Myceneans

The Myceneans were Indo-Europeans that settled in mainland Greece between 3000 B.C. and 2000 B.C.. They were an agricultural people with knowledge of metalurgy. In the area that they inhabited grapes and olives grew very well. Overall the Myceneans were a militaristic people. Their leadership was similart to a modern military dictatorship, with a warchief controllong the land. In 2000 B.C. they started trade with the Minoans to the south.

Sixteen hundred B.C. marked the beginning for prosperity in Mycenea. The Myceneans, remained a warring state, and the architecture showed that the cities were walled up in preparation for war or invasion. Even things such as artwork were militaristic. They depicted the raids against Troy. The Myceneans activily pursued battle. They conducted raids in Asian Minor, the Middle East, and eventually conquered Crete.

Through their conquering, the Myceneans aquired riches which the traded with merchants and other civilizations. Because of this the Myceneans could afford very expensive burials for their leaders because of this. They started burying there leaders in deep shafts, however, in 1500 B.C. they began using tholos tombs built into the sides of hills.

The Mycenean culture faced problems near the end. There was a series of earthquakes that devastated the cities. Still, this didn't hinder the Myceneans craving for conquest, as the conquest of Crete took place after the earthquakes. The last remaining Greek lore about the Myceneans says that and invading people, known as the Dorians, invaded and destroyed the Mycenean civilization. On the other hand, modern historians blame the fall on economic collapse. When the Dark Age came, the Greeks seemed to stop recording there history, the history that they failed to record could've covered the fall of the Mycenean civilization.

Minoans

The Minoans inhabited the island of Crete. The early Minoan civilization from 2600 to 1900 B.C., had influential contact with the Middle East and Asia Minor whom they traded with for ivory, copper, tin, and gold. According to archaeological evidence, the Minoan culture wasn't centered on authority or landlords. The Minoan culture revolved around communities and at the center of each community was a tholos tomb where the dead were buried in no hierarchical structure.

The government changed in 2000 B.C. when a monarchy was introduced. While the Minoans continued to traid with the Middle East and Asia Minor, the social structure changed to a hierarchy. The hiearchy divided the people into nobles, peasants, and slaves. Though these times started bad, they turned prosperous. This period ended in 1700 B.C. when the civilization was ravaged. By what remains unknown, but it is thought to be due to earthquakes or invaders.

Starting in 1700 B.C., the Minoans began to reconstruct their palaces and tombs. Villas in rural areas began to appear, a first in the Minoan culture. The culture had expanded to Argolis, several Aegean islands, and Penelopennese. However, the Minoans encountered competition in the form of the Myceneans, during this period of time the Minoans began crafting large amounts of weapons in preparation for possible military actions. The Mycenean culture began to invade areas in Crete, such as the palaces in Thera, Melos, and Kea. Eventually in 1375 B.C., following the destruction of Knossos, the Myceneans took most of Crete under their control.
With Crete in Mycenean control, the Minoan culture received a lot of influence from mainland Greece. From changes in artwork to changes in religion the Minoan culture was shifting to the Mycenean way of life. Minoan culture was completely changed when the Hellenics destroyed the Myceneans and reached the island of Crete. Classic Greece had formed with its capital at Athens.