LEARNING OBJECTIVES for Art of Prehistoric Aegean

Art History Before 1450
Instructor: Roberta A. Mayer, Ph.D.

Aegean Art
Study Guide 4

Minoan — 2000-1450 B.C.

Minoan, Plan of the palace at Knossos, ca. 1700-1400 B.C.E.

Minoan, Interior columns, Palace at Knossos, ca. 1700-1400 B.C.E.

Minoan woman or goddess, Palace of Knossos, ca. 1700-1400 B.C.E.

Minoan, Bull-leaping (Toreador Fresco), from the Palace of Knossos, ca. 1700-1400 B.C.E.

Minoan, Marine Style Octopus Jar, ca. 1700-1400 B.C.E.

Minoan, Snake Goddess, from the Palace of Knossos, ca. 1600 B.C.E.

Mycenaean — 1450-1200 B.C.

Mycenaean, Lion Gate, Mycenae, ca. 1300-1250 B.C.E.

Mycenaean, Aerial view of the citadel at Tiryns, ca. 1400-1200 B.C.E.

Mycenaean, Corbeled gallery in the walls of the citadel of Tiryns, ca. 1400-1200 B.C.

Mycenaean, Inlaid dagger blade with lion hunt, from Grave Circle A, ca. 1600-1500 B.C.E.

Mycenaean, So-called Treasury of Atreus, ca. 1300-1250 B.C.E.

Mycenaean, Funerary Mask, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, ca. 1600-1500 B.C.E.

Mycenaean, Warrior Vase, ca. 1200 B.C.E.

Vocabulary

Cyclopean wall
megaron
tholos
Helladic
Schliemann
Cyclades
faience
corbeled dome
citadel
Pausanias
Knossos
Tiryns
relieving triangle
dromos
repousse
bastion
Aegean
Minoan
Sir Arthur Evans
Linear A
Linear B

Practice Essay Questions

What features of the architecture of the Palace at Knossos are thought to have given rise to the Greek myth of the labyrinth?

When was the potter's wheel invented and how did it influence the shape of pottery?

How helpful has the deciphering of Aegean Bronze Age written documents been in understanding Minoan culture?

What is a beehive tomb?

Describe a corbeled vault.

In what major ways did the Citadel of Tiryns differ from the Palace at Knossos? What geographic and historical factors may account for these differences?

What are the current theories concerning the origin of the Minoan culture and the relationship between Minoans and Mycenaeans?

When did the Minoan civilization come to a close? What reasons are given for its demise?

In what ways does Minoan fresco painting differ from Egyptian frescoes of the New Kingdom? Discuss both stylistic features and where and why they were painted.

Who was Heinrich Schliemann, what did he find, and what sources did he use to make his archeological discoveries?