It contained a more or less central open hearth, which was vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns. The megaron was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch. Mycenaean citadel sites were centered around the megaron, a reception area for the king. The corbel arch was often used by the Mycenaeans in conjunction with a relieving triangle, which was a triangular block of stone that fit into the recess of the corbeled arch and helped to redistribute weight from the lintel to the supporting walls. The corbel arch is constructed by offsetting successive courses of stone (or brick) at the springline of the walls so that they project towards the archway’s center from each supporting side, until the courses meet at the apex of the archway (often, the last gap is bridged with a flat stone). Therefore, a corbeled (or corbel) arch is employed over doorways to relieve the weight on the lintel. A typical post and lintel structure is not strong enough to support the heavy structures built above it. The Mycenaeans also relied on new techniques of building to create supportive archways and vaults. Corbel ArchĬorbeled vault, Tiryns: This photo shows the offsetting successive courses of stone at the springline of the walls so that they project towards the archway’s center from each supporting side, until the courses meet at the apex of the archway. The thick Cyclopean walls reflect a need for protection and self-defense since these walls often encircled the citadel site and the acropolis on which the site was located. Due to this ancient belief, the use of large, roughly cut, ashlar blocks in building is referred to as Cyclopean masonry. The blocks were considered too large to be moved by humans and were believed by ancient Greeks to have been erected by the Cyclopes-one-eyed giants. The walls of Mycenaean citadel sites were often built with ashlar and massive stone blocks. The citadels vary from city to city but each share common attributes, including building techniques and architectural features. The Mycenaeans populated Greece and built citadels on high, rocky outcroppings that provided natural fortification and overlooked the plains used for farming and raising livestock. Mycenaean culture can be summarized by its architecture, whose remains demonstrate the Mycenaeans’ war-like culture and the dominance of citadel sites ruled by a single ruler. The art and architecture of Mycenaean citadel sites reflects the society’s war-like culture and its constant need for protection and fortification. Due to additional evidence from Minoan artwork, researchers also conclude that women functioned in high-level roles in that society, perhaps even as priestesses, but there are no correlating artistic representations in Mycenaean material culture indicating a similarly elevated role for women.įinally, the two cultures also differed in their written language: Mycenaeans wrote in the deciphered form known as Linear B, and the Minoans wrote in the still unbroken script, Linear A.The Lion Gate at Mycenae / Photo by Andreas Trepte, Wikimedia Commons Minoan art frequently shows peaceful scenes of floral or marine subject matter, while the art of the Mycenaeans celebrates things such as chariots and combat. The differences between Minoan and Mycenaean artwork generally elaborate this theme even further. Additionally, while the Mycenaeans were discovered to have had a wide variety of weaponry suitable to battle, Minoan weapons were ceremonial and incapable of inflicting any real harm on a prospective opponent. Mycenaean palaces, on the other hand, were constructed with high stone walls and other clearly defensive attributes, signifying the perennial presence of danger. Minoan palaces, for example, had open designs and lavish courtyards. One of the more important clues regarding this disposition to violence or otherwise lies in the architecture of the two civilizations.
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