Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

8 Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks
Reconstruction of the so-called “Nestor’s Palace” at Pylos, c. 1300 b.c.e .
Courtesy akg-images, London.
the son of Deukalion and Pyrrha, the Greek equivalent of Adam
and Eve. Deukalion and Pyrrha were the only survivors of the Great
Flood, so they were also the equivalent of Noah. By claiming to be
the oldest people on the face of the earth, the Greeks were able to
feed their sense of national pride and to claim special status among
the other peoples they encountered, although it is fair to state as
well that educated Greeks like the historian Herodotos were open
and forthright in acknowledging the debt of Greek culture to other,
older cultures, notably that of Egypt.
The most striking evidence for the early phase of Mycenaean culture
is the shaft graves at Mycenae. These graves, dated around
1650 to 1500 b.c.e. , were cut into the living rock to a depth of several
meters. They were excavated in 1876 by the German businessman
turned archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. The shaft graves,
which have yielded some of the richest finds ever discovered on
the Greek mainland, provide confirmation for Homer’s description
of Mycenae as “rich in gold.” Around 1500 b.c.e. , a different style
of burial chamber was introduced in the form of beehive tombs, so
named because of their domed appearance. The most impressive of
these is the Treasury of Atreus, built perhaps as late as 1250 b.c.e. ,