 Mycenaean Greece ( or Mycenaean civilization ) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece ( c . 1600 – 1100 BC ) . It represents the first advanced civilization in mainland Greece , with its palatial states , urban organization , works of art and writing system . Among the centers of power that emerged , the most notable were those of Pylos , Tiryns , Midea in the Peloponnese , Orchomenos , Thebes , Athens in Central Greece and Iolcos in Thessaly . The most prominent site was Mycenae , in Argolid , to which the culture of this era owes its name . Mycenaean and Mycenaean @-@ influenced settlements also appeared in Epirus , Macedonia , on islands in the Aegean Sea , on the coast of Asia Minor , the Levant , Cyprus and Italy . 
