Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (460 page)

 
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A Greek Bronze Age civilization, at first limited to the mainland but later spreading throughout Greece and across the Aegean after the fall of the Minoan empire. Centred on the city of
MYCENAE
, the Mycenaeans called themselves
ACHAEANS
, their achievements being remembered in legendary form by the classical Greeks of the later 1st millennium
bc
.
The origins of the Mycenaeans remain the subject of much research, but they can be recognized in Greece from about 2000 bc onwards. Influenced by the
MINOANS
and the development of extensive trading links, the Mycenaean civilization was well established by the 16th century
bc
and by about 1450 bc was powerful enough to take over Crete and the Aegean. Trade with the eastern Mediterranean was especially strong, but links also extended northwards into continental Europe, bringing, for example, Baltic amber into southern Greece.
The Mycenaeans used
LINEAR B
writing and occupied walled citadels containing palaces centred on a
MEGARON
. Like Linear B, much of their material culture derived in adapted form from Minoan sources. In other ways they differed from the Minoans in being more warlike, having defended settlements, and a strong emphasis on weapons as grave goods.
Mycenaean power was relatively short-lived. Local unrest increased in the late 13th century
bc
, exemplified by the Trojan Wars. The civilization went into abrupt decline soon after 1200 bc. Many sites were abandoned, others decreased in size, and the palace bureaucracy collapsed. Many theories have been advanced to explain this decline, including natural catastrophes, invasions, and environmental disasters.

 
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Egyptian pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty who erected the third of the great pyramids at
GIZA
.

 
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Mylonas , George
(1898–1988)
[Bi].

Greek archaeologist best known for his excavations at Mycenae. Born at Smyrna, he studied archaeology at Athens University. After serving in the Greek army against the Turks in 1922 he went to America where, from 1928 onwards, he held a number of university teaching posts. In 1957 he was elected president of the Archaeological Institute of America. He excavated at a number of sites in Greece, including Ayios Kosman, Eleusis, and Olynthus, but he is best remembered for his work at Mycenae where he became director of excavations in 1958 after earlier collaboration with J. Papadimitriou on the outer grave circle. Between 1979 and 1988 he was Secretary General of the Archaeological Society of Athens. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1978. His numerous publications include
He neolithike epoche en Eleusis
(1928, Athens, reprinted 1975), and
Ancient Mycenae: the capital city of Agamemnon
(1957, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).
[Obit.:
Antiquaries Journal
, 68 (1988), 389–90]

 
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Myres , Sir John Linton
(1869–1954)
[Bi].

British classicist and ancient historian well known for his study of ancient Greece. Born in Preston, educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, he graduated with a first-class degree from the Classical School. Between 1892 and 1895 he travelled extensively in Greece before returning to Oxford with a studentship at Christ Church. In 1907 he moved to Liverpool University as Gladstone Professor of Greek, while at the same time lecturing in ancient geography. In 1910 he returned to Oxford as Wykeham Professor of Ancient History and took up the Fellowship at New College attached to it. Here he remained until 1939, although during WW1 he attained the rank of lieutenant-commander and later commander in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He was awarded the Greek Order of King George I of the first class. He excavated in Cyprus and compiled a catalogue of the Cyprus Museum. Amongst his numerous publications were
Who were the Greeks?
(1930, Berkeley: University of California Press), and
Herodotus: father of history
(1953, Oxford: Clarendon Press). He was knighted in 1943.
[Obit.:
The Times
, 8 March 1954]

 
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