Near the seashore in the Northeast Peloponnese, over the fertile plain of Argolis, lies one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece called the Mycenae Ancient Greece. The two most important civilizations of ancient Greece are The Minoan and The Mycenaean.

What is Mycenae

The Mycenaean civilization gets its name from this very site. This civilization flourished in the late Bronze Age starting from 1600 BC to 1100 BC. It dominated the mainland of Greece and reached the shores of Asia Minor.

Before the Mycenaean civilization flourished in Greece, the Minoans ruled over the Greece islands. Homer in his poem Illiad has mentioned a lot about the Mycenaean
civilization.

Mycenaean Palace

It is according to this text that we know today that the Mycenaeans defeated the Minoans and acquired the city of Troy in the process. The Mycenae ancient Greece civilization was dedicated to its king Agamemnon. The description of the palace of king Agamemnon found in Homer’s Illiad is similar to the palace found during excavations at the site.

Mycenaean culture

The Mycenaean culture and its civilization were built around cities like Mycenae, Athens, Troy, Pylos, Thebes, Tiryns, Crete and Folksier. The class divide between the rich and the poor became much wider during this civilization.

The Mycenaean people built royal and grand palaces and buildings. One of the best aspects of this civilization was that they were always prepared for war. Their military was always ready to take on any power. They defended the city as well as its wealth and cultural treasure.

One other thing that people of this era were good at was trading. They were active traders and maintained good relations with other countries across the Mediterranean and Europe.

Mycenae Ancient Greece: Facts

Another interesting fact about this civilization is that they used to bury the dead in sitting positions sometimes rather than in the usual sleeping position. They would also bury gold and jewelry or arms and armor. They developed their own script called the Linear B.

There is rather less information about the religion these people followed. The limited number of scripts that are available have very little mention of God. Also, not many temples and shrines are found during excavations at these sites.

There are some instances in some texts where the mention of Gods like Zeus-Hera, Athena, Hermes have been found but it is all very limited. Most of the religious practices that can be attributed to the Mycenaean civilization have a strong association with the Minoan practices as well.

Mycenaean Civilization

The Mycenaean civilization started depleting in the 1200 BC and it was completely finished in the 1100 BC. The actual reasons for the end of the Mycenaean age are still being debated over as several theories have emerged over time. One of the theories is that there was a social conflict between the rich and the poor people of Mycenae which led to the destruction of the civilization.

Another theory states that the Dorians destroyed all Mycenaean centers except for Athens. One more theory is that the Sea People from the eastern Mediterranean have some kind of direct or indirect involvement in the destruction of the Mycenaean civilization.

One or more than one of these theories eventually is responsible for the end of the Mycenaean civilization which resulted in the beginning of the Dark Age of Greece where population declined, major cities ceased to exist and literacy disappeared for the next 300 years.

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