Mycenaean Civilization: Lion Gate, Linear B, and Bronze Age Collapse

The Mycenaean period covered the final stages of the Late Bronze Age, similar to the Late Minoan period, as well as the New Kingdom in Egypt, roughly the period 1500 to 1100. Known in antiquity as being rich in gold, the Mycenaean civilization flourished. This period witnessed the rise of the Greek mainland cities and their ultimate domination over Crete during the Late Helladic II and III, corresponding to the Late Minoan II and III.

The development of Mycenaean culture and mythology is closely intertwined. The period and culture took their name from the city of Mycenae, in the Argolis of the Peloponnese. Other fortress-palaces were located at Tiryns, Pylos, and Thebes. These centers were dominant, and around them sprang up less-fortified sites, which probably submitted to them as overlords but were still independent and free, even though they did owe some kind of fealty and service. Around these sites arose sophisticated metalwork, such as gold making, seen in grave goods.

Lion gate at Mycenae

The Mycenaeans were known as seamen, having established outposts throughout the eastern Mediterranean. These commercial interactions probably brought them into conflict with other cities in Asia Minor, perhaps including Troy, which had become a great commercial center. The story of the Trojan War contained in the Iliad may have been based upon a real-life fight between rival commercial powers rather than being about a kidnapped woman. The war coincided with a general period of migration and convulsion in the eastern Mediterranean, such as the fall of the Hittites and other kingdoms.

Mycenae was strategically located on a hill overlooking the sea twelve miles away. It commanded the approach to and from the Isthmus of Corinth and overlooked the Argive plain. It had an impressive stone walls and a monumental gate, called the Lion Gate due to the relief figures placed above the entry. This triangular base of two lions opposite a pillar formed the upper lintel, a common motif, and occurred in other smaller friezes throughout the Mycenaean period; the motif may point to a cult figure, a lion, for the society. This same depiction of a pillar is also found on Crete, but here the pillar is a goddess.

The fortress-palace walls were thick and high. The orientation of the gate forced the attackers to present their unprotected side (nonshielded), thus opening themselves to attack from above. Below the citadel, a series of houses were situated among some of the grave circle, which was the original graves of the earlier leaders. The houses were well constructed, and archaeological finds show that they possessed fine ivory and metal goods, suggesting that they may have been used for crafts. They may also point to palace workings; one house was called the “House of the Oil Merchant” due to the number of amphorae located there, and like other palaces, it related to the commercial activities of the palace.

From the Lion Gate (also known as the West Gate), a monumental ramp led to the palace on the citadel or acropolis. The hill was terraced, and the choicest section for views was given over to the royal apartments. The public areas had the colonnade and then a vestibule, followed by the Megaron, Great Court, and Throne Room. The religion of Mycenae appears to follow those of Crete in the general outline but not as pronounced. Unlike Crete, with its prevalence of the double ax, Mycenae does not have many examples, and there does not appear to be any temples or cult rooms. But like Crete, the most common figures depicted nature or fertility goddesses. There are some references and examples of the early Olympian gods, the most notable of which is Poseidon, found at Pylos. Zeus and Hera appear at Pylos and Crete.

While fewer Linear B tablets were discovered at Mycenae as at Pylos, this may in fact be due to the archive rooms not being found (they likely may have been destroyed). The tablets that do survive, there and at other palaces, relate to day-today activities. The wanax, or chief monarch, and the various official under him show a sophisticated palace administration. The tablets also show outlying areas, including minor palaces, acting and communicating with the central palace. These palaces could provide security for the region, offering outlook positions near the coast and provisions for the central palace. The tablets show that the palaces were concerned with the production of weapons, probably for the outfitting of the palace guard and the king’s forces, which were needed to maintain order and protect commercial life. The tablets show some of the social structures of the nobility.

The wanax was supreme, with the lawagetas, or leaders of the people, who were probably commanders of the king’s army; and also the hepetai, who appear to be like the later hetairoi, or companions who advised the wanax in peace and war. In addition, the basileus were probably lesser kings, or more likely governors who controlled some of the outlying palaces and later developed into kings during the Dark Ages. There were a large number of palaces, as seen in excavations and tholoi tombs, attesting to a prosperity that would not be seen again until after the Dark Ages. Around 1300, the walls of Mycenae were replaced with a new wall of dressed stone laid out in a regular pattern that encompassed the Circle A graves.

The culture of Mycenae was influenced by the Minoans. The early period shows the Minoans’ free-flowing style. This in turn transitioned to a stabler system, with less creativity. Shaft graves were discovered, with immense treasures of gold in six graves, as well as a large number of weapons; these graves were labeled Circle A. Another set of earlier shaft graves, Circle B, were found nearby, some of which overlapped with Circle A. Circle A graves, probably royal due to the increased wealth they contained, were included in the palace compound and had reconstructions into monuments in the sixteenth century, while the Circle B graves, those of nobles, were neglected. These were replaced for the nobility with the tholos tomb, the most famous of which was the Tomb of Atreus. Often called a beehive tomb, it was made of concentric circles of stone that narrowed at the top and was covered with a large stone roof, all covered in a mound and approached by a 20 foot wide by 110 foot long and 30 foot high dromos (passageway), with a cement floor.

The economy was not self-sufficient. Although they were able to feed themselves by growing local grain, raising cattle, and other natural resources, the Mycenaean states could not supply their own raw materials for weapons and other crafts. Greece had no tin and little copper for making bronze, requiring them to trade with other regions, such as the Lipari Islands in the west and Asia Minor. This can be seen when, around 1400, Mycenaean pottery superseded Minoan pottery in Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, and other eastern sites. This trade allowed gold from Nubia to make it to Mycenae via Egypt, while textiles arrived from Syria. Cyprus provided Mycenae with copper, and it established colonies on Rhodes, Cos, and the mainland. It is probable that Mycenae controlled the nearby palaces, while those farther away, such as Thebes, Athens, and Pylos, probably deferred to them and even were persuaded by them, but were not subservient to them.

Other Mycenaean sites in southern Greece are well known. The most important were at Pylos and Tiryns, near the Gulf of Argolis. Tiryns stands on a long rock about a mile and half from the sea and appears to have been settled before Mycenae. It had a strong wall for defense, and inside was a great palace. The main entrance was well defended. The palace had a large courtyard, with a gate leading to an inner courtyard, where an altar was located. From there, the hall led into the main megaron, while off this room was a small megaron and a separate courtyard. The rooms contained frescoes, and the palace had more than one level. Another palace was in Messenia in western Greece at Pylos. It too had a great courtyard and megaron. Found here were Linear B tablets, which help explain some of the palace’s workings. The palace had over thirty great storage jars in two great rooms behind the megaron. This may have been the site of Nestor’s palace mentioned in Homer’s Iliad.

The general invasions of the late Bronze Age resulted in the destruction of numerous regions. The ancient Greeks called this set of invasions the Dorian invasion. Modern scholars have attempted to identify who these Dorians may have been. One theory is the Dorian invasion can be identified with the Sea Peoples which destroyed the Hittite kingdom in Asia Minor and then attacked in Egypt where the term Sea Peoples is used. This theory argues that a general migration took place during this time throughout the eastern Mediterranean. In Greece, the invasion came from the north over a series of generations (perhaps over a century), and the Bronze Age civilization was overrun.

Another theory had internal strife as the main force behind the destruction, while others argue that it was due to climatic forces, such as decreased rainfall and drought. Mycenae was destroyed about 1250 and was never rebuilt. It is unclear if this was due to internal conflict, local uprisings by other Mycenaean powers, or a foreign invasion. Within fifty years, the other palace-fortresses were also destroyed, and Greece descended into a period without producing any writing or sophisticated cultural development. The destruction of Mycenaean culture is closely associated with the fall of Troy, and the two may have been caused by the general migrations that occurred during the late Bronze Age.