natural conduits existing in the northeast. Such a work could not have been executed save by a people who had thousands of slaves under their direction. A line of Mycenaean fortifications on the northeast guarded the outlets, since any obstruction would have been disastrous.
There can be no doubt that the possessors of the Mycenaean culture were a seafaring people. This is shown by the prominent place given to marine plants and animals in Mycenaean ornamentation. The discoveries on the islands and coast of the eastern Mediterranean Sea have widely extended our view of Mycenaean civilization. This influence, as we have seen, spread to Troy, while in Crete have been found not only remarkable ruins of palaces and beehive tombs, but also bronze weapons, false-necked jars, stone vessels, intaglios, and other objects in great abundance. Mycenaean pottery has been discovered even in Egypt, at Gurob, dating probably from the time of Amenophis III (circa 1440 B.C.), at Tel-el-Amarna, dating from circa 1400 B.C., and at Kahun, dating from circa 1100 B.C. A fresco from the tomb of Rameses III (circa 1200 B.C. ) shows the familiar "false-necked" amphorae. On the other hand, at Mycenae have been found porcelains from Egypt, with the cartouche of Amenophis III, and a scarab of the same king, and another engraved with the name of his wife Thi, while at the Argive Heraeum were unearthed several scarabs of Thothmes III.[1]
This rich civilization seems to have received a sudden check on the mainland of Greece. There is no
- ↑ Cf. Frazer, Pausanias, Vol. III, pp. 148–149.
