Q: Minoan culture, from our contemporary perspective, is often seen as carefree and peaceful. People lived in harmony with their environment. The Mycenaeans, on the other hand, seemed to constantly engage in conflict. While this is likely an oversimplified view, how do you see it either proven or disproven through their visual record?
A: while looking through the visual records of the Mycenaeans, I couldn’t really find anything specific as to how this culture was constantly engaged in conflict except for the warrior krater. It doesn’t really give me a vibe of constant conflict but it does show me that at one point they needed these warriors to go to war. As for the Minoan culture, there wasn’t really any pieces that could tell me that this culture was ever in some sort of conflict. However, there was the harvester rhyton. This piece showed a large group of men together in a formation that is usually done by the marching soldiers found in Egypt with their mouths open supposedly chanting. These men were very skinny and looked as if they hadn’t eaten in a while. I don’t think this piece gives enough information for me to say that the Minoan culture is in any way conflicted with anyone so I’m going to conclude that these people were indeed carefree and peaceful.