The course covers the history of the Cyclades from the end of the 4th millennium B.C. to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C., with emphasis on the strategic position of the Cyclades, which enhanced cultural development and interaction in the Aegean during the Bronze Age. It examines the Neolithic background of the Cycladic culture and the formation of its distinct character during the 3rd millennium B.C., as reflected in settlement patterns, building materials and techniques, burial practices and customs, crafts and arts. It further examines the relation of the Cycladic culture to the palatial civilizations of the Aegean (Minoan, Mycenaean) during the 2nd millennium B.C., with emphasis on its relation to Crete at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age as attested at Akrotiri, as well as on the Mycenaean presence in the islands in the course of the Late Bronze Age.