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I3B: MYCENAEAN RELIGION

ThomasG. Palaima

SOURCES FOR RECONSTRUCTING ANCIENT RELIGION

econstructing the religion of an ancient culture is hard work. Religious beliefs and practices consist of things thought , said, R shown , and done . In the m aterial record , we look for the loca­ tions where rituals were performed, the objects and materials used in ceremonies, and artistic representations (iconography) of such activities . If we are lucky, we will have written religious texts containing sacred myths that serve both as the "verbalization of ritual " and as a record of a culture's religious beli ef system, their thoughts about how human beings relate to supra-human powers. 35 Depending on how a religion is struc­ tured within a given society, such written documents can be fixed and canonical, or they can vary according to time and place. We may also have other texts (mainly inscriptions) that reflect what people are doing or are expected to do as forms of religious practice (often grouped together as "sacred laws") ,36 who those people are (their religiou s titles, occupations, persona l names), where they are doing these things, what they are using , and the obligations and benefits that motivate them.

THE NATURE OF WRITTEN SOURCES FOR MYCENAEAN RELIGION

For Mycenaean religion, we have a limited amount of clear archae­ ological, iconographical , and artifactual data, and we have the infor­ mation contained in the records. 37 These tablets were pro­ duced, however, by anonymous tablet-writers in order to keep track

342 MY CENAEAN RELIGION of economic information related to th e operation of the M ycenaean palatial centers (C hs. l, p. 13; 12, pp. 291-2). We find in th e Lin­ ear B tablets no myths, hymns, prayers, ritual prescriptions or laws, or sanctuary regulations; nor are there any inscription s written by or for dedicators upon dedicated objects . The limit ations and peculiari­ ties of our archaeologica l and in scrip tiona l data thus present int erest­ in g challenges. For help we may look backward, sideways, and for­ ward from Mycenaean religion (1) to elements borrowed from ear­ lier Minoan cultur e and from th e preexisting "subs trate" cultur e(s) of the Greek mainland and th e general Aegean area (called "sub strat e" because th ey were eventu ally "submerged" in th e dominant M yce­ naean Greek cultur e); (2) for the influ ence of contemporary east­ ern Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultures; and (3) for similari­ ties and clifferences between My cenaean religion and later Greek reli­ gion. Here , too, the data are limit ed and come with their own sets of problems. For any give n site, tablet s cove r at most five to seven months from the adminis trati ve periods under way when the palatial cen ters suffered burning destructions (C hs. l, p. 13; 15, p. 390). Therefore , we cannot study religion throu gh tim e at any site in orde r to see whether ritual practices reconstructed from the tablets were standard or excep­ tional. For example, tablet Tn 3I6 (below, p. 354; Pl. 13.3) was lon g viewed as a record of extraorclinary ritual action s, perhaps even includin g human sacrifice, undertaken during an extreme crisis. Study of the internal chronology of th e Pylos archives has cast doubt on this int erpreta tion . 38 Another probl em is that the texts are peculiarly focused and shorth and in style , making it difficult to id en tify religious termi­ nology (mainly functionaries and divinities) from their lexica l forms alon e. It took Mycenologists years to figure out th at ka-ko na-wi-jo on Pylos tablet Jn 829 was " temp le bronze" and not "ship bronz e" (below, p. 350). 39 Methods of contextua l association help us to identify "re ligiou s" entities in th e texts. We work by extrapolating from known items to unknown items. But even here we run int o troubl e because the pur­ pose of many texts or series of texts was to record the distribution of commodities , whether for religious or nonr eligiou s purposes. Religious officials may thus be listed alon gside "private" indi vidu als and secu lar occupations or titles. It is then a ser iou s problem of method that a few religious terms may take precedence over a larger numb er of indeter­ minate entries in decidin g whether a tablet has a religious purpose or not. In interpreting reco rds that associate deities and sanctuaries with

343 THOMAS G. PALAIMA shipm ents of goo ds and materials, we try now to distin guish between offerings (going directly to the deities as an explicit religious act) and deliveries (to be used in support of sanctuary operations, only a sec­ ondary act of religious piety). 40 Still, be cause we have identifi ed th ese probl ems, we can cautiou sly use the Linear B tablets and our und erstandin g of histori cal Greek religious practices, including thos e reflecte d in the tradition al texts of Hom er and H esiod , to reco nstru ct Mycenaea n religion .

WHAT RELIGION Is AND How WE MI GHT FIND IT

In order to know what to look for, we ne ed to make clear what religion means. At its mo st basic, religion is a "system of thou ght founded upon beli ef in an un seen and non-m aterial world int eractin g with the visible world around us." 4 ' R eligion serves as a signifi cant cultural marker, "a unifi ed set of beli efs and practices relative to sacred thin gs" that unit es a comm unity .42 Hi storical Greek religion had an overall ritual framework and belief stru ctur e, but it was un canoni cal, und ogmat ic, and improvis atory. 43 Nothin g in our evidence for Mycenaean religion suggests that it was any different. Religion is also a natural social response to the of hum an existence that brin gs hum an beings to the limit s of their analytical capacities, pow ers of en dur ance, and moral insight s.44 Given the pre­ cariou s natur e of hum an existence in the late Bronz e Age, religion is likely to have been omnipresent in th e daily lives of the M ycenaea ns. We get some sense of this from the distribution of the distinctive My cenaean small clay psi- and phi-shaped hum an figurines. These are found as offerings, grave goods, and po ssibly apotrop aic objects in dom estic cont exts (above, pp. 332-3; II, pp. 272-4). 45 They pro­ vide good evidence for the spread of religion through the popula­ tion , and our textual evidence confirms how it per meated M yce naean society. Ample data for religion are found in the four largest collection s of Linear B tablets (Kno ssos, Pylos, Thebes, and Myce nae) and on a single tablet from C hania on . Because we lack Mycenaea n mythical or ritual texts, however, much about the religious thou ght , beliefs, and practices of the Myce naeans is forever lost to us. But we can compensate by im aginin g how th ese inh abitant s of the late Bronz e Age Aegean would have felt about the world around them.

344 MYCENAEAN RELIGION

MY CE NAEAN R.ELI G lOUS ATTITUDES

My cenaean religion was seriou s bu siness. The "days" section of H es­ iod 's catalogs religious prescription s and prohibition s governing many facets of norm al daily life in in th e eighth cen­ tur y BCE. It reminds us how pervasive and necessary religion was. In the traditional texts of the fliad and of Hom er and Works and Days of H esiod, the gods and other supernatural forces influen ce hum an actions. Dir e consequences ensu e for individual s, communities, and leaders who offend deities or pri ests, ne glect ritu als, or fail to follow divin e directives or ensure divine good will. The Myce naean undoubt edly had similar views about th eir own relation ship with the gods. Greece is a countr y with very limit ed resources. Th e popul ation s in its various regions have always stru ggled to develop and defend their hum an and material assets. In doin g so, Greek communiti es in prehis­ tor y and histor y appealed to th e gods for assistance. In the Mycenaea n period , palatial cen ters organ ized society to produ ce tradable goo ds that could be exc hanged for basic necessities, such as the copp er and tin needed to make bronze, and also for luxury goo ds and preciou s raw mater ials.46 The order, security , and relative pro sperity introdu ced by the M yce naean palatial system would have been highly appr eciated. Rituals designed to secure divine favor and ther eby keep the prevail­ ing order inta ct wou ld have been practiced scrupul ously at all levels of society. The palatial centers themselves served as focal point s of ritu als of unifi cation and divine propiti ation that each Mycenaean kin g, or wanax, perform ed on behalf of his territor y.47

TRA CES OF DIVERSITY IN MY CENA EAN RELIGlON

Students of histori cal Greek cultur e rightly speak of Greek religions in the plur al.48 Likewise, in prehistory we may look for differen t sources of influ ence, both Ind a-European and non-Inda-European. The Ind o­ European Greek-speakers borrowed and adapted ideas from the "sub­ strate" popul ation groups that lived on the Greek mainland and Aegean islands before th eir arriv al (Ch. 2, pp. 38-41). T hey were also influ­ ence d by neighboring Mino an, Semitic, and Anatolian cultur es. We also look for differences in religious thou ght and practice chron ologically, region to region, across social strata, and between state (official) and popular cults.49

345 THOMAS G. P A LA IM A

The Linear B evidence helps us see how n1.uch archaeological evidence for religion is missing, and indeed littl e is kn own about the material side of Myce naean ritu al practices. 50 M ost key elements of earlier Mino an religion (Ch . 7, pp. 165-70) eith er are not found in Mycenaean tim es or become negligib le in late r ph ases of th e M yce­ naean palatial period. Absen t are Minoan archit ectur al features that are link ed with religious activities (C hs. 6, p. 148; 7, pp. 165-6): lustral basins (small sunk en rooms of unknown function; Pl. 6.4), pillar cryp ts, polythyra (roo ms with pier and door partition s; Pis. 6.6, 6.7), and in curv ed altars. Other Min oan elements are minimally attested: thr ee­ dim ensional horns of consecration (a symbol shape d like abstract bull horn s), double axes (both symb olic mini atures and functional bron ze axes), and the ston e Mino an chalice . Sanctuaries and cult places iden­ tifiable on th e Middl e and Late H elladic mainland are few (Fig. l 3. 5; Ch. IO, p. 249).5' No cult locales on the M yce naean mainland have th e distin ctive features of Mino an peak sanctuaries.

I CONOGRA PHI CA L EVIDENCE FOR MY CENAEA N RELI G ION

Icono graphi cal representation s of ritual pra ctices are found on seals (and seal impr essions) and in frescoes. Amon g th e activiti es shown are pro ­ cession s, s, sacr ifices, feastin g, and mu sical perfo rm ance (Fig. 13 .6).52 Durin g th e palatial period , th e M yce naeans used seals with Mino an motif s, includin g clearly religiou s motifs. 53 But it is hard to disent ang le w hat the Mino an elements meant to the M yce naeans.54 For exampl e, th e Myce naeans were selective about th e Minoan reli­ giou s motifs th ey used on th eir seal rings. Eith er th ey are found in regions heavily influ enced by Mino an culture such as M essenia, or th e M yce naean users reinterpreted them . One big surpri se is th e almo st compl ete absence from M yce naean seals of represent ation s of ecstati c divin e epiph any (Ch. II, pp. 279- 80).5 5 There is persuasive linguistic and textual evidence that the M yce­ naean Greeks were influ enced by Mino an notions of divine app arition in cons tru ctin g th eir beliefs of what gods are and how th ey mani­ fest themselves to hum an beings. They, and th e later Greeks, used a word for "deity " (theos) constru cted from a different lud o-E urop ean root th an in other ludo-Europ ean cultur es. Especially when used in co mpound wor ds, th e root (thes-) co nveys th e peculiar sense of th e eeri ly instantane ous presence of a supernatura l force. 56 Yet, unlik e th e MY CENAEAN R.£1.LGION

M ELOS, PHV~

o Possible sites * Ce rtain sites • Sites with figures Sites underlined = MH -L H II All ot her sites = LH IIIA-C

FIGURE 13. 5 . Map of MH and LH sanctuary locales. J. C. Wri ght , "Th e Spatial Co nfiguration of Belief: The Archaeology of Mycenaean R eligio n." In Placingth e Cods: Sanc/llaries and SacredSpace ill Ancient Greece, edited by S. E. Alcock and R . O sborn e. Oxford: Clarendon Press 39, ill. 3.1. Co urt esy of Susan Alcoc k.

Minoan s, the Myce naeans did not attempt to display this aspect of divinity pictoria lly. Krzyszkowska argues that seals were originally acquir ed by elites in the Myce naean Prepalatial period and that, even when a mor e widespread "popular" style develop ed in LH III A, seals remain ed restri cted to elites and subelites, includin g tho se in marginal regions. 57 The Minoan religiou s symboli sm so promin en t in artifacts from the shaft graves at Myce nae may have been confin ed to elites. Elements of Min oan religiou s ico nogra phy would have been phased out of the broader Myce naean religion oflater palatial cultur e.58

34 7 THOMAS G. PALAIMA

HOMER AND LONG - TERM RELIGIOUS CONTINUITY

It has fallen out of fashion to use to explicate Bronze Age society. 59 Most scholars recognize some features of Bronze Age origin in the Homeric epics, but the old view of Moses Finley now prevails among all but a few scholars: Homer is "no guide at all" to the Myce­ naean period. 60 One main obstacle is the gap of fifteen generations or more between the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces and the process of shaping the Homeric epics into their present forms in the historical period. Nonetheless, there is a clear similarity between the portrayal of Nestor and the kingdom ofMessenia in Odyssey Book 3 and the picture derived from the Pylos Linear B tablets and the iconographical program of the Palace of Nestor. In both cases, a specific palatial center and its leader are preoccupied with ritual piety and territorially unifying ceremonies. It is arguable that the kings of Pylos and Messenia were not fictionalized as exemplars of kingly and communal piety, but were incorporated and preserved in the oral tradition as a "true" historical memory. 61

MYCENAEAN AND HISTORICAL GREEK RELIGION

Mycenaean religion shows many features intrinsic to historical Greek religion. The distinctive Greek terms theos and hieros (hiereus) are used for the concepts of "deity" and "holy" ("holy man"), as in Homer, , and later Greek historical culture. 62 The Mycenaean terms for sacred space (nawos for "temple," literally "dwelling place of the deity," and temenosfor "space cut out" of communal land) survived into the historical period . Mycenaean offerings clearly follow the historical Greek principle: "we give to you gods, so that you may give to us." The palatial centers carefully recorded their "giving" to sanctuaries and the gods within them: mainly shipments of oil and honey, but also of grains, spices, figs, and cloth. 63 We do not always know whether such offerings were made as part of public ceremonies, but month names seem to be recorded only on religious offering texts. 64 According to the textual evidence, the major deities with sanc­ tuaries were , , and Diwia (a female deity derived like Zeus from the Inda-European root concept of "shining" sky). Of other deities recognizable from later Greek religion ,65 and MYCENAEAN R.EUGION

FIGURE 13 .6 Drawing of the procession fresco from the Pylos palace, Room 5. M. L. Lang, The Palaceef Nestor at Pylos in IM?sternMessenia II: The Frescoes.Princeton: Princeton University Press 1969, pl. 119 top. Courtesy of The Department of C lassics, University of Cincinnati.

Hera received offerings within sanctuaries of Zeus at Chania and Pylos, respectively, whereas , , and a Zeus of Mt . Dikte received offerings at localities, without any specifications of their par­ ticular sanctuaries. In some cases this may have been a bookkeeping convention, indicating that the palatial center sent the materials to offi­ cials at particular sites who in turn would have seen to their delivery to the sanctuaries per se. There were also sanctuaries devoted to minor deities : at a sanctuary of Daedalus and at Pylos sanctuaries to Iphemedeia and to a deity known probably as *Pretwii. The greatest surprise is Dionysus, whose possible attestations in the texts were long denied on grounds that he should have come into the Greek pantheon sometime after the Bronze Age. Now he is found at Chania (tablet Gq 5) as the recipient of an offering of honey in the sanctuary of Zeus. At Pylos, a fire altar (eskharii)of Dionysus is reg­ istered (tablet Ea 102) in a district where landholdings of individu als associated with the official known as the lawagetas (second-ranking official of the state) are recorded. 66 This sets Dionysus apart from the other main gods (Zeus, , Poseidon, , Hermes), who are located in the district of pa-ki-ja-ne, Sphagianes (the main sanctuary connected with the palatial center of Pylos, literally "the place of slaughter"), and thereby closely associated with the Myc enaean king or wanax. Conspicuously absent, of the major first-millennium BCE Greek deities whose presen ce we might expect to be attested in the Myc e­ naean period, is . It is our opinion that Potnia fulfilled this role, espec ially in her manifestation as siton potnia (Potnia of grains) in

349 THOMAS G . P ALAI MA tablet Oi 701 from the Citadel House at Mycenae, and in her image in the Room of the Frescoes from the Cult Center at Mycena e (Fig. 13.7; Pl. 11.7; Ch. II , pp. 264, 270). 67 Attempts to identify within the new a holy triad of Demeter (identified as Ma Ga or "Mother Earth"), Zeus (identified solely by an epithet misinter­ preted as "of the fall harvest "), and (identified merely by h er epithet Kore, "maiden") and their attendant ritual functionari es68 are unconvincing for intern al contextual, etymological, and linguistic reasons. 69 These terms and another fifty or so human recipient entries occur repeatedly on a unified set of fifteen to eighteen tablets (the Fq series). They are best interpreted as records of a half-month of routine daily allotments of grain. These Theban texts do not display any reli­ gious vocabulary of the kind found on other Linear B religious texts: month names; vocabulary of offering, donation, sanctifying, ritual pay­ ment; known deities ; sanctuaries and cult buildings (*1ia-wo "temple"; *Wo-ko "home"; *do "building"). Likewise, attempts to identify the­ riomorphic (animal-formed) deities in the texts have been soundly refuted. 70

MYCENAEAN FESTIVALS AND SANCTUARIES

A few texts contain festival designations that give us insight into ritual practices: "the bringing forth of the throne(s)" (to-no-e-ke-te-ri-jo),"the strewing of the bed" (re-ke-e-to-ro-te-ri-jo),"the girding of the bearers" (po-re-no-zo-te-ri-ja), "the carrying of the gods" (te-o-po-ri-ja).71 The name of the last ceremony has inspired an imaginative re-creation of how the architecture, clay cult figurines, and processional way of the Cult Center within the citadel of Mycenae might have been put to ceremonial use (Fig. r 3. 7). 72 A number of sanctuaries are recorded in the Linear B tablets at locations away from the palatial center of Pylos. Some of these have names formed directly from gods' names. This evidence com­ pensates for our inability to locate such cult locales archaeologically. 73 For example, on Pylos tablet Jn 829 all sixteen administrative dis­ tricts of the palatial territory of Messenia have nawoi, which means "dwelling places" of the gods (above, p. 342; Ch. 12, p. 295). Reli­ gious officials (dumartes "masters," pro-dumartes "vice-masters," and klawiphoroi, "keybearers") in each of these districts interacted with palatial officials known as the koreter and pro-koreter (the mayor or governor and his deputy; Ch. 12, p. 301) in the deaccessioning and

350 MY C ENAEAN RE LI G ION

0

"' (y 0 ~ A • o I 0

FIGURE 1 3 .7. Plan of the Cult Ce nter at Mycenae. © Mycenae Archjve. Co urt esy of EJjzabeth French.

351 THOMAS G. PALA IM A recycling of bronz e objects (dedication s and tool s) "owne d" by the templ es. The distri ct of Sphagianes, still not securel y identified on the ground, seems to have contained many individual sanctuaries. Food­ stuffs for a feasting ritu al in honor of Poseidon at the site of sa-ra-pe-da are reco rded on Pylo s tablet Un 718. 74 But we do not know whether th ese items were brou ght to th e site in a cere moni al pro cession, such as the one depict ed in the fresco progr am of th e palatial center at Pylos (Fig. I 3 .6; below , p. 3 5 3; Ch. I I, p. 2 70) 75 or were simply transferr ed in a routine and pra ctical way.

MINOAN OR SUBSTRATE FEATURES IN MY CENAEA N RELI G ION

There are some features of Myce naean religion that we can attribut e to the early influ ence of Mino an cultur e or th e "substrat e" cultur es of the Greek mainland. A few minor deities with clear "Mino an" name­ formations occur at Kno ssos (pi-pi-tu-na) and Pylos (a-ma-tu-na) (com­ pare the histori cally attested goddess Diktunna); and the etymolo gically obscure nam e of the histori cal Greek Olympian goddess Artem.is occurs in a form that show s a distinctive "substrate" vowe l treatment: *Artimi s (with i in the seco nd syllable instead of e). But the mo st conspicuous feature of religious belief that the Mycenaea n Greeks derived from ear­ lier cultur es is the widespread worship (at Knosso s, Pylos, Thebes , and Myce nae) of th e female deity known by the Greek term potnia (liter­ ally "she who has pow er"). Potnia had many epith ets, indi catin g many manifestations.7 6 She was conne cted with hor ses and grains, with the daburinth (whatever this variant of "labyrinth" meant durin g the Late Bronze Age), with the site of Sphagianes, and with Assuwa (later Asia), a terr itor y in central western An atoli a. Yet ano ther non - Indo -E urop ean feature of M ycenaean religion is the appearance of the deity who became kno w n and widely worshipped as Ath ena in th e first millennium BCE. She appears in Kno ssos tablet V 52 as the Potnia of Athiinii, a pre-Gr eek place name (not e the distin ctive -iiniis uffix and com pare Kulliinii, Priiiniia nd Mukiinii, later Kyllene, Priene and Mykena1). In th e Myce naean texts, she is clearly the powerf ul female deity of the site known as . Later she will be transform ed, as we see already in the , into a deity generally wors hipp ed as the "goddess of warrior nearn ess. " 77 In the Iliad, she is still commonly referr ed to as the "Ath enia n Potnia."

352 MYCENAEAN RELIGION

ARCHAEOLOGY , TEXTS , AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICE

As suggested above (p. 3 50), archaeology and texts come together best in the rituals of processional offering and feasting . The canonica l centra l (an axial building unit consisting of a main room with an anteroom and/or porch) within Mycenaean palatial centers was a place of royal rituaJ.78 The central hearth reminds us of the importance of fire to Greek communities and of th e goddess of the hearth , . She is un attested in the Linear B tablets for the same reason that she was not anthropomorphized in the historical period. She was a station ary concrete object, the central focus of the Mycenaean palatial centers and, by extension, of their palatial territories .79 At Pylos in the main megaron, Room 6, we have evidence for the throne emplacement and for libation ritual (Fig. 12.1). 80 The wall frescoes from Room 6 show paired seated banqueters and a bardic per­ formance. Frescoes in Anteroom 5 symbo lize the unification of the community w hose members bring offerings for a feast, including a supra-sca le bull being brought in for sacrifice (Fig. 13 .6). Related texts , both on tablets and on clay seatings (lumps of clay impressed by a seal; Fig. 1.3), that were associated with the deliveries of animals for sacrifice and consumption, give evidence that the major components of society joined together in such events: the king (wanax), the mili­ tary leader (lawagetas), the damos (the collect ive body that saw to the distribution of communal land in individual localities; it may not yet mean "body politic," but see above, p. 334; Ch. 12, pp. 300-301), and a group that arguably represents outsiders (compare the large and eco­ nomically important class of resident aliens in historical Athens known as metoikoi, "metics"). These "outsiders" performed military service for the community and in compensation received marginal land to work. Sacrifices of bulls are a prominent feature of seal iconography, and the tablets record the stunning axes and slitting knives used in 8 sacrificial ceremonies, ' "the core ritual of Greek religious practice " from the Bronze Age and throughout the Greek historical period. 82 In one instance (Pylos tablet Un 2), an official known as the *o-pi-te-u-ke-e­ u (literally "the overseer of paraphernalia") is recorded as in charge of the foodstuffs being collected for a major sacrificial feast. R ecent restudy of fauna l evidence from the palace has revealed the remains of feasting for considerable numbers, probably over l ,ooo people . Moreover , the state of these bones (burnt after the meat was removed) suggests sacrificia l activity, rather than mere culinary practice. The species represented (predominantly male oxen, with at least one red deer) conform bett er

353 T H OMAS G. PALA I MA to th e ico nog raphy in th e wall pain tin gs describ ed above th an to th e m ore varied list of species in docu m ent s (oxen, sheep, goats, pigs). Th e loca tion of one depo sit of bones, along w ith mini atur e kylikes (stenune d drinkin g cup s) in Archives Co mpl ex R oom 7, suggests a role for palatial adm inistrators in m on itorin g th e proper fulfillm ent of such ritu als and th e numb ers of high-ra nkin g parti cipant s for w hom special seatin g was provided . 83 Fin ally, th e hu ge nu mbers of cera m.ics stored in palace pantri es accessible eith er to inn er co urt s or up on entr y to th e palatial co mpl ex (C h . 12, p. 291), includin g kylikes and var ious bow ls for foo d, are co nsistent w ith th e numb ers suggested by qu antiti es on doc ume nt s and by th e faun a! evidence. 84 Gold M ycenaea n kylikes, bow ls, and Min oan chalices are recor ded on Pylos tablet T n 316 as "se nt " or "sanctified" to Potni a, Z eus, H era, H ermes, and min or deities (Pl. 13.3).85

A L AST L OOK AT H O M ER

In co nclu sion , we might recall th e massive comm uni ty- uniti ng sacr i­ fices of bull s condu cted by N estor in H om er's Odyssey Boo k 3. Th ere Telem achu s, son of Od ysseus, arri ves, searchin g both for his fath er and for role model s - his ow n has been absent for m any years - of th e · "go od kin g" th at he h.imself is on th e verge of beco min g. H e imm edi­ ately sees nin e co mp anies of m en (comp are th e nin e m ain co nununiti es in th e H ith er Provin ce of M yce naean Pylos), eac h sacrifi cing ni ne bull s und er th e sup ervision of th eir good kin g N estor. Thi s scene defines th e m ain characteristic of th e k.ing of Pylos throu ghout thi s bo ok : his pious attention to religio us cerem ony. T his is th e sam e aspect of rul ership th at we see mo st in evid ence in th e ico nog raphi cal pro gra m of th e Palace of N estor, in its archaeolo gical rem ains, and in th e Lin ear B tex tu al doc um ent atio n from Pylos. Th e descripti on of th e k.ing of Pylos in Odyssey Boo k 3 th en loo ks not like fiction , but like preserved tradition al m em ory slightl y "heated up " for emph asis.

CO N C LUS I O N S

It is doubtful w heth er we shall ever und erstand M yce naean ritu al beliefs as fully as we do later Gr eek religio n. Th e M yce naean Gr eeks did not writ e dow n in preservable form sacred myth s, sacred law s, ritu al

354 MYCENAEAN RELIG ION prescriptions , or even the names of pious dedicants. Material evidence for sanctuar ies and sanct uary structures away from palatial centers is virtua lly nonexistent. Iconographica l evidence is incomplete when we move beyond im ages of simp le and central practices: anima l sacrifice, comm unal processions, and bardic performance. On seals, unlike the Minoans , the Mycenaeans cho se not to represent gods appearing to human beings . The Linear B texts give us th e basics: the names of gods worsh iped, in some cases where they were worshiped, the titles of cult practitioners, cult implements , cult locales, and cult buildings, and th e vocab ulary for "holy," "deity," and "offering ." They sometimes record who offered what to whom, where, and when. By combining different categories of evidence and by caut iously using different int erpretat ive approac hes, we do know roughly how the Mycenaeans fit into the evoluti on of religiou s pra ctices and basic religious notions in th e Aegean area from the Minoans and pre-Greek inhabitants of the south ern Balkan peninsula to the well-attested his­ torical Greek communities of the historical period . We have suggested, too, that the Hom eric po ems may be more useful in preserving some form of auth entic m emories of Bronze Age religion than it is now fashionab le to accept.

SUGGEST ION S FOR FURTHER READ ING

Hag g, R. , N. Marinato s, and G. C. Nordqui st, eds. Early Greek Cult Practice. Acts of the Sweclish Institute at Ath ens 4°, XXXV lll. Sto ckholm: Swedish Institut e at Athen s 1988. Laffineur , R. and R. H agg, eds. POT N IA : Deities and Religion in the Aegean Bronze Age. Aegae um 22. Liege and Austin: Univ ersite de Liege and Univ ersity of Texas at Austin 200 1 . Rehak , P., ed. The R ole of the Ruler in the Prehistoric Aegean. Aegae um Ir. Liege and Austin : Univ ersite de Liege and Univ ersity of Texas at Austin 1995. Ventri s, M. and J. Chadw ick. Dowrnents in . Second edition. Cam­ brid ge : Cambridge Uni versity Press 1973. Wri ght , ]. C. , ed. The Mycenaean Feast. H esperia 73:2. Prin ceton: Am erican Schoo l of C lassical Stuclies at Ath ens 200 4 .

NOTES

I J. L. Fitton, The Discoveryof the Greek Bronze Age. London : Briti sh Mu seum 1995. 2 M. Parker- Pearson, The Archaeologyef D eath and Burial. Sutton: Stroud 1999; W. Cava nagh and C. M ee, A Private Place: Death in Prehistoric Greece. SIMA 12 5. Jonser ed: Paul Astroms Forlag 1998, 102-6, 121-3; I. M orri s, Death- Rit11ala nd Social Stmcture in Classical A ntiquity. Cambridge: Ca mbrid ge Uni versity Press 1992, 1-30 .

355 THOMAS G. PALAIMA

3 S. Triantaphy llou, A Bioarc/1aeological App roach to Prehistoric Cemetery Populations fro111Ce11tral and Western Greek Macedonia. BAR Internati onal Series 976. Oxford: Archaeopress 200 1; A. Papathanasiou, A BioarchaeologicalA nalysis of Neolithic A le­ potrypa Cave, Greece. BAR Internationa l Series 961. Oid "ord: J. and E. H edges 200 1. 4 0. Pelan , Tholoi, tumuli et cercles .fimeraires: Recherches rnr /es 11101111111e11ts f,meraires de plan circulaire dans l'Egee de /'Age du Bronze (Ill e et Ile millenaires av. J-C). Biblioth equ e des Ecole s Franyaises d'Ath enes et de Rome , fascicule 229. Ath ens: Ecole Franyaise d' Ath enes 1976; idem, "Les tom bes circulaires clans l'Egee de I' Age du Bron ze: .Etat des recher ches sur Jes tom bes a tholo s." Topoi Orient-Occident 8 ( 1998) 95- 158. 5 S. Voutsalci, " Mortuar y Evidence , Symboli c Meanin gs and Social C hange : A Co mp arison Betwee n Mes senia and the Argolid in the M ycenaean Period." In Cemetery and Society i11the Aegean Bronze Age, edited by K. Branigan. Sheffield Studies in Aegea n Archaeo logy 1. Sheffie ld: Sheffield Academ..ic Press 1998, 42- 3 (41-58 ]; M. Boyd, Middle Helladic and Early Mycenaean Morwary Practices in the So11ther11and vltestern Peloponnese. BAR Int ernational Ser ies 1009. Oxford: Archaeopress 2002, esp. 92---9. 6 S. Mi.iller, "Les cumuli helladiqu es: Ou? quand' com men t?" BCH 113 (1989) 1- 42; Pelan 1976 (above, n. 4). 7 N. Papadim..itriou, Built Chamber Tombs of Middle and Late Bronze Age Date in Main­ land Greeceand the Islands. BAR Interna tional Series 925. O xford: Archaeopress 2001 . 8 K. Lewartowslci , Late Helladic Simple Graves: A Study of Mycenaean Burial Customs. BAR Intern ational Series 878. O xford: Archaeo press 2000. 9 Cavanagh and M ee 1998 (above, n. 2), 196 fig. 5.3. IO Figurin es: W. Cavanag h , " Inn ovatio n, Co nservatism and Variation in My cenaean Funerary Ritual ." In Branigan 1998 (above, n. 5), 103- 14. Larn akes were rare on the mainland , though com mon on C rete: T. Spyropoulo s, "My cenaean Tanagra : Painted Sarcophagi. " Archaeology 25 (1972) 206---9. C hildr en were placed in clay larn akes at Vreserka and Pro synm a in the Argolid: Cavanag h and M ee 1998 (above, n. 2), 72. Burial in wooden coffins seem s to have be en a sign of status: Cavanagh and M ee 1998, 54- 5; R. Hagg and F Sieurin, " On th e Origin of the Wooden Co ffin in Late Bron ze Age C rete." ABSA 77 (1982) 177-86. I I K. D emakopoulou , "The Burial Ritu al in the Tholo s Tomb at Kokla , Argo lis." In Celebrationsof Death and Divinity in the Bronze Age Argo/id, edit ed by R. Hagg and G. Nordqui st. Acts of th e Swedi sh Institut e at Athen s 4°, XL. Sto ck110Lm: Swedish Institu te at Athen s 1990, 114 fig. 1 [r 13-23 ]. I 2 K. Kalogeropo ulos, Die j,-1,hmykenischen Gralif,,m.devon Ana lipsis (siidostliches Arka­ dien). Vivliot heke tes en Ath enais Archaiologikes H eta..ireias 175. Ath ens: H e en Ath enais Archaiologike H etaireia 1998, pl. 2. 13 P. Dar cque , "Les tholoi et !'orga nisation socio- politique du mond e myce nien." In : Les coutumes f,m .eraires en Egee a /'Age du Brouze, edit ed by R . Laffineur. Aegaeum 1. Liege: Uni versite de Liege 1987, 185-205; 0. Pelan, "Les tombe s a tholo s d'Argolide : Architect ure et ritu el funer aire." In Hagg and Nordqui st 1990 (above, n. 1 1), 107- 12. 14 C. Mee and W. Cavanag h, " M ycenaean Tomb s as Evidence for Social and Political Organisation." OJA 3 (1984) 45-64. Th e t\vo tholos tombs at Tiryn s un fort un ately MYCENAEAN RELIGION

cannot be closely dated. Cer tainly is best seen as a rival to My cenae; the absence of multiple tholoi to match tho se at Mycenae may be an acciden t of survival or a deliber ate statement of differen ce. I 5 J. Benn et, "Space through Time : Diachronic Perspectives in the Spatial Organi­ sation of the Pylian State." In POLITEIA: Society and State in the Aegean Bronze Age, edited by R. Laffineur and W - D. Niemei er. Aegaeum 12. Liege and Austin : Univer site de Liege and Univer sity of Texas at Austin 1995, II, 587-602. 16 I. Kilian- Dirlmeier, Alt-A gina lV.3: Das mittelbronzezeitliche Schachtgrab von Agina. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern 1997. 17 J. Dri essen and C. F Macdonald, "Some Milit ary Aspects of the Aegean in the Late Fifteenth and Early Fourt eenth Centuries B.C." ABSA 79 (1984) 68 [49- 74]. I 8 Ni choria: N. C. Wilkie, "The MME Tholo s Tomb. " In Exca11ations at Nichoria in Southwest GreeceII: The Bronze Age Occupation, edited by W.A . McDonald and N. Wilkie. Minn eapoli s: Univ ersity of Minn esota Press 1992, 276-9[231-344 ]. 19 Drie ssen and MacDonald (above, n. 17), 68. 20 W G. Cavanagh, "Clu ster Analysis of Mycenaean C hamb er Tombs ." In Laffineur 1987 (above, n. 13), 161-9 . 2 I K. Shelton, "The C hamb er Tomb s" and "T he Cemeteries." In ArchaeologicalAtlas efMy cenae, edited by S.E. Iakovid is and E.B. French. Vivlioth eke ces en Athen ais Archaiologikes H etaireias 229. Ath ens: He en Achenais Archaiologike Hetaireia 2003, 35-8 . 22 Cavanagh and Mee (above, n. 2), 128-3 0. 23 C. Mee, "Gender Bias in Mycenaean Mortu ary Practi ces." In Brani gan 1998 (above, n. 5), 165-'70. B. A. Olsen, "Women, Children and the Family in the Lace Aegean Bronze Age: Differences in Mino an and Mycenaean Constructions of Gender. " World Archaeology29 ( 1998) 3 80-92 has point ed up the differences in the presentation of women in Mycenaean and Mino an cultur e, with an empha sis on caring for children in the former. 24 C. Me e and W. G. Cavanagh , "The Spatial Distribution of My cenaean Tomb s." ABSA 85 (1990) 225- 43. Certain of the Linear Bland documents describe several individuals renting plot s from a landholder (Ch. 12, p. 300). 25 Lewartowski 2000 (above, n. 8). 26 W . G. Cavanagh and C. M ee, "Buildin g the Treasury of Atreus." In MELETEM­ ATA: Studies in Aegean Archaeology Presented to Malcolm H . Wiener as He Enters his 65"' Year, edited by P. P. Bet ancourt , V. Karageo rghis, R. Laffineur, and W.-D. Ni emeier. Aegaeum 20. Liege and Austin : Univer site de Liege and Uni versity of Texas at Austin 1999, I, 93-102. 27 E. D. T. Verm eule, "Painted Mycenaean Larn akes." JHS 85 (1965) 123-48; W G. Cavanagh and C. M ee, "Mournin g Before and After the Dark Age." In Klados: Essays in Honour of J N. Coldstream, edited by C. E. Morri s. BICS Suppl. 63. London : Institute of C lassical Studies, Uni versity of London 1995, 45-6 1; S. A. lmm erwahr , "Death and the Tanagra Larn akes." In 771eA ges of Homer: A Tribute to Emily Townsend Vermeule,e dited by J.B . Carter and S. P. Morri s. Austin: Univ ersity of Texas Press 1995, 109-21. 28 0. Vikatou, "S kene proth eses apo to mykenaiko Nekrotapheio tes Ayias Tri adas." In Forsch,mgen in der Peloponnes, edited by V. Mitsopo ulos- Leon. Athens: O sterreichisches Archaologisches lnstitut 2001, 273-84; eaden,, "Kladeos." A rchaiologiko11D eltion 53 (1998 [2004]) B1, 230-33.

357 THOMAS G. PALA IM A

29 W. G. Cavanagh, "Empty Space? Co urt s and Squares in Mycenaean Towns." In Urbanism in the A egean Bronze Age, edited by K. Brani gan. Sheffield Studi es in Aegean Archaeo logy 4. Sheffield: Sheffield Academi c Press 200 1, 119-34; Y. Hamilaki s, "A Foo tnote on the Archaeo logy of Power : Anim a.l Bon es from a Myce naean C hamb er Tomb at Galatas, NE Peloponne se." ABSA 91 (1996) , 53- 66. 30 Cavanagh and Mee 1998 (above, n. 2), 51-3 , 7 1-2. 3 I Voutsaki 1998 (above, n. 5), 45. 3 2 Paint ed fa<;:ades are found in chamb er tombs at My cenae, Pro symn a, D eiras, and Asine in the Argolid, at Thebes in , and at Ellinika in Me ssenia. I am mo st grateful to C hrysanthi Ga Liou for a sight of her fort hcoming paper on this topic. 3 3 Cavanagh and M ee 1998 (above, n. 2), 76. 34 J. C. Wri ght , "Fro m C hief to King in My cenaean Society." In The R ole of the Rul er in the PrehistoricAegean, edited by P Reh ak. Aegaeum 11. Liege and Austin: Uni versite de Liege and Univer sity of Texas at Austin 1995, 63-80; C. Gallou, The _Mycenaean Cult efthe Dead. BAR Int ernational Series 1372. Oxford: Archaeopress 2005 . 3 5 J. Puhvel , Comparative Mythology. Baltim ore and London: Johns H opkin s Univ er­ sity Press 1987, 7-20, 126-43 . 36 E. Lupu , C reek SacredLaw: A Collection of New Documents. R eligions in the Greco­ Rom an World 152. Leiden and Bo ston: E. J. Brill 2005. 37 C. W Shelmerdine, "R eview of Aegean Prehi story VI: Th e Palatial Bronz e Age of th e South ern and Central Greek Mainland ." In Aegean Prehistory: A R eview, edited by T. Cu llen. AJA Supp l. r. Bo ston: Archaeolo gical Institute of America 2001, 362-72 , 380-81 (329-8 1] ; 0. T. P. K. Dickinson , The A egean Bronze Age. Cambridg e: Cambr idge Uni versity Press 1994, 257-94; R . Hag g, "Th e R eligion of the Myce naeans Twenty- Four Years after the 1967 My cenologi cal Co ngr ess in Rome ." In Atti e 111emorie de/ secondo congresso internaz ionale di 111icenologia, edited by E. de Miro , L. Godart and A. Saccon i. Rome : Edizioni dell' Ateneo 1996, II, 599-6 12; R . Laffineur and R. Hagg, eds., POTNIA: Deities and Religion in the A egean Bronze Age. Aegeaum 22. Liege and Austin: Univer site de Liege and Univ ersity of Texas at Austin 2001; L. Kont orli-Papadopoulou, Aegean Frescoesof Religious Character. SIMA 117. Goteborg: Paul Astrom s Forlag 1996;]. C hadw ick, "Wh at Do We R eally Know About My cenaean Religion ?" In Linear B: A 1984 Survey, edited by A. Morpurgo Davies and Y. Duhoux . Bibliotheque des Ca hiers de l'ln stitut de Linguistiqu e de Lou vain 26. Louvain- la-Ne uve: Cabay 1985, 191- 202; S. Hiller, "Mykenische H eiligtiim er: D as Zeugnis der Linear-B Texte." In Sanctuariesand Cults in the Aegean Bronze Age, edited by R. Hagg and N. Marinato s. Acts of the Swedish Institut e at Ath ens 4°, XXV III. Sto ckholm: Swedish Institut e at Ath ens 1981, 95-126 . 3 8 T.G. Palaima, "Kno2 - Tn 316." In Floreant Studia Mycenaea, edited by S. De ger­ Jalkotzy, S. Hill er, and 0 . Panagl. Vienna : Verlag der Ost erreichischen Akadem.ie der Wissenschaften 1999, II, 437-6 1; idem, "The Last D ays of the Pylos Polity." In Laffineur and N iemeier 1995 (above, n. l 5), 623-33. 39 E Aur a Jorro, Diccionario Micenico.M adrid: Consejo Superior de lnvestigacione s C ientificas 1985, I, s.v. na-wi-jo. 40 J. Weilhartner , Myk enische Opfergaben nach Aussage der Linear B-Te xte. Vienna: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akad emie der Wisse nschaften 2005, 20-2 1, 103-5, MY CENAEAN lu:LIG ION

187-9, 194-2 12, 2 14-22; F. Rou gemont , "Les noms des

359 TH O M AS G. PALA IM A

57 Krzyszkowska 2005 (above, n. 53), 274-5. 5 8 Dickinson 1994 (above, n. 37), 286. 59 For recent exception s, see I. M . Shear, Tales of Heroes: The Origins of the Homeric Texts. N ew York; Ath ens: A. D. Cara tzas 2000; eadem, Ki11gship in the Mycenaean World and Its R eflections in the Oral Tradition. Philadelphia: IN STAP Academic Press 2004; M . Finkelberg, Greeks and Pr~G reeks: A egean Prehistory and Greek Heroic Tradition. Cam brid ge: Cambridge Uni versity Press 2005. 60 M . I. Finley, Eco11omy and Society in A ncient Greece,e d.ited by B.D. Shaw and R .P. Saller. N ew York: Vikin g Press 1982, 232; J. Benn et, "Homer and the Bronze Age." In A New Compm1ion to Homer, edited by I. Morris and B. Powell. Leiden: E.J. Brill 1997, 511-33. 6r E. F Coo k and T. G. Palaima, "N ew Perspectives on Pylian Cults: Sacrifice and Society in the Odyssey." Paper presen ted at the annu al mee ting of the Ame rican Phil ological Association 200 I; abstract online at www.apaclassics.org. 62 Bu rkert 1997 (above, n. 56); A. Krauss, " i-j~ ro and R elated Term s." Journal ef PrehistoricR eligion 15 (200 1) 39-50. 6 3 Weilhartn er 2005 (above, n. 40), esp. 223-30 . 64 R ougemont 2006 (above, n. 40), 343; Weilhartn er 2005 (above, n. 40), 98-9, 182. 6 5 For a recent conspectus of deities in the Linear B tablets, see T. G. Palaim a, "Linear B Sources." In A nthology cf Classical Myth, edited by S. Trzaskoma, R . Scott Smith , and S. Brun et. Ind.ianapolis and Cambrid ge, MA : Hackett Publishing 2004, 443-6 (439-5 4]; R ougemont 2006 (above, n. 40), 333-9. 66 J. L. Melena, Textos griegos micenicos comentados. Vitori a- Gasteiz: Parlamento Vasco 200 1, 36-7, 48. 6 7 Kontorli-P apadopoulou 1996 (above, n. 37), ro2- 3, 240 pl. 97. 68 V L. Aravantin os, L. Go dart , and A Sacconi, eds., Thebes. Fouilles de la Cadmee I: Les tablettes en Lineaire B de la Odos Pelopidou, edition et commentaire. Pisa and R ome: lstituti Editoriali Poligrafici lnt ern azionali 200 1, 317- 18 (for the Mycenaean words ma- ka, a-pa- r~ i and ka- wa), 32 1- 4 (for references to secure and hypothetical ritual functionaries). 69 T. G. Palaima, "R eviewing the N ew Linear B tablets from Th ebes." Kadmos 42 (2003) 31-8, with furth er references; idem, "FAR ? or ju ? and Oth er Interp retative Co nundr a in the N ew Th ebes Tablets." In Die neiien Linear B- Texte aus Theben: Ihr A ujschlusswertf iir die mykenische Sprache und Kultur, edited by S. Deger-Jalkotzy and 0. Panagl. Vienna: Verlag der Osterr eichischen Akademie der Wi ssenschaften 2006, 139- 48; S. James, "Th e Th ebes Tablets and the Fq Series: A Co ntextual Analysis." M inos 37-38 (2002-2003) 397- 417. 70 G. Ne umann " . . . Gans und Hund und ihresgleichen . . . . " In Deger-Jalkotzy and Panagl 2006 (above, n . 69), 125- 38. 71 Rou gemont 2006 (above, n. 40), 341-2; Weilhartn er 2005 (above, n. 40), 99, 182. 72 Shelm erdine 200 1 (above, n. 37), 369-70; S. Hiller, "TE-0- PO - RI -JA ." In A ux origines de l'hellen.isme: La Crete et la Grece. Hommage a Henri van Ejfenterre, edited by C. Ni colet. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonn e 1984, 139- 50. 7 3 Hiller I 98 I (above, n. 3 7). 74 Palaim a 2004 (above, n. 47), 104, 111, 123. 7 5 J. Wri ght, "A Survey of Evidence for Feasting in Mycenaean Society." In Wri ght 200 4 (above, n. 47), 4 1-3 (13-58 ], fig. 12; Kontorli-P apadopoulou 1996 (above, n. 37), 250, pl. 97- MY CE NAEAN RELIGION

76 Pala.ima 2004 (above, n. 65), 444; Rougemont 2006 (above, n. 40), 344-60. 77 W Burk ert, Creek R eligion, translated by J. R affan. Cambr idge, MA: Harvard Uni versity Press 1985, 139-40; ]. Gulizio, T. G. Pa]ajm a, and K. Plut a, "R eligio n in the Ro om of th e Chariot Tablets." In H agg and Laffineur 2001 (above, n. 37), 453-6 1. 78 Shelmerrune 200 1 (above, n. 37), 370. 79 Burkert 1985 (above, n. 77), 170. So C. W Blegen and M. R awson, Th e Palace of Nestor at Pylos in Western Messenia I: Th e Buildings and Their Contents. Prin ceton: Prin ceton University Press 1966 , 88. 8 I Palajm a 2004 (above, n. 47), 116. 82 F Graf, "Sacrifices, Offerings and Votives. Greece." In Religions ef the Ancient World: A Guide, edited by S. lies John ston . Ca mbridg e, MA : Belkn ap Press of Harvard Unj versity Press 200 4, 340 [340- 43] . 8 3 P. Halstead and V. Isaakidou, " Fauna] Evidence for Feasting : Burnt Offerin gs from the Palace of Nesto r at Pylos." In Food, Cuis ine and Society in Bronze Age Greece, edited by P. Halstead and J. Barrett. Sheffield Studi es in Aegean Archaeology 5. Oxford: Oxbow Book s 2005, 136-5 4; S. R . Stocke r and J. L. D avis, "Anim al Sacrifice, Archives and Feasting at the Palace of N estor. " In Wri ght 2004 (above, n. 47), 59-75. 84 T. M . Whit elaw, "R eading betw een the Tablets: Assessing Myce naean Palatial Involvement in Ce ramic Produ ction and Consumption." In Economy and Politics in the Mycenaean Palace States, edited by S. Voutsaki and J. T. Killen. Cam brid ge Philol ogical Society Supp l. 27. Ca mbrid ge: Ca mbridg e Philol ogical Society 2001, 51- 79; J. A. Hrub y, " Feastin g and Ce ramics: A View from th e Palace of N estor at Pylos." Ph .D. russertation, Uni versity of Cincinn ati 2006. 85 Palaima 2004 (above, n. 47), 112- 14, 120-23.