In Greek mythology and legendary prehistory of the Aegean region, the Minyans were a group among the autochthonous inhabitants. Modern archaeologists sometimes apply the term "Minyans" differently, to indicate the very first wave of Proto-Greek speakers in the 2nd millennium BCE, among the early Bronze Age cultures sometimes identified with the beginning of Middle Helladic culture. The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the telling of stories created by the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... Indigenous peoples are: Peoples living in an area prior to colonization by a state Peoples living in an area within a nation-state, prior to the formation of a nation-state, but who do not identify with the dominant nation. ... The Proto-Greek language is the common ancestor of the Greek dialects, including the Mycenean language, the classical Greek dialects Attic-Ionic, Aeolic, Doric and North-Western Greek, and ultimately the Koine and Modern Greek. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... The early history of Greece is commonly divided into three periods: Early Helladic (c. ...

Classical Greek uses of "Minyans"

Hellenic Greeks did not always clearly distinguish the Minyans from the Pelasgian cultures that had preceded them. Greek mythographers gave the Minyans an eponymous founder, Minyas, perhaps as legendary as "Pelasgus" the founding father of the Pelasgians, a broader category of the pre-Greek Aegean peoples. This Minyas was associated with Boeotian Orchomenus, and may have represented a ruling dynasty or a tribe later located in Boeotia. Ancient Greek writers used the name Pelasgian to refer to groups of people who preceded the Greeks and dwelt in several locations in mainland Greece, Crete, and other regions of the Aegean as neighbors of the Hellenes. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... In Greek mythology, Minyas was the founder of Orchomenus or son of king Orchomenus, depending on the story. ... Orchomenus is an ancient city of Boeotia in Greece, which was the setting for many early Greek Myths. ... Boeotia or Beotia (//, (Greek Βοιωτια; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ...

Heracles, the hero whose exploits always celebrate the new Olympian order over the old traditions, came to Thebes, one of the ancient Mycenaean cities of Greece, and found that the Greeks were paying tribute of 100 cattle (a hecatomb) each year to Erginus, king of the Minyans. Heracles attacked a group of emissaries from the Minyans, and cut off their ears, noses and hands. He then tied them around their necks and told them to take those for tribute to Erginus. Erginus quite understandably made war on Thebes, but Heracles defeated the Minyans with his fellow Thebans after arming them with weapons that had been dedicated in temples. This appalling and blasphemous behavior showed that Bronze Age rules of social decorum were over: Erginus was killed and the Minyans were forced to pay double the previous tribute to the Thebans. Hercules, a Roman bronze (Louvre Museum) For other uses, see Heracles (disambiguation). ... Thebes (in Demotic Greek: Θήβα — Thíva, Katharevousa: — Thēbai or Thíve) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... In Ancient Greece, a Hecatomb was the sacrifice to the gods of 100 cattle (hecaton = one hundred). ... In Greek mythology, Erginus was a Boeotian king and father of Trophonius and Agamedes. ...

The Argonauts were sometimes referred to as "Minyans" because Jason's mother came from that line, and several of his cousins joined in the adventure. The Argo, by Lorenzo Costa In Greek mythology, the Argonauts (Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest for the Golden Fleece. ... Jason (Greek: Ιάσων, Etruscan: Easun) is a hero of Greek mythology who led the Argonauts in the search of the Golden Fleece. ...

"Minyans" in modern usage

The beginning of the Middle Helladic period is marked by the immigration of the Minyans. According to Emily Vermeule, this was the first wave of true Hellenes in Greece. Gray "Minyan ware" is an archaeologist's term for a particular style of Aegean pottery associated with the Middle Helladic period (MH, ca. 2100-1550 BC). Emily Dickinson Townsend Vermeule (New York City August 11, 1928 – Cambridge, Massachusetts February 6, 2001) was an American classical scholar and archaeologist. ... The early history of Greece is commonly divided into three periods: Early Helladic (c. ...

It is assumed that the Mycenaean Greeks reached Crete as early as 1450 BCE, and that Greek presence on the mainland dates to 1600 at the latest (shaft graves). "Minyan pottery" reaches Greece from Anatolia, already from the EH III (2300-2100 BC) period, but other aspects of the "Minyan" period appear to arrive from north Greece and the balkans (tumulus graves, perforated stone axes), and it is unknown whether Proto-Greeks were present from as early as EH III, and thus bearers of the "Minyan" culture, or if they arrived as late as 1600, displacing Minyan/MH culture. Centuries: 16th century BC - 15th century BC - 14th century BC Decades: 1500s BC 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC - 1450s BC - 1440s BC 1430s BC 1420s BC 1410s BC 1400s BC Events and Trends According to some, 1456 BC was the year that Moses lead the Exodus of... A shaft tomb or shaft grave is a type of burial structure formed from a deep and narrow shaft sunk into natural rock. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A tumulus (plural tumuli or tumuluses, from the Latin word for mound or small hill) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. ... The Proto-Greek language is the common ancestor of the Greek dialects, including the Mycenean language, the classical Greek dialects Attic-Ionic, Aeolic, Doric and North-Western Greek, and ultimately the Koine and Modern Greek. ...