The Minoans and Mycenaeans: The History of the Civilizations that First Developed Ancient Greek Culture
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Victoria Woodson
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Nearly 2,500 years after the Golden Age of Athens, people across the world today continue to be fascinated by the Ancient Greeks. But who did the Ancient Greeks look up to? The answer to that question can be found in Homer’s The Odyssey, in which Odysseus makes note of “a great town there, Cnossus, where Minos reigned.” It was perhaps the earliest reference to the Minoan civilization, a mysterious ancient civilization that historians and archaeologists still puzzle over, but a civilization that renowned historian Will Durant described as "the first link in the European chain.”
Nearly 2,000 years before Homer wrote his epic poems, the Minoan civilization was centered on the island of Crete, a location that required the Minoans to be a regional sea power. And indeed they were, stretching across the Aegean Sea from about 2700-1500 BCE with trade routes extending all the way to Egypt.
The Minoans may have been the first link in the “European chain”, leading to the Ancient Greeks and beyond, but questions persist over the origins of the civilization, the end of the civilization, and substantial parts of their history inbetween, including their religion and buildings.
In the wake of the Minoans, a Greek culture flourished and spread its tentacles throughout the western Mediterranean region via trade and warfare. Scholars have termed this pre-Classical Greek culture the Mycenaean culture, which existed from about 2000-1200 BCE, when Greece, along with much of the eastern Mediterranean, was thrust into a centuries long dark age. However, before the Mycenaean culture collapsed, it was a vital part of the late Bronze Age Mediterranean system and stood on equal footing with some of the great powers of the region, such as the Egyptians and Hittites. At the same time, the Mycenaeans had more in common with their neighbors from the island of Crete.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fermi Paradox: The History and Legacy of the Famous Debate over the Existence of Aliens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of the Pan-African Politician Who Became Congo's First Prime Minister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of the Dead: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Famous Funerary Texts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of Hamburger Hill: The History and Legacy of One of the Vietnam War's Most Controversial Battles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Somme: The History and Legacy of World War I’s Biggest Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stokely Carmichael: The Life and Legacy of the Civil Rights Activist Who Led the Black Power Movement Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Minoans and Mycenaeans
Related audiobooks
The Empires of Persia: The History and Legacy of the Dynasties that Ruled Persia from Antiquity to Today Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ancient Libyans and Nubians: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Most Prominent Neighbors in Africa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMinoan, Rise and Fall: A Legacy of Myths, Elaborate Art, and Advanced Bronze Age Civilization in the Aegean Sea Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Foreign Invaders of Ancient Egypt: The History of the Hyksos, Sea Peoples, Nubians, Babylonians, and Assyrians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSumer: The History of the Cities and Culture that Established Ancient Mesopotamia’s First Civilization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForgotten Peoples of the Ancient World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Alexandria: The History and Legacy of Egypt's Most Famous City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mummies of Ancient Egypt: The History and Legacy of the Egyptians’ Mummification Process Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHamilcar Barca: The Life and Legacy of the Legendary Carthaginian General Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mississippian Culture: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Indigenous Culture in North America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnatolia and the Bronze Age: The History of the Earliest Kingdoms and Cities that Dominated the Region Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScience and Technology of Ancient Civilizations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Legendary Mongol Khans: The Lives and Legacies of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, and Tamerlane Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sikh Wars: A Captivating Guide to the Origins, Battles, and Legacy of the 19th-Century Anglo-Sikh Conflicts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Kingdoms of Africa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEgyptian Mythology: A Timeless Collection of Egyptian Myths and Legends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Incas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rus’: The History and Legacy of the Group that Established a Russian State in the Middle Ages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Advent of Early Modern Warfare: The History of the Transition from Medieval Military Tactics to the Age of Gunpowder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerica’s First Korean War: The History and Legacy of the United States Expedition to Korea in 1871 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSundaland and Doggerland: The History and Mysteries of the Sunken Landmasses in Asia and Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Medieval Invasions of Italy: The History and Legacy of the Conflicts across the Italian Peninsula in the Middle Ages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMegalithic Temples: Stonehenge, Gobekli Tepe, Ggantija Temples & Baalbek Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFound on a Drowned Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Ancient History For You
Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/51177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chariots of the Gods Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killing Jesus: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Epic of Gilgamesh Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History Is Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Histories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ancient Greece 101: Greek History, Myth, and Civilization Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be: Life Lessons from the Early Greeks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eternal City: A History of Rome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Greek Mythology: An Elaborate Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Harems, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roman History 101: From Republic to Empire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Occulted History: Do the Global Elite Conceal Ancient Aliens? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Egyptian Myths Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Minoans and Mycenaeans
1 rating1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Well written on an interesting topic and thorough spanning the whole time-period. Gave a good summary of what is known by these people, and how they influenced each other and eventually Ancient Greece. The reader have a pleasant voice and makes an engaging performance.