Who were the Mycenaeans? The Real Civilization who fought the Trojan War

The true ancient civilization behind the Trojan war (Illiad and Odessey-the greek heroes Agamemnon, Hector, and Achilles). The Mycenaeans. The history of how they interacted with the bronze age world including the Egyptians, Hittites. From the early days with the Minoans to the Trojan war and sea peoples. rediscover this lost civilization
Help my 1 man team of me, make more videos like this, so I can have better equipment and software to make you better content.
/ epimetheus1776
I draw, write, edit, research and narrate I love it and hope to make many more videos in the future with your help. Thank you :)

[@omegaink5635]

Man your art! Breathtaking, ancient history is greatly underappreciated in mainstream media....

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Thanks! I am really lucky to be able to draw and others enjoy it. Had fun with the faces on this one-going for the old tough dude look with a couple of them

[@omegaink5635]

@@EpimetheusHistory Thanx for the reply! Your work is very accurate to how ancient peoples would have looked back then...

[@DC-gs6jc]

This wasn’t taught in my school and I wish it was. Sad future if history really is taken off text.

[@JayR-wg9jq]

its fucking insane! not only is he researching for the video, he's doing a voiceover, and instead of just having to edit clips and pictures together he DOES ALL THE ART and THEN edits it together!! i cannot imagine how long a single video takes to make

[@Robert_Matysiak]

​@@EpimetheusHistory But... the ancient Greeks were mostly blond, and the Spartans had long hair :/

[@Lamada35]

That "sea peoples" teaser at the end is such a crazy rabbithole in history that we may never be able to fully explore. Who were they, why were they moving/what were they moving away from, why did they leave so little historical evidence of their own? Was it a single cultural or ethnic group, or was it just simply wave after wave of armed refugees fleeing the last fought conflict in a particularly violent time in human history in search of new lands to settle?

[@pseudo.account]

Agreed! I find it so interesting when I learned about the sea peoples mystery in high school. It was like the "croatoan" enigma of grade school (even though it's not that much of a mystery, it was really over blown).

[@andrasbeke3012]

There's evidence of a massive famine in the less developed parts of Europe at that time like Spain, France, etc. A lot of scholars think that a combination of this and possible natural disasters caused the Sea People to look for new homes Edit: as far as we can tell, they were made up of a bunch of different tribes from a similar background. (Think central Asian invaders that attacked Rome but 1200 BC)

[@giorgiociaravolol1998]

Well we have a certain amount of proofs that they were raiders and were they came from. A lot of them were the nuragic shardana of Sardinia and Corsica, then followed by the shekelesh of Sicily and other tribes, maybe of illyrian, italic or even north african heritage

[@LionKing-ew9rm]

The raid of Sea Peoples was a byproduct of the internal collapse of near-eastern kingdoms.

[@peterlokin7776]

@@LionKing-ew9rm maybe but im leaning towards the other fella with mainland europe migrating east in search of food Would that make them celts? The 3 modern day greek tribes (dorian, ionian and achaen) invaded greece around the same time and i believe these invaders ushered in the iron age Almost like the mongols ushering in the age of chivalry due to their introduction of stirrups to europe

[@skydiesay6019]

One of your best videos yet so far, great to have an accurate, educational and genuinely intriguing video from one of the most under appreciated creators I know, you deserve much more

[@APEX-qv7rm]

I lived in Mycenea for 6 years From 1966 to 1972 ...Beautiful place Blue ocean in my memory for 50 years This video has me thinking about a BBQ grilled Octopus with oregano, and a squeeze of lemon

[@EpimetheusHistory]

"Grilled Octopus with oregano' you have good taste, my friend...I miss being close to the sea ...Now I am craving octopus with a good wine

[@APEX-qv7rm]

@@EpimetheusHistory Now I am in Toronto, Canada But I have 2 bins of the True Olive Oil Direct from mountain valleys around Kalamata

[@bulletbill1104]

APE X I faerted

[@nhmooytis7058]

APE X I make a killer spicy calamari, with raw sambal I learned to make in Bali!

[@nhmooytis7058]

APE X have a jar of kalamata olives, eat with stuffed grape leaves!

[@The_Daily_Tomato]

I could easily watch 20-40-60+ minute long videos on your subjects. They're so worth it :)

[@catalinturcanu8698]

3:05 love how you wrote Epimetheus on that stone near the palace wall (great video keep it up!)

[@jesso.4971]

Rome gets a lot of attention for being such an advanced civilization for its time and we see a lot of documentaries focused on the fall of Rome and how this brought about the Dark Ages/Middle Ages for western civilizations. As a fan of history I say of course keep them coming, but I would also love to see more material regarding the Bronze Age civilizations and their collapse which also coincidentally led to a dark age! Thank you for this video! So many Bronze Age civilizations were making significant strides and advances and then came the mysterious Sea People and the records go dark. Its such a fascinating period to study! Now excuse me while I sneak off to your 'Mesopotamia and the Bronze age' playlist.

[@basilo9923]

the mycenaeans are believed to have forgotten how to read and write for a long time following the bronze age collapse.

[@adamorlowski4886]

currently reading the Iliad. Beauty 😍

[@noger1234]

Same

[@ennuiii]

pain in the ass

[@charlesw9875]

The greatest piece of literature ever written.

[@octapusxft]

Something had to be good for the later generations to make the effort to preserve it. Especially in that pre digital era

[@niranjansrinivasan4042]

@@charlesw9875 It's great but ever heard of Mahabharata ?

[@rhomaioscomrade]

Aside from the title "Wanax" (Άναξ), another attested royal title was found in some Mycenaean tablets called "Qasireu". Qasireu would evolve to become "Basileus" (Βασιλεύς), the title of the ancient Macedonian kings and later of the eastern Roman empire.

[@hermesionisttrismegistus9243]

Βασυλέωσ the reality

[@innosanto]

Wasn't Leonidas also Basileus? Or spartans had different titles? I think it was basileus although Spartans had two.

[@hardwankinman558]

=wazir/vizier=vulture/buzzard=YOUR ICON

[@PATTHECATMCD]

Close. Ka-si-Re-Yu = Chieftan. Pa-si-le-us = King (singular).

[@patmorris9692]

@@PATTHECATMCD Wrong. It would be pronounced gwasilews. The gw became b and then v in modern Greek. The ending -ews is nowadays -efs, normalized to -eas/-ias. Hence the modern Greek βασιλευς/βασιλιάς and derivatives basil, basilica, basilisk, Vasily etc.

[@ΑπελΚαλλιεΡαΧαιρε]

Thank you for dedicating my country's history

[@hiukas.]

Fun facts: Laos (λαός) in modern greek means the people so lawagetas is the leader or the people and the lawos are the people. In republican Rome the cavalry was called equates so it probably came from the greek Eqeta which is pretty similar

[@rhomaioscomrade]

@Byzantine Warrior Yes, it's the same root as "hegetes". However, Mycenaean inflections and morphology differs from classical Greek, so "laohegetes" wouldn't be how a classical Greek would coin the term. Rather, it would be something like "Agesilaus" which is in fact a real ancient Greek given name (especially prominently by several Spartan kings).

[@szarekhthesilent2047]

@@rhomaioscomrade fascinating, I never knew spartans were capable of speech/had need for names.

[@szarekhthesilent2047]

@@pedrotaq "wow that makes it sound like they were a band of barbarians" in order to qualify as barbarians they would have to make the "varvar"-like sound with their mouths, at least occasionally. I'm not sure if this is possible for laconians let alone spartans... Hey just joking. Of course I know that they do/did actually speak, occasionally. a word or two. at full moon. oh boy, i feel bad... I can start making jokes about pontusgreeks to be even.... there are plenty of those...^^

[@nermainmerl3284]

Probably Romans used equates because they were the refugees of Troy that were Greeks. How do we know that? Their names were Greeks, culture was greek, they spoke and responded to each other in greek (For ex , the discussion of king of troy with achilles asking the return of his son body) and most importantly the Greek gods, didn't side with the Greeks (As they should) They were divided into 2 groups.

[@rafaelv2347]

Actually, lawos in archaic greek means "the people in arms" which probably means that the lawagetas is the leader of the army

[@nhmooytis7058]

Visited Mycenae and Crete in 1969 while studying Classical Civilizations in Greece and Italy! Love your channel!

[@davidrosner6267]

You do a fantastic job painting a geopolitical map of the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in the 2nd millennium BC. I've learned about the pre-Classical Greek civilizations but never fully tied them into a larger regional context. I never considered that Troy might have been a Hittite vassal.

[@southjerseyghost3500]

Just found your channel and I absolutely love it dude. Ancient civilization and warfare is my favorite thing in the world I’m happy to have found you and now you have joined my top favorite history channels thank you for your hard work and research 👌

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Awesome! Glad you found it too :)

[@levgar5457]

This is my favorite time period to learn about.

[@tasosfilippoy]

Pretty good for a short presentation of the Mycenaeans, i enjoyed it. Keep in mind that before Mycenaeans there were also the Pelasgians, Leleges and Kares, all of them prohellenic tribes. Fun fact: a lot of the ancient/modern greek vocabulary keeps a good portion of their vocabulary. :) :)

[@madhuripatil3880]

Good work as always and you have done justice to the myceneans love you man keep spreading knowledge it is a noble work

[@diegoversus1]

3:05 I love how you've hidden your firm in the rocks. Just like any great artist!

[@keithparker2327]

Firma = signature en ingles

[@ckscks8303]

As a Greek i visit some times the ancient city of Mycenae. Now archaeological place with a lot of tourists. The first time i visit it, years ago, i'm impressed. The art and construction in stone, the place it self with 360° view, the great tomb, the strange path with helix direction, the power of the ancients, but mostly the wild energy of this place, savage energy to be precise, maybe a little bit of a beast, leads for the conclusion this kingdom was the kingdom of lions, as the two stone made lions on the main gate. Great kingdom. Savage yes, but great. The ancestors must be made by the same stones. In fact, all Peloponnesus have this feeling of wild freedom and stoned psychology. Sparta, Mycenae, Corinth, Arcadia... Macedonia(the original, the Greek, not the new fake creation of E.U and NATO, and tons of propaganda), is the heart of Greece. Athens is the mind. But Peloponnesus is the soul.

[@theodorospadelidis6537]

i own a greco turkish friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account

[@markhill3858]

oh, so NOW you count the macedonians as greeks? lol

[@panagiotis7946]

@@markhill3858 you are confusing the nation with the state. The ancient Greeks had over 100 different state entities and state organizations but they had the COMMUNITY OF PANHELLENISM This is expressed in every major cultural event such as the Olympic Games, , Isthimia, Pythia -Amphiktionies or the great assembly of Delos with its economic, commercial and religious communities. From the ancient Greek writing, 1% has been saved, but it is also very large in quantity. In every ancient writer you mention many times the concept of and or along with their local names such as Argos, Corinth, Thebes, Sparta etc. Today, our archaeological findings have the common culture since the 14th century BC in the region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. It is the Mycenaean culture, just like in the rest of Greece. A visit to the Museums will prove it. In the rural and lower social strata we have hundreds of inscriptions with the names of holidays, months, gods, heroes. All Greek names and languages. The language spoken by the Macedonian farmers is proven by the 4 inscriptions the "binding of Pella" texts in the Doric dialect, from the 4th century BC, from simple graves of peasant populations. It is the same dialect spoken by the Spartans, the Corinthians, the Megarians, Troizena, Argos. You can see it on wikipedia

[@markhill3858]

@@panagiotis7946 and yet :)

[@panagiotis7946]

@@markhill3858 he archaeological finds show at least from 1200 BC. a Mycenaean culture in northern Greece, e.g. ancient Aiani we have many hypotheses and theories, but archeology and historical sources are pristine

[@unleashingpotential-psycho9433]

The Mycenaeans are beast.

[@davesdinnerz9243]

please stop

[@gilzineto]

Minoans FTW

[@justinmckay6309]

@@davesdinnerz9243 yes now

[@GBart]

This is my new favorite channel

[@joshuaboer1617]

Yup, I like the water decorations.

[@the_kekromancer9779]

I was looking for a video like this for a long ass time, you got yourself a new subscriber

[@coltdelarge5317]

What cool vid beautiful maps and animations u made my night with this man

[@jackdarbyshire5888]

Can't believe i just discovered this channel after years of watching history on youtube, great job on these little history tidbits and yes like people were commenting on love the artwork 😀❤

[@handless7677]

Hell, i just finnished reading the first chapter of 1177 b.C. moments ago, and you upload this.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Awesome Book! He does a really great job in that

[@nathanrichards6511]

Your videos are amazing. Thank you for making them!

[@MrRinoHunter]

Thanks for the newest video!

[@mdstanton1813]

You're killing it. I have no idea why ancient history isn't more popular. Sex, violence, extreme beliefs, luxury and the bizarre. What's not to love?! Keep the vids up please. One of my favs 😊

[@markhill3858]

probly because it stinks of being "educational" :)

[@giannakisXAXAXA]

Thank you so much for doing this video

[@anotherunwantedopinion2914]

Finally!!! After a lot of study of ancient numerica I can now say that the answer is 2018 took me 2 years of my life but I found it. Do more of this quizzes

[@fisterB]

Well done!!! What was the question?

[@anotherunwantedopinion2914]

@@fisterB 3:46

[@DarkDennis1961]

Great video. Too short. Need more!

[@emmaavelar2325]

Oh this is a good one! Love the introduction!

[@LionKing-ew9rm]

Fantastic...as always!

[@minatodroger7890]

Brilliant video i hope we can find out who those sea people were and more info on the myceans since it seems the classical greeks changed so much even the importance of different gods.

[@SanIgnaciodeMborore]

Great Video as always!

[@FatKidAtRecess]

Great video again

[@LouAlvis]

thank you so much for the detail often missing in overviews. you used an unfamiliar word "thelasocracy" rule by maritime power?

[@jameswest1675]

Dang good u tube dude I'm really turned on to this ancient history

[@williamkartatar4759]

Answer is 2018.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

First one to get it :D you are correct! Now you know numbers in Mycenaen! and can horribly impress people at parties now

[@williamkartatar4759]

Dishonourable act,I can’t.

[@lelagrangeeffectphysics4120]

@@EpimetheusHistory yup its 2018

[@fastcx]

@@EpimetheusHistory I'm thinking that - is considered 10 or just - XD Overthinking

[@racismthesequel856]

I found that too when I looked

[@Vin01743]

Epimetheus,I like Your Video

[@Tipi_Dan]

Nice graphics.

[@ashokjoshi9689]

Such ancient history is good to understand in detail.

[@nickinvietnam1989]

Kudos on this video, keep it up, keep em coming.

[@timomastosalo]

Its easy to see the Hittites took the name Ahhiyawa or Ahhiya from Achaia. Maybe Aegea (Aigaia?) also derives from that.

[@olbiomoiros]

No. The Aegean comes from King Aegeus who jumped from a cliff into the sea, after having mistakenly thought his son got killed by the Minotaur (because of the black sails of his ship returning). His name Αἰγεύς, probably comes from αἴξ/ αἶγες which means goat (therefore his name means goat man- εύς suffix) or in the plural form could mean large waves, from the word ἀΐσσω (to throw one’s self on something else).

[@greenhead96]

Please do a video on the minoans if you havent already. You videos are fantastic keep up the Great work.

[@Jaguar-ys2eb]

I guess you could say they didn’t My-see that coming

[@matthewlee8667]

Minoans arrive at the beach of Troy. Trojan King: Mycenaean-ses are tingling

[@averongodoffire7344]

😠😠😠😠😠😠😄😄😆😆😆👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@skeletonrowdie1768]

Yyyyeeeaaaaaaahhhhhh

[@timomastosalo]

Dank indeed

[@timomastosalo]

@@matthewlee8667 Opening the curtains, viewing the shoreline: 'My scene is annoying', he uttered.

[@tomaskadlicek5926]

As always a nice video. Could you do a video on Philistines?

[@omegaink5635]

That would be dope...I would like to see his illustration of David & Goliath!

[@snakey934Snakeybakey]

He just did (the Philistines we're Mycenaeans. "Philistines" was a name given to them by the ancient Israelis. "Philistine" or "Plishtin" means "invader" in Hebrew.

[@omegaink5635]

@@snakey934Snakeybakey wow! That's neat...

[@bobbye.wright4424]

Tomas Kadlicek the philistines were greeks

[@omegaink5635]

@@bobbye.wright4424 sorta

[@justinmckay6309]

I love your videos

[@elenagalatarioti5118]

Incredible videos.Might be the only videos with such historical accuracy.But please make a video about Alashyia in Cyprus , which was a trading superpower during the late bronze age , with the largest copper minds.Its my homeland and I realy want to promote it.

[@definedsir6971]

You should do a how to draw historical figurrs vids. The ones with your style of course.

[@michaelmoore4043]

Great work

[@wtfbollos]

great stuff, thx for sharing, fascinating.

[@DragosdeGothia]

Brilliant video mate! I love how this was among the first to pop up when I looked for anything on ancient Mycenaeans. I got to say it, am I the only one who thinks your Wanax looks a little like Bill Murray? 🙂

[@abdullahyusuf2929]

Ahhiya-rd that this is going to be a good video.

[@Twilekmaniac]

Now I can write 2018 in Linear B

[@Dragons_Armory]

Super interesting, thank you

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Your welcome :)

[@nermainmerl3284]

bonus fact: Minoans were so powerful because of their navy that they thought walls were no needed.They lives were so luxurious because of their power that even locals had personal toilets in their homes(sewage system and automatic like modern ones) you can see for yourself in crete, i did. if the eruption of the volcano never happened , there could be no sea people.

[@demetriosxenophontos722]

Τhànk you for great video!!!

[@alexandermoscovis9702]

Hey there Epimetheus, this is a great video! I use it in my classroom to teach about the Trojan War. I was wondering though where you got the information of ranks in the Mycenaean government? What sources did you find this from?

[@Papadragon18]

"Instead of the pontifications of Agamemnon, researchers have been treated to tax receipts and ledgers." I suppose it's just me who think the latter is far more interesting? I'd like to add my praise in this comment though. I just stumbled over these videos, but they're of high quality, with beautiful artwork and excellent layout on how you treat the topic. Cheers.

[@boysenberrydracula3599]

cool pottery 1:38. thank you for the video good sir

[@finellu]

Bellissimo video particolarmente adatto nelle scuole medie italiane; purtroppo è in inglese.

[@cullanom]

Glad I played Zeus and Poseidon citybuilding game, the Trojan War Mission

[@noger1234]

Imagine if the bronze age civilizations never collapsed

[@omegaink5635]

Lol the world would be a much darker place...

[@absolutn2059]

OMEGA INK1 I don't think so.

[@titolovely8237]

all civilizations collapse. its not a matter of if, but when. it's the western idea of perpetual progress that blinds many to the uncomfortable reality of our own civilizations and empires - they will end.

[@baksuz171717]

Egypt and Assirya didnt colapse

[@d-logan5280]

Ryan Neitzel Western? You don't think East Asian, Middle Eastern, North African etc. think all that too?

[@Bramble451]

Very good!

[@innosanto]

Man congratulations because Bronze age civilisations are so under-"documentaried" and under-explained and under-described.

[@irinakolcheva5212]

In neighbor Bulgaria we don`t learn about Hittites, Minoans or Mycenaeans. We know Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Thanks for the useful information.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Excellent

[@maryditzel559]

Excellent!

[@davidbruesehoff1031]

3:50 2,018. The "minus sign" represents a value of 10.

[@Ptolemy336VV]

Obviously you need to do a video on the entire bronze age of Greece which are known for 4 bronze age civilizations, which was profound. Minoan civilization 3650-1300 BCE Cycladic civilization 3300-2000 BCE Helladic Period 3200-1200 BCE Mycenean civilization 1700-1200 BCE And there are many archaeological sites of from early bronze age (3000BCE) and then onwards to Neolithic to 5000 BCE, 7000 BCE and earlier to the paleolithic

[@MisterCharlton]

Honestly, I don’t think it’s all that useful to refer to them as separate civilizations, at least by after 24th century B.C. By then they had more or less all amalgamated into one interconnected maritime network with a common cultural basis (with most of the high culture produced by the Minoans) Rather, the entire Aegean world post-2400 B.C. should be considered a single civilization, comprising number of distinct societies/cultural appendages that all vied for hegemonic power. If I were to give it a name, I’d probably call it “Heroic Civilization”.

[@mr-meerkat7237]

Ptolemy336VV Yes, there is far more overlap between them rather than seeing them as separate civilisations. Also, the Helladic period is just a reference point for late Bronze age rather than a civilisation, and Cycladic “civilisation”, archaeologically, is part of the Mycenaean period.

[@Ptolemy336VV]

​@@mr-meerkat7237 The bronze age civilizations of the Aegean are ofcourse a continuity and integrated and connected with eachother. However. The Helladic Period spans 3200-1200 BCE. So you're incorrect as it doesnt span just the late bronze age as that would mean just 1500-1400 BCE which would then mean Late Minoan, or Late Helladic. So you're missing another almost 2000 years in your argumentation. Then another nonsense is that the Cycladic civilization spanned 3300-2000 BCE before integrating into the Minoan Civilization which where contemporary and ongoing after. In that whole timeline the Myceneans didn't even exist. As that started from 1700 BCE onwards. So really. I don't know what you are even saying but your timeline interpretation of the facts at hand is skewed.

[@Ptolemy336VV]

@@MisterCharlton Correct. Although they are separate as we can deduct clear differences between the Aegean civilizations all the way to arts. However there is also a continuity and correlation and merging in the Aegean civilizations. So I understand what you're saying. As a matter of fact. Even in 7000 BCE there was wide trade in the civilization across mainland Greece and islands as the last 10 years has not only uncovered a huge amount of archaeological sites of towns and villages dated to 7000 BCE, also the oldest linear writing found on the planet was in Kastoria in North Greece found on the well preserved Dispilio tablet dated to 7300 years ago. Aside of this very impressive find and the fact that there where many far more advanced architectural buildings and monumental square buildings than ever thought previously. The interesting thing of this is another. That is that in Kastoria for example they found obsidian. Which in the entire region can only be found on the Greek island of Milos, 600 km away. Milos has been the source for this material since 15000 years straight for the wider region. So it is clear evidence of the trades in Greece 9000 years ago that where part of the lands and islands.

[@MisterCharlton]

marcus jones I’m writing a book currently on the rise and fall of civilizations (think like Toynbee), and I’m planning on going into great detail on my theory as to what constitutes the Bronze Age in Greece, which I argue, as few people actually do, that Western Civilization (which I call “Promethean”, due to the fact that the West has always been primordially defined by the idea of progress & the pursuit of a perfect world created in the image of Heaven) as we know it, albeit as a different incarnation, of course, actually began spontaneously in the Aegean somewhere around 2400 B.C. or so, give or take one or two centuries. The natural challenges that traversing the Aegean provided for the disparate, independently developed Neolithic societies scattered throughout the Aegean and mainland Greece is what ultimately caused them to amalgamate into a single cohesive unit, naturally & coincidentally bound together through a single identity as a result of this common struggle & triumph over the forces of nature (I call this origin event the “Wine-dark Dawning”). Ethnically, the first Prometheans were a mixture of West-Asiatic and Eastern/Central European tribes of Indo-Aryan/Iranian descent. Their culture itself, though half-inborn due to the result of their initial internal conquest of the boundless Sea itself, was influenced specifically by the two other primary cultures of the Bronze Age World: Shemesian/Semitic Civilization (Sumer, Akkad, the Hittites, the Jews, Cannanites/proto-Phoenicians, and eventually the Babylonians & Assyrians) and Hamitic Civilization (Ancient Egypt/Nubia/Northeast Africa/Southern Canaan). The West’s civilizational ethos - that of Individualism - is the product of three intersecting ideals that together created the Promethean Ethos: 1. “Shemesian Heroism”, i.e. Heroic Responsibility & Fortitude (dignity of the ego/quest for individual greatness & the quest for godhood) 2. “Hamitic Individuation” - Divine Uniqueness of the human spirit & the eternity of the individual human soul 3. “Hyperborean Self-Reliance” - Individual Willpower in the Face of Nature & Self-determination (being an idea that was naturally ingrained to the Indo-Aryan & Eurasian tribes who had settled in Europe long ago, who naturally developed such notions of self-audience for the sake of survival amidst the cold forces of the environment). The combination of these distinct ethoses gave birth to Individualism, and also shaped the philosophical notion of “progress” I also talk about how the Cycladeans built the first truly complex political and economic networks, and dominated the Aegean until roughly 1700 B.C., with the rise of Crete’s maritime empire, which came to dominate the isles afterwards (though I merely propose this as a possible realistic scenario that inspired the myth itself). The only Greek societies that came close to matching the power of the Cycledeans were the coastal city-states of the Peloponnese, probably ruled by the Minyans. As for Crete, it had not yet become a great power, but it was widely viewed as the Aegean civilization’s “cultural capital”, this in part being due to the cultural influence that both societies had on the early Minos in addition to having strong economic ties with them (Minoan Crete likely began as a satellite culture of Egypt who’s religion was ritualistically based on the Egyptian Death cult, and theologically based on the Canaanite worship of the bull & calf (personifications of certain higher gods within the Sumero-Semitic Pantheon, such as Ba’al). Around 1800 or 1750 B.C.E. Or so, Cretan raiders - then vassals of the Argives, who had just lost a war to Argos & subsequently kidnapped the 2nd, lesser-known princess Io (an incident that was very briefly mentioned by Herodotus) retaliated on behalf of their Peloponnesian allies. The king who sacked Argos and kidnapped Io was a lesser Greek king of Canaanite descent, supposedly borne in Tyre, who probably colonized and ruled a domain on Cyprus, one of the Greek aisles, or a portion of the Pellopenese. The Cretans, who worshipped the Bull (proto-Zeus) captured his daughter Europa and whisked her away to Crete, where she ultimately married the king and had a son named Minos (though I argue that he is not the same Minos from the Theseus myth, and that Minos could possibly have just been a title). Europa’s Royal posterity would go on to dominate the Aegean and subjugate coastal Greek cities, turning them into vassals & tributaries. Fast-forward to about 1450 B.C., when Athens is a tributary client of Crete’s. Theseus travels to Crete to slay the Minotaur (Man-Bull). This story, I suggest, could be an allegory for the rise of the mainland Greeks and their conquest of the Minoans, which occurred in the 15th century B.C. After that, the myths state that Theseus went on to transform Athens into a great power and create a network throughout the Greek mainland. So, my theory is that the society of the Thesean Empire were either the ones who became known as the Mycenaeans lager on, or were conquered by Mycenaea later on. All civilizations end up being ruled by a single great power by the end of the lifespans, as it was with Rome, Han China, the Parthians, the Toltecs, etc., and this empire, I say, was that of the Homeric Achaeans...who fosters the last generations of Greek Heroes. I argue that they were probably a distinct group than the native Mycenaeans, who had a hegemony over Greece, but ended up overthrowing them and made Mycanaea their capital; it was they who were behind the destruction of the Greco-Aegean palace network during the late Bronze Age, thus establishing a militarist society in its place, hellbent on conquering and obtaining wealth. The Achaean empire spread as far north into the Black Sea (the story of Jason and the Argonauts), as Far East is inland Anatolian (due to Hercules), as far south as Northern Egypt, the island of Cyprus, and parts of both Italy & Canaan (the Achaeans who settled in Canaan were most likely the Philistines, and Goliath one of the noble Achaean heroes, in the vein of those heroes who conquered Troy. It’s possible that they also inspired the maritime culture of the Phoenicians somehow. However, by 1100, the Achaeans’ empire had fallen, thus ending the first of the three western civilizations (Heroic Civilization as I fall it). Obviously, the Achaeans were one of the Sea People groups, or possibly the leaders of a Mediterranean-wide, hegemonic confederation that included various other sea people groups, whom the Achaeans gave the option to join them in their conquests...the other members of the confederation would have likely been those from the societies that the Achaeans subjugated. While it is of course not confirmed that the Achaeans were the sea people’s, there’s evidence to suggest the distinct possibility of such...and records do indicate that the sea people armadas grew in numbers with each land they conquered, probably meaning that they were made vassals. Anyway, that’s my proposed history of what the Bronze Age Aegean civilization may have been like. Sorry for the long post :P

[@TALessman]

Excellent video that does a great job of putting bronze age Greece into perspective. Dude, you and certain other history channels have been on one heck of a roll lately; keep up the great work! Thomas Lessman www.WorldHistoryMaps.info

[@iraqimapper8625]

Can you do a video about ancient Anatolia history please

[@davidrosner6267]

I second that. Do a video on the rise and fall of the Hittites.

[@xxjr8axx]

Elias Frahat its gonna be like a 1 hour documentary, only being toped by sicily and maybe armenia or poland in the number of times they flipped.

[@coltdelarge5317]

Hello elias frahat 😹 i love your vids too

[@hectorvega621]

@@xxjr8axx But we already learn History from Poland. Yet not much about Armenia, especially about Sicily.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

I’m far more hyped for the tax information than I am for “tales of the heroic age”.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

in the end, it gives a more realistic picture, because fewer people lie on their taxes than..."I took on this whole army by myself...why?...because I am awesome"

[@RonJohn63]

3:38 The number is 2000 + 10 + 8 = 2018, I think (which just so happens to be the year the video was published).

[@ekmalsukarno2302]

Epimetheus, are you working on your video on the history of Cambodia? Please respond to my comment.

[@ToiYeuYAHWEH]

I am Vietnamese and I am interested in Khmer History and culture

[@sgonzo5572]

Do one of the carians. They lived in the aegean sea previoous to the mycaneans. And they manned the ships of the minoans.

[@paulmayson3129]

No, the minoans ousted them

[@sgonzo5572]

@@paulmayson3129 no they didn't.

[@paulmayson3129]

@@sgonzo5572 Herodotus says exactly that, that the Carians had occupied the Cyclades Islands, but the Minoans expanded their Thalassocracy to the whole Aegean Sea and ousted them from there back to Asia Minor.

[@sgonzo5572]

@@paulmayson3129 it says that the minoan ships were manned by carians and talks about how carians mixed with greeks. And they invented some sort of shield or something. I forgot i have to open my book again.

[@sgonzo5572]

@@paulmayson3129 books.google.com/books?id=wK_QyYdWaFQC&pg=PA177&lpg=PA177&dq=minoan+ships+manned+by+carians&source=bl&ots=ZDrsbItmqf&sig=ACfU3U2X7dN9ZLDGekVDxlMnepdQ7hWg0g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwit8qvi66zqAhVClHIEHUGLCm8Q6AEwAHoECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q=minoan%20ships%20manned%20by%20carians&f=false

[@ezthejedi]

This is interesting, wish there was more. I would like to see more about the Mycenaens contacts with the Nubians & weather Memnom from the Original Troy might be based off that

[@menaseven9093]

Nice story of the Mycenaeans or Ahhiyawa.

[@kovn4992]

Would like to see a video about ancient and medieval Armenia

[@ksanbahlyngwa1998]

Yes please!!

[@noger1234]

I belive Uratu was the name of the ancient armenian kingdom

[@LionKing-ew9rm]

Urartians...

[@kovn4992]

@@LionKing-ew9rm no, not urartu. Armenia. If we go way back, then we would call them Urartians. But I was refering to Orontid Armenia and maybe also, because it would be required to know, Urartu.

[@innosanto]

he does bronze age videos I think.

[@bobbinweirdbarbashanduncle159]

I love The Iliad and the Odyssey

[@boogeymann6686]

I feel like you're batman

[@EpimetheusHistory]

🦇🦇

[@RocketHarry865]

I think you need to make a video on the Luwians a mysterious western Anatolian people of the late bronze age era who may have played a major part in the Late Bronze Age Collapse

[@Koopinator]

What happened to your video "Is the United States declining as a world power? (World Hegemon)"?

[@KTChamberlain]

If they ever adapt The Iliad and The Odyssey into animation (hand-drawn preferably) they should let you be the art director and the historical consultant to help make it feel as authentic as possible both to Homer and to Mycenaean history.

[@markhill3858]

Theres a not terrible Armand Assante version ..

[@KTChamberlain]

@@markhill3858 Oh I know. It's not terrible, but it does have some head-scratching moments like when did Scylla/Charybdis become a deadly version of Splash Mountain?

[@markhill3858]

@@KTChamberlain at least the gods are actually there .. wtf was Troy thinkin? its half the bloody plot

[@KTChamberlain]

@@markhill3858 True. Can't go wrong with Isabella Rossellini as Athena.

[@markhill3858]

@@KTChamberlain Yeah she was really good I liked how she talked to one of her beloved little adventurers :) some of the old statues have Athena with a lot more bulk tho. Like a huge wrestler of a woman that could snap Isabella in half .. arms thick like my legs! lol .. not much concession to "hotness" lol

[@TheAcerasa]

Do one about the Moors please!

[@secularstones]

I thought you got a bit lost toward the end. Otherwise pretty nice. Luwians, Phoenicians, Philistines, Etruscans... there was a lot more to mention at the end there.

[@voltagedrop5899]

what's the name of the soundtrack at the start of the video?

[@4youp]

Congrats on an amazing video, I really like your art! It's so colourful and fiting for how I image the Mycenaeans. I have one question and a remark though. First, where do you get the information that the Wanax owned three quarters of the land? As far as I know, the Wanax (according to the Pylos Linear B tablets) owned three times as much land (or yield) as the lawagetas, but not three quarters of all the land available. Second a remark, or tip: you should look into the recently discovered site called Ayios Vasilios in Laconia. This site has been identified as the Mycenaean palatial center of this region, and was missing in your video. Its really freaking cool to have a new palace site in the 21st century, and this one could even be the one where the whole story began, i.e. where Helen of Sparta was abducted from. Cheers.

[@V2011F]

The answer is 2018 very clever of you sir.

[@francofzg8259]

Yes , I love the myceans .

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

Those darn Sea People, what a bunch of characters!

[@crmesson22k]

what type of siege works do you think where used during the Trojan War?

[@michaelmoore4043]

I dont know

[@ssach7]

Cavalry

[@crmesson22k]

@@ssach7 I wouldn't exactly consider that a Siege work.

[@peterlokin7776]

Ladders Siege towers and rams I dont think they had catapults but i could be wrong

[@AGS363]

A huge, hollow horse (made of wood).

[@JayR-wg9jq]

3:51 if you add up all the symbols it's 2,018 i dunno if that's what it actually is, i just assumed that they all got added together like the arabic numeral system

[@ala.r609]

Dear history video maker, please in due time explain, about the Greek greatest Hero Perseus era, close date of his heroic adventures, and especially Perseus older son Perse migration toward southern province of Iran, Medes tribal region, due to lots stories in books, but not much indication regarding Perseus era, where was his home place remans, and historical text written down about that Persian are descent of Perseus son Perse. Many thanks for production of your other videos.

[@Jobe-13]

Pretty awesome

[@peterlokin7776]

Wow wow im truly stumped The chariot warriors were eqeta So it is true about indo european decent As modern greek changed from k to p So in latin a horse rider is equites(ekotis) In greek its ippotis This eqetas cements that for me anyway Its so similar to equites

[@cartographerofarda6253]

Yeah, well there were Mycanean colonists in Southern Italy, who were partly mingled with the local peoples. There have been many discoveries of Mycenaean tombs and pottery in Apulia and Calabria. Tradition has it that around 1600 BC there were many Arcadians who migrated from the Peloponnese to South Italy, naming the land Oenotria. And Roman Historians state that they were ancestors of the Latins. So this is why there are also linguistic connections.

[@cartographerofarda6253]

@hellos grog Indoeuropeans? So were the Greeks. The Romans were certainly not Cetlic however, they only had similarities to their language. But so did they with Greek too, and those similarities were much more clear and profound.

[@amourringinton120]

Plz do minoans

[@Constantine_IA]

Homer clearly shows Trojans having the same Gods language and culture with the Mycenaeans ..it was a civil War for Homer but Hollywood movies give the wrong impression by using the term Greeks for Mycenaeans which didn't even exist yet but Homer calls them Αχαιούς( Aheous) or Argites(from Argos) or Danaos(timeo Danaos et dona ferentes as later the Romans translated it) it wasn't a Clash of Civilizations it was a Civil War maybe a war between the Metropolis and Colony ...The Mycenaeans are way older than we think they go back 5000-7000 years and it will be proven soon probably they co-existed with the Minonians they expanded their Empire from the Black Sea (the myth of Jason and the Argonauts) to Egypt where they established many Cities like the Egyptian city called Thebes like the one in Greece ,some claim that they even crossed the Atlantic because they claim that Mycenaean helmets and artifacts were found in South America but it's more pseudo history that claims that there are hidden Pyramids in Greece older than the Egyptian Pyramids and that the Pyramids of precolombian Civilizations like the Mayas were actually built by the Mycenaeans ,the Mayas ironically are called the Greeks of the Americas which is interesting nevertheless....

[@noger1234]

He shows that because he probably didnt know what gods they had

[@MrPanos2000]

Homer didnt know what gods they had. He was a folk poet. I say this as an educated Greek. Trojans are part of Luwian Anatolian culture

[@dsharpness]

oh...that place I just looked...Yilantas...rock cut relief that looks much like the Lion Gate at Mycenae...this is really good clip!☺

[@Constantine_IA]

Valentina Valley How about the language they didn’t use translators I mean in the context of the Iliad not historically

[@dirckthedork-knight1201]

Homeros was just retaling stuff from his prespective at the time