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Late Bronze Age Religion

Late Bronze Age Religion. ?. Who can help? What evidence is there? What are the obstacles?. Accessing Prehistoric Religion. Anthropologists Homer Scholars Philologists Archaeologists. Roots of Mycenaean Religion?. Mesopotamian? Near Eastern? Minoan? Cycladic?. Bronze Age Mediterranean.

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Late Bronze Age Religion

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  1. Late Bronze Age Religion

  2. ? Who can help? What evidence is there? What are the obstacles? Accessing Prehistoric Religion

  3. AnthropologistsHomer ScholarsPhilologistsArchaeologists

  4. Roots of Mycenaean Religion? Mesopotamian? Near Eastern? Minoan? Cycladic?

  5. Bronze Age Mediterranean • Near East Levant & Anatolia • Crete • Cyclades • Cyprus • Mainland Greece

  6. Minoan Religion • Horns of Consecration • Peak Sanctuaries • Cave • Tree & Pillar/Stone Cults • Bull

  7. Peak Sanctuary • Horns of Consecration • Pillar or Altar • At or near peak of mountains or hills

  8. Mycenae: Mylonas’ Cult Center

  9. “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

  10. The “Temple” & Storeroom • Steps to storeroom • Central Platform • Benches: for offerings? platforms for cult “statues”?

  11. 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

  12. 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”

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

  14. 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)

  15. Lower Register: Woman with Ears of Grain

  16. Upper Register: Women with Sword & Staff

  17. Hierarchy of Position?

  18. Goddess or Priestess? • Linear B evidence? • Si-to-po-ti-ni-ja • “Wheat Lady” • I-je-re-ja • Priestess?

  19. What or Who do the “Idols” Represent? • Snakes in Minoan Religion but not coiled clay ones • Smaller, decorated figures as deities?

  20. Matriarchal or Patriarchal Religion? • Anthropomorphic (Gunaikomorphic) Piriform Jar • Alcove in House of Idols

  21. “Goddess” of Room of the Ivories? Cp. Psi figurine?

  22. Goddess of Room with Idols? • Holding Breasts • Tau figurine?

  23. Votaries & Worshippers? • Holding the Labrys (double-headed axe)?

  24. 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

  25. Shrine Sites? • Mycenae • Tiryns • Tsoungiza • Midea • Ayia Irini • Philakopi

  26. Shrines at Midea & Tsoungiza?

  27. The Islands • Phylakopi on Melos • Ayia Irini on Kea

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

  29. Phylakopi Bull Figures • Cp. Dimini (N. Greece) & Mitrou (C. Greece)

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

  31. Ayia Irini 50 Female LHIIIA-B TC Statues

  32. 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

  33. 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 ?

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