Late Bronze Age Religion
Accessing Prehistoric Religion ? • Who can help? • What evidence is there? • What are the obstacles?
Anthropologists Homer Scholars Philologists Archaeologists
Roots of Mycenaean Religion? Mesopotamian? Near Eastern? Minoan? Cycladic?
Bronze Age Mediterranean • Near East Levant & Anatolia • Crete • Cyclades • Cyprus • Mainland Greece
Minoan Religion • Horns of Consecration • Peak Sanctuaries • Cave • Tree & Pillar/Stone Cults • Bull
Peak Sanctuary • Horns of Consecration • Pillar or Altar • At or near peak of mountains or hills
Mycenae: Mylonas’ Cult Center
“House of the Idols” • LHIIIB Architecture • “Temple” (room 18) • Storeroom (room 19) upstairs • Triangular alcove • Entrance through anteroom • Central Platform (hearth? ) • Benches of varied heights
The “Temple” & Storeroom • Steps to storeroom • Central Platform • Benches: for offerings? platforms for cult “statues”?
End of Days • Storeroom Sealed after earthquake • Broken figures kept in sealed room • Only 1 idol “in use” standing in anteroom at time of final fiery destruction of cult center (LHIIIB 2) • Cult Center not rebuilt or reused in LHIIIC, Submycenaean or Protogeometric Periods
Room with the Fresco • LHIIIB 1 construction date • Fresco on East Wall • Altar/Platform in front of Fresco • Central Hearth • Low Bench on South Wall • “Shrine” added on West side: “Room with the Ivories”
Fresco Room • • • Hearth Bench Altar “Shrine” Entrance Rich Finds of Clay, Ivory, Lead, Stone, and Faience (selfglazing sand/quartz paste)
The Finds • Ivory Lion for ornate chair arm? • Ivory Head to fit on wooden body/frame? • Scarab of Queen Tiye, wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (100 years older than shrine)
Lower Register: Woman with Ears of Grain
Upper Register: Women with Sword & Staff
Hierarchy of Position?
Goddess or Priestess? • • • Linear B evidence? Si-to-po-ti-ni-ja “Wheat Lady” I-je-re-ja Priestess?
What or Who do the “Idols” Represent? • Snakes in Minoan Religion but not coiled clay ones • Smaller, decorated figures as deities?
Matriarchal or Patriarchal Religion? • Anthropomorphic (Gunaikomorphic) Piriform Jar • Alcove in House of Idols
“Goddess” of Room of the Ivories? Cp. Psi figurine?
Goddess of Room with Idols? • Holding Breasts • Tau figurine?
Votaries & Worshippers? • Holding the Labrys (double-headed axe)?
Tiryns Shrine • Built against inside of fortification wall of Lower Citadel • Megaron Plan • Central Hearth, Vestibule & Main Room • Bench against Fortification Wall in Main Room • Several LHIIIC phases
Shrine Sites? • • • Mycenae Tiryns Tsoungiza Midea Ayia Irini Philakopi
Shrines at Midea & Tsoungiza?
The Islands • Phylakopi on Melos • Ayia Irini on Kea
Lady of Phylakopi • Phylakopi Shrines from LHIIIA-C • NW Altar of West Shrine: Male Figures! • Large Bull Figures • LHIIIA 2 -LHIIIC
Phylakopi Bull Figures • Cp. Dimini (N. Greece) & Mitrou (C. Greece)
Ayia Irini • Initially Minoan, then Mycenaean • Cult Center from MC (18 th. C) to Hellenistic Period (3 rd. C B. C. )!
Ayia Irini 50 Female LHIIIAB TC Statues
Linear-B God Names We Recognize • A-RE Ares? • E-NU-WA-RI-JO Enyalios (“warlike” or “battle”, later epithet for Ares) • PA-JA-WO-NE Paiawon ("Paian", later epithet for Apollo) • PO-SE-DA-O-NE Poseidon (main god at Pylos) • E-NE-SI-DA-O-NE Enosidas ("Enosigaios" or "Earthshaker") • DI-WO Zeus
Unknown Deities? • PO-TI-NI-JA Potnia ("mistress") • DA-PU-RI-TO-JO PO-TI-NIJA Potnia of the Labyrinth • A-TA-NA PO-TI-NI-JA Potnia (from? ) Atana (= "Athena"? ) • DI-WI-JA Diwia (female counterpart of Zeus) • PO-SI-DA-E-JA Posidaieia (female counterpart of Poseidon) • PA-KI-JA-NI-JA Sphagianeia? ? • I-QE-JA Hippeia ("of horses"? ) • A-SI-WI-JA Aswia • NE-WO-PE-O ? • U-PO-JO ?
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