuaries, to specific gods, to livestock, to the textile industry or to the production of bronze.[Pi. 14].

La organización económica de los reinos micénicos conocida por los textos de lineal B es limitada, dado que estos conservan solo registros de los intereses de los palacios. Los escribas anotan las entradas y salidas de productos tanto agrícolas como artesanales, el reparto de tareas de producción y la distribución de las raciones de los equipos de trabajo dependientes de los palacios. Lo que se conoce a través de los documentos de las actividades de la población que no dependía del palacio es solo referente a cargas fiscales.[S. 5]​[Pi. 15]​.

Agriculture

Although the question of the possession of arable lands presents many doubts, it is estimated that most of them probably belonged to the da-mo, that is, the community. It is not clear whether the sanctuaries participated in the possession of part of these lands and it is possible that the palace also had interests in them, since they appear registered in its archives. Furthermore, another part of them belonged directly to wa-ka-na and ra-wa-ge-ta, as seen above.[Pi. 16]​ The lands could be cultivated by their owners or they were leased, which was known as o-na-to, although there was also another type of land ownership called e-to-ni-jo, which must be more beneficial than having it leased.[Pi. 17].

The agricultural production of these kingdoms follows the traditional "Mediterranean triad": cereals, olive trees and vineyards. The cereals grown are wheat and barley. There are also olive plantations for the production of oil, which is not necessarily used for food, but for body care and perfumes. Various wines are obtained from the vine. In addition, flax is grown for clothing, sesame for oil and trees such as the fig tree or the terebinth. Other documented products are sedge, cilantro, safflower, and saffron. On the other hand, legumes are not present in linear B texts but archaeological finds indicate that it was another of the common foods of the Mycenaeans.[Pi. 18]​[Ga. 6]​.

Livestock, hunting and fishing

The information provided by the linear B texts, especially those from Knossos, indicate that the most important livestock was sheep, which provided an abundant production of wool,[Note 6]​ as well as meat and milk.

Goats, cows, oxen and pigs were also raised. Cows and oxen, in addition to the food products and skins they provided, were used for field work and were often used in religious sacrifices. Pigs and goats were also sometimes destined for this type of sacrifice. Horses and donkeys are dedicated to field work and pulling war chariots. The production of honey is also documented.

Hunting was an activity that was very present in Mycenaean society. Representations of this practice abound in decorative elements of some weapons, funerary steles, ceramics and other examples of art of the time, while the hunting of deer, wild goats and wild boars is documented in the texts. On the other hand, fishing is not reflected in the linear B documents but it must have been important, as shown by some artistic representations and archaeological finds of fishing gear.[Pi. 19]​[Ga. 7]​[S. 6]​.

Industry

The textile industry was one of the main sectors of the Mycenaean economy. Wool and linen were worked. While in Crete a large number of sheep are attested that produced a significant amount of wool, in Pylos the work of flax was more important. The boards allow you to follow the entire production chain. An ideogram represents a vertical loom that is believed to have been an innovation of the Mycenaeans. Dyeing took place before spinning. At least six types of cloth, around twenty textile trades and a large number of workers are registered, which indicates a high degree of specialization.[16]​.

Regarding the metallurgical area, at least five metals were worked: gold, silver, copper, tin and lead.[Note 7] Copper and tin were used to form bronze. Written sources record groups of bronzesmiths to whom the metal was distributed to carry out their work.[S. 7] It has been calculated that 400 workers were employed in Pylos in these tasks. Containers, tools and weapons were produced with bronze. In addition to the making of goldsmith's objects, the use of gold in ornaments that decorated furniture is attested.[17]​.

The perfume industry is also attested. The tablets describe the manufacture of perfumed oils: with the smell of rose, sage, etc. Likewise, the texts attest to the production of leather, furniture, glass paste, wheels and war chariots.[Pi. 20]​.

Other industrial or artisanal areas are known more from archeology than from epigraphic testimonies, such as ivory work, the carving of precious or semi-precious stones and pottery. This last activity was the main source of export products.[18]​.

Trade

Written sources provide very little data on Mycenaean trade. In them only direct testimony of a shipment of fabrics from Mycenae to Thebes has been preserved. Even so, it is estimated that internal trade between the different Mycenaean kingdoms must have been a common activity through which the states balanced their respective surpluses and needs. Archeology has provided an example in the discovery of jars in Thebes, Eleusis, Mycenae and Tiryns whose provenance was western Crete.[Ga. 8]​.

As for international trade, since the Mycenaeans mastered the art of navigation and shipbuilding, they may have sailed great distances for commercial purposes. It is known that the Minoans had maintained commercial relations with Ancient Egypt and it has been suggested that these relations would have been resumed when the Mycenaeans came to control the island of Crete after the fall of the Minoan civilization. However, there are historians who argue that their foreign trade was an important part of their economy, but others believe that it was mainly a kind of gift exchange and that the Mycenaeans did not have an important role in foreign trade, which would be controlled mainly by Cypriots.[Pi. 21].

Tracking some of the Mycenaean export products can be done through archaeology. Among these, the remains of Mycenaean pottery stand out especially, which contained products such as wine, perfume and oil, although the pottery itself, which often appears with outstanding decoration, was considered a luxury product.[Pi. 22] Numerous amphorae have been found in the Aegean Sea, Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, but also western Sicily. It is also accepted that Mycenaean merchants could have acted as intermediaries with respect to some commercial products such as glass paste beads used for necklaces that have been found in other more remote areas of the western Mediterranean, as far as the Iberian Peninsula, as well as in areas of Central Europe and Great Britain. Aside from these archaeological finds, it is accepted that the Mycenaean textile industry was largely destined for export.[S. 8]​.

It is estimated that, of the products necessary to make bronze, copper must have been imported by the Mycenaeans from Cyprus and tin from Anatolia or the Mediterranean Levant. Other imported products were luxury goods such as gold, perhaps from Egypt, amber from the Baltic and ivory from Syria,[S. 9]​ in addition to some noble woods from Africa and alum, used to dye skins and fix colors in fabrics.[Pi. 23.

In general, the circulation of Mycenaean goods can be traced thanks to the "nodules." These are small clay prisms, usually three-sided. One of them had a logogram that indicated the type of object and other information was sometimes added to the other sides, such as the type of contribution paid through it, the origin or destination. They had a hole through which a cord was passed that served to tie the nodule to the object.[Pi. 24]​ 56 nodules, which have been found in Thebes in 1982, carry ideograms that represent cattle animals.[19]​ Thanks to them it has been possible to reconstruct the itinerary of the animals: coming from all over Boeotia "Boeotia (historical region)") and Euboea, they are taken to Thebes to be sacrificed. The nodules served to prove that they were not stolen animals and to demonstrate their origin. Once the animals reach their destination, the nodes are checked and collected to make an accounting tablet.[20] The nodes are used for all types of objects and explain the rigor of Mycenaean accounting: the scribe does not have to count the objects himself, he relies on the nodules to make his tablets.

El hecho religioso es bastante difícil de identificar en la civilización micénica, en particular cuando se trata de yacimientos arqueológicos, donde resulta complicado identificar con seguridad un lugar de culto. En cuanto a los textos, hay listas de ofrendas que dan los nombres de los dioses, de algunos santuarios y de algunas festividades.[Pi. 25]​.

Divinities

The Mycenaean pantheon already shows numerous divinities found later in classical Greece. Poseidon seems to occupy a privileged place, especially in the Pylos texts.[Note 8]​ At this time he was probably a chthonic deity, associated with earthquakes. There are also a series of "Ladies" (Potnia), associated with places of worship, such as a "Lady of the Labyrinth" in Crete - which recalls the myth of the Minoan labyrinth, as well as the presence of a god called Daedalus. Zeus appears in the forms Di-we (dative) or Di-wo (genitive). There is also a divinity called with a name that correlates with that of Zeus: Di-u-ja. Other identified divinities found during later times are Hera, Ares, Hermes, Athena, Artemis, Dionysus, Erinia, etc.[Ga. 9] Other names of divinities, however, apparently have no relationship with the classical gods.

Places of worship

No large temple from the Mycenaean period has been identified. Among the spaces of worship, it is estimated that the throne room of the palaces must have held religious rituals. In addition, other buildings found in the citadels must have served as places of worship. This is the case of the so-called "Cult Center of Mycenae" and other sanctuaries such as those found in Tiryns, Agia Irini (island of Ceos) and Filacopí (island of Melos). Other buildings whose finds of cult statuettes and benches allow them to be identified as sanctuaries were in more isolated places.[Pi. 26]​ Some of the places of worship of this time were later important religious centers of classical Greece, such as Epidaurus,[21]​ Eleusis[22]​ or Mount Lyceum "Lyceum (mountain)").[23]​ There are authors who have suggested that in fountains, caves or in other places where deposits of large numbers of statuettes have appeared, a type of popular cult must have been practiced, as opposed to the official one. Examples of this type of cult have been found in Delphi and Ayios Vasilios.[Pi. 26].

Rituals

The presence of both priests and priestesses and the performance of animal sacrifices in honor of the deities are attested in the texts. Possibly part of the sacrificed animal was offered to the gods and then the edible meat would be consumed at great banquets.

Other rituals that must have been important in the cult were libations, as well as offerings of properly scented dresses, luxurious vessels and even people.[Note 9] Processions were also carried out in which participants carried different objects related to the preparation of a party or the image of a divinity. On the other hand, people wearing animal masks also had to participate in some type of ritual.[Pi. 27].

Types of graves

The most common form of burial during the Late Helladic period is inhumation. It is buried under the floor of homes or outside residential areas, in cemeteries, sometimes in mounds. The individual tombs are cist-shaped, with a stone facing. In HR I funerary furniture appears, which was absent in previous periods. At the beginning of the recent Helladic period, the presence of common tombs, rectangular in shape, is also noted.

Later, between the centuries and BC. C., two types of tombs stand out: the tholos, which probably derive from tumuli; and the chamber tombs. The tholos are stone buildings that are crowned by a vault and that are buried under a layer of sand and stones that produce a layer of mud that protects it. The chamber tombs are underground and are carved into the rock. Both the tholos and the chamber tombs were accessed through a door to which a corridor called dromos led.[Pi. 28].

The most impressive tombs have been found in Mycenae: two sets of pit tombs belong to the oldest Mycenaean period, Tomb Circle A and Tomb Circle B, in which rich funerary goods have been found and where the presence of many objects from Crete or directly influenced by the Minoan culture has been noted. [Ga. 10]​ Also in Mycenae, in the shape of a tholos, the Treasure of Atreus stands out - it is the most monumental of the Mycenaean tholos although both the burials it contained and its funerary trousseau are unknown, given that it was looted in Antiquity - the Tomb of Clytemnestra and the Tomb of the Jinn. In Orchomenus the tholos called Treasure of Minias stands out; In Thebes there is the Tomb of the Sons of Oedipus, the largest known chamber tomb, and in Pylos there is another important pit tomb: the Tomb of the Griffin Warrior.[24]​[Pi. 29].

After the destruction of the palaces, in HR III C, a change in the types of tombs is noted, since individual burials become more common, directly underground, in cista, or sometimes in pitoi. On the other hand, the rite of cremation begins to appear and expand from the region of Attica.[Ga. 11].

Funeral rites

Some pictorial representations are known that probably describe funerary rites, such as that of the Hagia Triada sarcophagus. It has been assumed that a procession took place between the deceased's home and the grave. Once the body was deposited, offerings were made that could consist of food, drink, perfume, jewelry, clothing, weapons and figurines, among other objects. The tomb was then closed, although it was often reopened to be reused for another burial.[Pi. 30]​.

The strengths

In their beginnings, the Mycenaean palaces were not fortified. The construction of the first defensive structures did not occur until the century BC. C.[Ga. 12]​ From then on, some of the main Mycenaean centers had imposing walls, such as Athens, Tiryns, Mycenae and Gla.[Fi. 2]​ However, other important centers such as Pylos or Iolco were never walled. [Sa. 1]​ In addition to the citadels, isolated fortresses have also been found that undoubtedly served for military control of the territory.

The Mycenaean walls are often of the "cyclopean" type: they are built with large blocks of stone, stacked one on top of the other and smaller stones were used to fill the gaps between them.[Sa. 2]​ In some of the most important places on the walls these structures were converted into ashlars.[25]​ On the other hand, there were sophisticated systems of entrances and wells inside the citadels to be able to face possible sieges.[Sa. 3]​.

Habitat

The Mycenaean sites show different types of residences, which could have one or two floors.[26] This last case was the most widespread in more recent times. The smallest were quadrangular in shape and measured between five and twenty meters on each side. The lowest layers of the population resided in them. They were constructions with solid stone bases, in which at the top of the walls, thick wooden slats were inserted into the masonry.[26]​ This framework gave the whole, which was not founded, more cohesion and perhaps a certain elasticity that made it more resistant to earthquakes.[26]​ The tiled roofs were exceptional, since the houses were generally covered with terraces.[26]​.

The warehouses and granaries were made of sun-dried bricks or dried mud.[27]​.

It seems that some houses did not have doors: they must undoubtedly have been at a certain height, as can be seen in an ivory plaque from Knossos that represents the façade of a house. It was a precaution against flooding or strong water runoff in the streets, in climates with torrential rains.[28]​.

Particular mention should be made of the houses, generally rural, oval or with apses. Houses with apses appear in mainland Greece in the Neolithic and are found in the HA and HM. They are commonly found in HR III, but existed in periods preceding the Mycenaean, at Termo "Thermo (Greece)") in Aetolia in particular.[28] They are sometimes of the megaron type, consisting of one or two rooms and built in a rather crude manner. There are in the western parts of Greece, in Nijoria, Malthi-Dorio "Dorio (Messenia)"), Tris Langadas (Ithaca), Dodona, Delphi, Iolco, in Macedonia (Kastanas, Limnotopos-Vardino,), in Thrace (Asartepe), in Asia Minor (Miletus), in Cos (Seraglio) and in Crete (Knossos and Arjanes). You can see in them an imported tradition. Rather, it is a revival of ancient indigenous traditions.[28]​.

The largest residences were more elaborate, measuring between approximately 20 and 35 meters on a side and consisting of several rooms and even a central patio. They were organized according to a model close to that of the palace. However, it is not certain that these were residences of Mycenaean aristocrats, since there is another hypothesis that wants to see these buildings as auxiliary rooms of the palace, often located nearby.

The Mycenaean palaces

The Mycenaean palaces have their most beautiful examples in those excavated at Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. They are the centers of the administration of the Mycenaean states, as the archives found have shown. From an architectural point of view, they are the heirs of the Minoan palaces, but also of other great residences of continental Greece from the Middle Helladic period. The palatial structures of the three mentioned palaces were erected on hilltops or rocky outcrops, dominating the immediate surroundings.[Fi. 3]​ The best preserved are found in Pylos and Tiryns, while that of Mycenae is only partially preserved. In central Greece, Thebes "Thebes (Greece)") and Orchomenus "Orchomenus (Boeotia)") have only been partially brought to light. On the other hand, the palace built on the acropolis of Athens has been almost completely destroyed. An important building at Dimini in Thessaly, possibly ancient Iolcus,[29] is considered by several archaeologists to be a palace.[Fi. 3]​ In 2008 a Mycenaean palace was also found in Laconia, about 12 km south of Sparta, at the site of Ayios Vasilios "Agios Vasilios (Laconia)").[30]​[31]​.

The palatial structures of continental Greece share a series of common characteristics.[32]​[33]​ They are organized around a set of courtyards to which various rooms of different sizes open, among which are warehouses and workshops, as well as residence and representation areas. The central point of the socio-political aspect of a Mycenaean palace was the megaron, the throne room.[Fi. 3]​ It was arranged around a circular hearth surrounded by four columns. The throne was generally located on the right side upon entering the room, while the interior of the megaron was lavishly decorated, displaying images intentionally designed to demonstrate the political and religious power of the ruler.[Fi. 4]​ Access to the megaron was through a courtyard, reached from a propylon.[33]​ The iconography of the palatial chambers is remarkably uniform throughout Greece. For example, in Pylos and Tiryns the paintings focus on marine motifs, offering representations of octopods, fish and dolphins.[32]​ Around the megaron a group of courtyards each opened onto several rooms of different sizes, such as warehouses and workshops, as well as reception rooms and living quarters.[33]​ In general, the Mycenaean palaces have provided a large number of artifacts and fragmentary frescoes.[33]​.

The palaces at Pylos, Mycenae, and Tiryns share other common features;[33]​ a large colonnaded courtyard lies directly in front of the central megaron,[Fi. 5]​ while a second, but smaller, megaron is also found within these structures.[33]​ The stairs of the palace at Pylos indicate that the palaces had two floors.[Fi. 6]​ The private chambers of the members of the royal family were presumably on the second floor.[Fi. 7].

• - Plan of the palace of Tiryns.

• - The home of the megaron of Pylos.

Public works

Among the public works carried out by the Mycenaeans, we can mention the network of roads that ran through their territories, as well as the bridges built - of stone or earth - to facilitate communications.[28] The water supply systems from natural sources through underground pipes that have been found in the citadels also stand out. On the other hand, a large-scale work was the canalization system carried out on Lake Copaide for agricultural purposes. In the vicinity of Tiryns they also built a cyclopean dam.[Ga. 13] Another cyclopean dam also partially subsists between Tiryns and Agios Hadrians, in Argolis.[28]​.

Glasses

Archeology has found a large quantity of ceramics from the Mycenaean period, of very varied shapes.[34]​.

In HR I, two types of decoration can be highlighted: that of those containers with geometric lines that form different compositions in each structure of the glass, which has been called "architectural style" and, on the other hand, other containers that have a decoration that covers the entire glass, which has been called "unitary style." In the HR II B, the so-called "efirean cup" was very common, consisting of two handles and a very stylized foot.

In HR III there are glasses that have been called "champagne glasses" because of their shape, small, with a handle and without decoration. Also in this period, kilices and stirrup jars abound, [Pi. 31]​ which consist of two handles at the top of the glass that is completely closed and provided only with a cylindrical and vertical pouring spout.[35]​.

In the peak phases of civilization, the models become standardized throughout the Mycenaean space and production increases considerably in quantity. Common decorative motifs include spirals, leaves, double axes, flowers and marine motifs, often influenced by Minoan ceramics. Another type of vessel decoration uses motifs present in wall paintings, such as warrior or animal themes, among others.[36]​.

In addition to ceramic vessels, abundant examples of metal vessels (mainly bronze, but also gold), as well as other luxurious materials such as ivory, have been found in Mycenaean archaeological sites.[Pi. 32].

Among the unique pieces of outstanding artistic value we can mention the "Vafio vessels", which are made of gold with a decoration that represents the capture of a bull and which belong to HR II; a gold rhyton in the shape of a lion's head found in Mycenae, a krater found in Enkomi, Cyprus, which represents a landscape with two people in a chariot in front of another person holding a scale and the "pyx "Pyx (ceramic)") of the lyre player", found in Crete, which belongs to MR III A and represents a man holding a lyre in one hand and what looks like an ear of wheat in the other.[Pi. 33].

• - Ephyrean cup found in Koraku "Korakou (Corinth)"), Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth.

• - Enkomi Crater, Cyprus Museum.

• - «Pyx of the lyre player», Chania Archaeological Museum.

• - Stirrup jug. Around 1200 BC. C. (HR IIIA-B).

Sculpture

The Mycenaean period did not produce large statues. Most of the sculpture of the period consists of fine baked earth statuettes, found mainly at the site of Philacopí, but also in Mycenae, Tiryns or Ásine.[37] Most of the statuettes represent anthropomorphic figures (although there are also zoomorphic ones), male or female. The figures are in different postures: arms extended, raised towards the sky; arms folded over the hips; sitting. They are painted, monochrome or polychrome. Their meaning is not clear, but it seems likely that they are votive objects, found in contexts that appear to be places of worship.

The most representative figure is the so-called Mycenaean Trio, which represents two women and a girl, whose interpretation could be that they are divinities or the same woman passing through three ages.[Pi. 34] An image of the mother goddess with her son on her lap also stands out.

Idols in psi, fi or tau are also common, so called because of their similarity to these letters of the Greek alphabet. It is mainly found in tombs and shrines.

The only stone bas-reliefs carved in Mycenaean Greece that are preserved come from the site of Mycenae, from the early Late Helladic period. These are thirteen steles found in the pit tombs of this site, which represent scenes of war, hunting or animal fighting in a rough style, decorated with spiral decorative motifs.[38]​[39]​ They have no known posterity. The only recent but later Helladic bas-relief comes from the same site: it is the decoration over the Lions Gate. It represents two headless animals, identified without certainty as lions, placed on both sides of a column and resting their front paws on a type of altar. The decoration has also disappeared. The style of this work is reminiscent of Cretan seals, unlike the previous funerary bas-reliefs which are properly Mycenaean.[40]​.

• - Trio of Mycenae. Athens, National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

• - Head of a woman, one of the rare examples of Mycenaean monumental plastic art. Athens, National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

• - The Lady of Filacopí; Handmade ceramic figurine of a goddess or priestess from the Western Sanctuary in Filacopí. Late Helladic Period III-A (century BC) in the Archaeological Museum of Milos.

• - Bronze figure of a man from the Sanctuary of Philacopí, from the Mycenaean culture, in the Archaeological Museum of Milos.

Paint

Some fragments of mural frescoes have been found in the palaces and in some other notable buildings that denote that Mycenaean painting was greatly influenced by Minoan painting, although differences can be seen in the themes represented since in addition to processions and religious figures, which also appear among the Minoans, activities more associated with the Mycenaeans such as war and hunting are represented.[Pi. 35] Other frescoes are made up of geometric motifs. On the other hand, there are paintings that are not only intended to decorate or represent religious figures, but are also useful to integrate viewers into a context related to a particular cult ritual.[41] Various paintings are also found on sarcophagi; In these cases the themes probably had different funerary symbols as their axis.[Pi. 36].

• - Fresco found in Pylos, around 1350 BC. C.).

• - Fresco from Tiryns (around 1300 BC).

• - Lárnax "Larnax (sarcophagus)") from Tanagra with the representation of a sphinx (centuries - BC).

Glyptic

Glypticism, an art that already had an important development in the Minoan civilization, was also prominent in the Mycenaean world, although it is often difficult to know whether the seals found in excavations in the Greek continental area were made by the Mycenaeans or were imports from the Minoans. "Seal (stamp)" stamps were made as personal amulets or to label objects. The materials in which these seals were carved were very diverse: glass, semi-precious stones, gold, among others. The themes represented were also very varied, such as hunting, hybrid beings, sacrificial rituals, processions and fights. One of the most outstanding unique seals was found in Pylos in 2015. It is the "Pylos combat agate", which represents a combat with great detail.[Pi. 37].

Arms

Military elements have been found among the treasures of the Mycenaean period. The most impressive find is Dendra's "Armor (Combat)") armor, the complete equipment of a warrior. The breastplate he wears is composed of bronze plates sewn onto a leather dress. The weight of the armor had to impede the warrior's mobility, so it is believed that he was a combatant on a chariot, although there are authors who believe that it could also be used standing in combat or in single duels.[Sa. 4]​.

In addition to armor, defensive weapons consisted of shields and helmets. Among the helmets, the model of wild boar tusks stands out, [Sa. 5]​ which is absent from the last levels of recent Helladic. Two types of shields were used: an 8-shaped model and another rectangular model, also called "tower".[Sa. 6]​.

Offensive weapons were mainly made of bronze. Spears and javelins have been found, as well as a set of swords of different sizes, which were initially made to hit with the rapier-like edge and in the final Mycenaean period were made to be used mainly in combat to cut. The rest of the weapons used by the Mycenaeans consisted of daggers, bows, arrows and slings.[Sa. 7].

• - Fresco from Mycenae representing a shield in the shape of an eight.

• - Helmet made of boar tusks found in a chamber tomb in Spata (Attica).

• - Dagger with representations of nautiluses.

El fin de la civilización micénica presenta una serie de problemas que no han sido resueltos todavía, tanto desde el punto de vista cronológico como de interpretación de los hechos.

Destruction and reorganization

Signs of a deteriorating situation in the Mycenaean world may be present as early as the century BC. C., perhaps related to a decline in long-distance trade circuits that would have generated tensions between states, but this remains to be confirmed.[42]​ The end of Recent Helladic IIIB1 was marked by some destruction, especially in Mycenae.[43]​ In Recent Helladic IIIB2, around 1250/1200 BC. C., an increase in the defense systems of the Mycenaean sites is observed, a sign of growing insecurity. However, this is not necessarily a period of crisis, since these levels have provided archaeological material that shows a level of wealth that has nothing to envy of the previous ones. The end of this period is marked by numerous destructions of much of the Mycenaean palace sites in mainland Greece, and this time the palaces were not rebuilt: some such as Mycenae and Tiryns were reoccupied, but in a more modest way, while Pylos and Thebes were completely abandoned. The destruction also affected secondary sites, but it is unclear to what extent it affected this category of poorly excavated habitat. Similar destruction is found in Crete.[44][45]​.

The decline is, therefore, evident at the end of the century BC. C., when the Recent Helladic III C begins, which constitutes the "postpalatial" period. The administration characteristic of the Mycenaean palace system had disappeared, the writing of tablets in Linear B had ceased, luxury items were no longer imported.[45]​ But the Mycenaean material features remain for at least a century, so the period, although without palaces, is characterized as a phase of Mycenaean civilization.[Le 1]​ A revival is detected in several places in the middle of the century, but it is not lasting. The presence of burials of warriors indicates that an elite still existed in the century BC. C.[44]​[Le 2]​ This could be related to the change towards times of chronic insecurity.[Le 3]​ In fact, instability seems to be a constant of the period, which probably sees important population movements, perhaps due to the increase in insecurity (revolts, pirate raids).[44]​ In the post-palatial period there was a decrease in the number of settlements in Greece,[46]​ which could have been very significant in some regions (9 of them disappeared). every 10 settlements in Boeotia, 2 out of 3 in the Argolis). Some settlements such as Mycenae or Tiryns remained occupied, their citadels were maintained and the material culture found in them continued to have Mycenaean features, but in other places the situation is less known, although the discoveries have advanced knowledge of the period. day was attributed to external invaders, and the painted pottery of the period has been considered an antecedent of geometric styles. In this period the practice of cremation of corpses also increases. Thus, the post-palatial period is not exempt from creativity and innovation.[48]​ In more general terms, the homogeneity of material culture that was the order of the day during the palatial period was coming to an end, giving way to greater regional diversity, which implies a diversity of situations in the way the crisis was experienced and the impact it had.[45]​.

In Crete, the structure of settlements changes: coastal locations are abandoned in favor of inland locations on high altitudes, which is explained by the search for protection and increased insecurity at sea.[49]​[50]​ In the Cyclades, contacts with the mainland are decreasing, and it has been proposed that the disturbances detected in some places are due to the arrival of refugees from the mainland. After the period of disturbance there is a settlement of great wealth in Grotta, on Naxos "Naxos (island)"), but the situation on the other islands remains obscure.[51] On the coast of Asia Minor and Crete, groups from the Mycenaean or "Mycenainized" world of the Aegean settled in this period, but it is not known how important they were; Whatever the case, they initiated important changes for these regions.[Le 5]​ In more general terms, this crisis is part of a context of collapse of the civilizations of the Bronze Age, which affects the ancient world from the eastern Mediterranean to Mesopotamia, and devastates several important kingdoms (first of all the Hittites, also Ugarit) and sees the marked decline of others (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon "Babylon (kingdom)"), Elam).

Search for the causes

Even today, researchers continue to speculate about the underlying causes of the decline of the Mycenaean civilization in this period[52]​[44]​[Le 6]​ Beyond the destructions, which are not unprecedented in the previous history of the Aegean world of the Bronze Age, the most striking phenomenon is the absence of reoccupation of the large sites and the end of the palace administration, which thus creates an important rupture, and is what has stimulated the greatest reflections.[Le 7] Several explanations have been proposed. Those based on natural catastrophes (climate change, earthquakes, drought, also epidemics) are usually rejected but resurface regularly, and should not be completely discarded. Traditionally two main theories dominate: that of population movements and that of internal conflicts. The first attributes the destruction of the Mycenaean sites to the invaders. Sometimes the Dorians are invoked, sometimes the Sea Peoples. The former, to whom later Greek historians refer, are now considered to have already been present in mainland Greece before, so there is a tendency to stop accepting the ancient theory of a Dorian invasion that devastated the civilization of the Achaeans ("Achaean (people)"), which does not appear in the archaeological record and is based solely on linguistic arguments. The movement of Balkan peoples towards the Near East during this period, mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions that refer to the invaders as "Sea Peoples", is well documented, although poorly understood. These peoples are known to have participated in population movements that were probably responsible for much destruction in Anatolia or the Levant, but the chronology of this destruction is very poorly established. The material culture that spread with these migrations has, in any case, strong affinities with the Aegean world, particularly that of the first Philistines who arrived in the Near East. The mention of a town called Aqweš (reminiscent of the term Achaean) in an Egyptian text from the century BC. C., has led some scholars to assume that the Mycenaeans would have participated in these population movements, especially since the Mycenaeans probably settled in Cyprus around the year 1200 BC. C. But, once again, these arguments remain unprovable, and current research is oriented towards a vision of groups that mix people of diverse origins (Mycenaeans, Mycenaized Aegeans, Anatolians, Cypriots). The second theory is that the Mycenaean civilization collapsed during internal social conflicts, caused by the rejection of the palace system by the most disadvantaged social strata, who would become impoverished at the end of the late Helladic period. This hypothesis is sometimes combined with the previous one, when an attempt is made to mix social divisions with ethnic ones (revolt of the "Doric" people reduced to servitude according to J. Hooker). Other proposals have directed the search for explanations towards a logic of socioeconomic transformation, qualifying catastrophism: the final period of the Mycenaean civilization would rather see a process of social recomposition, of redistribution of power in society, which would explain the disappearance of the Mycenaean elites and the characteristic features of this social group (palaces, tombs, art, writing, etc.), but which would affect the rest of society less.[53] Due to the uncertainties chronologically, it is difficult to be more precise, and explanations based on a single cause seem excluded: it is a complex phenomenon based on several factors, in which a "snowball effect" intervenes that makes the situation increasingly less controllable and explains the magnitude of the collapse and the chaotic aspect of the situation that follows the destructions.[44]​.

Towards the Dark Ages

Whatever the causes, the Mycenaean civilization definitively disappeared in the last years of recent Helladic IIIC, when Mycenae and Tiryns were destroyed again, then abandoned, and became minor places for the rest of its existence.[54] This end, which must be dated to the last years of the century BC. C. or shortly after, it occurs at the end of the long decline of the Mycenaean civilization, which took a long century to become extinct. Instead of an abrupt break, Mycenaean culture gradually disintegrated. Afterwards, its main features were lost and were not preserved in later periods.[45]​[Le 8]​ Thus, at the end of the Late Bronze Age, the great royal palaces, their administrative records in Linear B script, the collective tombs and the Mycenaean artistic styles had no continuity: the entire "system" of Mycenaean civilization collapsed and disappeared.[55]​ No trace of the elite remained; The habitat was made up of towns or villages grouped together without public or religious buildings; artisanal production lost a lot of variety and became essentially utilitarian; Differences in ceramic production and funerary practices are strong even between neighboring regions.[44]​ The beginning of the century BC. C. opened a new context, that of the "sub-Mycenaean" phase, whose ceramic material was considerably poor compared to the palatial phases[56] Greece then re-entered the Dark Age of the historiographic tradition, which marks the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, and towards the "geometric" ceramic traditions (the protogeometric period begins around the middle of the century BC). The cultures that developed after the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization were less open to the outside, their elites were less wealthy and their socioeconomic organization was less complex, although the pessimistic outlook that previously prevailed has been qualified.[57]​.

The rupture created by the "dark centuries" is such that the Mycenaean civilization seems to fall into oblivion and its social and political characteristics disappear. On the cultural aspect, elements of continuity are debated. A first point is the fact that the Greek language was preserved during this period, although the Mycenaean writing was forgotten, and that at the end of the Dark Ages the Greeks went to the Near East to adopt their alphabet. The vocabulary of the Mycenaean period can be understood because it has much in common with that of ancient Greek, but the meanings of the words undergo notable changes between periods, which refers to the changes that occur in the civilization of Greece. Archeology also shows many changes, as seen above: the Mycenaean palace system disappears around 1200 BC. C., and then the other material features of the Mycenaean civilization disappear during the course of the century BC. C., particularly its ceramic styles. The abandonment of many Mycenaean sites is another indicator of the radical nature of the rupture that occurred at that time, as well as the changes in burial and settlement practices and also in architectural techniques. A system collapses, then a civilization, and something new is born, on new foundations. The fact that archaeological data remains limited, however, prevents us from fully measuring the extent of the rupture that occurred, its modalities and its rhythm.[58]​.

The question of the extent of the break between the Bronze Age and the Dark Ages is often raised in the area of ​​religion. Mycenaean tablets have indicated that the Greeks of this period already worshiped the main deities known from the archaic and classical eras, with some exceptions. But the structure of the pantheon seems to show significant differences, and there are few continuities that emerge from the study of rituals and religious vocabulary,[59]​ although sacrifice to the gods was already the central act of the cult, following principles that seem to correspond to those of the historical periods.[60]​ Furthermore, little or nothing is known about the functions and powers that the deities of the Mycenaean period embodied, so the comparison is usually limited to the names: but nothing allows us to affirm that the Zeus of the period Mycenaean has the same aspects as that of the archaic and classical periods. As for the question of the continuity of the places of worship, it is no more obvious to resolve: there are certainly traces of Mycenaean occupation in certain important sanctuaries of classical antiquity (Delphi, Delos), but nothing indicates with certainty that they are sanctuaries. In fact, very often, when there is continuity of occupation, a sanctuary arises during the Dark Ages from a Mycenaean site that has no obvious religious function, with some exceptions (such as Epidaurus or Agia Irini, the latter on the island of Ceos). This implies at least the conservation of a memory of the Mycenaean period, even if it is blurry, which ensures the continuity of the occupation and even the attribution of a sacred aspect to a site. But the sanctuaries of the first millennium BC. C., with its temples and temenos, do not look at all like those identified for the Mycenaean period, which seems to indicate a deep rupture in religious beliefs and practices.[61]​.

Another recurring question is the extent to which the Homeric narratives, and more broadly the epic cycles, provide information about the Mycenaean period. This dates back to the time of Schliemann's discoveries, who explicitly linked his findings at Mycenae and Troy with the Homeric epics (which guided his research), and was followed in this by historians and archaeologists of the following decades. One of the pioneers of the history of Greek religion and mythology, Martin P. Nilsson, considered that the heroic narratives referred to the Mycenaean period, since several important places from this period are presented as main kingdoms (Mycenae, Pylos), and also that they document a period in which the royal institution is paramount, which corresponds well to the Mycenaean era. Furthermore, he saw antecedents of certain Greek myths in Mycenaean iconography. But these interpretations are far from unanimous, since the Mycenaean images are the subject of several very divergent explanations, several important places of the Mycenaean period are not attested in the epic texts and some important kingdoms of the epics have left no trace of the Mycenaean era (first of all Ithaca, the homeland of Odysseus).[63] Since the 1950s, with the translation of the tablets Mycenaeans, which allowed us to improve the knowledge of this civilization, then the works of M. I. Finley, and the archaeological discoveries that followed, the consensus that has emerged is that the Homeric texts do not describe the Mycenaean world, which was long before the time of their writing (around the second half of the century BC) and very different from what is shown in these stories. It has been proposed that the texts are not based on the Mycenaean era, but on the society of the period of their writing and that of the immediately preceding period (i.e., the Dark Ages), while adding reminiscences of the Mycenaean era.[64]​[Le 9]​ Thus, it has been proposed that the Homeric texts would preserve some authentic memories of the ritual traditions of the Bronze Age.[65]​ In a passage from the Iliad (X,260-271) a boar's tusk helmet similar to those known in the Mycenaean period is accurately described), while this type of object is unknown in the Homeric period, indicating that knowledge of some elements of Mycenaean material culture may have survived.[66]​.

• - Other Mycenaean sites not mentioned in the text: Category: Mycenaean settlements.

• - Achaeans "Achaean (people)").

• - Mycenaean conules.

• - Pre-Hellenic goldsmithing.

• - Mycenaean painting.

• - Submycenaean.

• - Chronology of ancient Greece.

• - — The Mycenaean world. [1977]. Madrid: Alianza, 1st reprint, 2000, ISBN 8420679208.

• - — (in French) Le déchiffrement du linéaire B. Paris: Gallimard (col. Bibliothèque des Histoires), 1972.

• - — (in English) with L. Godart, J. T. Killen, J.-P. Olivier, A. Sacconi and I. Sakellarakis: Corpus of mycenaean inscriptions from Knossos (4 vol.). Cambridge University Press, 1987-1999.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Mycenaean civilization.

• - Jaime Almansa, Beatriz del Mazo and José María Señorán: «Mycenaean palaces?», in ArqueoWeb magazine 8-2 (2007).

• - María Rosario Arco Coca: «Study of the Mycenaean lexicon referring to the perfumed oil industry», doctoral thesis, Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​2015.

• - Carlos Various García: «The documents on linear B of Micenas. Global interpretation essay", doctoral thesis, Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​1993.

• - "The Mycenaean civilization", lecture by Juan Piquero on May 25, 2021, at the Juan March Foundation.

• - (in Greek) Μυκηναϊκή Ελλάδα, on the website of the Ίδρυμα Μείζονος Ελληνισμού (Foundation of the Hellenic World).

• - (in English) «Prehistoric archeology in the Aegean world», at Darthmouth College.

• - (in English) Gregory Nagy: «Diachronic Homer and a Cretan "Odyssey"» Archived August 3, 2019 at the Wayback Machine., on the CHS or Center for Hellenic Studies site, 2017.