How Did Art And Culture Change Greek Culture

Words: 1890
Pages: 8

In 356 BCE the Hellenic world came to life in Greece with the ride of Alexander the Great. The art, the cities, and much more were built as “Alexander conquered region after region” (Sayre, 136). Greece culture moved in through “Mediterranean, across North Africa, and the Middle East, even into Indian subcontinent” (Sayre, 136). The wars at the time being as bloody and long as they were, they brought to life some art and culture that we would have never been able to study today without it. Some cities were forced to be rebuilt, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise and many clichés of art and politics changed with the times.
Politics played a large role in the Hellenic age with people like Aristotle, Pericles, and Thucydides playing
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“The Minoans civilization thrived on Crete from 1900 to 1375 BCE. (Sayre 96) The Minoans were artists and perfectionists. They were very advanced for their time. The Minoans used buon fresco to paint their walls in homes and palaces like Knossos. It is a style with pigment and water rather than the dry pigment used by other civilizations nearby. This style wasn’t seen again until 3000 years later. (Sayre 97) They built labyrinths and stair cases with huge stones which could show how advanced their architecture was in their capital, Knossos. Knossos was an elaborate palace, built around a courtyard it was a labyrinth with 1400 rooms, passageways and hallways connected everything. Running water and waste/sewage drains were something that some cultures didn’t have until the 20th century but this civilization did. They were prepared with storage rooms filled with pots that could hold gallons of wine, honey, grain and oil, but there were no defensive walls. (Searching For Lost Worlds) The people of Crete traded with many countries and areas for various things, gold, amethyst, ivory and amber among them. It seems they were a very rich and educated culture. (Sayre 96) The Minoan religion is unique in its own way. They believed in one or more goddesses and they put a significant focus on the bull. (Sayre 97) Other cultures of this time and after worshiped gods and goddesses but not all female. No one really knows the true cause of the fall of the Minoan civilization it is speculated that the Santorini event is to blame. The eruption of the Santorini volcano would have caused earthquakes, tsunamis and ash to fall over Crete. This would have destroyed their ways of life. Agriculture would have died, trade would have stopped. They would have been forced to leave. (Searching For Lost Worlds) It took decades to find out anything about the Minoan culture and Crete. Author Evans became interested when he found small detailed