PRE HIST ORIC

AND EAR LY

GRE EK ART(

ca.

ca. . . )

The Cycla dic

Island s

Situ ated

in the

sout hwe

stern Aeg

ean Sea,t

he Cycl

adic islan

ds were

settl ed in

the late

sixth mill

enni um.

Th

scul ptur

es mad

e duri

ngth e

Neol ithic

peri od

are the

prec urso

rs of the

far mor

e num

erou s

and bette

r kno

wn

piec es

data ble

to betw

een abou

and

..th

at

are com

mon ly

calle d

Cycl adic

(fig. and

slide ).

The Cycl

adic wor

ks are

the prod

uct of an

impe rfect

ly unde

rstoo d

cultu re.Fe

w settl

eme nts

have been

foun d,mu

ch of the

evid ence

 inclu

ding the

mar ble

figur es

com es

from grav

es,an d

scho lars

have not

esta blish

ed the

preci se

origi n of

the inha

bitan ts.In

the pred

ominanc

e of hum

an form

,the use

of mar

ble heig

hten ed

with colo

r, the

cons ciou

s pres

ervat ion

of prop

ortio ns,a

nd the

har mon

y of the

parts ,thes

e wor

ks initi

ate the

glori ous

tradi tion

of Gree

mar ble

scul ptur

e.
Mino an

Crete(

ca.

ca.
. . )

The preh

istor ic

cultu re of

the islan

d of Cret

e is kno

wn as

Min oan,

after the

lege ndar

y King

Min os.M

inoa n

cultu re

reac hed

its apog

ee abou

..

with

the esta

blish ment

of cent

ers,c alled

pala ces,

that conc

entra ted

polit ical

and econ

omic pow

er as well

as artist

ic activ

ity (fig.

). Maj

or pala

ces were

built at

Kno ssos

and Mall

ia in the

nort h,Ph

aisto s in

the sout

h,an d

Zaln o in

the east.

With the

pala ces

cam e the

deve lop

ment of

writi ng.

Min oan

Cret e

empl oyed

two scrip

ts:a picto

grap hic

scrip t,wh

ose sour

ce of inspi

ratio

n was

prob ably

Egy pt,

and a

linea r

scrip t,

calle d

Line ar A,

perh aps

deri ved

from the

cune ifor

m char

acter s of

the easte

rn Med

iterr anea

n.Fr om

 ..o

nwar d,Cr

ete sho

ws an

incre asin

g influ

ence from

the

Gree k

main land;

in fact,t

he Myc

enae ans

may have

occu pied

Cret e

after an

islan d-

wide destr

uctio n

abou t

..

By

the begi

nnin g