World Culture Galleries

Gallery of the Bronze Age Aegean

Level 3, Philosophers' Walk Wing
The Gallery of the Bronze Age Aegean features over 100 artifacts describing the rise and enigmatic fall of Greek civilizations from the Cyclades islands, Crete and mainland Greece, from approximately 3000 to 700 BC.

The gallery is divided into four periods: Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean and Geometric.

The Cycladic period (3200 - 2000 BC) was centered on the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, north of Crete. The culture is known for its splendid female figurines made from the island’s pure white marble. Two important pieces are on display: the head of a female figure and a reclining female figure.

Named after the mythical king Minos by archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, the Minoan period (2000 - 1100 BC) flourished on the island of Crete, south of the Cyclades islands. On display is an impressive, large larnax (coffin) and some of the Museum’s earliest acquisitions, excavated in 1903 by the Museum’s first director, Dr. C.T. Currelly.

The powerful Mycenaeans emerged on mainland Greece. The Mycenaean period (1600 - 1050 BC), also known as the Helladic, was named after the principal city-state of Mycenae, home to King Agamemnon of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. A series of vases and a glass necklace, the earliest example of glassmaking in Western Europe, highlight their art, which was greatly influenced by the art of Crete.

With the Geometric Period (1050 - 700 BC) begins the Iron Age in Greece and a revived Greek civilization focused around the city of Athens. Two beautiful pieces, a krater (bowl) and an amphora (two handled vase), demonstrate the very formalized style. This period also witnessed the creation of the Greek language and alphabet, cities, the colonization of southern Italy, Sicily, Asia Minor, and in 776 BC, the Olympic Games.

The gallery is generously supported by the Hellenic Republic and the Greek communities of Canada.