Mycenae and Homer
Traces of Mycenaean Society in Homer
Homer talks about
these things, which were not a major part of his own world. Some may be
items that had survived, but some must be a memory within the oral tradition.
Objects
(a) Gold
“Mycenae rich in gold”
Odyssey 3:305 and the death mask
cf the
gold found at Troy: thousands of rings, earrings, etc.
There are no significant
gold sources in Greece. It therefore must be either plundered or traded. Collapse
of trade meant gold was uncommon by Homer’s time. p36 BHAG
(b) Bronze weapons
and armour. Iron was introduced by 1050, well before Homer. By 950 almost all weapons and tools are iron. BHAG p37
(c) Inlaid armour cf photo BHAG p23 cf Iliad 16:134 ff, and Achilles’ armour.
“The sword of Achilles is inlaid or engraved
with a design of racing chariots, and though we have a fair series of ancient swords, we know of none with comparable decoration
save the daggers of the Shaft-graves. … Later blades from the Greek world
are without exception plain.” H L Lorimer Journal of Hellenic Studies vol
49 part 2 1929 ! p145-159
(d) The palaces
and the megaron. BHAG p17f, cf 40. No
8th C houses were that size.
(e) Thick walls, of large stones, therefore “built by gods”.
Traditional Descriptions
· “Mycenae
rich in gold” Odyssey 3:305
· “Horse-rearing Argos, Horse-rearing
Troy” (No horse remains before Troy 6-7)
· “Wind-swept plains
of Troy”
· References to Thebes in Egypt as rich must derive from the 15th C. The 14th C Akhenaton moves his capital, and the 13th C Rameses II abandons
it as a royal residence. (H L Lorimer Journal of Hellenic Studies vol 49 part
2 1929 p153)
· Lions: There are several
lion similes in Homer, mostly applied to Achilles. Mycenae
has the lion gate. We are not told by Homer of a single hero who
has taken part in a lion hunt. His bulls bellow and his goats
bleat, but his lions are silent. He also speaks wrongly of a lion rejoicing at
finding a carcass. Lions eat only fresh meat.
“The lion similes in Homer are not derived from nature, but from works of art, of which the supreme example
that remains to us is the Lion Hunt dagger blade.” Homer’s
mistake is thus explained: he was describing a piece of art showing a lion over
a kill. H L Lorimer Journal of Hellenic Studies vol 49 part 2 1929 p153
· The lack of reference to writing.
There is one place in Homer where a symbol is used to convey a meaning.
Elements of 8th Century society in Homer
Objects
iron (introduced
by 1050 BHAG 37)
round shields ?? BHAG p73. But cf the Mycenaean
warrior pot BHAG p32; other Mycenaean shields were figure-of-8, or “tower”
shields, tall and rectangular.
“The armour
of Agamemnon has nothing Minoan about it.”
H L Lorimer Journal of Hellenic Studies vol 49 part 2 1929 ! p145-159
The wandering bard
Social Institutions
Homer shows a warrior
society, not the rigid hierarchy of the Mycenaean world:
F raiding as a way of life
F ignoring birthright in favour of strength (suitors’ treatment of
Telemachos)
F heroes concerned for honour above life
F local chieftains (basileuV)
Xenia
- more appropriate in a lawless time than in a settled one.
Nostos (can we tell
if it was important for Mycenaeans?)
Gender roles –
female modesty (cf the free-breasted Mycenaean ladies)
You can
look up this article through Open Library on Studenthome:
H L Lorimer Journal of Hellenic Studies vol 49
part 2 1929 (!) p145-159
A note on “Nestor’s
Cup” Iliad 11: 632-635. Something
similar, but not identical, has been found in a shaft-grave. Was Homer’s
description based on
(a) fantasy?
(b) folk memory
passed on orally?
