From the earliest discoveries of what came to be known as “Mycenaean culture,” it has been unclear exactly how to understand it: Is it one of the first steps in the story of Greek civilization? Or is it a fundamentally alien intrusion whose collapse was necessary for the flourishing of Classical culture?
Classicist and archaeologist Dimitri Nakassis explores the archaeological and textual evidence for the Mycenaean world, which turns out to be too complex to fit neatly into simple categories. Across half a millennium of history (ca. 1650–1100 B.C.E.), stretching from the eastern shores of the Aegean to the Ionian Sea and beyond, Mycenaean communities took many different forms.
In the 150 years since the discovery of the shaft graves by Heinrich Schliemann, much has been learned about Late Bronze Age Greece, which continues to produce exciting new discoveries every year. These findings not only fascinate; they also pose new questions and challenge long-held assumptions.
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