Aegean art refers to art that was created in the Grecian lands surrounding, and the islands within, the Aegean Sea before the start of Ancient Greek art, which is normally dated around the 11th century BC. Included in the category Aegean art is Mycenaean art, famous for its gold masks, war faring imagery and sturdy architecture consisting of citadels on hills with walls up to 20 feet thick and tunnels into the bedrock, the art of the Cyclades, famous for its simple "Venus" figurines carved in white marble, and Minoan art which is famous for its animal imagery, images of harvest, and light, breezy, non-warlike architecture which is almost the antithesis of the Mycenaean art. Taking all this into account, the term "Aegean Art" is thought of as contrived among many art historians because it includes the widely varying art of very different cultures that happened to be in the same area around the same period.
In the Bronze Age, about 2800–1100 BC, despite cultural interchange by way of trade with the contemporaneous civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Aegean cultures developed their own highly distinctive styles.
The elegant art of the Aegean figurines has recently been used at the 2004 Summer Olympics,held at Athens; specifically, during the opening ceremony and as the original idea behind the games mascots: Athina and Fivos.
This type of figurines are furthermore particularly intriguing, because of the high resemblance they have with modern sculptures (e.g. Henry Moore's works).
Mycenaean art is most prominently dated between 1600 and 1100 BC during the Late Helladic period of Greece. The Mycenean art is named after the inhabitants of Mycenae descending from early Greek tribes of 2000 BC and approximately 3000 to 1100 BC.
Mycenaean palaces were generally placed on hilltops surrounded by defensive walls constructed of large stone blocks. The Lion Gate is one of the few remaining structures of Mycenaean architecture inspiring later Greek cultures. Gates such as the latter functioned as guardians of the gate. At the center of the palaces were royal audience halls called the Megaron defined by a round hearth in the center and four columns supporting its roof. Structures always featured roofs of fired tiles.
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