Introduction to Humanities

Chapter 2

CRETE

Called “Minoan” after King Minos

Complex class system – nobles, merchants, artisans, bureaucrats, and laborers

Capital = Knossos – the palace = a large archaeological site that revealed details

of Crete’s way of living

Such as: plumbing/drainage, pottery, friezes (bands of designs) &

frescoes (paint on wet plaster)

Used a form of writing called Linear A, which evolved into Linear B = early form

of Greek – used for recording trade transactions (since they haven’t found any

evidence otherwise.)

MATRIARCHAL religion – worshipped a mother goddess as creator of universe.

According to your book, Crete = birth place of Zeus & was honored by Crete. When Greece conquered the island, says the book, they adopted many figures that became the Olympian gods. I’m really not sure I entirely buy that. It is true that whenever one civilization takes over another, a cultural exchange takes place. In order for the Greeks to want to adopt any figures from Crete, they would have a) had to have similar figures in place and b) would have needed a replacement for the current system. History versus mythology.

Knossos = home of the labyrinth & Minotaur

Nova & possibility of Crete = Atlantis. Pure speculation.

Mycenae

Located on Greek mainland – warrior people, feudal system (a system of lords and vassals and permission to use land).

fortress-palaces

Religion = fusion of Minoan religion & an already established local system

Idealized by “Homer” three centuries later as the Age of Heroes = Achilles (Illiad) & Odysseus (Odyssey). = basic moral order & distinct ethical code. Aristrocrats eventually “traced” lineage to these heroes.

Greek Mythology (highlights)

In Greece, religion & politics weren’t separated. Staged public rituals to both worship the gods and wish for good fortune and success of the civilization.

2 major categories: “Olympian” = dwelled in the sky/on mountains, and were associated with heroes and aristocrats. “Chthonian” = lived underground, associated with peasant life, seasons & nature & fertility.

We will concentrate on this part of the pantheon (pulled from Hesiod’s Theogony, and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology)

Gaia, representing Earth, marries

Ouranos, Father Sky, and they give birth to the Titans:

Kronos, ruler of the Titans who was overthrown by his son (Chaos),

Okeanos, or Ocean

Themis, Law of Nature/Jusice,

Mnemosyne, Memory

Iapetos, father of Atlas & Prometheus

Kronos married Rhea, the Mother Goddess, and produced

Demeter, goddess of grain

Hades, God of the underworld

Hera, wife of Zeus and protector of marriage

Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth/home

Poseidon, God of the Sea

and of course, Zeus, God of the Olympians (who overthrew the Titans and

condemned them to prison in Tartarus)

From Zeus & Hera, we get

Ares, God of War

From Zeus’s infidelity, we get

Athena, Goddess of Athens and civilized life,

Apollo, God of Light/Truth

Aphrodite, Goddess of Love & Beauty

Hermes, God of the Market & Commerce, & of Thieves

Artimis, Goddess of the Hunt

From Hera’s jealosy of Zeus’s infidelity, we get

Hephaestus, God of Fire

From Zeus & Demeter, we get

Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld

This complicated family tree helps introduce us to the Greek pantheistic tradition and can help us understand the meanings behind the myths, temples, religious rites & politcs.