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What was the Myceneaen Age?

The Myceneaen Age (1650–1200 B.C.) was the period during which the culture of the Mycenaeans flourished on Crete, an island in the Mediterranean Sea that had previously been the home of the Minoans. Around 1450 B.C. Crete was struck by a 200-foot (61-meter) tidal wave, which either destroyed the island or weakened the Minoans to the point that the Mycenaeans were able to overtake them. Building on the remnants of Minaon culture, the Mycenaeans became skilled horsemen and charioteers as well as accomplished sailors who dominated the Agean Sea. They lived in fortified palaces called acropolises (the Greek word for "top cities"), which were the centers of such cities as Argos, Cornith, Sparta, Athens, and Thebes.

Around 1200 B.C. the Mycenaeans attacked Troy, an important city in northwestern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) on the route to the Black Sea, starting the Trojan War. The Greek...

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