Exploring Aegean Cultures and Art

Aug 1, 2024

Lecture on Pre-Greek and Pre-Roman Cultures: Aegean Art

Overview

  • Ancient Greece and Rome have preceding cultures.
  • For ancient Greece, the preceding cultures are termed Aegean cultures.
  • The three main Aegean cultures: Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean.
  • Timeline: 3000 to 1100 BCE.
  • Connected to the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms of Egypt.
  • Interaction between ancient Egyptians and Aegean groups.

Learning Objectives

  • Visually identify Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean cultures.
  • Understand the impact of the environment on Aegean art and architecture.
  • Discuss the roles of women in Aegean cultures.

Cycladic Culture

  • Location: Cyclades islands.
  • Artifacts: Mostly small sculptures, about 2 feet high.
    • Female forms, highly stylized.
    • Male musicians playing lyres.
  • Use of marble for sculptures.
  • Artifacts often found as grave goods.
  • Sculptures originally placed horizontally (in situ).

Minoan Culture

  • Location: Island of modern-day Crete.
  • Timeline: 3500 to 1050 BCE.
  • Excavation: Began in the 1850s by Arthur Evans.
  • Major urban areas: Knossos, Phaistos, etc.
  • Decimated twice: 1700 BCE (earthquake) and 1400 BCE (invasion).
  • Volcanic region.

Archaeological Findings

  • Phaistos Disc
    • Two-sided disc with pictographs/hieroglyphs.
    • Still undeciphered; ongoing scholarly debate.

Knossos Palace

  • Excavation site by Arthur Evans.
  • Plan view and artist reconstruction available.
  • Rebuilt portions by conservators.
    • Wooden columns reconstructed.
  • Home of mythic King Minos (labyrinth, Minotaur).
  • Not a fortified structure (island advantage).
  • Architectural innovations like inverted wooden columns: larger top, smaller bottom (cushion capital).

Architectural Features

  • Light wells for natural light and air circulation.
  • Central courtyards and structures called megara (religious spaces).
    • Rectangular structures with a central fire pit.
  • Multi-storied buildings with stone and wooden columns.
  • Queen's Megaron
    • Frescoes with oceanic themes (e.g., dolphins).
    • True wet fresco technique used.