Mycenaean Civilization Essay - 1634 Words

Mycenaean Civilization The Mycenaean civilization flourished for four hundred years in the late Bronze Age before collapsing in to small bands of subsistence farmers. Some historians attribute this decline to ‘the Sea People’ who terrorized the Egyptians, Anatolians and the Hittites. But could a mysterious people who left no archeological proof of their existence really bring about the collapse of entire civilizations? Mycenaean civilization is characterized by the large palace-like buildings that they created. These huge structures contained dozens of rooms used for a variety of purposes. The rooms were used for everything from industry to meeting places and even sleeping quarters. The main function of these palatial buildings†¦show more content†¦Greek warriors depicted on Ramses III reliefs demonstrate that Mycenaean must have been carrying out raids . The Mycenaean economy depended on surplus in order to trade. To maintain that surplus, their society had to always be expanding. This made their social structure somewhat delicate and it eventually led to its collapse. The collapse was not because of a single invasion though, many factors led to it. Mycenaean civilization collapsed because of its overdependence on trade and its inherent aggressive nature and was catalyzed by invasions and natural disaster. The most common reason that historians give for the decline of Mycenaean civilization is that they were invaded by foreign peoples. The two most common people that are credited with this are the Dorians and the ‘Sea People.’ The Dorians moved in to Greece from the north-west in the late Bronze Age. Coarse pots, not as artfully crafted as Mycenaean pots, have been found in Korakou, Asine, and Mycenae . These pots have been found alongside Mycenaean IIIC pots and is evidence that the Dorians arrived in small waves and were integrated in to Mycenaean society . The Dorians were not terrible invaders that brought about the end of Mycenaean society, instead they were immigrants. The term ‘Sea People’ seems to apply to many different tribes of men. Pharaoh Merenptah refers to the Aqaiwasha as ‘Sea People’ in his victory over the Libyans in 1210bce . Ramses the third uses the term ‘Sea People’ in theShow MoreRelatedThe Collapse Of The Bronze Age1600 Words   |  7 PagesLong before the Romans and their empire, Greece was the major western civilization. Their dominance in the Mediterranean lasted from 1300 BCE to 300 CE. The Greeks didn’t remain stagnant for those 1600 years. Their culture was fluid, changing dramatically from where they started off. 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