When they became acquainted with Crete, the Mycenaeans were influenced by the Minoans, not only in artistic matters but also in the whole system of organization of their socio-economic life and most importantly in the field of religion; but a thorough examination shows that the ancestral religion of the Mycenaeans differs from the Minoan one, even if at first sight there are similarities. The Mycenaean religion is polytheistic; the nameless Cretan Great goddess is worshipped but also a number of male gods (though without any iconography), named Zeus, Poseidon or Hermes; syncretism was its central characteristic. In later times, as the Cretan spiritual dominance waned, typically Minoan symbols lost their prime symbolic power to the benefit of Mycenaean conceptions. Official and popular religion, the function of open-air and built sanctuaries, the symbols, rituals and Linear B tablets are subjects constantly debated, and yet the essence of Mycenaean religion, the related ideas and concepts escape us.

IIn the LH I period a social organization appears and a wealthy ruling class emerges. The foundation of the ‘palace’ structure is laid and the ‘ideology of power’ as well. The period is mainly known from tombs, the shaft graves excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae being the most celebrated. The finds produced by the two Grave circles of Mycenae, remarkable for their variety and wealth, give plentiful information about the burial customs, the identity of the deceased and the art of the period. Stonework for precious vases, metalwork in gold, electrum or silver show sophisticated techniques – repoussé, inlaying, cloisonné – in the fashioning of cups, rhyta, weapons with decorated hilts. Outstanding are the Silver Siege Rhyton, the daggers with elaborate inlaid blades and the funerary masks, a special offering; also the distantly coming amber used in jewellery. Faience items bear Minoan influence, as do the seals and signet rings, a special category.

The first Linear B tablets were found by Evans in Knossos, many more by Blegen in Pylos in 1939 and progressively in all Mycenaean centres. Crete had three writing types Hieroglyphic, Linear A being more widespread, still undeciphered, and Linear B which descends from Linear A and appeared in mainland Greece around 1400 BC. After many endeavours, it has been deciphered in 1952 revealing a syllabic script for an early stage of Greek language. The debate of concordance between the Knossos and the Pylos tablets followed and is still alive. The inscribed clay tablets, simply dried, were baked by the fires that destroyed the palaces and thus preserved. They are administrative documents mostly inventory or tax statements teaching us a lot about Mycenaean life, palatial system, social hierarchy but no literature or history.

During the Bronze Age a high civilization developed in Greece and the Aegean consisting of three units: the Minoan civilization in Crete, the Cycladic in the islands and in Mainland Greece Hellenic civilization, whose last period is the Mycenaean era. Each of these areas had its own cultural expression but many commonalities which suggest continuous contact and interaction. Unknown until the end of the 19th century, the Mycenaean civilization came to light after the paramount excavation of Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae and the discovery of the royal cemetery with splendid treasures buried along with the dead princes. Important discoveries followed in Greece, as in Knossos by Sir Arthur Evans, and the Mediterranean. The Mycenaean script was deciphered in 1952. Early Helladic, with Lerna in the Peloponnese as the most important site, was a period of contacts; unity broke in the end of the 3rd millennium by population movements and newcomers. Middle Helladic, characterized by new pottery styles and tumuli burials, is leading to the Late Helladic and new art expression strongly influenced by Minoan culture, a much-debated subject. Starting from the Argolid, the Mycenaean culture progressively covered the whole Greek space, Laconia and Messenia being early developed areas.

Mycenaean pottery has a remarkable continuity. In LH I and LH II pottery is based on Minoan principles. MH styles continue but the lustrous paint technique is introduced from Crete first in Ayios Stephanos, Laconia in LH I, and the lustrous decorated style developed. Marine, Ephyraean and the monumental palace style mark the LH II. Gradually though naturalism fades, tendency to abstraction and standardization appear leading to the uniformity of the famous Mycenae ‘koine’. In LH III, often inspired by wall-paintings, the Pictorial style expanded, kraters representing mainly chariot scenes being the typical vessels. The revival of the pottery after the destruction of the palaces brings to the pictorial an explosion of new themes. Close and granary styles mark the end of the pottery sequence. Clay painted larnakes, rare in Greece, appeared first in Crete under bathtub or rectangular form; exception is a unique set discovered in Tanagra depicting in a realistic vivid way scenes related to death and funeral rites.

Homer lived in Ionia, which he probably never left, around 700 BC. His birthplace and patronymic are unknown; he is associated with many legends. There were probably more than one poet and poems. Homer would have been the one who gave to the epics their final form. The Greeks of the historical period knew next to nothing about the Mycenaean era. Homer is the one who gave a ‘memory’ to their past. He described a country that did not exist, an idealized, heroic and aristocratic society with kings and walled palaces. When the poems were written down in the 6th century BC, all Greek cities wanted to be connected with a hero and acquire noble roots. The historicity of the poems is much debated. Homer is a precious source for Mycenaean studies, but he is a poet and oscillates between the poetic and the historical world and two eras, the prehistoric and the historical. The fact is that epic poems existed in Mycenaean times; they were transmitted orally; the core of Homeric epic could have been created around them.

After the destruction of the Palace of Knossos ca. 1375 BC, Crete enters the sphere of Mycenae. The Palatial period that lasted two centuries of prosperity begins. New ruling families emerge and take power embodied by their palaces and fortified citadels with impressive Cyclopean walls. Palaces had a main architectural unit – the megaron – plus propyla, courtyards, workshops, storage rooms; they had painted floors and frescoed walls depicting in the a secco technique with a typical homogeneity palatial life scenes, such as processions, hunting, battles, banquets. All Mycenaean palaces, notably different from the Minoan ones, present common points; a Minoan influence is perceived in Pylos. The palaces were complex functional structures, hierarchically organized administrative, economic, military, political and religious centres, all activities dominated by the wanax. Most important, Mycenae possessed a leading position in power and artistic creativity illustrated by the celebrated Lion Gate. Along with remarkable metalwork tradition, LH III introduces exquisite ivory carving. Clay figurines represent a particular expression of plastic arts.