TWH – Much of what we Pagans know of ancient Greek religious practices comes from texts like Homer and other classics. Yet, those texts frequently refer to events that predate classical Greece. The Trojan war may be the most famous which took place in the time of the Minoans and Troajs. How they understood the events and people referenced in later Greek myths is unclear. Two recent excavations help shed light on those two cultures.
Excavations at the Palace of Nestor
In Book III of “The Odyssey,” Telemachus travels to Pylos. He wants to learn if King Nestor has any news of his father, Odysseus. Nestor had fought alongside Odysseus at Troy.
Recently, ArchaeologyNewsNetwork reported on excavations of a Mycenaean cemetery. That cemetery is located near ancient Pylos on the Greek mainland. Archaeologists have imaginatively labeled the nearby major ruins, the “Palace of Nestor.” The modern village of Chora lies nearby.
Built between 1300 and 1201 B.C.E., the palace ranks among the most important Mycenaean sites. The complex of buildings that form the palace has 105 ground floor apartments.
Within the main building, the “throne room” has a circular hearth and a “washroom” with a clay bath. It also has storerooms. Archaeologists found an “archive room” with 1000 tablets written in Linear B script. Frescoes of lyres and griffins cover its walls. Archaeologists believe that the griffin symbolized the power in ancient Pylos.
Tiryns, Argolis, Greece: Dromos and entrance of the tholos tomb of Tiryns. In the background there is the mount of Profitis Ilias; [Photo Credit: Schuppi -CC BY-SA 3.0]
Excavations at Pylos began in 1912. Another series of excavations occurred after World War II. In 2015, the Palace of Nestor Excavations Project (PONEX) began at this site. Led by Jack Davis and Sharon Stoker, PONEX has focused on the nearby cemetery.
The Cemetery
Archaeologists have described Mycenaean tombs as beehive or tholos tombs. The online Encyclopedia Britannica describes a tholos as “a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof and with or without a peristyle, or surrounding colonnade.” Mycenaeans sometimes built these tombs into the side of a hill. A corbeled arch covered the tomb. In the cemetery at Pylos, Roman Numerals identify each tholos.
Tholos IV
Tholos IV has a diameter of 9.35 meters (30.7 feet). Archaeologists found gold objects, 250 amethyst beads, owl-shaped jewelry, a shield-shaped pendant, and a royal seal with a winged griffin. They also found parts of bronze weapons. The contents are consistent with those in other Mycenaean tombs with dates estimated to be between 1600 to 1501 B.C.E. The excavation of that tomb belongs to the era of post-World War II excavations.
Tomb of the Griffin Warrior
In 2015, the PONEX project found the intact tomb of “The Griffin Warrior.” This tomb differed from Tholos IV in two ways. No one had disturbed it before PONEX did. This tomb had the form of a shaft tomb not that of a tholos.
A shaft tomb is a deep narrow corridor into the ground with burials at the bottom of the shaft itself or in a small chamber at the base of the shaft.
This tomb appears to be that of a warrior. Weapons were on his right side, jewels on his left. Archaeologists also found eight ivory combs and a mirror. The ivory combs indicated trade with Africa. Around his neck, the skeleton had a gold chain, showing Minoan influence. The sword was made of gold. Rather than a battle sword, it may have been symbolic.
Tholos VI and VI
Archaeologists from the PONEX project found these two tombs in 2018. They lie on a path that runs parallel to the path towards Tholos IV.
Tholos VI has a diameter of 12 meters (~39.4 feet). The smaller tomb, Tholos VII, has a diameter of 8.5 meters (~27.9 feet).
While the tombs have rough stone walls, the entryway has earthen walls. In Tholos VII, carved stones lay in its northeast and southeast sides. They are too close to the walls to have fallen from above.
Archaeologists think that the Mycenaeans built the Tholos tomb IV first. They have dated the tombs of the Griffin Warrior, Tholos VI, and Tholos VI to between 1500 and 1401 B.C.E.
Nestor’s bath in Pylos. [Photo Credit: Le plombier du désert, CC BY-SA 4.0]
If these dates are correct, the cemetery would have to predate the palace.
The grave goods within Tholos VI and Tholos VII have similarities to jewelry found in other Mycenaean tombs. Some grave goods show evidence of trade with the Middle East and Egypt. One gold pendant bears the image of the Egyptian goddess Hathor.
In the past, some archaeologists have suggested that the Tholos IV tomb belonged to the ruling family of Pylos. These three new discoveries complicate that theory. One new theory holds that the Griffin Warrior had been a major Mycenean king. That theory would explain his separate burial in a shaft tomb rather than a tholos. It would also explain his rich grave goods. Those buried in Tholos IV, VI, and VII may have been kings or other elite figures.
Finds in a Minoan Courtyard
ArchaeologyNewsNetwork reported on the excavations of a central courtyard of a Minoan Palace. These excavations took place at Zominthos, in central Crete. During the Neo-Palatial period from 1700 to 1600 B.C.E., it would have been in use.
The Neo-Palatial period refers to the rebuilding of palaces after a massive earthquake destroyed them. That earthquake occurred after 1900 B.C.E. While smaller, this new palace was taller and stronger.
Minoan courtyards functioned as sporting arenas and sacred spaces. Like the courtyards of other Minoan palaces, people reached this courtyard through a corridor in the building’s interior. Palace frescos show a procession of women in Minoan attire. They have raised their hands in a ritual gesture. Other women watch from palace windows. Men are in the courtyard.
The Minoans only built one palace on a mountain – this one at Zominthos. It functioned as a religious center for the nearby Idaion Cave. Historians now believe that Minoan rulers built this palace to control the sanctuary at that cave and to provide easier access for pilgrims. In winter, pilgrims could not access the cave for months.
Classical Greek stories tell us that Rhea gave birth to Zeus in that cave. The entire mountain was sacred to Rhea. It is unclear what Minoan stories were linked to this cave, but some of those stories had to exist for the cave to be a pilgrimage site.
After the Minoans and the Mycenaeans, came the Bronze Age collapse and the Greek “Dark Ages.” After that, Greek culture rebounded. The stories, however, have evolved throughout the ages.
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