CLAS 2000 Lecture 1: Historical Background to Greek Mythology- Jan, 11

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: CLAS 2000
• Professor: John Walsh

Document Summary

Periodisation: prehistory, bronze age, dark age, archaic period, classical period, hellenistic period. 35,000 years ago, major ice age, greece was still suitable for human livelihood, around this time homo sapiens sapiens appear. Living primitive lives, cave people, but officially known as modern humans. Large elephant/mammoth skull might have been mistakenly linked to cyclops, in much earlier history, hence the myth. 10,000 bc in fertile crescent, writing systems, domestication, etc. Archeological evidence from athens shows worship of female gods linked to fertility, as well as stone tools (around this time) The essential quality of feminine was centre of worship way back when (earliest systems of worship in earliest greece) Aegean bronze age ca 2500 bc (when bronze age enters greek mainland) Crete 2000-1600 bc, where greek civilization begins, due to exchange of technology between east and (cid:449)est, is do(cid:373)i(cid:374)a(cid:374)t (cid:272)ultu(cid:396)e fo(cid:396) good 400 (cid:455)ea(cid:396)s, (cid:272)alled (cid:862)mi(cid:374)oa(cid:374)s(cid:863), (cid:396)e(cid:373)ai(cid:374)s a(cid:396)e late(cid:396) e(cid:454)(cid:272)a(cid:448)ated (cid:271)(cid:455) a(cid:396)thur.