Epic, Hero Cults, History

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Epic, Hero Cults, History

• 12/2/04

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Sherratts Model

• 2 periods when conditions of social or political
  fluidity and the need for legitimation are best
  seen in the archaeological record
• 16th-14th centuries Shaft Grave period at
  Mycenae, lots of interest in artistic reps. of
  war.
• Four centuries after the collapse of the
  Mycenaean palace culture, when social fluidity
  returns (8th c.). Maritime trade, cremation
• Later 8th c. - same time as the establishment of
  the polis, emergence of something new. Renewed
  emphasis on military and funeral ideals in art,
  rise of panhellenic sanctuaries, rise of hero
  cults.

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Mycenaean Warrior Krater
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Epic Poetry

• 16th-14th c. initial creation of bardic
  tradition, core of Homeric epic, perhaps inspired
  by a destruction of Troy c. 1400. Recurring siege
  motif in both literature and art was an important
  theme for the elite.
• 14th - 12th c. maintenance of epic tradition in
  service of the status quo - stressing continuity
  with the past.
• Post-palatial 12th-9th c. new creation and
  active formation of Homeric epic.

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Mycenae, Grave Circle A
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Pylos Lyre Player (Megaron)
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Representations of War (Pylos)
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Sherratts Stages Expressed Via Armor In Epic
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Mycenaean Armor
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Homeric Epic as We Have It

• The absence of anything referable to the
  material culture of 7th or 6th c. Greece makes it
  clear that the epic traditions last role as an
  active instrument for heroic self-definition was
  over. As in the palatial period of the 14th -13th
  centuries, it had taken on a conservative
  function . . . Now, however, the added dimension
  of pan-Hellenic possession gave it a new
  permanent stability which was no longer capable
  of further transformation.

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Classical Greek Aoidos
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Archaic Script Iliad 1.1-5
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An Archaeology of Ancestors (Carla Antonaccio)

• Archaic and classical Greeks honored their
  progonoi (progenitors) by practicing
• the cult of the dead (mortuary rituals, funeral,
  and disposal of contemporary dead)
• tomb cult (family visits kin tombs for short
  duration)
• hero cult

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Tomb Cult

• Antonaccio argues that tomb cult at Mycenaean
  tombs was neither hero cult nor strictly votive -
  instead it articulated a claim of kinship between
  the practitioners and those long dead.
• Example The reuse of a Mycenaean tomb at Berbati
  in the Argolid, in which a Geometric (900-750)
  family interred a young woman with rich gifts of
  pottery. This shows a choice by her family to
  associate their dead with ancient dead.

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Terracotta representing the discovery of a
Mycenaean Tholos Tomb, Arkhanes, Crete (800 BCE)
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Rise of Mycenaean Tomb Cult
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Tomb Cult in the Argolid
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Archaic Offerings at Mycenaean Tholos Tomb
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Kinship Claims

• Reusing a Mycenaean tomb, making claims of
  kinship with the ancient dead, is an act of
  social display within the context of peer elite
  competition and control.
• This archaeologically visible act paralleled
  social display with epic poetry as a means of
  legitimizing social and economic inequality.

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Archaic Imitations of the Past (6th century
Corinthian)
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Hero Cult

• Antonaccio argues that this is distinct from tomb
  cult.
• Tomb cult is of short duration, usually one
  family performs it only once or twice.
• Hero cult has scheduled ritual action at
  specific locations, including processions,
  sacrifice, and games often emphasized by the
  construction of monuments.
• Exists over a long time, often centuries.
• Heroes are used as corporate ancestors.

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Hero Cult at TroyTomb of Achilles
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Troy - Tomb of Ajax
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Heroes in Art Battle over Patroklos Corpse
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Hero of Corinth
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Hero of Corinth

• 45 years old, tall, bad teeth, marked
  degenerative osteo-arthritis, fractured right
  hand.
• Died in the Proto-Geometric period (1050-900).
• Rediscovered at the end of the 7th c.
• Corinthians built a temenos around him and other
  graves, made offerings such as a krater with a
  picture of Achilles in battle - this cult lasted
  until the sack of Corinth in 146 BC.
• Probably thought from his size, broken hand, and
  antiquity that he was a hero, wanted to be in
  communication/association with him.

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Mycenaean Grave Circle A Classical pottery for
the hero
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LBA Aegean Relative Chronologies

• See the handout. The Mycenaean pottery at Troy
  seems to establish a date for the fall of Troy
  VIIa in LHIIIc (1200-1050 BCE).

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Mycenaean Pottery Distribution Patterns

• LHIIIA1 (c. 1400) - first large-scale
  distribution of Mycenaean pottery outside of the
  mainland
• LHIIIA2-B1 (1300-1200)- decorated pottery is
  exported at a far greater rate than ever recorded
  before in the Near East and central
  Mediterranean.
• Range neat containers for small quantities of
  high quality, perhaps perfumed oil, table ware,
  trivia, cult odds and ends, and ceremonial vases
  of varying size and importance (Hankey 1979).

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Argolid Control?

• The majority of exported Mycenaean pottery tested
  by optical emission spectroscopy belongs to Type
  A, which has a wide range but is centered in the
  Argolid.
• Seems to imply Argive dominance of the oil trade
  with the Near East.

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LHIIIA2 Mycenaean Pottery
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LHIIIC Mycenaean Pottery Types
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LHIIIC Mycenaean Stirrup Jar
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Joslyn Mycenaean Stirrup Jar c. 1150 BCE
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Mycenaean Pottery in Troy VIIa
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Knobbed Ware Troy VIIb
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Blegens Chronology
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Bryn Mawr Symposiums Take on Pottery Implications

• Imported LHII and LHIIIA1 pottery gives a range
  of c. 1500-1375 BCE to the middle phases of Troy
  VI.
• Late Troy VI continues with LHIIIA2 imports,
  lasts into the beginning of LHIIIB (early 13th
  c.).
• After the ruin of VI, people rebuilt as VIIa in
  the course of LHIIIB ceramic period. This city
  was destroyed by fire in early LHIIIC, right
  after 1200.

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Rutter Troy VII

• Date of settlement life
• Blegen - 1275-1240 BCE
• Others - 1300/1280 - 1180 BCE (early
• LH3C period, based on the latest
• Mycenaean sherds found)
• Destruction date
• Blegen - 1240, altered to 1270.
• Nylander - 1200/1190 on basis of latest
• Mycenaean imports, which he and Mee think
• include LH3C types.

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Achaians on the Move

• Around this time the city of Tarsus (in Cilicia,
  Asia Minor) is no longer an outpost of Hittite
  rule - is settled by Achaian refugees in LHIIIC.
• Perhaps other Achaian refugees launched the raid
  that destroyed Troy VIIa?

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Historicity?

• IF Hisarlik is the site of Homeric Troy
• (as Schliemann, Dorpfeld, Blegen and others
  think),
• IF the Trojan War of Greek myth was an actual
  historical event,
• Rutter asserts that Troy VIIa is most likely
  candidate for Priams city (Wood and others
  prefer Troy VIh).

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For Tuesday

• Marshall arguments of the scholars you have read
  to support or deny the historicity of the Trojan
  War.
• Example The Trojan War must be historical
  because of the following evidence (cite scholars
  and evidence).
• You may divide up the scholars/arguments among
  the people in your group, so that each student
  has responsibility for a particular
  article/author.