Description

The Mycenaean civilisation developed in mainland Greece and the Aegean islands in the Late Bronze Age, during the second millennium BC. Contact with Minoan Crete was decisive for the shaping of the Mycenaean world. Art and culture flourished within the Mycenaean palatial centres, leaving behind an impressive material legacy of mighty architectural constructions, luxury objects, weapons, jewellery, wall paintings, and decorative pottery. Administrative records in an early Greek language written in a syllabic script, Linear B, which were found in many palatial centres, outline complex economic/religious transactions and a distinctive system of social stratification. Although the Mycenaean palatial organisation collapsed at the end of the Bronze Age, the culture made a lasting impression on later Greeks, as evidenced in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

This 8-week online course will explore Mycenaean civilisation combining an archaeological and textual perspective, moving from the examination of material culture and the built environment towards the discussion of society, identity, and religion.

Classes will be conducted via Zoom on Wednesdays, 19:30-21:00 (UK time) on 1st October, 8th October, 15th October, 22nd October, (mid-term break on 29th October), 5th November, 12th November, 19th November, 26th November 2025.

Tutor: Dr Katerina Kolotourou.