Exploring Mycenaean Greece – Culture, Kingdoms and the Historical Context of the Trojan War

In this video we’ll journey back to the late Bronze Age and explore Mycenaean Civilization in Greece and the wider Aegean world. We’ll also delve into the historical events that may have led to armed conflicts between Mycenaeans and Hittites and that may have ultimately served as the basis for Homer’s great epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Contents: 00:00 Contents and Introduction 02:43 Helladic Chronology Explained 03:42 Discovery of Mycenaean Culture 05:35 Geography of Greece 07:28 Early Mycenaeans 10:58 “Mycenae, Rich in Gold” 13:32 Linear B 16:54 Mycenaean Society and Material Culture 21:21 Mycenaean Palatial Centers and Major Kingdoms 23:39 Orchomenos 25:30 Gla 26:00 Thebes 27:00 Athens 29:10 Tiryns 29:49 Pylos 31:15 Daily Life, Food and Economy 36:41 Importance of Bronze 38:08 Warfare and Weapons 40:25 Hunting and Horses 41:47 Roads 42:26 Religion 45:28 Minoans and Maritime Trade 48:07 Earthquake on Thera 49:26 Mycenaeans on Crete 52:22 Mycenaean Political Unity? 53:31 Ahhiyawa and the Hittites 55:31 Attarissiya of Ahhiya 57:55 The Assuwan Confederacy 1:00:10 Piyamaradu and the Tawagalawa Letter 1:05:16 Alaksandu of Wilusa (Troy) 1:08:29 Ahhiyawa and Tudhaliya IV 1:11:20 Are Mycenaean Greece and Ahhiyawa the Same? 1:13:07 Mycenaean Trade with the World 1:15:08 The Uluburun Shipwreck 1:18:01 Fear and Dread 1:23:15 Desperate Times, Desperate Measures 1:25:53 Possible Theories for the Fall of Mycenaean Civilization 1:27:24 End of an Era 1:28:54 Thank You and Patrons Related Videos: The World of Neolithic Greece - The First Seafarers, Traders and Farmers of Prehistoric Greece The Bronze Age in Paradise: The Early Societies of the Cyclades (Early Cycladic Culture) The Hittites Machinimas created using Total War: Rome 2 Age of Bronze mod Sources and Suggested Reading: The Mycenaeans - Louise Schofield Mycenaeans - Rodney Castleden In Search of the Trojan War - Michael Wood The Iliad - Homer (translation by Peter Green) Dawn of the Gods: Minoan and Mycenaean Origins of Greece - Jacquetta Hawkings The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age - Edited by Cynthia W. Shelmerdine Mycenaean Greece and the Aegean World: Palace and Province in the Late Bronze Age - Margaretha Kramer-Hajos The Art and Archaeology of the Aegean Bronze Age: A History - Jean-Claude Poursat and Carl Knappett Mycenaean Messenia and the Kingdom of Pylos - Richard Hope Simpson Mycenae: A Journey in the World of Agamemnon - Alkestis Papadimitriou and Elsi Spathari Mycenae: A Guide to the History and Archaeology - Elsi Spathari A Historical Greek Reader: Mycenaean to the Koiné - Stephen Colvin A Companion to Linear B - Edited by Yves Duhoux and Anna Morpurgo Davies A Mycenaean Fountain on the Athenian Acropolis - Oscar Broneer The Oxford Handbook of the Aegean Bronze Age - Edited by Eric Cline The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe - Barry Cunliffe “A Mycenaean Sword from Boǧazköy-Hattusa Found in 1991“ in The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 89 (1994), pp. 213-215 - O. Hansen “Aššuwa and the Achaeans: The ’Mycenaean’ Sword at Hattušas and Its Possible Implications“ in The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 91 (1996), pp. 137-151 - E. H. Cline Shout out to ARCAS Travel for arranging visits to many of the sites seen in this program. Their team went above and beyond what was expected, and I couldn’t have visited all of these places without their help! Follow History with Cy: Instagram ► Facebook ► Twitter ► Website ► Merch ► Podcast ► Patreon ► #bronzeage #ancienthistory #greece