[IW] A world where all 'ancient' civilizations reached TL9?

[rogersd]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

If we're going with truly ancient civilizations, Minoan Crete would likely have come to dominate the Mediterranean through a combination of sea trade, colonization, and probably warfare, ultimately taking the role the Phoenicians did in our history. Many scholars agree that Minoans were the culture that inspired - through third-hand accounts via Egypt and Solon - Plato's Atlantis.

Removing the Roman Empire seems like a good idea to me. This gives us room to explore Celtic civilizations such as the Gauls of what is today France and the Picts of Britain. Now, the Etruscans were in Italy long before the Greeks colonized it to found Rome; let's dig up what we know about them and build upon it?

The problem is that we don't know that much about Minoan civilization. They were prosperous and dominated some sea trade but their civilization was in decline by the time of the Mycenaeans. Their language Linear A, of which we have lots of examples has not been deciphered yet; Mycenaean Linear B has and its shows a highly centralized political organization based around the palace structures.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by rogersd

The problem is that we don't know that much about Minoan civilization. They were prosperous and dominated some sea trade but their civilization was in decline by the time of the Mycenaeans. Their language Linear A, of which we have lots of examples has not been deciphered yet; Mycenaean Linear B has and its shows a highly centralized political organization based around the palace structures.

Well, this is an "alternate history" thread. Let's take what we know as a base, and based off that we make stuff up to fill in the gaps. :)

First: We know the Minoans had a written language. We also know that the Greek written language evolved over time, borrowing heavily from the Phoenicians.

Second: Excavations of Knossos have revealed at least a grain of truth to the myths of Theseus and Daedalus, as a labyrinth of sorts has been found underneath the palace.

Third: They apparently did not build temples, performing their religious rites in caves in the Cretan mountains and beside the family hearths. (Benefits of being in the local library right now, even if it's only open for another 15 minutes or so.)

Now, let's build upon these. We can advance the spoken and written language to modern - or at least classical - Greek without throwing too much off.

Second, as sea-farers, if we assume a polytheistic religion, the god/dess of the sea will feature heavily, perhaps being a major deity. The Olympians are more than likely Mycinean and/or Doric creations/immigrants, which leaves Gaia, Ouranos, and the Titans before they were villified and their positions taken over. It is quite likely that Atlas (the root of the term "Atlantis" -- I think it properly means "Isle of Atlas") is a patron deity.

Furthermore, the myth of the Minotaur can be propoganda which tries to explain the practice of trapping convicted felons in an underground maze with a rabid bull for execution. Whether this is "humane" or not is up to your interpretations of the TL 9 culture. The rabid bull may even have been replaced by a robot (more humane to the bulls).

The library's closing soon; I'll scribble more later. Anyone want to tackle the Chinese, Indians, Celts, or Mesoamericans?

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Many scholars agree that Minoans were the culture that inspired - through third-hand accounts via Egypt and Solon - Plato's Atlantis.

Can you name some of these scholars? When I was researching this subject, it seemed still to be a bit fringy. There were certainly some scholars who disagreed with the whole idea.

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Now, the Etruscans were in Italy long before the Greeks colonized it to found Rome; let's dig up what we know about them and build upon it?

Good luck.