28 - Mycenaean Greece

"The Trojans throughout the city, huddled in a rout like fawns, were cooling their sweat and drinking and quenching their thirst, as they rested on the fair battlements; while the Achaeans drew near the wall leaning their shields against their shoulders."
Homer, The Iliad Book 22

Odysseus flips out!
(source: Age of Bronze by: Eric Shanower)

I remember when I was younger and I first found out Troy was real and it blew my little naive mind. What else was real out there? Atlantis? Lemuria? Crystal Skulls? I wanted to be an archaeologist so badly, finding treasure and lost civilizations, uncovering the secrets of humanity and having an adventure at the same time!

But no. It's nothing like that at all. In fact the first line in my archaeology textbook said, and I quote:
"You will not become Indiana Jones." Well thanks for ruining my dreams, jerkheads. Eh, it's probably for the best. I hear from my archaeology friends that its mostly digging in dirt on a hot day, and less fighting Nazis and ancient booby traps. Pfff what's the point then?

Where was I going with this? Oh right, thanks Heinrich Schliemann for finding Troy and Mycenae and not sacking the place too much (I'm looking at you Carter).

MP3 Download

Music Credit:

Gregorio Paniagua - "Hymne a Nemesis" from Musique de la Grece antique

Resources:
Fantastic image of Ancient Greece with cities and the heroes they correspond to!
Mycenaean Empire (so to speak)
So much good stuff here it's just easier for me to link right to it!
Nice page for Linear B
British Museum: Linear B Tablets
Sir Arthur Evans collection of Linear B
Fun list of Linear B words transliterated and translated!
Michael Ventris and breaking the code
Another nice account of Ventris, detailing the steps he took
The Tawagalawa Letter
Very cool movie tour of Troy VII from U of Cincinnatti

27 - Prehistory in the Aegean

"While you live, shine,
have no grief at all;
life exists only for a short while,
and time demands its toll."
-The Epitaph of Seikilos

Truthfully it took a LOT of restraint to not mention the Atlantis legend with the Thera explosion. Also that it's not real.
(source: box cover for Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis - what SHOULD have been Indy 4)

Ready to start our journey with the Greeks? Good! But don't get too excited yet, there's very few Greeks in this episode! Why? Because they haven't arrived in Greece yet silly. We're traveling to the earliest days in Hellas, stopping off at Crete for a while before learning a bit about their traditional earliest days. Plus music performed by Michael Levy!

The Epitaph of Seikilos, written to honor this man's wife is the oldest complete song we know of. And just because it's over 2000 years old doesn't make it any less beautiful, because that's what it is. Beautiful. And the translated poem up top? A bit more eloquent then just shouting YOLO all the time doncha think?

MP3 Download

Music Credit
Michael Levy - Epitaph of Seikilos (Ancient Greek Music Arranged for Solo Lyre in the Just Intonation of Antiquity)

Michael is performing LIVE in England at two incredible locations!

Saturday, May, 18th 2013
Roman Baths by Torchlight - 6pm - 9pm
The Roman Baths, Abbey Church Yard Bath Somerset BA1 1LZ Uni + 44(0)1225 477785
Price: £12.75

From the website:
"For the second year, as part of the UK "Museums at Night" festival, I will once more be giving a detailed talk about my lyre music & be performing my recreations of the lost music of ancient Rome in the wonderfully evocative setting of the Roman Baths at Bath Spa


Monday, June, 17th 2013
Life & Death in Pompeii & Herculaneum - 6:15pm - 9pm
The British Museum, Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG Uni +44 020 7323 8299
Price: £12.50

From the website:
"As part of an evening event based on the exhibition "Life & Death in Pompeii & Herculaneum" I will be performing on my lyre, my evocation of the lost music of ancient Rome, in the Great Court of the British Museum between 6:15 to 9pm..."

If you can, check it out! Go and take pictures and tell me how it went!


Resources
Seikilos Epitaph rubbing with old musical notation
The Facebook page has photo albums of lots of various Minoan and Mycenaean art!
Enigma of the Phaistos Disc
The Tawagalawa Letter
Earlier human evidence on Crete? (by like, 100,000 years)