Mellersh Destruction Of Knossos

Mellersh, H.E.L. The Destruction of Knossos : The Rise and Fall of Minoan Crete. Hamish Hamilton, London, first edition, 1970.
"Few civilizations in the history of the western world have exercised a more potent fascination than that of the Minoans. When Sir Arthur Evans, following in the footsteps of that literally minded discoverer of Troy and Mycenae, Heinrich Schliemann, first laid bare to the Cretan sun the great halls and courts of the Palace of Knossos, he was not only underlining the importance of mythology but initiating what was virtually a separate strain of archaeology. Preconceived notions of the development of classical Greece could never be the same with this vital linking between the civilizations of Minoan Crete and mainland Mycenae. And so a pattern, based on the interpretation of the Linear B script and of the superb art and architecture now revealed, and still relying to a great extent on a knowledge of comparative mythology, emerged. Around 1700 B.C. occurred a first destruction of the palaces at Knossos, Phaistos and Mallia, only to be succeeded by the great age of ancient Crete, contemporary with the slow rise to prosperity of the Mycenaeans. Then came the terrible volcanic explosion of Thera, or modern Santorin, causing widespread damage to the increasingly decadent Minoans and allowing a perfect opportunity to the warlike Myceneans to gain control of the weakened island. But even this event did not mark the final eclipse - that would not be until the Dorian hordes, precursors of the Iron Age, swept down and engulfed both the Mycenaeans and the Minoans. H. E. L. Mellersh, in a vivid combination of history, mythology and first-hand knowledge of the relevant sites, has succeeded in conjuring up the essence of a vanished world. He has set the story of Minoan Crete against a scrupulously delineated historical background, and shown its influence on Greece, Asia Minor and the eastern Mediterranean. The glorious civilization of Knossos and its tragic death-pangs are conveyed with authenticity and with a fine breadth of vision." - from the blurb.

Cloth, 8vo, 23 cm, viii, 205 pp, 8 plates. Very Good in Very Good dustwrapper. 0241018161

[SW: MINOAN CRETE.wykbooks 06793 Knossos (Extinct city) Civilization, Mycenaean. Mellersh, H. E. L.]

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Mellersh, H.E.L.. The Destruction of Knossos The Rise and Fall of Minoan Crete. New York, NY: Weybright & Talley, 1970.
Price unclipped. . Size=6"x8.5" w/Dust Jacket 205pgs(Index) 1/4" DJ tear top fore-edge, DJ very slightly nicked head of spine, o.w. clean, tight & bright. NO ink names, bookplates etc..

1st Ed. (U.S.), Hard Cover, 10 Illus, 3 Maps. Fine/VG+.

[SW: Minoan Crete History Archaeology Knossos Mediterranean Sea Mycenaeans,]

Details

Mellersh, H.E.L. The Destruction of Knossos The Rise and Fall of Minoan Crete, Weybright & Talley, New York 1970
Fine cloth copy in a near fine, very slightly edge-nicked dw. Remains particularly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and surprisingly sharp-cornered.

1st Edition. Impressively illustrated with a series of photo plates and complete with a comprehensive bibliography. 205 p.

Details

Mellersh, H.E.L. The Destruction of Knossos: Rise and Fall of Minoan Crete, London 1970
ISBN: 0241018161 Good

vi, 205pp, 8pls. Marginal smudges on a few pages, else VG. Very Good Hard Cover

[SW: GREEZE BRONZE AGE ANCIENT SOCIAL SCIENCE ARCHAEOLOGY lc Aegean Prehistory]

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