Characteristics Of Understanding The Culture And Society Of Any Civilization

The Palace of Knossos is the most complex structure existing from the ancient Minoan Civilization on the island of Crete. It was built in the Minoan political center of Knossos by King Minos around 1900 BC. The palace is an extremely intricate building standing five stories with large, beautiful paintings on its walls known as frescos; it even had indoor plumbing. It is apparent that only the most important people in Minoan society lived in the palace because of its grandeur and beauty.

One may ask, who are the Minoans? Well they are considered by many Historians and Archeologists to be the first great European Civilization. Some people believed that this was the mythical land of Atlantis. They were located near the Aegean Sea and lands such as Greece, Troy and Asia Minor. One interesting fact is that these people never called themselves the Minoans. There wasn’t any name listed in the history books for these people but the Ancient Crete Civilization. They were known as the Crete Civilization because they lived on the island of Crete which is now part of Greece. It wasn’t until a 19th century British Archeologist, Sir Author Evans gave them the name, The Minoans. He gave them this name because he believed he had found the legendary palace of King Minos. There has been many civilization collapses over the World’s history, but most can be explained in great detail. There are some that are very mysterious and not definitively explained. The collapse of the Minoan people happens to be one of those mysterious collapses which ranks 3rd in the top ten most mysterious collapses of the world and is still to this day debated on what actually caused their demise. There are many factors that go into the collapse of a civilization, but this kind of catastrophe doesn’t just happen in a blink of an eye this is something that happens over a long period of time. This paper will touch on the climate and environment, the time period and culture, how they became

Knossos was excavated by Arthur Evans in 1900. The archaeological evidence suggests that it was first built around 2000 BC. Additionally, it also suggests that it was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt around 1700 BC. On the eastern side of the complex, the palace had four storeys; On the western side of the complex, the palace had three storeys. Additionally, it had a massive central court and storage areas. Knossos is an important site because it tells us about the economic, political and social features of Minoan society. Arthur Evans incorrectly believed that Minos lived at Knossos.

The great Minoan civilization of Crete formed around palaces such as those at Knossos, Phaestus, Ayia Triada, and Tyliossos. The extremely important Palace of Minos at Knossos gives us crucial evidence of a continuous architectural brilliance and highly developed artistic sense, bringing together all aspects of architectural style, art, and innovation during the Minoan period between 1700 BCE and 1580 BCE and continuing until the invasion of the Achaeans in the 12th century BCE (Britannica Encyclopedia). The most famous palace is the palace of Minos of Knossos which demonstrates a specific arrangement of blocks:

Five miles off the northern coast of the island of Crete, located between two streams, is the capital of the Minoan empire Cnossos (sometimes spelled Knossos). The Minoans built two palaces in Knossos. The First was built around the beginning of the Middle Minoan period (2000-1580 BCE). This palace was made of “isolated structures built around a rectangular court.” This palace was destroyed in 1720 BCE by an earthquake. After it was destroyed a second grandeur palace was built. It “measured some 750 square meters in area.” This palace had administrative and ceremonial quarters and a basement for storing “wheat, oil, and treasure.” After 1400 BCE the second Palace was destroyed by fire. During its existence the Palace served as the political

With the rise of Alexander “The Great” begins the Hellenistic Age which is used to describe a time which Greek culture spread to places like Egypt and Asia. Due to this Greek culture had changed from what it was during Classical Greece as they were able to achieve much more with this new diverse culture. The Classical Age of Greece is known for its work in philosophy and the arts. The work of Greek philosophers of this time such Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle cannot go unnoticed in these contexts as their accomplishments still have lasting effects on our world today. Along with the great work of these philosophers, came other great works in architecture and drama. Beginning in 448 B.C. Pericles began the construction of the Acropolis,

“The Romans retained many ideas about buildings from their Etruscan predecessors, but they also absorbed some of the ideas of the Greek that were passed onto them by the Etruscans” (Bleiberg, 2005). When looking back in time, the basic style of architecture that the Greek, Roman and Etruscans used was different but also similar in a few ways such as techniques, materials, structures, etc. For instance, when Roman architectures began to build their first temple of their time, they based the structure off the Etruscans temple. Due to the fact that their structures promoted an openness to them unlike the Greek temples. When looking at these styles closer, the Greek architecture was known for their use of columns and colonnade, but the Roman architecture was known for their use of arches and vaults.

Palace at Knossos is a representation of the Minoan culture. Many square rooms were built for different functions. It has around two or three floors and there are also some rooms underground. Many later architectures can see their features from it. Such as the column on the front gate is similar to the temples from Greek culture architectures. Many paintings were painted on the indoor walls of some rooms. Many of them are narrative and shows some part of he life at that time. It was almost built from stone, which is heavy and steady.

Temple of Hera at Olympia is one of the oldest temples built in Greece. The Olympia site including the Temple of Hera at Olympia is set at the foot of Mount Kronos. (fig. 1) The Temple is located at the northwest corner of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Altis, at the top center of the Olympia site, in between Nymphaeum of Herodes Atticus and Prytaneion. (fig. 2) The name of the mountain is named after the Greek deity Kronos. Greeks have a long history of building architectures near or up on the top of the mountain. There are many examples in the history. The Parthenon in

At first, the palace at Pylos was no greater than the neighboring sites, such as the site of Iklaina (Vermeule 162). In the fourteenth-century, the town was burned and new princes took over the hilltop Pylos site (Vermeule 163). The settlement was quickly rebuilt ushering a new era and new leadership at

The city of Olynthos has one of best-preserved city layouts of Ancient Greece. Olynthos was founded as a polis in 432 BCE and was a successful settlement on the coast of Greece until Phillip II laid siege on it in 348 BCE. This destruction and abandonment allowed for the houses to be well preserved and the city to be left mostly intact. Cultural and religious buildings are not as well excavated and the agoras were inadequately preserved. However, the actual city layout survived and was split into three distinct sections. These three areas are the North Hill, South Hill, and Villa Section. The South Hill was the original sector of the city, having been settled in the 7th century BCE. As the population grew, the city was expanded to the North

In the summer of 2016, recreational divers discovered fragments of pottery of the East coast of Crete near the Palace at Zakros. The fragments depicted artwork resembling that of ancient Minoan culture, specific to the Late Minoan IA-IB period. A team of archeologists returned to the location to start a week long search for any other Minoan artifacts. Divers were able to locate a shipwreck where the artifacts originated from.

It is amazing to know that the concept of architectural design to homes had already flourished even in ancient Rome. The layout and functions of every Roman homes were intricately laid out for the comfort of its dwellers. The pattern and designs were made susceptible to the heat of the Mediterranean climate. Therefore, it is typical among the houses of the ancient Rome to have an "atrium" and "peristylium." These two parts of the Roman house were important. Its primary function is to ventilate the corridors and rooms. This types of houses were common designs in both urban and rural areas. On other hand, there were also big houses which refers to"villas," where the rich people lived. In addition, there were also tenement houses where poor people live, particularly to the household workers or slaves ( The Romans web, n.d).

Whether simplistic or complex in style, the Greek Parthenon and the Roman Pantheon, respectively, exhibit uniqueness of their era. Each showcases wonderful and historic characteristics of architecture throughout the passage of time. This essay will explain the similarities and differences in the use and functionality between these two ancient temples.

The History of Greek Architecture The architecture of ancient Greece is represented by buildings in the sanctuaries and cities of mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, southern Italy and Sicily, and the Ionian coast of Turkey. Monumental Greek architecture began in the archaic period, flourished through the classical and Hellenistic periods, and saw the first of many revivals during the Roman Empire. The roots of Greek architecture lie in the tradition of local Bronze Age house and palaces. The following paper will cover the basic forms of Greek architecture.