Gardner's Art Through the Ages: Ancient Aegean Art

Cycladic Culture, c. 2700-2300 BCE

Minoan Culture, c. 2000 - 1375 BCE - Crete is the center
a sea faring culture, traders but also had a lot of agriculture on the land. It was a stratified society so many social levels. Had two kinds of writing
Minoan Culture received name after King Minos

Mycenaean Culture, c. 1600 - 1200 BCE

- mythological half man-half bull

- a maze

- technique of wall painting on wet plaster

- round temple or tomb

- walls built of very large stones

Figure of woman, Cycladic culture, c. 2500-2300 BCE (figure 2-20
No system of writing
most objects found in a funerary context
commonly called Cycladic Figure
Shape that pops up is a triangle, pared down to very basic elements, relies on geometry which is one of the basic Greek thoughts
Made from marble
Found in Crete, on the mainland, indicating that they traveled
Cycladic figures tend to be female
carved in the round so they don't stand up on their own

Seated Harp Player, ca 2700-2500 BCE
musicians depicted always as men
made from triangles and right angles
This guy has more of a fleshiness and roundness to his body that the Woman Cycladic Figure did not
Marble

He Palace of Knossos, ca. 1700-1400 BCE discovered by Sir Arthur Evans (who penned the name Minoan Culture). He bought the entire palace complex and spent the rest of his life excavating it.
domesticated bees and brought in pomegranates from the mid-east. Homer recorded that they had 90 cities which seems like a lot. Based on where the palace was found decided that there were eight regions the island was divided into

Columns are all made of wood and painted. They are called inverted columns -- thicker at the top and thinner at the bottem. Makes it look shorter and probably not the best design to hold up your building

No - Masonry -- not built out of collosal stones but smaller stones covered with a lime concrete.

Minoan Culture - dolphins at Knossos Palace

Snake Goddess from Knossos, c. 1600 BCE
They think that the dieties and priestesses were all female
typical Minoan dress -- breasts exposed, wasp waist, large opened eyes, holding a snake in each hand and has a cat on her head
made from the glass like William the Hippo