Progress into the past : the rediscovery of Mycenaean civilization

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INTO THE PAST THE REDISCOVERY OF MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION

WILLIAM

A.

Mcdonald

what author WilHam A. McDonald

In

refers to as "a kind of detective story, a

whodunit," he outlines the stepof the archaeological evidence, gradually accumulating over the past century, that bears on Greek 100 prehistory between about 1600 and B.C. This Mycenaean or Late Bronze Age was in its way as brilliant and fascinathistorical

by-step

reconstruction

i

ing a period as

its

classical successor, the

"golden" Age of Pericles, almost a thousand years later.

The Mycenaean Age was

the milieu in

which the Greeks developed many of the patterns of social and material culture which are reflected in the earliest European literature, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. It is therefore intriguing to examine the results of excavations as they illustrate, amplify, and modify these earliest literary records of Western civilization.

And

the

findings

culture in turn

hint

owed

brilliant civilizations

that

Mycenaean

good deal to the of the ancient Near a

East.

Progress into the Past

is

biographical

as well as historical. Successive discoveries

are viewed through the eyes, and often

in the actual

made

words, of the excavators

who

the most vital contributions. Their

and disagreements as well as and permanent achievements are chronicled. For each of the three generations over which the story unfolds, special attention is focused on each lead-

mistakes

their solid

ing excavator: Heinrich Schliemann,

who

foundations of Greek prehistoric archaeology between 1870 and 1890; Arthur Evans, who in the next generation established its reputation as an exact field of research; Carl Blegen, who guided the developing new science into responsi-

laid the

ble and flexible maturity.

A

special feature of Progress into the Past are the line drawings, commissioned

especially for the book,

which

{Continued on hack flap)

illustrate

PROGRESS INTO THE PAST

PROGRESS The Rediscovery of

INTO THE PAST Mycenaean

Civilization

WILLIAM A. McDonald Professor of Classics and Director of the Honors Division,

College of Liberal Arts,

University of Minnesota

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY COLLIER-MACMILLAN LTD.

/Ncvv York

/London

Copyright All rights reserved.

No

©

1967 by William A. McDonald

part of this

book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage

and

retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the Publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:

67-19952

First Printing

The Macmillan Company, New York Collier-Macmillan Canada Ltd., Toronto, Ontario Printed in the United States of America

TO Elizabeth, Sue and Betsy for Jaith, hope in the busy

and charity

months when

these chapters

were being written

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2010

http://www.archive.org/details/progressintopastOOmcdo

CONTENTS

Illustrations

ix

Preface

I

1 1

1 1 1

IV V

VI

V

1 1

VIII I

X

xiii

Before Schliemann:

Homer and

Schliemann, Priam and

the Philologists

Agamemnon: 1870-1890

Before Evans: The Situation in igoo

1

7

81

Evans, Crete and Minos: igoo-1914

111

Before Blegen: The Situation

171

Blegen, Priam and Nestor:

in the

Early Twenties

1915-1939

195

Developments Between the Wars: 1919-1939

245

The Last Twenty-five Years: 1940-1965

293

Some Current

359

Theories and Problems

Chapter Bibliographies and Sources of Quotations

427

Homeric References

439

Suggested Reading

441

Glossary

443

Maps

454

Index

463

[vii]

ILLUSTRATIONS

19

Fig-

I

Terra-cotta Whorls, Troy

Fig.

2

"Owl Vases," Troy

Fig.

3

Silver Jug,

Fig.

4

Gold Bottle and Cup, Troy

22

Fig-

5

23

Fig.

6

Gold "Double Sauceboat," Troy Two-handled Conical Goblet, Troy

Fig.

7

Terra-cotta Pithoi, Troy

Fig.

8

Gold Eagle and

20 21

Troy

Silver Dagger,

Troy

24 30 33

35

Fig.

9 10

Terra-cotta Jugs, Troy

"Lydian" Pottery, Troy

37

Fig.

Fig.

II

"Palladium" Statuette, Troy

41

Fig.

12

Typical Mycenaean Potsherds

42

Fig.

13

Selective Plan, Levels II

Fig.

14

Nephrite Battle Ax, Troy

44

Fig.

15

Lion Gate, Mycenae

47

Fig.

i6

Selective Plan,

49

Fig.

17

Fig.

i8

Mycenae Terra-cotta Statuettes, Mycenae Grave Stelae, Mycenae

19

Sketch Reconstruction, Grave Circle and

Fig.

20

Mycenae Warrior Vase, Mycenae

Fig.

21

Terra-cotta Vases, Shaft Grave,

Gold

Fig.

and VI, Troy

Vicinity,

Mycenae Repousse Ornaments, Mycenae Cups, Mycenae Rhyton, Mycenae Face Mask, Mycenae of Nestor," Mycenae Finger Ring, Mycenae Model of Tripartite Shrine, Mycenae

Fig.

22

Fig.

23

Gold

Fig.

24

Silver

Fig.

25

Fig.

26

Fig.

Fig.

27 28

Gold "Cup Gold Gold

Fig.

29

Schematic Reconstruction, Typical Shaft Grave,

Mycenae

43

^1

52

^4 ^^

57 58 59 ^^ ^^

^^ ^^

64 69 [ix]

Illustrations

x] Mycenae

70

Fig.

30

Inlaid Dagger,

Fig.

31

Citadel Plan with Detail of Palace, Tiryns

73

Fig.

32

"Triglyph-metope" Frieze, Tiryns

74

Fig-

33

Bull-leaper Fresco, Tiryns

76

Fig.

34

Fortifications of

35

Mycenae Citadel

Fig.

85

Troy VI as of

iSgy (Recent Evidence

on Street System Shown FigFig.

Dotted Lines)

in

Concept of Throne Room, Tiryns

36

Artist's

37

Water

38

Schematic Cut-away View, Tholos

Stair,

87 88

89

Mycenae

Fig.

39

Tomb Dromos and Doorway, Chamber Tomb

Fig.

40

Vaphio Cup

Fig.

41

Head

Fig.

42

Vaphio Battle

Fig-

43

Siege Scene, Silver Rhyton,

Fig.

44

Inscribed Vase Handle

103

Fig.

45

Typical Stirrup Jar

108

Fig.

46

Cup-bearer Fresco, Knossos

Fig.

47

Knossos Throne

Fig-

48

"Blue Boy" Fresco, Knossos

Fig.

49 50

Bull Fresco in

Fig.

51

Typical Narrow "Chariot Tablet," Knossos Broad Tablet with Numerals, Knossos

Fig.

52

Palace Plan, Knossos (Solid Black Showing Area

Fig.

53

Grand

Fig.

54

Comparison of Main Halls: (A) Troy

Fig.

Fig.

Ax

Excavated

101

Room

New

Mycenae

102

121

(Evans' Reconstruction;

Design for Columns and Ceiling)

Low

Two

Knossos

(B) Knossos; (C)

124

Restored by Evans)

55

La

56

Campstool Fresco, Knossos

Fig.

57

Priest-king Fresco in

135

Fig.

58

Bull-leaping Fresco, Knossos

Fig.

Palace Style

Fig.

59 60

Fig.

61

Typical Storeroom, Knossos

Fig.

62

Selected Contents,

Fig.

136

Parisienne Fresco, Knossos

Low

137 Relief,

Knossos

Amphoras

Shrine of Double Axes, Knossos

A

Temple Repository, Knossos

63

Typical Linear

Fig.

64

Theatral Area, Knossos

Fig.

65

Stratigraphic

134

II;

Mycenae

Fig.

126

127 132

Seasons) (as

Fig.

123

125

Knossos

Relief,

in First

Staircase,

93

95 100

with Boar's Tusk Helmet (Ivory)

but with

92

Tablet

138

139 140 143 146 148 149 150

Record Beneath West Court,

Knossos (Evans, 1903)

152

Illustrations

[

Fig.

66

Arrow Tablet and Bronze Arrowheads, Knossos

Fig.

67

Vicinity of Palace,

Fig.

68

Sea Monster Sealing, Knossos

Fig.

69

Typical Gray Minyan Pottery

Fig.

70

Typical Matt-painted Pottery

Fig.

71

Typical Yellow Minyan Pottery

Fig.

72

Ephyraean Goblets

Fig-

73

Typical

Fig.

74

F/a/7

Fig.

LHl

Knossos (Showing

Street System)

LH III Amphora

Chamber Tomb

75 76

Fig.

77

Pylos Tablet, No. 317

Fig.

78

Archive

Fig.

79

LHIIIC Krater

Fig.

80

Artist's

LHII Squat Alabastron

Room

During Excavation, Pylos

155

of Granary Class

213 215 227 236 237 250

Concept of Court, Megaron Fagade and

South Ramp, Mycenae

256

Fig.

81

Dimensional Projection, Mycenae Palace (following

Fig.

82

Wace's Sequence of Tholos A through C

Fig.

83

"Medallion" Stone Pithoi: (A) Knossos;

Wace, 1923, 1949, and Mylonas, 1966)

(B)

154

176 202 203 206

(A); Feeding Bottle (B); Krater (C)

Fig.

i

166 176

Painted Pottery

View, Intact

x

Tomb

257

Development,

261

Mycenae

Fig.

84

"Captain of the Blacks" Fresco, Knossos

Fig.

85

LHIII Pilgrim Flask

Fig.

86

LHIIIC

Stirrup Jar in "Close Style"

Fig.

87

Fragment of Chariot Krater

Fig.

88

Pylos Tablet Ta 641

Fig-

89

Artist's

Concept, Pylos Acropolis (looking east)

Fig.

90

Artist's

Concept, Palace Complex, Pylos

267 278 302 303 304 315 339 340

(looking west) Fig.

91

Modified Plan, Pylos (Tour Route:

Fig.

92

Artist's

Concept, Pylos Throne

.

.

341

.)

Room

(from the

342

Gallery) Fig.

93

Fig.

94

Terra-cotta Statue,

Fig.

95

Bronze Cuirass, Dendra

344 347 348

Fig.

96

Inscribed Stirrup Jar, Thebes

351

Fig.

97

Segmented Faience Beads (A); Incised Bone

Fig.

98

Ceramic Development from Late Mycenaean (A)

Reconstruction of Archive

Work

(B);

Room, Pylos

Keos (Composite)

Amber

Spacer-beads (C)

through Sub-Mycenaean (B) to Proto-geometric (C)

379 410

X

i i

Illustrations

]

99

Fig.

Fig. 100

10 1

Fig.

Violin Bow and Arched Fibulae Swords for Thrusting (A) and Slashing (B) "Triglyph-metope" Frieze, Knossos

419 420 424

Following page 204 Portrait of Heinrich Schliemann

Evans

Portrait of Arthur

Portrait of Carl Blegen

Portrait of Michael Ventris Portrait of

Portrait of

Alan Wace

Wilhelm Dorpfeld

Portrait of Christos Tsountas

Maps MAP

L

Map

of Aegean Area (locations identified by number and keyed by graph description to list

in

454-56 457 458 459 460

alphabetical order)

MAP MAP MAP MAP MAP MAP

in.

Map Map

IV.

Troy District

n.

of

West Mediterranean Area

of East Mediterranean

V.

Mycenae

VI.

Knossos

VII.

Area

District

461

District

462

Pylos District

Part Title Illustrations Preface I

Boar, fresco from Tiryns Sphinx, fresco from Pylos

II

Warrior, metal inlay of a cup from Pylos

III

Flying

fish,

fresco from Phylakopi,

Melos

IV

Bluebird, fresco from Knossos,

V

Nautilus,

VI

Dolphin, floor painting from Pylos

VII

Lion, metal inlay in a dagger blade from Mycenae,

VIII

Griffin, gold seal

IX

Octopus, pilgrim flask from Palaikastro

House amphora from Kakovatos

Grave Circle

A

of Frescoes

from Pylos

PREFACE

A VERY REAL SENSE Scholarship IN urge mysteries. So all

to investigate

is

going to be a kind of detec-

whodunit. Yet the analogy

tive story, a historical plete.

motivated by curiosity and an

is

this

For example, you

chapter. Ironically enough,

if

a scientist

puzzle, the solution usually involves

In a standard mystery novel

we

not exact or com-

is

answer" by peeking

will not find "the is

at the last

fortunate in "solving" a minor

new and deeper

mysteries.

finally learn that the culprit

was the

imperturbable butler or the harmless old gardener. In our story, on the contrary, such neat and satisfying solutions are conspicuously lacking. If

we may be pardoned for comparing the Dorians with the butler and the "gray Minyan people" with the gardener, both are suspected of certain crimes of violence; but they as well as their victims are no longer available for questioning. ever,

and

them or

it

may

Some

intriguing clues have been left at the scene,

how-

eventually be possible to construct an airtight case against

to exonerate

them completely. Meanwhile,

follow what the experts have so far

made

it

is

entertaining to

of the developing evidence and

even to have a try ourselves.

The

chief source of information in our search will be the clues unearthed

by three detectives circles.

Each

of

—or

excavators, as they are

them has made

known

crucial contributions

of a complicated series of historical puzzles that can be

the term

"Mycenaean

civilization."

We

what these three and other scholarly about the relationship between

famous epic poems, the

Our is

Iliad

this

shall also

in archaeological

toward the solution

summed up under

be interested in learning

sleuths have been able to discover

Mycenaean

civilization

and Homer's

and the Odyssey.

three guides are giants and pioneers in their profession. This

intended as a tribute to them, but

it

is

not (we hope)

eulogy. Heinrich Schliemann laid the foundations of

book

an uncritical

Greek

prehistoric

archaeology between 1870 and 1890; Arthur Evans in the next generation established

its

reputation as an exact field of research; Carl Blegen,

still

[x iii]

Preface

xiv]

vigorous in the waning years of the third generation, guided the developing science into responsible and flexible maturity.

The usual way

to organize an account of any early civilization

is

pose a synthesis of solid knowledge and responsible inference as

moment

at the

who made major

of writing. Scholars

ous earlier stages of the reconstruction

will of

as fairly as he can the verdict of his

course be mentioned; but

been produced by competent scholars In contrast, however,

we

it

The

ninety-five years. will

as

civilization

our

in

The author

will

sum

the available informa-

have recently

this sort

field.

intend to use the biographical and historical

approach to our subject. That

naean

own day on

dependable handbooks of

tion. Fortunately, several

exists

contributions at vari-

the approach will be contemporary and encyclopedic.

up

com-

to it

is,

we

shall review the evidence

on Myce-

has been gradually accumulating over the past

successive discoveries and reactions to discoveries

be seen, as far as possible, through the eyes of the protagonists them-

Our method has unavoidable drawbacks and may

selves.

at times tax the

reader's patience and powers of recall and concentration. This approach is

bound

to take

sions

up more space, which means

that

we must be

drastically

keep the account within reasonable bounds. Crucial conclu-

selective to

and hypotheses have to be

fully presented,

even though some of them

were subsequently disproved or modified. The discussion of a particular

problem must be interrupted and then resumed when duced new

light

on

its

solution. Yet,

if

later evidence pro-

followed faithfully and judiciously,

the historical approach ought to result in a sounder appreciation of the

process by which present-day evaluations have been reached.

The reader

can be drawn into a kind of active re-creation and partnership as the successive stages of discovery

and interpretation are reviewed, rather than

simply being informed about the end product.

On

the biographical side, personal anecdotes about Schliemann,

and Blegen

will

No

be kept to a minimum.

connected account of extra-

professional aspects of their careers will be attempted.

know

these unusually able and fortunate

their archaeological

work

accomplishments through

means

to this

end

is

Sometimes the way

—

or,

their

men

We

shall

come

to

almost entirely in terms of

perhaps better, to see their professional

own

to quote often in

Evans

which an idea

speaker or writer than does the idea

developing experience.

and is

at length

from

A

valuable

their publications.

expressed reveals more about the

itself.

Style

and diction

offer fascinating

insights into the personality of eras as well as individuals.

We may tion:

"Why

as well attempt at this point to face a perfectly natural quessingle out only three protagonists? Aren't

you

pioneers of equal or nearly equal stature?" Very possibly

slighting other

we

are,

although

Preface

we have

x v

[

tried not to.

A separate chapter on Michael

projected. His brilliant achievement,

have to be ranked

among

first

announced

Ventris was

at

one time

1952, would so far

in

the claims of several contenders for primacy

As

in the present (fourth) generation.

for contemporaries of the three

have chosen, other historians of the science might

feel

we

compelled to assign

an equally prominent place to such great figures as Christos Tsountas,

And in a real sense, apart from these men do occupy a comparable

Wilhelm Dorpfeld and Alan Wace.

such

distinctions as chapter headings,

posi-

tion in our narrative.

The names and

contributions of dozens of other talented scholars will

of course be found on nearly every page. In a sense, every innovator who makes an independent discovery or sees a new and meaningful relation-

ship in previous discoveries

is

a pioneer;

and

it

may

be unrealistic as well

as risky to attempt to single out the outstanding figure in each generation

Yet no one who has studied the record would deny that

of a science.

Schliemann, Evans and Blegen were authentic pacesetters. There thing mysterious about such individuals.

blend of brilliance, self-assurance, caliber

A

do not appear very often

colleague

who

no place

any

number

in the narrative.

As

account.

such,

ticularly those

to possess a special

is

it

a

list

who may

manu-

The only

of such items, which

rejoinder

is

that this

be a selective, not a complete historical

sure to incur the criticism of

some

own work made to the

rightly feel that their

Perhaps a valid objection

in

of important excavations and excavators

He appended

start to

this

field of study.

incidentally could easily be quadrupled.

was intended from the

some-

and luck. Scholars of

generously consented to read these chapters

script suggested that a fair

find

in

They seem

intuition

is

may

also be

specialists, par-

has been slighted. concentration on

excavations and research published in English. Again, to attempt to justify the basis for selection

be a

fair

may

only

make

matters worse.

judgment that our German, French and

been more interested

It

may

or

may

Italian colleagues

not

have

in earlier or later horizons, or in Crete rather than

Greek mainland. Nevertheless, omissions of vital contributions by we have defined it are to be

the

scholars of any nationality to the subject as

attributed solely to ignorance; and sincere apologies are hereby offered.

Our

story has

span of

and

two dimensions

slightly less

in time.

1600 to period

is

is

the comparatively short

than 100 years before the present. In

their colleagues lived their lives

prehistory.

One

The second

is

and made

it

our pioneers

their contributions to

Greek

a much longer epoch, extending from about

100 years before the birth of Christ. In the Aegean area this technically known as the Late Bronze Age. Those far-off days

1

when Mycenaean

civilization

grew and flourished and died became almost

Preface

xvi] as real to Schliemann,

Evans and Blegen

as the time into

which they them-

selves were actually bom. Indeed, every dedicated archaeologist and

chosen period of time, does begin to

torian, as he gains familiarity with his

lead a double

life. If

same

thing of the

of hours, they will have

There

on a few impressionable readers even

more than

all

fulfilled the author's

many

are, of course, a great

archaeologists

some-

the following pages should succeed in producing

effect

his-

for a matter

hopes.

interesting prehistoric cultures that

over the world are bringing to

But our particular

light.

chapter of man's kaleidoscopic past can perhaps claim a special place for at least three reasons.

The Mycenaean age

documented than most of

fellows;

its

in a material sense

is

(however complex and controversial)

contact

European mythology and

literature;

and

better

has the immense advantage of

it

known

a rather impressive cultural

left

it

with the earliest

legacy to the classical Greek civilization that flourished roughly a thousand

years

later.

Our at

geographical focus

Troy and

is

the

Greek mainland; but contemporary phases

Crete and some of the smaller islands form such an integral

in

The contemporary

part of the story that they have to be included. in the

Near East

stand

Mycenaean contacts

is

whole of Europe

The

taken into account only so far as

is

For the same reason, the

there or vice versa.

be included in the following chapters were

on relevance either

to the illumination of the

to the

work

of our three pioneers or

Homeric poems. Yet

tions are extremely slippery.

An

situation

necessary to under-

involved to some degree.

criteria for material to

originally based

is

The

story

in practice

really indivisible

is

such distinc-

and cumulative.

obviously relevant problem has a frustrating tendency to require the

inclusion of a less vital item, and so on. This eventually

what might be called "synopses of syntheses" to ters.

That

is,

at three junctures

ensuring the historical continuity; and It

also

sum up

the state of

This method has the advantage of

in their respective epochs.

ously the biographical context.

to require

main chap-

(about 1900, 1920 and 1939) highlights

are excerpted from one or two publications that best

knowledge

seemed

link the three

it

does not seem to obscure

became

seri-

clear during the writing that

a somewhat comparable account was needed for the years since World

War

II.

And,

finally,

some kind

of overview

subjects constitute the bases for the last

A word

to be attempted.

These

now about Homeric

the connection

parallels and comparisons. To Schliemann, was simple enough. Archaeology was the means of au-

thenticating and illustrating the poems, still

had

two chapters.

much

as biblical archaeology

regarded in some quarters nowadays. Later excav tors in our

have usually been more cautious; but parallels

in

Homeric epic and

is

field

tradi-

Preface

mythology are almost inevitably

tional

x v

[

in the

back of

pay particular attention

to the

way

minds

their

We

handle new material and review former discoveries.

i

i

as they

therefore

shall

which successive generations have

in

assessed the connections and realized the discrepancies. Selected references

(arabic numerals in the text, correlated with

Homeric References,

p.

439-

40) are supplied in particular contexts; but they should be regarded as samples only. A thorough correlation would have been tedious for the general reader; and a detailed account of the technical problems in each

case would have been intolerably complicated. sufficiently

piqued

ommended

in the

may browse among

interest

is

of Suggested Reading.

list

Those already familiar with the at

The reader whose

the specialized studies that are rec-

Iliad

and the Odyssey

no doubt be

will

a considerable advantage as they follow our story. Homer-less readers

might be well advised to spend a few hours with a good translation of the

poems before plunging the experience.

Homer

into this narrative.

should have

that the next items

A

book

of the

contains

on

that are

definitions

its

purpose

their reading

may be

few words

will certainly

A

if

will

list

a few of

names

and

its

book

"graduates" decide

be the Homeric epics themselves.

required to draw attention to additional features

meant

to be of assistance to the reader.

The Glossary

and explanations of certain technical terms. They

have been purposely kept to the minimum but a for clarity

not regret

quick mind innocent of

trouble in following the narrative; and this

little

have truly accomplished

will

They

But the process can be reversed.

brevity.

number

fair

are needed

Also included are identifications of ancient proper

that occur in the narrative.

An

asterisk

(

*

)

is

printed with the

first

occurrence of each item to remind the reader of the existence of the Glossary. Also, throughout the regularly indicated

book dimensions and

by the metric system

been converted (even within quotes) to feet

and

The terms

in

distances,

scientific

which are

publications, have

fairly close equivalents in English

miles.

names and

spelling of proper

may

the use and formulation of technical

cause some unavoidable confusion because of the individual

preferences of the various authorities whose direct words are quoted. Apart

from quotations, however,

it

is

hoped

consistent and that the spelling system as the complicated

that the terminology is

also as consistent

is

simple and

and accurate

problems of transcription and usage allow. In the Index

the stressed syllable in

all

unusual Greek proper names has been indicated,

as in Zygouries.

Geographical locations are essential to follow the narrative; and handy

maps

map

are of prime importance. (I) of the

Aegean area

(p.

Most

locations are indicated in the general

454). The graph system has been adopted

Preface

xviii] and

to save space

facilitate

rapid reference. Thus,

about the location of Kythera, he will check

it

along with the grid reference

(III)

is

unsure

proper location in

so that a

(J-4),

should suffice to identify the item on the map.

and western

its

map. There a number (58) has been

the alphabetical hst printed with the

assigned to

the reader

if

in

it

Maps

moment

of the eastern (II)

Mediterranean areas are also provided (pp. 457, 458) few references to geographical points

to assist in locating the relatively

beyond our major focus. The

needs to be consulted. There are also detailed

major

of the

The

list

sites of

make clear which map maps of the immediate area

text will normally

Troy, Mycenae, Knossos and Pylos.

of Suggested Reading

is

provided for those

who become

ested in following up the general subject or specific topics in

more

interdetail.

The arrangement is alphabetical by author. The list is rather rigorously selective and is meant particularly for the reader whose only language is English. For the occasional reader specific quotations, detailed

Here

on the whole

been no attempt

to supply a

comprehen-

subject.

some well-earned acknowledgments are due various persons. book evolved in 1962 during a canoe trip with

Finally,

The

check the source of

to

Chapter Bibliographies have been provided.

again, however, there has

sive bibliography

who may want

original idea for the

two of

my

friends. Professors

Walter Pattison and Reginald Allen. In the

following year a College Honors Seminar provided the opportunity to

develop

it

with a group of talented undergraduates majoring in a variety

More of can now identify is owed of departments.

the content of Chapters

II,

IV and VI than

I

to the stimulation and rapport of those pleasant

weekly meetings.

As

the

book began

to take shape,

I

discussed

its

progress (or lack of

same) with a neighbor, Stanley Aschenbrenner, manager of Product Deand Coordination, Control Data Corporation.

sign

He most

generously

offered to read and criticize preliminary drafts of each chapter and to

provide in advance the typical reactions of the kind of reader for the

book

is

primarily intended.

My

wife, Elizabeth

McDonald,

whom

skillfully

typed and retyped the manuscript, showing no other reaction than an eye occasionally raised heavenward

My ment

when presented with

colleagues Professor Erie Leichty and James of History at Minnesota gave

me

still

another draft.

Muhly

generous help

—

of the Departparticularly

on

problems where the Aegean and Near Eastern evidence overlaps. Probably the deepest debt of in

Greek

in

Downing

all is

owed

College,

to

my

friends

John Chadwick, Lecturer

Cambridge University, and Vincent Des-

borough, Lecturer in History, University of Manchester. They took time

from busy schedules of teaching and research to read the

next-to-final draft

Preface

[

me

of the whole text and to send

detailed

inaccuracies and outright errors.

i

x

comments. Their control of the

many

material in general as well as in their specialties has prevented felicities,

x

as

If,

very

is

in-

likely, others re-

main, they must not share the blame. The explanation would probably be either that they

were too

Ossa on Pelion or

polite to pile

errors occur in passages added after the stage of the

A its

word must be

said, too,

else that the

that they saw.

about the relationship of the book to one of

"heroes." Professor Blegen has been

my mentor

and friend for twenty-seven years. At various times

we have

work

and senior colleague in that lengthy

talked over most of the problems here outlined, and a good

of the ideas that do not appear within quotes

may stem from

span

many

those dis-

cussions. But, again, he should not be charged with the shortcomings, and

there are undoubtedly positions taken or theories suggested in the final

He was invited to read the manuscript, his own prominent position in the text,

chapter with which he will not agree. but since he had a general idea of

he declined with characteristic modesty. His brother, Theodore Blegen,

dean emeritus of the graduate school. University of Minnesota, who has always followed Carl's career with the closest interest, kindly consented to act as family arbiter

The

illustrations

Mr. Williams undertook the work connected with architecture

general,

and the

on the Blegen chapter.

were drawn by John Harris and William Williams. In

vignettes, while

trations in

Mr. Harris was responsible for the

books on Mycenaean

seem

civilization

me

to

The

rest.

to

illus-

have become

largely standardized, with the chief variety consisting in the quality of the

photographs. Since we could not hope to rival such photographs as Alison Frantz's,

we have concentrated

entirely

inal intention to try to avoid the

familiar

— and

indeed hackneyed

on

line

drawings.

It

kind of illustration that

—

to

the

veteran of

But Mr. Aschenbrenner and others convinced me

was is

many

my

orig-

thoroughly

such books.

some readers may

that

never have seen the standard reproductions. Hence, our selection repre-

combine these with some new material.

sents an attempt to

will

It

be

obvious to the experts that Mr. Harris and Mr. Williams have not attempted

an absolutely

faithful

and

literal

reproduction but have instead sought to

portray the "atmosphere" that they as artists feel in this material. their results are

these gifted

The

young

portrait

of

artists

has been an education to

Schliemann

is

Sir

William Richmond and

now

in the

it.

The photograph

me

at least.

is

a print of the painting

Ashmolean Museum

Miss Joan Evans very kindly arranged for the us to reproduce

believe

reproduced from Carl Schuchhardt's

Schliemann's Excavations; that of Evans

by

I

both attractive and instructive; and the association with

of Blegen

museum

at

done

Oxford.

authorities to allow

was loaned by

his brother.

Preface

xx] The photographs

of Tsountas, Dorpfeld,

Wace and

Ventris are reproduced

from Epitoumbion Christou Tsounta (published by the So-

respectively

Thracian Folklore and Linguistics); Peter Goessler's Wilhelm

ciety for

Dorpfeld. Ein Leben im Dienst der Antike; Annual of the British School of Archaeology at Athens, Vol.

46 (1951); and John Chadwick's The

Decipherment of Linear B. I

am

indebted to various publishers for permission to quote extensively

from books and journal ters

IV through

VII.

articles written

The following

by our major authorities

specific

in

Chap-

arrangements are hereby ac-

knowledged: Society of Antiquaries of London for Archaeologia, Vol. 59; Methuen and Co., Ltd., for Pendlebury, Archaeology of Crete and Nilsson,

Homer and Mycenae;

Inc., for

Biblo and Tannen, Inc., and Agathon Press,

Evans, Palace of Minos; Williams and James, Gray's Inn, London,

for Scripta

Minoa and Shaft Graves and Bee-hive Tombs;

Promotion of Hellenic Studies

Society for the

for Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 32;

Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., for Glotz, Aegean Civilization; B. G.

Teubner, Stuttgart, for Fimmen, Die Kretisch-Mykenische Kultur. Finally,

I

wish to express

my

gratitude for three rather special acts of

Managing Committee of the British School of ArchaeAthens for the reproduction of numerous passages from the AnMiss Joan Evans for full leave to quote from Time and Chance;

generosity: to the

ology at nual; to

and

to Carl

siderable

La

W. Blegen

number

of his

Pointe, Wisconsin

August 1966

for permission to reproduce excerpts

own

publications.

from a con-

I

Before Schliemann:

Homer and the

Philologists

BEFORE

Schliemann's EXCAVATIONS BEGAN

IN

1870, what Were the

prevailing attitudes of professional scholars on the historical back-

'

ground of the

earliest masterpieces of

European

When

may

century

brief review

Homeric Question

of the status of certain aspects of the so-called late nineteenth

A

literature?

in the

provide us with a useful starting point.

Schliemann turned the

first

sod

at

Troy, debate concerning the

composition, date and authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey had been

going on practically continuously for at least 2,500 years. Even now,

almost a century of

them

know sible

later,

most of the basic problems are unsolved; and some

are probably insoluble in absolute terms.

exactly

when

(or even

for both of the

if)

"Homer"

great epics

lived,

attributed

That

is,

we may never

whether he was responhim, in what form the

to

chronicles and legends and folk tales circulated before genius transformed

and embedded them

in

monumental works

the unified epics between

With

Yet

art,

or what happened to

Homer's time and the establishment of our

us, as with the ancient

some extent

of

Greeks, belief in a historical

text.

Homer must

to

constitute an "act of faith."

in the past century

much

real progress has

to the illumination of archaeological discoveries

been made. In addition

(which

will

be our major

concern), the scholarly disciplines of philology, linguistics and comparative literature

have made important contributions. The

list

of Suggested

Reading contains readable descriptions of the fascinating discoveries being

made about

epic language and form, about the techniques

out-of-the-way places for composing and

still

in use in

perpetuating oral heroic poetry,

and about comparable themes and thought patterns

in

the literature of

Near East and elsewhere. Although satisfactory answers to many of the complex problems grouped under the Homeric Question still elude us, we now have far more evidence that bears on them than was available in any generation since the poems were composed. In 1870 very little archaeological evidence from preclassical times was the ancient

[3]

ProgressIntoThePast

4] available or recognized. tecture, coins

A

amount

considerable

and other material remains of the

Many

had, of course, long been known.

— was

artefacts told

in a real sense

Greek

fifth

sculpture, archi-

century B.C. and later

classical art objects reflect

reminiscences, since the education of the

temporaries

of

artist

—

Homeric con-

like that of all his

based on Homer. But the archaeological

no clearer story about the background and origin of

The

epics than did classical literature.

later

Greek

artists

the

and writers and

scholars did not, in fact, have dependable information about

Homer and

more formally, they did not receive from their distant ancestors, and so could not pass on to the modern world, solid and incontestable external evidence. The critics of Schliethe composition of the poems. Or, to put

mann's day, therefore, had

to

own

ancient sources, plus their

it

base judgments on these unsatisfactory analysis of the internal evidence preserved

poems themselves.

in the

Some

scholars of the nineteenth century were thorough skeptics.

They

believed that the Iliad and the Odyssey contain no historical truth, that

Agamemnon and

Pylos and the Trojan

War had had no more

real exist-

ence than Polyphemos or Lotus Land or the Council of the Gods on

Mount Olympus. Homer's

and has created a

dull facts typified

poetic imagination, they said, soars far above fiction

truer than history.

by the reaction of a famous scholar

first

account of his excavations at Troy. "I

one

Ilion [Troy] only, that

likely to

who

after reading

know

Schliemann's

Homer, which

be found in the trenches of Hissarlik, but rather

among

the

not

is

Muses

dwell on Olympus."

At

the other

end of the spectrum were the readers who might be deLike the ancient Greeks, they

scribed as literalists or fundamentalists.

assumed

that

all

of

Homer's people had

had taken place exactly

as narrated.

really lived

Even

and that every action

the geographical descriptions,

they thought, were accurately recalled from the poet's at the

own memory,

or

very least were passed on to him by a fully dependable and unbroken

tradition. Iliad,

is

as yet," he wrote, "of

the Ilion as sung by

is,

This attitude

Schliemann, for instance, refers to his boyhood trust

"the exactness of which

I

used to believe

Between the two extremes there was bewildering variety of views.

— and

The major

in as in the still

is

to

Gospel

in

the

itself."

some extent

—

point at issue can perhaps be

we assume a long evolution in epic technique with poems as the end product, how can the history of their composition be reconstructed? The critical methods applied to the Homeric Question in the nineteenth century were very largely identical

phrased as follows:

If

the present text of the

with those brought to bear on the biblical narrative. In the broadest terms there were

two basically

different

and mutually exclusive theories. Both

Before Schliemann:

Homer and

depended on internal evidence, that

poems poems out

themselves.

in

One

the Philologists

is

on

[

5

analysis of the content of the

theory held that an original genius fashioned the

of already traditional and widely disparate materials, but that

many major and minor

the long process of transmission thereafter

changes were made the master poet.

completely.

by poets of varying merit,

The second

them

far inferior to

Homer

adherents sought to prove that our Iliad and Odyssey are

Its

the result of a rather late, haphazard and

gether a large

of

all

reconstruction in effect eliminated

number

awkward job

of stitching to-

of separate songs or "lays" of varying quality and

age.

One can immediately dependable

criteria are

see that to prove or disprove either viewpoint

needed for assigning an approximate date

to the

various units or episodes or lays (assuming their existence and correct iden-

The evidence on which the critics formed their judgments was based mainly on details of style and language. But one serious drawback

tification).

was that the

opinions varied widely, not only on what consti-

specialists'

tuted significant differences but on the implications of such differences for the history of the poems.

The

and form analysis had

fields of linguistics

not reached a point where reliable objective standards existed.

form and language could not provide conclusive evidence, some

If

scholars

saw another

possibility.

The

date of a given unit or story might

be inferred from detailed descriptions of material objects or of social or religious institutions or

customs that

embodied.

it

was even approximately known when a given type of tion or a specially distinctive in use, then

political,

the time

political organiza-

or item of jewelry was

weapon or implement

one might conclude that the section of the poems containing

was composed within those

the relevant description least,

If

limits.

At

the very

could not have been composed before the institution or object was

it

created.

But

this

method

brackets" were

also

known

had serious

century scholars saw no way to improve the that

much

progress could be

made

Very few such "dating

limitations.

with sufficient precision.

And

situation.

in chronological

periods by restudying the ancient texts.

the late-nineteenth-

They

did not believe

accuracy for such early

And most

of

them were uncon-

vinced that excavation might uncover the towns where the

stories

were

tombs Homer. This was,

alleged to have originated or might find in the heroes' palaces and

material objects closely similar to those described by

of course, a shortsighted attitude in view of the archaeological discoveries

already being

made

in

western Europe, Egypt and other parts of the Near

East.

But they can hardly be blamed for

some

of the places and objects described by

failing to foresee the

Homer

day when

not only would be

Progress Into The Past

6]

found but could be quite closely dated by rigorous techniques that are based only indirectly on written records.

The chapters

But before we

to follow trace this progress into the past.

we might at least try reader of the poems in the

to reconstruct the

leave the prearchaeological era,

viewpoint of the general

and before. What was

his attitude,

nineteenth century

whether or not he had ever heard of

Homeric Question? He probably looked on Priam and Odysseus and their heroic companions very much as on King Arthur or Alexander the Great. The "tale of Troy divine" had a tremendous romantic appeal to a wide circle of readers and listeners; and this vogue had in turn stimulated a long tradition of purely fictional elaboration and expansion. The the

unsophisticated reader of Schliemann's time, as before and since, would

have been serenely unaware of any argument over fact versus fancy. Probably he would not have been much interested even if he had heard something of scholarly analyses and dissections. Fiction, legend,

—does

matter

it

And,

story?

if

these elements and

all

who

they are,

if

more

are

myth or

combined

history

good

in a

could ever disentangle them after

all

these

centuries?

To such answer

if

natural questions the

he

is

concerned

Homeric scholar must have

He

to justify his existence.

a reasonable

will certainly agree

Homer's poems may be enjoyed simply as absorbing stories and superb literary achievements. But he cannot stop there. The very fact of

that

their literary

mists of

and technical perfection, standing

European

civilization, forces

him

do

as they

to ask questions.

perfection have been achieved suddenly and intuitively by one the author have imagined vital detail

revealed in his elaborate word pictures? Is is

embalmed about

it

the early

Could

this

man? Could splendid and

his heroic civilization in all the

poems precious evidence

the

Greek

in

possible that in

a real historical stage of

civilization far earlier than classical times?

How

can we go about

definitely proving or disproving such conflicting hypotheses?

As a matter of fact, They could occur quite history.

Western

man

these questions need not be confined to scholars.

naturally to any intelligent lover of

cultural roots in classical

that

epoch

fairly

of

is

Homer and

of

has for so long located most of his intellectual and

Greece that simple curiosity about what preceded

almost inevitable.

It

is

only in the

last

century that some

reliable answers are beginning to emerge and to win the adherence

most serious students of Homer.

II

Schliemann,

Priam and Agamemnon:

1870-1890

"And now

HEiNRicH

the treasure-digger has

ScHLiEMANN,

in his

unsophisticated reader of pired

the

to

professional

of

status

He

one or the other.

either the

become a scholar"

younger years, might be called an

Homer; and

in

maturity he as-

his

But he was never

scholar.

was a unique genius, and such a

really

man

can

never be neatly labeled and confined to a single category. This account

is

meant neither

as another study of Schliemann's

Preface, to

we want

examine

to review

some

life

nor

Instead, as explained in the

as a detailed description of his excavations.

of the highlights of his discoveries and

his theories of their relation to the civilization

mirrored in the

Homeric poems. Schliemann was the pioneer who made the through into Greek prehistory. Knowledge about

decisive break-

but important

this tiny

segment of human experience took a tremendous leap forward

in

his

lifetime.

A

few observations about the

for at the start. Psychologists

man and

his

methods are perhaps

and biographers have seen

a strong element of psychotic compulsion.

One can

and the shock following the breakup of

his father

his

called

in his personality

cite

his devotion to

home

boy-

in early

hood, the long lonely search for the comfort of a wife and family of his

own and

the compensatory absorption in learning languages and

making a

fortune in business. Certainly he was egotistical, sensitive, volatile

hypochondriacal. His

life

was one continuous demonic drive

to

and

prove

himself and his ideas to the world. But, again, he does not easily conform to a type.

Some have maligned him

others have flattered

him

science of archaeology.

as the

The

as an avaricious megalomaniac,

more or

less self-conscious

and

founder of the

variety of judgments during his lifetime

and

the continued interest of writers and readers are in themselves proof of the complexity of the

man and

the mystery of such prodigies.

Schliemann has for so long been associated

in the public imagination

with buried gold that nonspecialists are often unaware of the solid and lasting aspects of his

work. The image of the "gold-seeker" was

set early

[9]

ProgressIntoThePast

lo]

in his archaeological career,

was the

taken

line

archaeology

—

—

newspaper

in

and

own encouragement.

clearly with his

This

always since in journalistic accounts of

as nearly

about his discoveries; and

stories

it

is

a very

important element in the fascination that books by and about him have

many

always had for their

readers. Archaeologists today profess impatience

with the association of their profession