Archaeology of the Iliad The Mycenaean Culture

The archaeological correlate for the societies who were participating in the Trojan War in the Iliad and the Odyssey is the Helladic or Mycenaean culture. What archaeologists think of as Mycenaean culture grew out of the Minoan cultures on the Greek mainland between 1600 and 1700 BC, and spread to the Aegean islands by 1400 BC. Capitals of the Mycenaean culture included Mycenae, Pylos, Tiryns, Knossos, Gla, Menelaion, Thebes, and Orchomenos. The archaeological evidence of these cities paints a vivid picture of the towns and societies mythologized by the poet Homer. Defenses and Wealth Mycenaean culture consisted of fortified city centers and surrounding farm settlements. There is some debate about how much power the main capital of Mycenae had over the other urban centers (and indeed, whether it was the main capital), but whether it ruled over or merely had a trading partnership with Pylos, Knossos, and the other cities, the material culture––the stuff that archaeologists pay attention to––was essentially the same. By the late Bronze Age of around 1400 BC, the city centers were palaces or, more properly, citadels. Lavishly frescoed structures and gold grave goods argue for a strictly stratified society, with much of the wealth of the society in the hands of an elite few, consisting of a warrior caste, priests and priestesses, and a group of administrative officials, headed by a king. At several of the Mycenaean sites, archaeologists have found clay tablets inscribed with Linear B, a written language developed from a Minoan form. The tablets are primarily accounting tools, and their information includes rations provided to workers, reports on the local industries including perfume and bronze, and the support required for defense. And that defense was necessary is certain: The fortification walls were enormous, 8 m (24 ft) high and 5 m (15 ft) thick, built of huge, unworked limestone boulders which were roughly fitted together and chinked with smaller chunks of limestone. Other public architecture projects included roads and dams. Crops and Industry Crops grown by Mycenaean farmers included wheat, barley, lentils, olives, bitter vetch, and grapes; and pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle were herded. Central storage for the subsistence goods was provided within the walls of the city centers, including specialized storage rooms for grain, oil, and wine. It is apparent that hunting was a pastime for some of the Mycenaeans, but it seems to have been primarily an activity for building prestige, not obtaining food. Pottery vessels were of regular shape and size, which suggests mass production; everyday jewelry was of blue faience, shell, clay, or stone. Trade and Social Classes The people were involved in trade throughout the Mediterranean; Mycenaean artifacts have been found at sites on the west coast of what is now Turkey,  along  the Nile River in Egypt and the Sudan, in Israel and Syria, in southern Italy. The Bronze Age shipwrecks of  Ulu Burun  and  Cape Gelidonya  have given archaeologists a detailed peek into the mechanics of the trade network. Traded goods recovered from the wreck off Cape Gelidonya included precious metals such as gold, silver, and electrum, ivory from both elephants and hippopotami,  ostrich eggs, raw stone material such as gypsum, lapis lazuli,  lapis  Lacedaemonius, carnelian, andesite, and obsidian; spices such as coriander,  frankincense, and myrrh; manufactured goods such as pottery, seals, carved ivories, textiles, furniture, stone and metal vessels, and weaponry; and agricultural produce of wine, olive oil,  flax, hides and wool. Evidence for social stratification is found in the elaborate tombs excavated into hillsides, with multiple chambers and corbelled roofs. Like the Egyptian monuments, these were often built during the lifetime of the individual intended for interment. The strongest evidence for the social system of Mycenaean culture came with the decipherment of their written language, Linear B, which needs a bit more explanation. Troys Destruction According to Homer, when Troy was destroyed, it was the Mycenaeans who sacked it. Based on the archaeological evidence, about the same time Hisarlik burned and was destroyed, the entire Mycenaean culture was also under attack. Beginning about 1300 BC, the rulers of the capital cities of the Mycenaean cultures lost interest in constructing elaborate tombs and expanding their  palaces  and began to work in earnest on strengthening the fortification walls and building underground access to water sources. These efforts suggest preparation for warfare. One after another, the palaces burned, first Thebes, then Orchomenos, then Pylos. After Pylos burned, a concerted effort was expended on the fortification walls at Mycenae and Tiryns, but to no avail. By 1200 BC, the approximate time of the destruction of Hisarlik, most of the palaces of the Mycenaeans had been destroyed. There is no doubt that the Mycenaean culture came to an abrupt and bloody end, but it is unlikely to have been the result of warfare with Hisarlik.

African American Women During The Civil War - 1137 Words

African American Women In American history there have been many truly extraordinary women. These women range from all different time periods, races and other backgrounds. Over the years women have participate or become involved in multiple different themes including: politics, midwives or physicians, inventors, literary or arts figures, feminists, suffrage or equal rights activist, wealthy women, academics, fighters- physical or metaphorical etc. This paper will exemplify three special women, all the while providing background, some life achievements and details of their last years. These women are Ida Wells, Isabella Baumfree (A.K.A Sojourner Truth) and Harriet Tubman. All African American abolitionist who fought endlessly for the civil rights owed to them as Americans, free citizens and humans. Ida Wells, a woman born a slave in Holly Springs, Mississippi, before the close of the Civil War on 16 July 1862. Some six months later Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves. Her parents, who had been slaves, were remarried again after freedom came. Her father, the son of a pastor, had been taught the carpenter’s trade, and mother was a famous cook. In 1878, at age 14 when she was visiting her grandmother in the Holly Springs suffered a yellow fever epidemic in which both her parents and her 10-month-old brother, Stanley, died of Malaria. With no one else to support her large family, so she becomes a teacher at a schoolhouse in rural Mississippi. IdaShow MoreRelatedAfrican American Women During The Civil War1227 Words   |  5 Pages †¢ Is the author s thesis clearly stated? (Restate in your own words) The exceptional rules of war that existed during the Civil War were essential. When it comes to the state of Tennessee, the early â€Å"capture† of the state was of strategically importance for the Union Army. 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Characterization in The Scarlet Letter Essay Example For Students

Characterization in The Scarlet Letter Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. After his graduation from Bowdoin College in Maine, he quickly became a well-known author of literary tales concerning early American life. Between 1825 and 1850, he developed his talent by writing short fiction, and he gained international fame for his fictional novel The Scarlet Letter in 1850 (Clendenning 118). Rufus Wilmot Griswold stated,The frivolous costume and brisk action of the story of fashionable life are easily depicted by the practised sketcher, but a work like The Scarlet Letter comes slowly upon the canvas, where passions are commingled and overlaid with the masterly elaboration with which the grandest effects are produced in pictural composition and coloring. (Griswold 352)Throughout the novel, Hawthorne reveals character through the use of imagery and metaphor.In the first Chapter of The Scarlet Letter, The Prison-Door, the reader is immediately introduced to the people of Puritan Boston. Hawthorne begins to develop the character of the common people in order to build the mood of the story. The first sentence begins, A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes (Hawthorne 45). Hawthornes use of vivid visual images and his Aaccumulation of emotionally weighted details (Baym xii) creates sympathy for the not yet introduced character, Hester Prynne, and creates an immediate understanding of the harshness of the Puritanic code in the people. The images created give the freedom to imagine whatever entails sadness and morbidity of character for the reader; Hawthorne does not, however, allow the reader to imagine lenient or cheerful people.Nathaniel Hawthornes eloquent contrast of the jail and its captive, Hester Prynne, also creates a sympathy for the emerging prisoner . The ugly edificewas already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age, which gave a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browned and gloomy front (Hawthorne 45). The depiction of the jail emphasizes its ugliness, and the mental pictures formed in the mind of the reader suggest an aspect of gloom and suffering. However, Hester Prynnes initial description brightly contrasts the jails. Hester was tall, with a figure of perfect eleganceshe had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off sunshine with a gleam (50). Her face was beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion (50). In all physical senses, Hester was a beautiful woman possessing dignity and grace. The stark contrast between the ugliness of the jail and Hesters radiant beauty not only brings the reader to feel sympathy for the beautiful woman who was forced to suffer in such an awful place, but it also creates curiosity as to why such a woman of apparent gentility was confined to the priso n at all.Hawthornes description of Governor Bellinghams mansion uses words to create vivid images within the readers mind. The intricate description of the inside of Bellinghams mansion not only defines the appearance of the house, but also the inner character of the resident. The house was now moss-grown, crumbling to decay, and melancholy at heart with the many sorrowful or joyous occurrences, remembered or forgotten, that have happened, and passed away, within their dusky chambers. As the reader proceeds through the text, he or she learns of the character of Bellingham as one of inner turmoil that masks itself with outward beauty, eccentricity, and style. The splendor of the mansion also inadvertently indicate the personality of Governor Bellingham, in respect to his materialism and his quickness to flaunt his possessions. The face of the mansion had been fashioned so that, when the sunshine fell aslant-wise over the front of the edifice, it glittered and sparkled as if diamonds had ben flung against it by the double handful (90). Later in the novel, the reader encounters Bellingham dressed in very contemporary, decorative garb indicative of his high social status, but his inner self is in a state of unrest.Hawthornes skillful use of metaphor throughout The Scarlet Letter greatly emphasizes the dynamics of the characters. By comparing the traits of the characters to things completely unrelated to them, Hawthorne composes messages that are verbally inexplicable by common descriptions. The use of metaphor allows the reader to develop a deeper emotional understanding of the psychological and physical traits of each character. For example, Pearl is referred to as one of those naughty elfs or fairies ora little bird of scarlet plumage (97). The comparison of Pearl to a fantastic creature such as an elf adds a sense of alienation and mystery to her personality, and it creates a feeling of strange confusion toward her. When she is compared to a scarlet-hued bird, the emphasis of color increases the visual sense of Pearls character, and the comparison to a bird indicates that she is full of wild energy. Pearl is also described as a lovely and immortal flower (80). By correlating Pearl to a soft, delicate flower, Hawthorne develops and emotional aura of Pearls frailty, femininity, and flawless beauty that overshadows her chaotic temperament.Hawthornes effectuation of characterization by using imagery and metaphor to his advantage greatly increases the caliber of The Scarlet Letter. He uses imagery to form mental pictures within the mind of the reader that carry certain connotations of dread, egotism, mystery, or any other range of emotion. The scene-painting is pure, severe, and truthful (Smiles 266) and adds great depth to the novel. Hawthornes use of metaphor adds dimension to the novel by abutting unlike things to create new meaning and appreciation of qualities of characters, and hence, a deeper understanding of underlying motives and psyc he. Intricate and methodical characterization is crucial to grasp the full meaning of a narrative.Works CitedBaym, Nina. Introduction. The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York City: Penguin Books USA, Inc. 1986.Clendenning, John. Nathaniel Hawthorne. The World Book Encyclopedia. 1989 ed.Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. The Scarlet Letter. The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith Publishing, 1959. 341-371.Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1986.Smiles, Samuel. The Scarlet Letter. The Critical Temper. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York City: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266. .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d , .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .postImageUrl , .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d , .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d:hover , .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d:visited , .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d:active { border:0!important; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d:active , .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1f701de1d8246c89c59619548ee2968d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Should Marijuana Be Legalized? 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