What is a tholos?

3
A tholos refers to a dome-shaped object which uses a spiral that is able to
harness acoustics so that someone whispering on one side of a tholos building
can be heard on the opposite side. In terms of the Minoans these where used to
build distinctive tombs.
Outline the roles of priestesses and priests in Minoan Society? 4
As seen in the harvesters vase priests had a role even at the lowest levels of
society, they lead festivals and processions using tools such as a sistrum. At
higher levels of society they are depicted (such as on the Agia Triada
sarcophagus) as performing funeral rites and sacrifices. Representationally,
among the higher classes, there were more priestesses than priests. The
presence of temples and religious places in palaces implies that priestesses
and priests were held in high esteem during Minoan times.
Describe the main features of craft and industrial activities in Minoan
Crete? 6
The main industry of Minoan Society appears to be food production. As seen at
Gournia and Zakro, fishing was a major industry. Fish hooks and rods found at
these sites as well as fish residue found in Pithoi proves that fishing was a
major industry. Similarly, the harvesters vase depicts people working the fields
in Crete. Residue found in Pithoi at Knossos indicates that olives, goat, honey,
wheat, and barley were all farmed and consumed in Bronze-Age Crete.
Evident crafts in Minoan society include pottery, textiles, and frescoes. The
textiles industry is evident due to remnants of flax farms and looms found in
the area surrounding Knossos. Pottery, due to the Kumasa style, Kamares ware
and Oceanic/Floral style pots found throughout Crete. Similarly, frescoes have
been found at the 5 main palaces/villas (Knossos, Phaestos, Malia, Zakro and
Agia Triada).
With reference to Source N and other sources, explain the issues
relating to gender and identity of rulers in Bronze Age Crete. 12
The prevalence of the Myths regarding King Minos, ruler of Crete in Western
civilisation lead the original archaeologist in Crete, Sir Arthur Evans who is cited
in source N, to believe the Minoans were a patriarchal society. Evans cites the
Evidence of Iron-Age Greeks, such as Homer, and there was Minos, ruler of
Crete . . . and Thucydides, King Minos ruled the seas. However all of these
historians wrote after the patriarchal Mycenaeans had taken over Crete,
meaning that they could either a) have mixed up Mycenaeans and Minoans or
b) were projecting their own patriarchal values onto a civilisation they knew
little about. These days, modern historians such as BA Olsen point out that all
other Bronze-Age cultures in Europe were ruled by men and that the prevailing
image of Western Society (which Crete is usually considered a part of) is that of
a patriarchy.
Jane Harrison first proposed that the Minoans could have been a Matriarchy in
1903 when she notices the prevalence of feminine iconography at the palace of
Knossos. The floral decorations and images of griffins in the throne room,

hinted that the ruler was most likely aligned with the feminine. Harrison later
amended her statement to include the Matriarchal religion. She pointed out
that only female deities have been definitively found, though it is unknown as
to whether this is one goddess or many, it is proof that the prevalent religion in
Minoan Society involved the worship of one or many female goddess(es). Her
original idea that the Minoans could have been a Matriarchy called into
question the gender of the rulers o Crete. This work was continued buy Susan
Evasdaughter who focused her work on the throne room at Knossos. Her book
Crete Reclaimed (1996) states that she measured the seat of the throne and
found the indents in it to best fit female buttocks and hips. Evasdaughters
research reinforced Harrisons original claim and had lead many historians to
believe that the Minoans could have been a Matriarchy, I am now far less
certain that the Minoans were ruled by men . . . rather than women - G.
Cadogan.
Just as the gender of the rulers of Crete is unknown to historians, it is unknown
how many rulers there were. The existence of 4 large palaces (Knossos,
Phaestos, Malia, and Zakro) implies that their could have been a) many
regional rulers or b) one ruler who moved between palaces. The statement in
Source N, Sharp distinctions in wealth, privilege, and status distinguished a
small number of families from the rest of families in the Minoan city-states
highlights a problem for historians studying Minoan rulers. That is, that there
were clearly many wealthy families but whether these families lived in villas
like Agia Triada or also in the smaller palaces, ruling regions of Crete. It is also
unclear as to whether or not the ruler played a religious role in their society,
though the adyton (lustral basin) in the throne room at Knossos, suggests the
affirmative. The historians studying the identity of Minoan rulers unfortunately
do not have a lot of information with which to work.
Source N: Sharp distinctions in wealth, privilege, and status distinguished a
small number of families from the rest of families in the Minoan city-states.
That those who lived in the palaces embodied the top of the social pyramid is
clear; it is not clear whether one person stood above them all. Evans believed
that Knossos was ruled by a priest-king . . . the absence of any definitive image
of a king in Minoan iconography, however has given rise to alternative
possibilities . . . - Sarah B et al.

Assess the impact of the Persian Was on Athens and Sparta 25

The Persian Wars had a distinct impact on Athens, Sparta, and their relationship
with one another. This is clear through the changes made to the alliances in
Greece in the period both during and after the Persian Wars. The challenge
Athens provided to Spartas leadership within the Hellenic league lead to both
states feeling threatened by the other. The formation of the Delian league after
the Persian Wars and Athenian treatment of Sparta lead these tensions to rise.
Finally the Battles of Tanagra and Oenophyta and the resulting treaties lead the

strained relationship between the Spartans and the Athenians to break. The
Persian Wars clearly had a formidable impact on the relationship between
Athens and Sparta.
The Hellenic league, formed during the Persian Wars, meant the Spartans and
Athenians had to work together, and lead the difficult relationship between
them to become more strained. The troubles within the Hellenic league began
with the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BCE, as the Spartans were celebrating
the Karnia, just as they had been during the first Persian invasion of Greece,
which meant that Leonidas could only bring his 300 Spartan bodyguards to
fight a quarter of a million Persians. The fact that the Spartans were not
sending even half their troops lead the other members of the Hellenic league to
send minimal amounts of their own troops. As this was the first Spartan led
battle for the Hellenic league, it lead doubts about the Spartan leadership to be
raised. These doublets were encouraged by the Athenian success at the Battle
of Salamis later in the same year. Though the official leader of the battle was
Pausanias from Sparta, the Admiral of the Athenian navy was Themistokles who
devised the Hellenic strategy which won them the battle. It was Themistokles
idea to lead the Persian navy into the straits near Salamis which the larger
Persian ships struggled to manoeuvre in the narrow space. It also meant the
Greeks were able to camp and sleep before the battle but the Persians had to
row outside the straits all night to maintain their position. After the Persians
were on the defensive the battles of Platea and Mycale led Pausanias to declare
a decisive victory. However, his treatment of the Greek troops and his demands
to be treated like a Persian king lead Sparta to become even less popular
among the Hellenic league. The battles fought by the Hellenic league led faith
in Sparta as defender of Greece to deteriorate and placed that faith in Athens.
In this way, the Persian Wars had already begun to have an effect on both
Athens and Sparta.
After the Persian wars the strained relationship between the Athenians and
Spartans became more pronounced. In 478BCE the Athenians rebuilt their walls
which had been destroyed by the Persians. This was done against the wishes of
the Spartans who wanted Athens to be reliant on them for defence. So that the
walls could be built, Themistokles tricked the Spartans into not acting until the
walls were complete. In this year, the Hellenic league was also dissolved,
meaning Sparta was no longer the protector of all Greece, only hegemony of
their smaller Peloponnesian league. In 468BCE, Athens became hegemony of
her own league, the Delian league. Athens were approached by the smaller
city-states in her area and asked to form the league as they did not wish to join
Sparta due to their mistrust of Pausanias. From 468-449BCE the Delian league
slowly became the Athenian empire as the allies revolted and became subjectstates, taken over by Athens. The imperial aims of Athens under their leader,
Perikles, led Sparta to become wary of Athens as a rival power in Greece.
Although the original leaders of Athens, Aristides and Kimon had supported a
dual hegemony; Athens ruling the seas and Sparta ruling the land, the helot
revolt in 465BCE resulted in tensions between these two city-states rising. In
465BCE, the earthquake in the Peloponnese and the resulting helot revolt
meant Sparta had to ask Athens for help controlling its helot (slave) population,
however after Kimon had arrived to help they send the Athenians back, fearing

they would side with the helots. Kimon was exiled for the disgrace, which
meant imperialistic Perikles became leader of Athens. The formation of the
Delian league and its transformation to Athenian Empire and lead Sparta to
fear the growing Athenian power. This, in turn, lead to the enmity between
Athens and Sparta to grow.
In 458BCE these tensions grew such that a war between Athens and Sparta
seemed inevitable. This began with the Battle of Tanagra in 458BCE, which took
place in Boetia for that territory. It was a decisive Peloponnesian victory as
some members of the Athenian allies cavalry switched sides (Thucydides Book
5). The region of Boetia remained under Spartan control until the Battle of
Oenophyta in 457BCE. At the time of this battle the Spartans had returned
home and the region was defended by a small group of Spartas allies. The
Athenians won but it was clear that they had learned that they were not yet
ready to take on the full force of the Spartan army. In 451BCE, the Athenians
brokered a peace with Sparta known as the five-year truce. This truce allowed
both nations to consolidate their military and resources without threat of an
enemy invasion. In 445BCE a new treaty called the 30-year peace was an
ambitious attempt to keep the peace between the two city-states strong.
However, the Spartan fear of Athenian imperialism and the Athenian fear of
being dependent on Sparta meant neither nation trusted the other. In this way,
the Athenians and the Spartans made it clear that whatever trust and esteem
they had once held each other in had been broken down by the impact of the
Persian Wars on both nations as the wars gave the Athenians a chance to
realise their imperial aspiration and lead other nations to no longer trust
Sparta.
In conclusion, the Persian Wars caused a distinctive change in the relationship
between Sparta and Athens. These nations went from being allies to on the
verge of war with one another due to the effect of the Persian Wars. This is
evident in the behaviour of the Hellenic league during the Persian Wars, the
actions of both city-states after them, and in the battles and treaties fought
after 478BCE. These actions made clear the effect of the Persian Wars on
Athens and Sparta.