Historical Context

The Minoan World

• March 17, 2024

Known by the Greeks as ‘Megalónisos,’ or the ‘Great Island,’ the island of Crete has a long and varied history. Steeped in historical and cultural heritage, Crete is the most visited of the Greek islands. It has also been of paramount strategic importance for thousands of years, thanks to its location close to the junction of three continents and at the heart of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. For much of its long history, the island has been ruled by foreign invaders.

Read More
Concise Greece History • Historical Context

Ancient Greece History

• March 10, 2024

The land of Greece is made up of
mainland Greece and the numerous islands scattered throughout the Aegean and Adriatic Seas. It is a mountainous country with hot dry summers and rain only in winter. The early Greek settlements developed as small independent communities cut off from each other by the mountains and often competing for the best land, because the fertile arable soil is in short supply. Each of the citystates
which developed out of these communities had a strong individual identity, and citizens were very loyal to their home state and to its patron deity.

Read More
Concise Greece History • Historical Context

A Concise short history of Greece

• October 5, 2023

Any discussion of the origins and formation of the Mycenaean palaces must
begin with the insightful studies of Klaus Kilian, especially his contribution to
the Strasbourg Colloquium of 1985 (Kilian 1984; 1987a, b, c, d; 1988a, b;
1990). He pointed the way for understanding the palace in the context of the
evolving socio-political structure of the Mycenaean state with appropriate
attention to the role of the wanax and, presciently, to influences from Crete
(Kilian 1988b).

Read More