Mycenae and Greek Origins

For a long time, Mycenae was a myth. Legends such as those told in Homer’s works suggested that this region of mainland Greece, located on near the isthmus connecting the Peloponnesus to Attica, was the home of great kings and heroes. Enlightenment figures relegated these stories to the same bin in which they placed the purported histories of the Bible.

Nineteenth and 20^th century archaeologists, such as Heinrich Schliemann, successfully excavated the site and revealed that there was at least a kernel of truth in the oldest of tales. As it eventually turned out, the genesis of the Greek Myths was here. The stories many schoolchildren still learn about a philandering Zeus and a jealous Hera apparently can be traced back to this ancient realm.

Who Were the Mycenaeans?

Like other societies that emerge from the prehistoric shadows, this ancient culture remains mysterious. There is an ancient division of early Greeks into three tribes: Dorians, Ionians and Aeolians. Another classification includes a fourth group, the Achaeans. Some people include these peoples among the Ionians. Whatever their origin, the Mycenaeans were clearly Indo-Europeans.

They possessed a Bronze Age level of technology during the height of their civilization in the 2^nd millennium BC.  They erected fortifications so monumental that they were believed by later Greeks to be the works of the Cyclops. How much interaction they had with the people of Crete - on levels cultural, political and economic - is uncertain.

Religion

If the Greek Myths truly date back to this culture, then the religion of the Mycenaeans was clearly distinct from that of the Minoans on Crete in one respect. It was patriarchal rather than matriarchal. However, there are similarities as well. For example, the bull remains an important figure in Greek religion.

The name of the chief god in Greek myths was Zeus. This name clearly bears some relation to the Indo-European belief in a father who lived in the sky. In Sanskrit, a fellow descendant of the ancient Indo-European language, the name is rendered as Dyaus-Pitar. It is not too hard to draw a line from that name to Zeus and the Roman name for this god, Jupiter.

History

Myths assert that the Greek hero Perseus founded the city of Mycenae. His descendants ruled the city for generations until power passed to a maternal uncle named Atreus. His sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus, would become famous for their participation in the Trojan War and their inclusion in the epic tales of Homer.

Sometime around 1200 BC, the Mycenaean civilization came to an end. Some people believe that this finale came about due to the arrival of the Dorian Greeks on the peninsula. Others suggest that the mysterious Sea Peoples may have been responsible. This same group is held responsible for the end of the Hittite Empire and two dynasties in Egypt.

Only ruins remain of this once mighty civilization. Excavations continue to tell us more about this period and this region which gave birth to so many cultural riches.