Mycenaean

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, Greece, 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 Minoan 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.