Late Bronze Age Religion

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Late Bronze Age Religion
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Accessing Prehistoric Religion

• ?

• Who can help?
• What evidence is there?
• What are the obstacles?

3
AnthropologistsHomer ScholarsPhilologistsArchae
ologists
4
Roots of Mycenaean Religion?

• Mesopotamian?
• Near Eastern?
• Minoan?
• Cycladic?

5
Bronze Age Mediterranean

• Near East Levant Anatolia
• Crete
• Cyclades
• Cyprus
• Mainland Greece

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Minoan Religion

• Horns of Consecration
• Peak Sanctuaries
• Cave
• Tree Pillar/Stone Cults
• Bull

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Peak Sanctuary

• Horns of Consecration
• Pillar or Altar
• At or near peak of mountains or hills

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Mycenae Mylonas Cult Center
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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

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The Temple Storeroom

• Steps to storeroom
• Central Platform
• Benches
• for offerings?
• platforms for cult statues?

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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
  (LHIIIB2)
• Cult Center not rebuilt or reused in LHIIIC,
  Submycenaean or Protogeometric Periods

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Room with the Fresco

• LHIIIB1 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

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Fresco Room

• Hearth
• Bench
• Altar
• Shrine Entrance
• Rich Finds of Clay, Ivory, Lead, Stone, and
  Faience (self-glazing sand/quartz paste)

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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)

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Lower Register Woman with Ears of Grain
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Upper Register Women with Sword Staff
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Hierarchy of Position?
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Goddess or Priestess?

• Linear B evidence?
• Si-to-po-ti-ni-ja
• Wheat Lady
• I-je-re-ja
• Priestess?

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What or Who do the Idols Represent?

• Snakes in Minoan Religion but not coiled clay
  ones
• Smaller, decorated figures as deities?

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Matriarchal or Patriarchal Religion?

• Anthropomorphic (Gunaikomorphic)
• Piriform Jar
• Alcove in House of Idols

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Goddess of Room of the Ivories?

• Cp. Psi figurine?

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Goddess of Room with Idols?

• Holding Breasts
• Tau figurine?

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Votaries Worshippers?

• Holding the Labrys (double-headed axe)?

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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

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Shrine Sites?

• Mycenae
• Tiryns
• Tsoungiza
• Midea
• Ayia Irini
• Philakopi

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Shrines at Midea Tsoungiza?
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The Islands

• Phylakopi on Melos
• Ayia Irini on Kea

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Lady of Phylakopi

• Phylakopi Shrines from LHIIIA-C
• NW Altar of West Shrine Male Figures!
• Large Bull Figures
• LHIIIA2-LHIIIC

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Phylakopi Bull Figures

• Cp. Dimini (N. Greece) Mitrou (C. Greece)

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Ayia Irini

• Initially Minoan, then Mycenaean
• Cult Center from MC (18thC) to Hellenistic Period
  (3rdC B.C.)!

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Ayia Irini

• 50 Female LHIIIA-B TC Statues

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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

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Unknown Deities?

• PO-TI-NI-JA Potnia ("mistress")
• DA-PU-RI-TO-JO PO-TI-NI-JA 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 ?