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Archaeology of Greece an Introduction William R THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF GREECE AN INTRODUCTION WILLIAM R. BIERS SECOND EDITION View of ancient Corinth and the Temple of Apollo from the southwest. Photo: William R. Biers. Cornell University Press ITHACA AND LONDON Contents Copyriglrt O r9Bo, 1987, 1996 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a revier,r', this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in r,r'riting from Preface tl-re publisher. For inforrnation, address Corrlell University Press, Sage House, 7 5rz East State Street, Ithaca, Ner,t' York r485o. Preføce to the Second Edition 9 First published r98o by Cornell University Press First printing, revised edition, cloth ar-rd paperback, r9B7 Abbreaiations 10 First printing second edition, cloth and paperback, 1996 Illustratior-rs from Znkros by Nicholas Platon are uscd with the perntission of t ArchaeologY in Greece 1.3 Clrarles Scribner's Sons. Copyright @ ry7r by Nicholas Platon. 2 The Minoøns 23 Illustrations are reproduced from T/r¿ Architectute of Ancient Greeca by Williarn Bell Dir-rsrnoor with the perrnission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Copyright 6z @ 1975 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 3 The MYcenøeøns Printed in tl-re Uuited States of Ame¡ica 4 The Dørk Ages 97 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 5 The Geometric Period 110 Biers, William R., r93B- The archaeology of Greece : an introduction / William R. Biers.-znd ed. 6 The Orientølizing Period r32 P. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. The Archøic Period a54 ISBN-r3: 978-o-Bo:.4-8z9o-9 (pbk.: a1k. paper) 7 ISBN-ro: o-8or4-Bz8o-r (pbk.: alk. paper) 194 r. Greece-Antiquities. z. Excavations(Archaeology)-Greece. I. Title. 8 The Fifth CenturY DF77.858 7996 gz8-dczo g5-489o5 g The Fourth CenturY 247 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and The Hellenistic Age 284 materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such rnaterials 10 include vegetable-based, low-VoC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of uonwood fibers. For further information, visit Epilogue 330 our website at wwr¡,.cornellpress.cornell.eclu. Suggestions Futther Reading T6 Paperback printing rc g I 7 6 5 for Select BibliograPhY 3J9 Glossary 344 Index 345 The Minoøns the Greek Bronze Age' The earlier' as the Minoan civilization' after the tion, based on the Greek mainland' is ycenae, one of its principal cities' For with the height of each civilization' begin with Crete' Gréek mainland and is a convenient : . The island idth is some in antiquitY, ¡ entral range E L I great Mount Ida in the center s rises to the I "".¡f,"-air.oîery Crete is the story of f of the great Bronze Age civilization of I 1894, atlracted by engraved I Evans, ino tirrtîirited the island in A.D. ¡r^tnr' to dig at the i ,"li ,to^", that were known to have come from there. He began I resurrected not only a great palace' but ¡ site of Knossos in 1899 and eventually t from later I entire civilization whose I an ntinued to agora bearing the names of participants in the various votes that were held throughout the fifth äyät-"i the Greeks.l Evan r.6 Ostraka from Athenian I constantly names of Aristeides, Themistokles, Kimon, and century (Fig. r.6). I work on Crete to the presen I Perikles. Athens, Agora Museum. Photo: Ame¡i- In ancient Greece a citizen's full name consisted of his given name Plus that r being made; the island seems Studies at Athens: Agora I can School of Classical of his father and/or the place where he lived. Here, then, are original historical The chronologY of the Mino Excavations. documents written by tire hands of ordinary citizens. They not only provide ogy-is in a state of flux. Evans evidence of a political process, but also yield information on the spelling, *ii.h it flourished, labeling th pronunciation, grammar, and sryles of composition used by fifth-century Athe- Late Minoan. Each of the three perio further subdivided into units indicated by nians. The appearance of names of people well known from the works of (EM I, II, III, and so on) and thà (fo, LM IB)' As excavation a1d study have ancient authors and of some unknown, together with the excava- ietters of the alphabet e*urnpl", Previously styles and stratigraphical evidence' tion evidence and even the types of pottery used as ostraka, add to our knowl- proceeded, thisìystem, based orrpottery an edge of the social and political history of Athens. has been criticized as too inflexible finds fr Other scattered finds from excavations, such as a helmet dedicated at Olym- first articulated on the basis of pia by the Athenian general Miltiades, a spartan shield captured by the Athe- around the building and destruction system is based on the belief that mos nians at Sphacteria in 425 and found in the Athenian a1oÍa, and a cup inscribed perhaps by earthquake, around rToo with the name of Phidias from olympia, bring to life the people of antiquity i style, and momentarily bring us closer to the "romance of archaeology."s ) rebuilt in a more magnificent civilization. Unfortunately, the chrono I helmet and a Persian one, of spoil from the Persians, can be pears, for instance, that a major peri An illustration of Miltiades' Part only real palace in seen in Ludwig Drees, olympia (London, 1968), Plate 52. The cup of Phidias is shown in John must be dated later, and thaí p"^.nopt Knossos was the be seen in Homer A. We Boardman, Greék Art (NewYork, 1964),p.rg,Fig.9. The Spartan shield may existence in the latter part of It designated the New Palace period' Thompson and R. E. Wycherley, The Agora of Athens, Athenian Agora series, voì. 14 (Princeton, -f,ut shall classification, whlch is given below. It must be noted, 1972), p. 9, Fig. 26. use the architectural and Carol G' Thomas, 1 For the story of Evans and Cretan civilization, see william A. McDonald lnd 1990)' pP' rtr-t6g' The Rediscot¡eíy of Mycenaenn C¡üt¡rnt¡or, zd ed. (Bloomington' ' 23 still retain the basic Early, Middle, and Late classi- however, that most scholafs of pottery styles' ii.utiont when speaking Pre-Palace period (Early Minoan I through Middle Minoan IA) c' 31oo-r925 Old Palace period (Middle Minoan IB and II) c 7925-1725 New Palace period (Middle Minoan III and Late Minoan I, II, and IIIAr) c r7z5-r38o Post-Palace period (Late Minoan IIIAz, IIIB, and IIIC) c r38o-rooo \?iì l--a'v lished itself on the island. After another thousand years or so, changes are again recorded in artistic laces. The takings is of culture ment. we for all of them were proba- earthquakes that was felt were quickly rebuilt, and "zuä. ivilization entered into its greatest and richest stage, the New Palace Period. It is the remains of this period that will be investigated here. Cretan civilization still holds many mysteries, primarily because of the lack of intelligible written records to give us information on the political and social history of the times. Almost all we know is derived from archaeology, and the physical record is open to differing interpretations. The remains do permit plausible suggestions, however, and the Scattered references in later Greek tradition, although difficult, can be used as evidence, but with caution' That the Map z. Greece in the Bronze Age. Minoans themselves wrote there can be no doubt. With the rise of the first Reprinted with the permission of Simon & palaces hieroglyphic scripts came into use; they have been found on seals and Schuster, Inc., from the Macmillan College other objects. They consist of drawings of common objects and have not been text Hellenic History, 5tll. ed., by George W. Boror4AntcAARGoLts Botsford and Charles A. Robinson, revised by Donald Kagan. Copyright @ r97o 2 For the archaeology of Crete up to the New Palace period, see L. Vance Watrous, "Review of by Macmillan College Publishing Com- Aegean Prehistory íli: Crete frorir Earliest Prehistory ihrough the ProtopalaiialPeriod," AIA 98 pany, Inc. (tggg:695-753. z4 25 deciphered. Two scripts aPpear to have been developed out of the hieroglyphic irr the ascendant. The mother goddess, her aspect perhaps varying from place by the process of simplification. They are called linear scripts because the to place, and her worshipers are seen again and again. Certain animals, espe- hieroglyphic pictures have become simplified, sketchily rendered signs, with cially the bull, seem to have great significance in Cretan civilization, as do little attention to pictorial representation. One of these scripts, Linear A, was sacred trees, birds, and a host of other animate and inanimate objects, depend- used during the New Palace period and is most commonly found inscribed on ing on one's interpretation of the evidence. Various "demons" crowd into clay tablets. It consists of some seventy-five signs and a number of ideograms religious scenes. Obviously fertility, the death and rebirth of vegetation, and as a help to the reader. The script is largely syllabic-that is, the signs represent attendant primitive beliefs serve as the basis of Minoan religion. syllables-but it has not yet been deciphered, either. The second script, Linear An often observed fact is the general lack of military architecture in palatial B, is found mainly at Knossos, on tablets dating from the palace's last days, and Crete and of military themes in the art of the period. The wealth that the on the Greek mainland in contexts dated between c.
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