conicalcups1982

8/7/2019 ConicalCups1982

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Nanno Marinatos

STOCKHOLM1984

H&gg and

terna tional Symposiumat the Swedish Institute in Athens, 31 May-5 June, 1982

EDITED BYRobin

ThalksocracyMyth and RealityProceedings of the Third In

XXX11

O ffprin t

The Minoan

4@, EONI SUECIAE. SERIES INTHENIENSIS NSTITUTI CTA XXX11,THEN , KRIFTE R UTGIVNA AV SVEN SKA INSTITUTE T I


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Lsnguage55. 1979. p. 188. This article was brought tomy attention by J. Davis.* H. and R. Kahanc. Decline and survival of western prestiglanguages ,

the acceptability of locpottery both for daily use and ritual.women or artisans, andcase of transport, whether thesettlers include

mfacts. Relevant factors include

JAOS 94, 19pp. 468-475. Of course the Assyrian karum was but one type oftrading colony, and not all trading colonies lack distinctiveAnrtolia , see MLarsen, The old Assyrian colonies incifically Assyrian. For the Assyrian colonies in general,

the site. Without the tablets it seemdoubtful there would be any suggestion that these burials werebeen exmural before expansion of

a cemetery or burials of a known datewe do not know what the standard burial practice was, and it ispossible that some of the burials encountered may haveence of Assyrians. Lacking pesting that intramural burials at the site might indicate the

sinfro) and the references there cited Bnigan at this Symposium Sec. however, the paper by K.Personal communications.

significassistance. My apologies go to anyone also deserving of thankswhose name I have omitted inadvertently.

a draft of the mnograph from which this paper is taken, or given otherStech have provided comments onaima. and T.ellink. L. Morgan, J. Muhly, P. Muhly, T.Lolos. S. Martin. JMellaart. M.

their generous responses to many requests for information andadvice. E. Bennett, N. Coldstream. K. Demakopoulou, K. Erim. S.Hood, V. Lambrinudakis. J. Lloyd, Y.

W8trous .akovidis. J. Ruttcr, P. Warren, andankey. S.Cadogan. E. Davis, J. Davis, 0. Dickinson, E. French.Acknow/cdgements. My thanks are due first to P . Betancourt.

*

III give the first evidence of Minoan overseas interest. WithMM IA. Minoan pottery begins to appear at various sites in

languc.

A Versailles effect is most likely to occur where thcultural prestige of one society within an interconnecting seof societies is great, as was surely the case in the Bronze AgAegean with regard to Crete from the beginning of the oldpalaces through LM IB.

Keeping in m ind these cautionary tales, let us begin oinquiry into the nature of Minoan impact on the Cycladewith a brief review of the relevant historical backgroundThe Minoan settlement on Kythera beginning in EM II andthe appearance in Crete of gold, silver, tin, ivory, ostriceggs, Egyptian stone vases and scarabs together with themergence of what seem to be harbor towns in EasternCrete at Mochlos. Palaikastro and Zakros in EM II or EM

parle que notrc Jc metrouve ici en France. On neKassel and Berlin.

Voltaire, while in Berlin in 1750, commented:Gotha,Alamode. With the 18thCentury came a second. greater wave of cultural influence,as mini-Versailles sprang up in

imigr&,during the period known as the(1618-48). sparked in part by the arrival of Huguenot

nomic domination or a major movement of people from theculturally dominant society. I have termed this type ofinteraction the Versailles effect , after the widespreadimitation of the court of Versailles in the 18th Century.French influence began to rework the style of polite life inGermany during and after the Thirty Years War

cco-

Alishar, again only the tablets give any clear indication ofthe presence of an Assyrian trading colony.Whereas trading colonies may leave little or n o trace,conversely close similarity in architecture, furniture, paint-ing, decorative arts, clothing, jewelry, the pastimes ofyouth and even the language of the upper classes may ap-pear in two or more societies without political control,

BogazkOy andAnato-lia. At other major excavated sites such as

Mellink, James Mellaart and others haveobserved, had the tablets not survived little else would sug-gest the existence of an Assyrian colony, since the colonistsadopted local architecture and pottery.

The situation with regard to Karum Kanesh is not unique.Tablets tell us of many Assyrian trading colonies in

Kttltepe-Karum Kanesh. Fromthe tablets we know it existed for 150-200 years as a trad-ing center where large quantities of goods including metalsand textiles were exchanged. The tablets show the karumlevied taxes on passing caravans, offered storage facilities,provided credit in the manner of a b ank and operated acomplex judicial system. It had intensive commercial rela-tions with at least one other karum and controlled other As-syrian trading colonies.

Yet as M achteld

talesof historical interaction between societies. For these twotypes of interaction, which are polar opposites with respectto movement of people versus adoption of culture, I shalluse the terms karum contact and Versailles effect.As the obv ious example of karum contact, consider theAssyrian trading colony of

1 is my central topic. Before turning to the ar-chaeological evidence, let us consider two cautionaryclades in LM

CY -

bYMalcolm H. W iener

The nature of M inoan presence and influence in the

Crete and the Cyclades in LM I:The Tale of the Conical Cups


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con-alaces show the security and prosperity of Crete in istrativc building, a striking steady increase in locally-madeci-

ties andid m dand undefended. which as much as the unwalled

ashlar. It is these country houses, many sittingknown) appear, many with facades or at least thresholdblocks of

Uga-rit but Cypro-Minoan, a second cousin of Linear A.

In Crete itself, there is an increase in site density particu-larly along the coast, both in the North along the Gulf ofMirabcl lo and in the South between Arvi and Myrtos. Therebuilding in a grander style similar to what Furumark not-ed at Trianda is evident. Ashlar is used more frequently, notonly at Knossos but at many other sites as well. At Gournia,for example, the main building receives a new ashlar fa-cade. The country houses (of which there are now 18

_rcsccncc of the period, and in particular the fact that thesettlement at Trianda on Rhodes takes on a more refinedappearance in LM IA with houses rebuilt in grander style,some with ashlar facades. on the same foundations withoutintervening destruction. Evidence for Cretan contact withEgypt increases as depictions of Minoans and Minoanobjects appear on the walls of Thcban tombs. In Cyprusthe first script appears and it is not, as one might expect, avariant of one of the highly developed scripts in use at

_

admin-art of the Mansion or mainoverinn n trench DAo p. 225.e/as. Cambridge 1982.cds.. An island polity: The archae ology of exploitationin

M.Wagstaff.* C. Rcnfrew. Prehistoric exchange , in: C. Rcnfrew and1900-01. p. 123.SA7. Hogarth, Excavat ions at Zakro, Crete ,nce: D.

IO and 35. rodeto anchor at vasels. carrying crews of between0 IO 20 sailing

scribed Zakros at the turn of the century as the best-known port ofcall for the fishing fleets of the eastern islands and the principal sta-tion for sailing vessels on the path from the Aegean to Libya. Often

dc-ogarth cauxc the coast extends to the northeast) from the Mcltemi whichoccasionally blows with such force from the North.(be-

protected bothfrom the generally prevailing westerly winds and currents andcvcn on rough days, for it isZakros is calm1975. p. 103.ivilizafions. OxfordheAegeanbetween Arvi and Myrtos also has many new foundations in LM I:P. Warren,

(infra) re-garding LM I site density in the Gulf of Mirabcllo. The south coastSm. e.g.. the paper by P. Warren at this Symposium128- 133.elationsfsupra). pp. lintaircA . IcEnkomi et

Godartand A. Sacconi. La plus ancicnnc tablette see L.134-138. For acontrary view of the character of the Enkomi tablet.2ooO-500 B.C., Nicosia 1979. pp.a.

between Cyprus andCrete. The relations978, ol the international ar-chaeological symposium, millcnaire . Actseuxicme oitiC du

tours de la pre-miere Iile de Chypre aurete etile deTCmoignage probable dcscontacts cntre I Chyprc:kriture

Masson,L apparition de

71-82; E.ll, 3. pp.AHr yllabary . Masson.The Cypriot 31:l); T. M itford and 0.SIMAOutborg 1971Chypre),Tekkcnla SultanEnkomi etrouv&snscritaargile boulesingt-sixtude deasson. 1979). pp. 54-73; E.

Ill,Ch. X

Horn Archchriff eubcck. -19; A.ocn . RA 1958. pp. Chypro-Mi-arageorghis, Origine du syllabaireec. e.g.. J.tinfra).1979; and the paper by Y. and E. Sakellarakis at this Symposium

Y. Chr.. Danstadtahrhunderr is ins 7.ig#is urorderasiens undigyptens eziehungenelck, DieCtudc, 22); W.ioth&pte Bib-archtologie orientale,rancnis lnstitut 956. Cnique. Cairo prChel-gccn onde e&?ypteee generally J. Vcrcouttcr.

180--181.950,pp.pArch6.550--14OOB.C:. lalysos and Aegean history c.A. Furumark, The settlement at(infra). Sympu-siumSee the paper by C. W. Zcrner and J. B. Rutter at this

bc-low. Phylakopi also has a pillar crypt, the only one knownto date outside Crete.

cups, with implications which are consideredKea and Thera, there are masses of

conical

rccognixablc, in the entire repertoire of form anddecoration, as based on Cretan prototypes of the Late Mi-noan IA period. As at

1 shalltouch only briefly on Melos. Finds from Phylakopi includeconsiderable imported Minoan pottery, fragments of Mi-noan stone bowls and of fresco in Minoan style, and a frag-mentary tablet in Linear A. The locally made potterywhile always clearly local both in fabric and in style. is in-stantly

Melos. Kea and Thera in LM 1.

flo-

Let us now turn to

seeminn ao noted theong 1 Minoan ovcrsea activity and influence reach

their climax. Furumark

ii seems to me most probable that the bulk of MiddleMinoan trade, contact and colonization was carried out pnMinoan ships.

In LM

activ-ity,thouah we have no direct evidence for Minoan naval

Al-settlc-

ments on Rhodes, Kos, Kasos and Karpathos and on theAnatolian coast at Miletos, iasos and probably K nidos.

III there is evidence for Minoanshcrds in local (or at least non-Minoan)

fabric appear in Egypt at Kahun and Harageh and in Rho-des. In MM II-MM

In MM 11, imita-tion Kamarcs ware

Pef-kakia Magoula. as well as in the Cyclades.

Asine. Lerna. Kolonna andHelladic sitessuch as Ayios Stcphanos, Aswan, and at

Mari textsand in the widespread appearance of Kamares ware andother Minoan pottery in Anatolia. Syria, and Cyprus, inEgypt as far up the Nile as

protcc-ted harbor and location for the purpose of trade.

Evidence of widespread Minoan trade and maritime ac-tivity in the protopalatial periods is seen indirectly in thereferences to Caphtor-most likely Crete-in the

Zak-ros. which is unique among major Minoan habitation sitesin having no significant easily accessible fertile agriculturalhinterland. Yet a palace evolved here at the beginning of theneopalatial period to take advantage of the splendid

numeracy. Thepalaces themselves speak of the degree of social organiz-ation and cohesion in Crete and the aspiration of thegoverning elites. It would be strange if improvements inshipbuilding and navigation did not accompany these otherdevelopments, and if the palace rulers did not show an in-terest in the luxury goods that could be obtained throughforeign trade or raid. In particular it appears likely that Mi-noan rulers would have wished to control the importationof metal from which was made not only luxury vessels andcult objects but also weapons, of necessity a matter of criti-cal interest for the rulers.

The contribution of wide-ranging Minoan trade to theprosperity of LM I in Crete can be seen most clearly at

seal-carving, ceramics, administration, literacy and (on the evi-dence of architecture and engineering)

IB and the protopalatial period,Crete begins a major advance in all fields, including archi-tecture, hydraulic engineering. metallurgy. stone and

IS Malcolm H. Wiener

the South-eastern and North-eastern Peloponncsc, particu- LM IA and give evidence of a Pax Minoica. at leastlarly at Lerna. within Crete itself.

With the start of MM


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finfral.0ee n.(Monmcnta Archaeologica. 4). pp. 3 and 64-65. Calif., 1976aconia. Los Angeles,

IIA pottery sequence froAyios Stephanos in

Hclladic 1 to Lateeliadic Mycetmun: A strafied Middle toJ. B. and S. H. Rutter. The transition21. 1982, pp. 46-48.sdmos aconia. * R. Janko. A stone object inscribed in Linear A from AyiosStephanos.

1971, p. 395.cspcria 40.966- 1970. Kcos. part I: Excavationsand explorations,Caskey, Investigations inIB/LH II type wefound: J.L. 149 conical cups of LM

500 meters froAyia lrini parts of

Mainr 1983. At the Troullos hilltop IrfHouse A, Ayia I.eos 979, p. 6; E. Schofield,MyceaauSeminar, 16 May

Aqcan connections in the LaBronze Age. typescript of talk delivered at the London

z E. Schofield, Kca and itsI9 J. N. Coldstream. Geometric Greece.London 1977, pp. 7and 132.

15-22. T. Palaima. Linear A in the Cyclades: The trade and travel oa script, TUAS 7. 1982, pp.

axes as well as the swords, was what remained afterthe great bulk of the metal objects had been removed and sold tocoppersmiths. (Personal communication.)

Anyang in China to match the size of the Tylissos cauldrons, andthat the material from the Arkalochori cave. including masses ofbronze double

necessary to go J. Muhly has observed that it would be(supra n. I I).6 Gale. Cycladic metallurgy,Kca we do not yet have sufficient evidence from unplun-

dered tombs. On 52), p. 209.SIMAotcborg 1979ndislands,

Age. I, The mainlaronxeivilixation in theegean axetmcr of96 and 124. n. 16; R. Hope Simpson and 0. Dickinson, A(SIM49). pp. Goteborg 1977ivifisation.Jcenrean

68. n. 7; 0. Dickinson, The origins of

1969. p.ruxella ouillcs,ampagne deri&nc qur /artliminaire&5/67: rapport1967, pp

20-24 and ThorikosBruxelles ouiiks.ampagne deroisieme aaire sur pMm%5: rapportautier, Thorikos

Hakens, P. Spitaels and A.

T.cGcyter. mals. J.ingen. J.ussche. J.H. F. If.ph 1895, col. 222tais. ArchV.I Personal communication from J. Davis.

169-221; Gale, C ycladic metallurgy, a paper read at the work-shop on Cycladic chronology held at the institute of Archaeology.London, 1983.

p981. SA 76.tosGalc. Cycladic lead and silver metallurgy. 11-20; Gale an16/4541. 2 April 1982. pp .reach. ScienceMcditerranun: A new lBrouxe Age copper sources in thexlc. Sto. 188; Gale and981. meric8n 244. June

ancimt Agean ,Scientific Lead and silver in thetos-Gale. I N. Gale and Z.1983.ondoti.

striation study, a pper read at the workshop on Cycladic chronology held at the Insti-tute of Archaeology.

iul cups was noted in the sequence of five LC I floors: J. Cherryand J. Davis, Phylakopi in LC I: A pottery

rare.= Conical cups are generally present only in relativelysmall numbers if at all at mainland sites. Yet they are ubi-quitous in Crete in the ncopalatial period, constituting alarge proportion of the pottery at every site and reachingtheir numerical peak in LM I. Conical cups appear much

1 to suggest the possible presenof Minoan or K ythcran potters, but where conical ups a

cup~.Because the presence of tens of thousands of conical cupsconstitutes a special category of evidence respecting Aegeaninterrelations, further consideration is in order.The contrast is striking between Ayia lrini and a site likeA yios Stephanos. for example, which produced a small

sto ne ob jec t w ith tw o L in ear A sig ns* a nd wh er e M inoan style and technique in local fabric is sufficientlycommon in MM III-LM

18!small room in Area C produced another 566 conical1deposit in room

820

came from at single undisturbed LC

8.000, of whichlone produced overouse Aups. Irini, however, is he enormous number of conical

cooking or heating liquids, are particularly common.What is especially notable as a inoaniting feature at

Ayia

inquantity as might be expected given Kca sroximity to themainland.) M inoan-type tripod ars, presumably used for

appear every house, and a wide range of Minoan shapes in-cluding CUPS , bowls, trays and pithoi is imitated in localfabric . ( M inyan and matt-painted wares also

almost

the site. which is adjacent to the main building, House A ,probably the home of the local ruler.Fine imported Minoan LM I ceramic wares are found in

barebreasts excavated in what appears to be the major shrine of

Age Greece, although there were in all likelihood Phoeni-cian craftsmen and traders present in Athens, Knossos andother places.

The existence at Ayia Irini of a local stone vase workshopusing Minoan techniques is worth noting, as of course arethe large terracotta statues with tight bodices and

Khaniand swords from Arkalochori. At this point it is not poss-ible to judge whether the role of Ayia lrini with respect toLaurion was similar, for example. to that of Pithecussae onthe island of lschia with respect to the mines of Etruria inthe Iron Age. ,The discovery on Kca of a tablet in local fabric with Lin-ear A signs along with three other examples of Linear A andhundreds of potters marks, many of Minoan type, is ofgreat interest, but standing alone this could be evidence ofMinoan trade links rather than the presence of a Minoancolony. The later adoption by the G reeks of a Phoenicianscript was not the result of Phoenician colonization or thepresence of a large percentage of Phoenicians in early Iron

1 Crete is rich in bronze, as indicated by the enorm ouscauldrons from Tylissos. double axes from N iroumctal lu rgy, 6and

LMI shows a relative explosion in

It is worth pausing to note the c on tr as t i n L M I A-LH I :on the mainland, a society which to date has provided noevidence of writing, of the use of seals to show ownership,origin or administrative sanction, or of impressive dwel-lings, and which puts mu ch of its wealth into burials; onCrete and Kea the opposite. id mainland wealth, asshown by the tombs, come from control of the metalsource, and Kcian wealth from introducing the metal insome form into a Minoan-dominated trade network? Cer-tainly LC

sherds are present.is elusive although transitional MH-LH Iabtation Iof Velatouri hill, but as usual LHaddleop and in the

goods, and there are traces of MH occupation n theurial I-IItomb complex with richn impressive MH to LHas LaWiOnhe mainland directly opposite. Thorikos nearn

Dini is clearly a significant metallurgical site.2 AyiaHoUSe A it-

self17 inBI, II (L Mevel articularly inound, werealena. Many cruciblesupcllation fromhrough

Silverres and for the extraction of lead andcr sulfide COP-vidsnce for smelting Of copper fromhere is good1rini it-

selffor Crete and the Cyclades. At Ayiaopper aps

the mines at Laurion. As the Gales have shown.Laurion was an important source of silver, lead and per-relation toKea, one longs first to know more about itsoncerning

he Conical Cupshe Tale of


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18.982. p. , OxfordJournal of Archaeology 1,285 cited in: E. Schofield, TheWestern Cyclada and Crete: A special relationshipn Coldstrcam (supra n. 37). p.

Sticglitz.WAS

called to my attention by R.58-59. This tablet976), pp.rCtoiscs 21,(Etudestairc A Li-cs inscriptions enccucilodart and J. P. Olivicr.L.

30). p. 268.supra n.anta Pediadha district in Cretewhich contained 64 conical cups and relatively few other shapes:

Ill tombs,for example tomb at Episkopi in the113.Conical cups continue to appear in quantity in some LM 171,

Fig.978), p.rgon 1977 (pr.rchancs: Y. Sakellarakis.199-200. Kythera: J. N. Coldstream.

in: Kythera: Excavations and studies, London 1972, p. 285.1967. pp.bu. Praktika HpWdpOV i< 6q0u Avaaraou embcx.Poros: A.

)6 V. Hankcy. personal communication.681--690.I (1978). pp.hera. in: TA W631~-640. cited in S. Hood,Traces of the eruption outsideKrChron I, 1947, pp.N. Platon.

111-113.admos3.1965,pp.nossus . depositatS S. Hood, An inscribed cup from a Late Minoan1981). ground plan.

13,BSA Suppl. Vol.ecrions ahcc of Knossos.plans and BronzeAgeseen clearly inthe recently published plan: S. Hood and W. Taylor, TheKaphencion to the surrounding structures may be

307-308. The relationship of theJ92JJ. pp.IEvans, PMKorrezpondenzblatt 12.1982. pp. 153-166.chaArchgologi-

Palastvon Kato Zakros-minoisch-mykcnische Bauopfer ,Grundungsdcpositum im minoischenoulotis. Ein* C. Coding. Catling. and Smyth (supra n. 25). p. 77.(SIMA 58). p. 268.980

Goteborgbttery and their distribution,ires, Ill period inCrete-a survey of Kanta. The Late Minoanc, cited in A.BSA 55, 1960. p. II

and PI.1o M. Seiradhaki, Pottery from Karphi ,

Ergon 1978. pp. 62-64;1979. pp. 29-30; P. Muhly, personal communication.Praktika 1979. p. 415:arctsou, A.1899--1900. p.98. BSA 6.ictaian cave .ogarth, TheD. G.

J899--1900. p. 76.SA6. ccmeteri~ .Knossos:-Il. Early town andogarth. D. G.uses of conical cups were brought to my attention by V.Watrous.

(1978). p. 442. Several of the examples ofthe

TA W I Thorpe-Schola. Akrotiri. genesis, lifeand death , in:370-371; K.966. pp.HCS~CI+J

35,1964-l%5 ,eos. askey. Excavations ini J. L. 15 .SA 74. 1979. p.

Ill and Late Minoan I houses by the acropolis ,Calling. and D. Smyth. Knossos 1975:

Middle Minoanu E. A. Catling. H. W. -.0).Schofield (supra n.

. was essential to the well-being of any M inoan socthis period , as Coldstream observed in the publication ofKythera.The appearance of this superabundance of conical cupsat Kythera. Phylakopi, Ayia lrini and (as described below)Akrotiri seems to me better evidence for the actual presenceof s ignif icant nu mbers of M inoans or descendants onoans than the appearance of M inoan or M inoachitecture, wall paintings or luxury goods, all of whichcould result f ro m a Versailles effect without any sigcant movement of people. or of people other than itinerantartisans. The appearance at these sites of M inonoan-inspired cooking ware and loomweights for weaving isfurther evidence of a similar nature, pointing n the same di-rection.@

.

meals. as inlron Age Dorian Crete, during which food and drink were

passed in cups? W hatever the reason, a superabundance

I sites, even allowing for a multi-plicity of uses, is a m ystery. W ere they used only once infrequent religious and funerary ites? Were they broken af-ter banquets? W as there a system of communal

Triada a Linear A tablet lists much smaller num-bers of other vessels, but 3,000 conical cups.W hy there should be such masses of conical cups at Mi-noan or Minoanired LM

adjacent to Tholos B.A t Ayia

Build-in8 4

E each contained between 75 and 100conical cups, and at the Phourni cemetery of A rchanesscores of conical cups were found in the W . room of

IA to mb had many, atKythera tombs D and

Thcra.Conical cups are also found in great numbers in tombs.A t Myrtos Pyrgos the LM IA tomb deposit contained about450 conical cups. at Poros the L M

Khani a v otive d epo sit of h undred s of d i m inu tive co nical cup swas found in a small walled enclosure under a doorwaywhich once connected two rooms, the smaller full of ashesand the larger containing four enormous ceremonial bronzedouble axes. Most of the conical cups held a lump of pum-ice, causing Platon to suggest a connection to the eruptionof

theKaphcncion . n LM IB d eposit from the North side ofthe Royal Road included a cup with two Linear A signs inligature, which had been used as a lamp. At N irou

& ma ins,Evansfound numerous fragments of tripod offering tables and somany conical cups that the workmen nam ed the area

Zakros.In an open space in the southeast section of the Palace ofKnossos. in an area of rooms with ritual

head. 0Ahouse by the acropolis above the village at Knossos yieldeda foundation deposit of m inute conical cups, and an-other foundation deposit of conical cups, accompanied bybones of young sheep, was found in the Palace of

Symc many again along with numerous chalices.From Karphi comes a cup containing a figurine with raisedarms bearing a miniature conical cup on her

HO-garth found almost 200, containing carbonized remains offood, inverted in rows in the pillar crypt of a hou se on thelower Gypsades hill near the Palace of Knossos. In analtar-like construction in the Diktaian Cave he found manymore, together with fragments of about thirty offeringtables and several fruit stands . They are present ingreat numbers at peak sanctuaries: at Juktas there weremasses of conical cups, many of them inverted and in layersin one of the rooms against the upper terrace wall, and atKato

shrinc.z6Some kind of ritual use of conical cups seems likely.

CUPSare built into the breasts of fe male terracotta figures fro mthe

been used as spindle whorls, to judge from deliberatelypierced examples. At Phylakopi a conical cup was builtinto the base of another pot, at Akrotiri one was used as astopper for a large stirrup jar, and at Ayia Irini conical

may havey although there are other M inoan

la mp shapes better suited for the purpose. They

sub- M ioan.Conical cups seem to be all-purpose vessels, used not onlyto hold food and drink but for various other things as well.The scorched lip on some and the blackened rim of moresuggest a use as lamps,

IIIC andll B and are almost extinct in LMLMll A l,become rare duringess frequently after L M

20 M a l c o lm H . W iener


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14.53-55) or came from Thcra after the earthquake or eruption.What can be said is that on the mainland conical cups appear morefrequently at sites which show other indications of significant Mi-noan contact and influence.

twccn a Cretan palace and Myccnac (Dickinson, supra n.special relationshipMynaean wealth, were sent because of a

bctirely cxcludcd. Further, we have no way of knowing whether theputative craftsmen came in response to the attraction of

1977. p. 33Other explanations such as adoption of a Minoan cult practice orcustom. high-level intermarriage with accompanying retainers, ormerely enthusiastic local acceptance of a useful shape cannot

Melos. Kea or Thera. TJack of well-preserved LH J-II habitation levels makes interpret-ation hazardous. but the nature of the finds at Mycenae may possibly offer some support for the proposed presence of Minoan orMinoanized traders or craftsmen (e.g.. E.N. Davis, The V aphiocups and Aegean gold and silver ware, New York

B le gen ster ms) and are common in deposits bneath the palace and in the Citadel House fill but not in graves ortombs, in contrast to Crete where they appear in vast numbersmuch earlier and in tombs, seems significant. While conical cupsmay have been more common at Mycenac than at other excavatedmainland sites. it is unlikely the numbers or proportion relative toother pottery approached those of Crete.

Wacc and II A-IIIAJ (Lll in

tonical cups were much more frequent thangoblets. (My profound thanks go to Dr. E. French for the photo-graph, information about the Citadel House and much other ad-vice and aid.)That conical cups appear at Myccnae in LH

II-IIpainted ware; hereI). Many conical cups also appeared in unitof the fill levels of the Citadel House along with LHI

I3 fragments (197) and a small test below the Ante-Chamber to the DomesticQuarters yielded 27 cups, listed as LH II (p. 259). About ten sherdswere found in the dromos of the Tomb of Aegisthus. possibly com-ing from the fill (p. 3

Wacc.) From below the court of the palace cameII of the conical cups excavatedshows33c.) Conical cups weralso very common in the drain below the room N. of the W.Portal (p. 218). (Fig.

J50--151. Fig.SA 25, pp.92l-l923 , Myccnan, Excavations atRefs. omitted. A.pOllCry

lacking.painted hen uas valuable evidence in dating deposits

I. was common throughout LHand died out at the beginning of LH Ill, and can therefore behandlelecup begins at Mycenac in LH

pottery, cups of this type are as rare as they arc common in the ear-lier period. For instance, in the deposits of the early strata by theLion Gate, cups of this type hardly occur. This type of

sherds. On the other hand, in tombs which contain typical LHfloor-of this lobby we find them with LHsites cups of this shape are extremecommon at the end of the Middle Minoan Period and in LM J-II.Here too below the

Knossos and other Cretan .17 very characteristic of LH J-II deposits. They occur in LH I-II strata at Korakou, and one wasfound with the earliest group of interments in Tomb

IJC oee m s . w ith Pnounced string-marks on the base showing how it had been Cut Offfrom the wheel

.ype T)his

de-

posits below the floors of the Palace.

. is extremely common in all theW . Lobby of the palace lists Handleless cups. five fragmentsand adds, This type of cupWace. describing the pottery from below the

187-191).The most significant appearance of conical cups on the mainlandoccurs at Mycenac.1978). pp. 202-207; 1977 (pr. 1980). pp.pr. 171;1976 167-

59-63; Praktika 1974 (pr. 1976). p. 96: 1975 (pr. 1977). pp.SCABA (1981). pp.aleatas .in:pollon comm.See also V. Lambrinudakis, Remains of the Myccnaean period inthe sanctuary of

20% of the total sherds. compared to about 30%each for Vaphio cups and kylika (V. Lambrinudakis. pers.JO0 conical cup fragments

comprising about

comm.). Atthe hilltop sanctuary of Apollon Maleatas near Epidauros earlyMycenaean levels revealed part of a terrace wall, ashes, bones ofbulls and goats, fragments of stone vases. and a long series ofdouble axes. The pottery includes about

pcrs. l-III A I(K. Demakopoulou.een in use in LH Minoanizing features and to have

1975. pp. 48-50.). At Kokla an import-ant tholos recently excavated by K. Demakopoulou yielded threeconical cups of silver, the first examples known in precious metal.The tomb seems to show other

CeramicaMicenea in Attica. Milan Benz& . 386 (3 tin-coated examples); see also M.idem, T he use of tin on Mycenacan vases ,esperia 35,1966.ISI;

1971, The Athenian Agora XIII.p.70-71 and 79; S. Jmmerwahr, The Neo-lithic and Bronze Ages, Princeton1981. pp.ast. IV, Gent

MIGRAidcnti-fiable sherds. Certain aspects of the nearby contemporary tombsalso suggested tics with Crete (P. Mountjoy. Four early Mycenaeanwells from the south slope of the Acropolis at Athens,

196 fragments represented 5.6% of theII B-IIIAImaterial contained conical

cups; in one wellcomm.). Their scarcity at Ayios Stephanos has already been noted.In Athens, 4 wells with LH

shcrds no conical cups appeared (Y. Lolos, pers.51-52.). At Voroulia in a closed LH I deposit totaling 120 vasesand many145, nos.975, p.JII,Mainzohl, in: TirynsJO, no. 5; H. 104. nos. 3 and 4, and p. 99 andFig.

Persson,New tombs at Dendra near M idea,Lund 1942. p. 42 and Fig. 47,nos. 2 and 3. pp. 92-93 and Fig.100; A.oteborg 1977. p.Astrom. The Cuirass Tomb and otherfinds from Dendra, SJMA IV.12, nos. 249 and 250; P.

I53 andFig. I52 andG&c-borg 1980. pp. 32.44.49.68 and 109, Fig. 8. nos.HE-HlAl pottery,sine: The Late Helladic

Frizcll. An early M ycenaeansettlement at 413-414; B.937, pp.1979, pp. 234-263; C. Blegen, Prosymna, Cam-bridge, Mass.Hcsperia 48,

I pottery from Korakou ,1. and J. Davis, Late Helladic 43.57-59and Fig. 1921. pp.rc Nichoria; C. Blegen. Korakou:A prehistoricsettlement near Corinth, Bostoncomm. crs.

1975. p. 132; 0. Dickin-son and S. Martin, Ergon M es se ni a .51, 52, 92.

198 and 205: G. Korres.1. pp. 223.359-360 and Figs. 337, 353-354; III. pp. 35. 42, 47.(Pylossine. Dendra and Tiryns

JIIAI deposit), Korakou (evenamong unpainted wares, jugs and stemmed goblets more com-mon). Prosymna,I-II; 4% by rim count in an LHPylos, the Gouvalari tombs, Nichoria (a few in LHIJB deposits at

JllAJ and goes out of use thereafter. Examples include prc-LH2&t) appears, generally inrelatively small numbers, at some sites in LH I-II. continues intoLH

(FS y) Limitations of space permit only a brief summary of conicalcups on the mainland. The shape

40). (Photograph by Dr. ElizabethFrench.)Fig. 1. Conical cups from Mycenae (see foot-note

The Tale of t he Conical Cups


7/11

I(l978). p. 434.ettlement .in: TA W1o J. W. Shaw. Consideration of the site of Akrotiri as a Mi-noan

Quanta1 analysis of metro-logical data from the prehistoric Aegean , a paper presented at th82nd general meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America,New Orleans. 1980. In any event the adoption of a convenient sys-tem of weights and measures need not in itself indicate any pro-found impact of one society on another or even very extensivetrade. any more than in the case of the adoption of the MariaTheresa Thaler by Abyssinia.

19.1980. pp. 12-23. and by J. Cherry in

Akroti-ri: Preliminary observations , in:TA W I (1978). pp. 547-554. Cri-tiques of the evidence are presented by E. Bennett in Kadmos

Petruso. Systems of Weight in the Bronze Age Aegean ,diana University dissertation, 1978 and Lead weights fromSee K.M.judgemenl in this regard until further evidence is available.

(1980). pp.227-240. One system of lead weights in use at Akrotiri. Ayia lriniand Phylakopi is said to bc the standard Minoan system, but thecxistcncc of large numbers of weights said to belong to other sys-tems, and the process of rounding off variations in weight re-quired to research the conclusion may make it prudent to suspend

Thera scontacts overseas during the Bronze Age , in: A W IIBuchholz. Some observations concerningee H. G.U Marinatos. Thera IV (supra n. 46). p. 14.105-106.1). pp.Warren (supra n.

21. PI. 336.974, p. ThemVI. Athens idem. andleless bowls peculiar to sanctuaries):6r (deposit

from the NW corner of the Vestibule of the Ladies, described as ahoard ofI3 and PI.heri V. Athens 1972. p.dem.wcrc sometimes placed upside-down on the sacredground);

handleless cups from Delta 7 were used in the religious ceremo-nies andI5 (dozens of small971. p.t Thera IV. Athens

61-62, PI. I I (conical cups fallen froman upper storey of Room 6 in the West House); S. Marinatos, Ex-cavations

1983. pp.logica/ treasures, Athens 1980 (Engliih edition). p. 27. Separate de-posits are noted in C. G. Doumas, Thera: Pompeii of the AncienAegean, London

archaeo-C. G. Doumas. Santorini. A guide to island and its333-341.See also J. F.Cherry and J. L. Davis, The Cycladcs and the Greek mainland inLC I: The evidence of the pottery , JA 86.1982. pp.

182-210.980. pp.rchEphartJtari. M. Thorpe-Schola (supra n. 26). p. 444.982. p. 9:Cyclada AAU C. Cl. Doumas. The Minoan thalassocracy and the

theworkshop on Cycladic chronology held at the Institute of Archae-ology, London, 1983.

dc-struction in Akrotiri: Archaeological evidence . a paper read al

Palyvou. A late MC Ill-early LC IM. Marthari and C.(supra).Seen. JOI3 and pp. 53-56.973. p.ia. Athens Them and Thera-pcrling. 976: J.heta VII. Athenst

I: S. Marinatos. Ex-cavations IIO-Iuptions, Paris 1879.. pp.cst ot in 1971. p. 272: F. Fouqui. San-Zakros: Thediscovery of a lost palace. New York Platen. 09; N.979. p.rchEph

I P. Warren. The stone vessels from the Bronze Age settlementat Akrotiri. Then .

lustral basin in Xate 3, withits remarkable wall paintings incorporating iconography fa-miliar in Crete. The use of ashlar is common. as in Crete.There are also architectural features with no exact parallelsin Crete such as the location of windows, and the absence todate of Minoan light wells or pillar crypts has also beennoted. If our view as to the presence of Minoans and de-gree of M inoan influence were to depend on architecture

I6 to a Minoan shrine stor-eroom, and the M inoan-type

onebuilding of gypsum imported from C rete. the appearance ofthe pier-and-door partition, the resemblance of the south-west corner of Delta oom

weights.&As to Akrotirian architecture, we note the SC in

manylead

all suggest participation, direct or indirect, n awidespread trade network, as does the appearance ofpottery

rosite Paint Pigment perhaps from Cyprus and Canaaniteja-POr ter sLodge in Sector Alpha. Ostrich eggs, redhe Xeste 3 andhe miniature fresco and the frescoes from

COnsCcrntiOn are present in Sector Delta and are depicted inewer. Horns ofippled heran CriPtiOn of four signs on ain-

tcch-niques flourishes. Linear A appears in the form of anquantitY. and a local stone vase industry using Minoancontcxts.Q

Apart from pottery, Minoan stone bowls are imported in

Theran or Theran-inspired vases in the Sh aftGraves, but this in itself suggests nothing more than minortrade contact. What is most striking again, however, arethe thousands of conical cups, some perhaps from cultic

I destruction level at Akrotiri, just as thereare a fewUSC.~ There are also small numbers of mainland vasesin the final LC

nippled ewers. Some of the nipplcd ewershave painted eyes, some ears, some single or double neckla-ces, and sometimes they are portrayed on other vessels; thedecoration may contain religious iconography and implycultic

(kymbat) often la-vishly decorated, ribbed vases, cylindrical plant pots ,and particularly

I in the way Minoan-inspired motifs areapplied and in m any shapes, including loop-handled bowlsof Middle Cycladic origin, oblong vessels

level: However, the local ceramic tradition persiststhroughout LC

I date reco-vered from the pits dug to hold the roofing pillars and fromthe excavation of the NW corner of Xeste 2 in 1978 is sig-nificantly different in the degree and manner of adaptationof Minoan features from the pottery of the final destruction

10s. in which case what we have to date is a very small partof an enormous settlement.At Akrotiri, as at Phylakopi and A yia lrini. the wholeMinoan pottery repertory of bowls, basins, jars, pithoi andcooking trays, both tripod and flat, is imported or pro-duced locally. The decoration of almost all the large storagepithoi is Minoan of Minoanizing. Minoan types of spindlewhorls and Minoan shapes of lamps and fireboxes (or.perhaps better, containers for distillation or incense bur-ners) a re common. At Akroti ri as a t Phylakopi the re isevidence for increasing Minoanization during the course ofLC 1: the local pottery of late MC III-early LC

Ba -

1870 Mamct andGorccix discovered remains of Bronze Age houses withlarge pithoi and fresco fragments of lilies? S. Marinatossuggested in 1976 that the Akrotiri site might extend to

1867 and l,ooO me-ters toward the North, where in Bales, overessels. four of them Minoan? Or attcrs to the East, where in 1899 Zahn uncovered nine stonemc-00 otamos, ? What rests at

east ofSector Delta in the stream bed and a few other places wherethere were stratified remains beginning in MC, what WChave is largely limited to a part of an LC I-LM IA town.We do not know whether the section excavated is repre-sentative of the whole, or whether further excavation wouldreveal a Minoan palace. What, for example, lies beyond thesplendid facade at Xate

as yet no cemeteries or sanctuaries(apart from household shrines). Except or the area

Theran evi-dence, we should first recognize the present limits f ourknowledge. We have

22 Malcolm H. Wiener

Let us now turn to Thera. where the suggestive presenceof masses of conical cups is accompanied by many otherkinds of archaeological data. n weighing the


8/11

remarks of L. Morgan at this Symposium (infra).he eehe main-imited tolearly no tclmcts arc p. JO.Boar s tusk 1983. 21 and22.

Kccgan.Command performances , New York eview of books 29,Jicnnc from the Baltic to the Caribbean. Sec. e.g., J.ita-trace cnJta. who carried theavorgnano, Peruzzi andllo. Sang-

gical Society. Monograph 21). Also illustrative is the diffusion ofdefensive improvements via the fortification families ofE~Jmolo-itarypatternsin the Grea t Plains,Seattle 1953 (American mi-hangittgecoy. 9); F.Jablow.

The Chey enne in Plains Indian trade relations, Seattle 1952 (Amer-ican Ethnological Society, Monograph

Jn-dians of guns and horses, acquired from East Coast tribes beforethe arrival of Caucasians on the Plains. and the resulting transfor-mation of Plains Indian culture is a notable example: J.

.Thc immediate assimilation by the North American Plains@ Personal communication from H. Blitzer Watrous.1968. p. 1.elfast reek sources: A lecture,260-270. cited in G. L. Huxley, Minoans inHomer, Iliad JO.

Schofield (supra n. 20).PMJV,Z. p. 867 and Fig. 854.Evans,9BJ. p. 52.aim 1972, Kat.isenzeit. rtthen Hclmen inder Bronze- und curopaischen rientalischen undueziehungcn hren

Aggis inerelmformme/me:J. Borchhardt, Homerische 192b.cmbcse (supra n. 37). p. 208 and PI.

I. There are pierced boar s tusksfrom Kca in LMIB destruction appears to show a helmet

with a few boar s tusks.I. One of the Zakros scal-ings from the LM

IB destruction, is in any event from a Minoanseal which is not later than LM

lllH but more safely described as burntin the LM

Triada showing what Levi d escribed,probably correctly, as a boar s tusk helmet, listed by J.Borchhardt as MM

Heraklion. Thesealing from Ayia

I comes from settlements and sanctuaries.Worked boar s tusks probably intended or a helmet havebeen found in an LM IA tomb at Poros in

t he boar s tusk helmet first and best fromMiddle Helladic and Myccnaean contexts, but this may bedue to the great difference between Hclladic and M inoanburial customs and to the fact that almost all our evidencefor LH 1 comes from burials, whereas almost all our knowl-edge of LM

y Homer, Iliad 2.671-675.

We know

3-14. 1983. pp.reek art and iconography, Madison, Wisconsinico-

nography of the ship fresco from Thcra . in: W. Moon, cd.cient1983. pp. 83-85; E. Davis, TheJ(L 87, 1981, pp. 69-70; J. L. Crowlcy. AJA 85.hera: Another look ,Myccnauns at

197-204; J. Da-vis, Proc4CretCongr I (1980). pp.Gescll, The town fresco of Thcra: A reflection of Cre-tan topography ,

IS-129; G. 1979, pp. J1979. p.JOJ; P. Warren, The miniature fresco from the West House aAkrotiri . Thera. and i ts Aegean setting ,HS 99.

Mycenaan Greece . AJA 83.Myccnaun art , ibid., pp. 645-655;S. Jakovidis. Thcra andThem and the emergence ofNcgbi. The miniature fresco from1978). pp. 629-644; 0. TA W I

1977. p. 177; L. MorganBrown, The ship procession in the miniature fresco , in:Schachermeyr on the occasion of his

eightieth birthday, Berlin-New YorkprehistoryStudies presented to FritzMabtemnean in ancient history and

Grccccand the Easternhlycenacans at Thcra: Some reflections onthe paintings from the West House . in: K. H. Kinzl. cd.. S. Immerwahr.

following.Y Surely Nireus might well havechosen to be depicted with other ships and wearing the sta-tus military item of the day, the boar s tusk helmet, and tohave his wife or daughter shown wearing large round goldearrings.

Nircus. whose three ships arc thesmallest contingent in Homer s Catalogue, a weak manwith a small

1966-67, p. 23.The miniature fresco has already spawned a consider-able literature, including suggestions of Minoan, Cycladicand Mycenaean elements present in the fresco and by exten-sion at Thcra. Here in particular, penetrating the world ofpainter and patron involves difficult questions of naturalis-tic depiction versus artistic convention, of specific incidentversus genre scene, of cultural characteristic versus interna-tional style or Versailles effect-in short, of the inspirationof the artist and the aspiration of the owner. Consider, forexample, what a visitor to Syme might have seen on thewalls of the house of

ArchRe966-67 .egaw. Archaeology in Greece,A. If:958, pp. 334rlin Minoica. Thronsaals in Knossos . in:cs Zum Wandsschmuck

30-32: HReusch. 106-07. Figs. 5 and 7, and Pls.Ergon 1980 (pr. 1981). pp. 4041 andsupra n. 46. pp.Doumas.

JE-66. PI. C; C. G.

1976. pp.Marinatos. Excavations at Thcra VII. Athens

represcntations.

mets were effective for warfare. then they would constitutea survival factor of the kind neighboring societies in vio-lent times quickly adopt if they can? It should be noted that other helmets are also shown inthe miniature fresco, including a hooked type which w eknow from Minoan

helhese thetusk of a boar splinters easily. it may be that such helmetswere for display rather than fighting. If. however.

Odysscus.J9 Given the fact thatMcriones. who gives it togOa as aguest-gift to Molos the Cretan, who gives it to his son

Type A swordsand Minoan luxury goods found in the Shaft Graves. In theIliad, Autolycus steals a boar s tusk helmet in Boeotia angives it to Amphidamas of Kythcra. from whom it

manufacture foall of them, boar s tusk helmets would have made splendiitems for gift exchange or trade, and it is easy to imagineMinoans receiving them in exchange for the

w e assume mainland. Even if

rc-ligious iconography seems evident.

land in LB

I The influence of MinoanXestc 3 includes a representationof horns of consecration, as does the lustral basin fresco at

the Minoan palace at Zakros.

Helga Reusch. Finally,the lustral basin fresco of

Snf-fron crocuses and pouring them on the ground near a seatedfemale, probably a goddess. The seated female wears a goldpendant of the Mallia bee or wasp pendant type. In front ofher is a monkey, and a griffin appears at her flank as in thetwo Minoan seals discussed by Dr.

iconographic features such as women gatheringfrom above the lustral basin in Xcste 3, which include Mi-noan

judgcment. Consider the wall paintings

WC come to the wall paintings, we face the accidentof preservation and recovery in a special sense. hat thevolcanic tephra has preserved is so striking that it rivets at-tention and sways

feet. or to resident or itinerant Minoan craftsmen. Weshould note, however, that the toilets in the individualhouses at Akrotiri connect to a well-built common drainagesystem. indicating central planning, and that at Akrotiri asat Trianda and many sites in Crete LM IA is a period ofgrand building or rebuilding.

When

cf-VCrSaillCS COnVCrSClYwhether the similarities could e due to themJterialS

or by the style of a particular architect. andcould be explained by differences in local buildingthe differences

Tale of the Conical Cups 2

alone, it would be difficult to judge whether

Th e


9/11

Set the paper by S. Hood at this Symposium (infra).I40-41: Rcnfrew. Polity and power: Interaction. intensification and exploitation . (supra n. 9). pp. 271-290.n. 9). pp.

Melor . (supenfrcw. Bronze Age1981. pp. 23-31; Renfrew(supra n. 9). pp. 223-227; ESA 76.Bragan, Minoan Colonialism , l48-150: K.

Mnos and Dexithea: Crete and the Cycladcs in the later Bronze Agin: Papers in Cycladic Prehistory (1979). pp.5-14: Schofield (supra n. 20); J. L. D avis,p. 3), Doum(supra n. JOE;1), p.. 103 and (supra n.Warren (supra n. 7).

The American colonies established independence with Frenchaid at the moment when their artifacts and architecture most close-ly resembled those of England.

(supta n. 65). p. 178.12. cited in Hood Dossin. Syria 20. 193p.Mari tablets burnt in the destruction attributed toHammurabi in the 18th Century B.C.: G.

dccoratcd with gold and lapis lazuli is listedon one of the

Mycenac. but if the technologictradition has its origin elsewhere the Thcran blade may also. ACaphtoritc weapon

M A workshop for manufacture of the inlaid blades may havebeen established at some point atXIIIC.964. Pls. XII andheBronzeAge. Chicagoreecein 101: photographs in E. Vermeule,3). p.Jakovidis (supra n.

u Thorpe-Schola (supra n. 26). p. 440..).hfragment was bought, with a fragment of inlaid blade that from itsdimensions should belong to a sword, perhaps the same weapon, in1873

14). pp. 68 and 117. n. 7 (The ThcraDickinson (supra n.181 and 267. n. 57 (The low midri

suggests a dagger rather than a sword.).n?65). pp.Hood (supra105.

Greece, Harmondsworth 1978. pp. 224-242. and 273.n.1970. p. 54, PI. 44; S. Hood, The artsprehistoric

Greek gemand finger rings, London1981. pp. 2-8; J. Boardman.UAS6, MyccnauChieftain? . J. Betts. The seal from Shaft Grave Gamma-A

Rton-are debatable as representative of a Myccnacan artistic tradi-tion .

Tiryns. compared to aleast eight representations on the miniature fresco from Thera(personal communication). At least two of the four objects fromShaft Grave IV-the Lion Hunt Dagger and the Silver S iegeshcrd fromycmac and onerectangular body shield appear only on four objects from ShaftGrave IV at

y L. Morgan has observed that mainland representations of thesee especially Davis (supra 53).

Crowley (supra n. 53): Jakovidis(supra n. 53). For a contrary view,Jmmmahr (supra n. 53);:

DeliLeague. The gradual growth of a Minoan trading coloand intermarriage (perhaps including intermarriage of leading or ruling families) could have led to Minoan politicalcontrol. Nor is impoverishment of native inhabitants a necessary concomitant of control, direct or indirect, exercised

Mclian dialogue argument that n the Bronze Age forcewas frequently exercised and the stronger prevailed.K. Branigan has recently suggested that the lack of evi-dence of a total destruction indicating conquest, or of bar-racks or other indications of a garrison, argues against a belief that Melos. Kea and Thera were governed directly or in-directly from Crete. Cretan dominion or o verlordship,however, could have com e about gradually and relativelypeacefully (or at least without a violent destruction leavingunmistakable signs of warfare in the archaeological record),and forms of control could have been exercised without thprior stationing of a garrison, as in the case of the Atheniasubjugation of Melos when it refused to join the

rcvant information. We should note, ow ev er, S. Ho od

flUCnCe and (4) movement of people.

As to political control, we may never know the answer,unless Thera holds an archive of Linear A tablets with

in-ontrol, (2) economic impact, (3) religious and culturalma& C. Renfrew, E. Schofield, and P. Warren. * Let ushere address the question simply in terms of (I) political

Dou-been ad-vanced including those of K. Branigan. J. Davis, C.

expect at a site SO close to Crete at the time of maximum Mi-noan wealth, security and expansion in LM IA.What then can we say in summary about the nature of therelationship of Minoan Crete to the Cyclades and about thethalassocracy? Various views and models have

Mycenaean-Theran trade in the kind of goods that generallyleave little or no trace, such as metals, textiles, hides, food-stuffs and slaves. A millennium later, the Carthaginianswere formidable mariners and traders, but we w ould neverknow it from non-literary archaeological evidence. More-over, even identity of ethnic background and geographicorigin may not be a reliable indicator of political relation-ships. For example, it is remotely possible that the wallpaintings reflect the moment when a Minoan or Minoanizedcolony on Thcra gained independence with M ycenaeanaid. H owever, the evidence we do have suggests a heavyMinoan impact at Akrotiri. Indeed, this is what we should

contact,or other contact of akind difficult to detect in the archaeological record, particu-larly here due to the Versailles effect and other pervasiveimprint of Minoan culture. There may have been significant

karum een a MyccnacanMyce-naean wealth and foreign contacts there could well have

I seems slight, com-pared to the weight of Minoan impact. Let us recall, how-ever, our cautionary tales, for at a time of increasing

I prefer the many thousands of conicalcups.On the whole, evidence of M yccnacan presence or influ-ence on Thcra toward the end of LC

V. but the complex pyrotechnology re-quired for such painting in metal makes it unlikely in myview that these daggers were the product of a mainland tra-dition established prior to the eruption of Thera.The nature of the wall paintings permits, indeed invites, avariety of interpretations. As evidence of the presence ofparticular people,

blade6 inlaid with gold battle axes, purchased in 1873 inAthens and said to come from Thera. has been called asimpler counterpart of the grand inlaid daggers from ShaftGraves IV and

I would follow J. Betts, J. Boardman. and S.Hood in regarding the seal as Minoan in m anufacture andprobably in subject; the detailed analysis by J. Betts is par-ticularly persuasive. A dagger or fragment of sword

seal from Shaft Grave Gamma. The general observationsmade regarding the helmets apply as well to the shields.The jewelry seems to me insufficiently diagnostic or (withrespect to the scalloped earrings) not traceable to a particu-lar source, except perhaps in the case of the Mallia-type in-sect pendant worn by the seated figure in the lustral basinscene. Jewelry above all is subject to the dictates of styleand to the Versailles effect. As for the profiles in the paint-ing and seal,

Mycenacan presence or influence at Akrotiri,including rectangular body shields, earrings resembling jew-elry from the Shaft Graves, and the similarity of the profileof the admiral to the profile head on the amethyst bead

24 M al co l m H . Wi ener

Other aspects of the wall paintings have also been cited asevidence for


10/11

I agree, however, that the wall painting from lustral basin in Xeste 3 certainly appears to retain its re-ligious content.

I mentioned that we do not have as yet frThera any evidence for cemeteries or sanctuaries, as disguished from household shrines. Also, sometimes religiiconography in one culture becomes status iconographyanother. For example, on the mainland the religious content of what we take to b e Minoan cult objects may havbeen lost.

M. Wiener:

I have in fact identified many shrines which are dcussed in my paper.

I was getting at. Wspeaking about frescoes one has to take into account theircontent, the iconology, in order to determine the degreeMinoanization. If the religious/symbolical meaning isnoan, this shows a high degree of Minoan influence. Thother point regards the absence of shrines at AkrotirThcra.

Mari na t es This is exactly what

relisious content.

N .

1 presume that members of the higher classeswere expected to have frescoes in their houses. The frescoesfound near the lustral basin in Xeste 3 at Thera may be in asomewhat different category, in view of their Minoan orMinoanizing

M. Wiener:

Marinates: Would you consider frescoes, such as theones found at Akrotiri, luxury items?

DiscussionCh. Starr: We have to be careful about terms. The termcolony suggests something to us which would not be appli-cable to antiquity. The colony of the Assyrians was a trad-ing post without overtones of political control. Perhaps theword post (applicable to British, French, Portuguese, Da-nish settlements on the coast of India) would be more ap-propriate than colony.

N.

ID Supra n. 40.Marinates (supra n. 78).N.Marinates at this Symposium (infra).ee the paper by N.

10 6th Centuries B.C., and at times the relatprosperity of certain islands may have largely been due to piracy.ample from the 8thdomhunt power, forospcriry in the absence of ariods of not absolute; the islands have enjoyed

196course the correlation isBari 1960). Berkeley and Los AngelesSgO-161s.sari,encxia e5&I--1615 (translated fromaline of Venice Tcncnti. Piracthe in the age of Philip Il. 1972: A.anean world

hlccnerslly. F. Braudcl. The Mediterranean and theee cds. (sup9); Waastaff. 136155 and Settlementresources. pp. 246-263. in: Renfrew andment and population change, pp.

Sasstaff and Cherry. Pin Cycladic Prehistory, pp. 43-46; prchistory. in:J. Cherry, Four problems in Cycladic(supra).51. cited in Renfrew7.1910--1911. p.SA

Aislands,

Hasluck. Depopulation in theLevant, 1908, citeRcnfrew (supra); F. Latins in the40; W. Miller,_ The. 9). p.chan8c. (sScttJemmt and populationautaff and Cherry, 1983. pp. 69IA 87.hird and early second millennia B.C. ,

Cyclada in the 370; J. Rutter. Some observations on the 1972. pp.Cycladcsthe Aegean in the third millennium B .C., Londoncivikarion: The6 C. Rcnfrew. The emergence of

107-108.. 41). pp.Warren (supraplohation. (supra n. 9). pp. 275-276.Rcnfrew. Polity and power: Jntaaction. intensification and

contrvy view of Cycladic economic histand the consequences of the appearance of a dominant power,somewhat For a

saMalcolm H . Wiener151 East 83rd StreetNew York, New York 10028

sponsc to the coaxing of Cycladic parents). none can

creatpopulation with a significant component of Minoans or de-scendants of Minoans.

But whether the sons of Minos became governors ofislands, and if so whether through colonization, conqueor dynastic intermarriage (either at their insistence or in

1 strongly suggests the adoption bya large part of the populace of a peculiarly Minoan ritual or

The Tale of t he Conical Cups

custom, and probably some movement of people

sites of Phylakopi, Ayialrini and Akrotiri in LC

Melos, Kea and Thcra surely represents some-thing greater. Our tell-tale superabundance of conical cupswidely distributed throughout the

intermarriage, 0 the Minoanimpact on

sailles effect, acting primarily through the upper strata, per-haps facilitated by some movement of craftsmen or otherpeople or even by high-level

Vcr-as resulting largely from theI woulddescribe Minoan influence on the mainland and particularlyMycenae during LM

impact.9Cultural influence is obvious. However, while

I. Intensive trade in metals, luxury goods and manyother items, often accompanied by Minoan traders, appearslikely from the evidence.

Religious impact seems likely, particularly at Akrotirigiven the lustral basin fresco and the existence of what ap-pear to be household shrines of a Minoan type. Indeed, asN. Marinatos has argued, it may not be possible in the caseof ncopalatial Crete to separate religious influence frompolitical and economic

I believe, Crete inLM

PrOSPCritY par-ticularly during periods when a dominant power providedsecurity for sea-borne trade. as in the case of Venice, Ge-noa, Byzantium, Athens for a time, and,

A.D.,6 and on the other hand relativethe transition from Early toMiddle Cycladic, beginning of the Iron Age. and 16th Cen-tury

securityand expanding horizons.

As to economic impact, P. Warrens conclusion that thewealth of the islands can only be explained in relation to awider Minoan-dominated trading network seems justified.Throughout history the Cyclades have experienced isola-tion, abject poverty and partial abandonment at times of in-security and piracy, as in

aquarter, might have seemed a small price to pay for even

SOmCtimes acquirefriends at court. Moreover, a tithe for Minos. Or

inCrete. Even unprepossessing colonies

than ore ny y a Cretan palace. in the Cycladcs


11/11

Theran M iniatures this type of helmet is only de-picted in the N. W all scene; on the S. W all, with the shprocession. none of the helmets is strictly of the boar s type-they are variants of the zone helmet and all are indi-vidualized.

Theran M iniature, there areonly about five examples from the mainland, all but one ofwhich come from Shaft Grave IV, and two or three fromCrete. There are therefore few in all, and more from Therathan from anywhere else.Regarding boar s tusk helmets: It is worth pointing outthat in the

I.. Morgan: Regarding the tower shield: Although there areat least eight represented in the

I would like topoint out that our evidence from the mainland comes fromtombs, whereas from Crete we have very few tombs and ourmain evidence comes from buildings.

Cadogam I agree with Ch. Doumas, but

acted as a protective moat and theships as shields. On the mainland, however, cities wouldfight each other and thus there would be a greater need forweapons.

G .

armour since the sea

environm&t into ac-count. On the islands there would be less of a need to useDoumas.

One has to take the(CMS II 2. no. 32).

Ch.

protopa-latial era from Knossos4.9). A representation of afigure-of-eight shield even appears on a seal of thePi. elme,

(Borch-hardt. Homerische IB riada dated LMNiemeierz W e have a represen tation of a boar s tusk helmet on a scaling from Hagia

I am sure that there were Mi-noan warriors and they probably did wear boar s tuskmets and figure-of-eight shields, but the fact is we just donot know.M . W iener: Apparently, the M inoans developed so-phisticated weapons during Middle M inoan times as theswords from M allia show. And S. Hood has shown thattype A swords, found in the Shaft G raves, originate inCrete.

W .

deed he thought that Greek myths w ent back not to theG reeks but to the Minoans.ln-

I am unhappy about assuming that armamentfound in the Shaft Graves is necessarily Mycenacan. Wnot know what M inoan or Cycladic warriors looked like,and we cannot assume that they did not wear boar shelmets.Going back to Ch. S ta rr s paper and the peaceful Mi-noans created by Evans, Evans never implied that the Mi-noans controlled the Aegean by entirely peaceful means.

themsclvK. w hich co nta in bo ar s tu sk s an d p lates als o.However,

Eu-trcsis and Eleusis at the end of the M iddle Helladic periowhich, in fact, is not much earlier than the Shaft Graves

IB pe-riod, and we have more of a M ycenaean presence in Keathan at Akrotiri for example.It is i mportant to trace the Mycenaean elements such asthe boar s tusk helmet or the large shield and other war-like

elements. Boar s tusks are present in the mainland sinceM iddle Helladic times.0. Di ck i nson: There are boar s tusks and plates from

Immerwahr: In defense of the M ycenaean presence inThcra: I agree with G. Cadogan about the Minoanization ofthe Cyclades and the Dod ccanesc. but we cannot discountthe fact that the Mycen aeans are developing at exactly thesame period. W e have a meld of Minoan and Myccnaeanelements during this period of expansion. The M ycenaeanpresence is not equally strong everywhere. It is true that wehave no M ycenaeans in Trianda until after the LM

106-121). and exhibit a great degree ofconservatism.S.

Prehistory, pp.ie Cyc/a-Overbeck ( Consistency andD iversity in the M iddle Cyc ladic Era , in :apers in

1. Davis: To continue with burial customs, Middle Cycladicgraves continue many Early Cycladic burial customs, asshown by John and Gatcwood

I think it would be very difficult to identify somethingwhich is specifically Assyrian without the tablets.

Ktlltepe. O fcourse, there are various burial customs in Anatolia at thistime.

Kttltepe m ight be ipferrcd. It isclear that there arc differing views among specialists as towhether an Assyrian custom can be detected at

Gzgttc have suggested thatburial under the floor is an Assyrian custom from which thepresence of Assyrians at

I know very little. K. Branigan has called my atten-tion to the fact that T. and N .

Kultepe and the contrast between the literaryand the archaeological evidence. W e think that burial cus-toms are conservative. The Assyrian residents, however,had, as you said, adopted new burial customs. It would beinteresting to investigate what they kept and what theyadopted from this new environment.M . W iener Anatolian burial customs is a subject aboutwhich

I was interested in what you told us about the bu-rial customs atH#gg

J. D a v i s Although its plan in LM IA is i mperfectly known,it does not seem to have been on the scale of House A and isno grander than other houses.R.

M . W iener: W hat is the quality of the house with the ear-liest pictorial fresco?

284-296).This does not, of course, preclude the possibility thatother frescoes were as early or earlier but remained n situon reused walls for a longer time. It is worth noting that wehave no pictorial fresco from the Temple, but we have pic-torial frescoes fro m House A and from other houses in theeastern part of the site.

(Hesperia 42, 1973, pp.

Irini is not in House A norin the Temple, but in House J in the western part of the sitenear the fortification wall: namely the dolphin fresco re-cently published by K. Ab ramowitz

Davis: The earliest context in which pictorial fresco frag-ments have been found at Ayia

26 Ma lcol m . W iener

J.

conicalcups1982

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