Cycladic civilization
Quick Summary
The Cycladic civilization was a Bronze Age culture that flourished in the Cyclades islands of the Aegean Sea from around 3000 to 1000 BC. These islanders developed distinct traditions, evident in their pottery decorated with lively depictions of nature and human figures. They were skilled in metalworking and created notable marble figurines, often found in graves.123
While influenced by Cretan culture, the Cycladic people maintained their unique artistic styles. The eruption of the volcano on Thera around 1500 BC significantly impacted the region, burying settlements like Akrotiri under ash, yet many Cycladic sites show little disruption. Later, Cycladic culture saw a fusion with mainland Mycenaean traditions.234
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Aegean civilizations…the Cyclades is known as Cycladic, that of the mainland as Helladic, from Hellas, the Greek name for Greece. Early, middle, and late stages have been defined in each of these, with further subdivisions according to recognizable changes in the style of pottery and other products that are associated with…
Read More…the Cyclades is known as Cycladic, that of the mainland as Helladic, from Hellas, the Greek name for Greece. Early, middle, and late stages have been defined in each of these, with further subdivisions according to recognizable changes in the style of pottery and other products that are associated with…
Read More- Aegean civilizationsReligion
…known about religion in the Cyclades and on the mainland before the period when they came under strong Cretan influence. An open-air sanctuary filled with marble figurines on the island of Kéros (Káros) is assignable to the Early Bronze Age. In Crete during the Early Palace Period, there were many…
Read More…known about religion in the Cyclades and on the mainland before the period when they came under strong Cretan influence. An open-air sanctuary filled with marble figurines on the island of Kéros (Káros) is assignable to the Early Bronze Age. In Crete during the Early Palace Period, there were many…
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potteryEarly Bronze Age (c. 3000–2000 bce)The contemporary wares of the Cyclades are similar, but more use is made of incised ornament; spirals are common motifs, while some vases bear primitive representations of ships. The pottery of Early Minoan Crete bears simple geometrical patterns, at first in dark paint on a light clay ground (EM I–II),…
Read MoreThe contemporary wares of the Cyclades are similar, but more use is made of incised ornament; spirals are common motifs, while some vases bear primitive representations of ships. The pottery of Early Minoan Crete bears simple geometrical patterns, at first in dark paint on a light clay ground (EM I–II),…
Read More- potteryPeriod of Oriental influence (c. 725–c. 600 bce)
…styles arose in Attica, the Cyclades, Laconia, and Rhodes, regional differences in pottery becoming more clearly marked as the Hellenic city-states grew into self-conscious political units. The Athenians still did their best work on large funerary vases. At first they cultivated a wild and grandiose manner in which the figures…
Read More…styles arose in Attica, the Cyclades, Laconia, and Rhodes, regional differences in pottery becoming more clearly marked as the Hellenic city-states grew into self-conscious political units. The Athenians still did their best work on large funerary vases. At first they cultivated a wild and grandiose manner in which the figures…
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