Three Terracotta Female Figures
(c.1400-1300 BCE) from Mycenean Era

Mycenean Art

Mycenae was a prehistoric Greek city in the Peloponnese section of the mainland. However, the term "Mycenaean" or "Mycenean" culture is often used in the history of art to describe early mainland Greek art as a whole during the late Bronze Age (c.1650-1200 BCE). The actual start of the Mycenean era is marked by the shaft graves of Grave Circles A and B (1650-1500 BCE), containing luxurious relics of Mycenean nobles, which were discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876.

During the seventeenth and sixteenth centuries BCE. Mycenean/Greek arts and culture was dominated by the Minoan civilization based on Crete. Minoan artists and painters visited Greece regularly, although the Mycenean artistic style became a balance between the exuberant naturalism of Crete and the formality of the mainland. Like the Minoans, the Myceneans also built palaces in which fresco painting, executed in tempera, was a common feature.

Gold Kantharos (Drinking Cup)
(c.1500 BCE) from Mycenean Period

However, while the Myceneans obtained much of their culture from the Minoans, they were very different as a people. Mycenean rulers, unlike their Minoan counterparts, did not share prosperity with the rest of the people. Moreover, Mycenean kings were warriors with a tradition of conquest - witness their famous destruction of the city of Troy in Asia Minor (now Turkey). This warlike culture of the Greeks during the Mycenean era also led to their conquest of Crete and its Minoan civilization after it was weakened by earthquakes around 1425 BCE.

All this affected Mycenean arts of the period. As in Egyptian art, most Mycenean painting, sculpture and precious metalwork were commissioned to glorify the rulers of the day - both in death as well as life. To begin with, aristocratic Myceneans were interred in deep shaft graves, but after 1500 BCE, they were buried in tholos tombs - large conical chambers cut into the side of a hill - along with a hoard of gold work, ornamental weapons and precious jewellery.

Also, in their painting and sculpture, Mycenean artists typically emphasized military and other mythological exploits, in a more formal 'geometric' style than that of the Minoans. The range of artworks included ceramics, pottery, carved gemstones, jewellery, glass ornaments, as well as tomb and palace murals, frescoes and sculptures.

As it happened, not long after the Myceneans conquered Troy, they were themselves attacked by invading Dorians and in about 1100 BCE (the start of the Greek 'Dark Ages') the city of Mycenae, along with much of its art, was destroyed. It managed to survive as a small city state until 470 BCE when it was sacked and burned by its neighbour Argos. Later, the city was revived yet again, but by 125 BE it was in ruins.

• For other pre-historic civilizations, see: Ancient Art.
• For the main index, see: Irish Art: Guide to Visual Arts in Ireland

• How to Update This Mini Review of Mycenean Art