GREEK AH - Midterm TERMS

Absolute dating

A method of dating that requires legitimate evidence, such as written records or scientific analysis. It provides specific age or dating range, understanding the date of one object can impact the dating of other items found around it.

Agglomerative [site plan/architecture]

A type of site where the buildings and civilization grew without a strict urban plan; it grew organically.

Akrotiri

A Late Cycladic site found in Thera, modern Santorini. It is an anchor point for Late Bronze Age chronology and an important hub of trade in the Cyclades.

Amarna Letters

A record of Letters between Egyptian Pharaohs and other elites found in the 14th c. BCE from Amarna Egypt. They document diplomacy and gift exchange, intermarriage, etc.

Architrave

An element of temple/sanctuary construction. It is seen on top of the columns, the lowest horizontal section on top of the columns.

Arthur Evans

Known for the excavation of Knossos. He generated many of the Minoan fantasies and is responsible for many edits to the site due to his belief in Minos and the Minotaur.

Ayia Triada Sarcophagus

Combines Cretan visual culture and ways of life with Mycenaean elements.

Bull Leaping Fresco

Found at Knossos in the Late Bronze Age, this is a wall fresco painting. It depicts a bull or cow that is lept over by one man, with two other men at his head and rear, alluding to possible ritual practices, sports, or games.

Chaîne Opératoire

A type of lithic analysis. It analyzes a series of choices made by art producers, focused on beliefs/traditions or relationships/interactions, such as: Why do people make choices? How do people learn? etc.

Cup of Nestor

Found in Pithekoussai in 8th century BCE, it is one of the earliest examples we have of this alphabet. It belongs to a person named Nestor, which is likely a play on the mythological character from Homeric Epics, and alludes to the sharing of stories.

Dendrochronology

This is a type of absolute dating and scientific analysis. It is the analysis of tree rings within a wooden artifact to determine the date of origin.

Dimini

This is a site in Thessaly, N. Greece that likely spanned from 5300-3000 BCE. It provides distinctive pottery and figurines and shares similarities with neolithic sites across Europe and W. Asia.

Dipylon pottery

A subset of geometric pottery. It was used for burials and displayed funerary scenes.

Entablature

An element of temple construction. It is a combination of the architrave, geison, and the pediment, which creates the base of the roof.

Eutresis

A site excavated by Hetty Goldman.

Francthi Cave

A cave found in Mainland Greece. It is a paleolithic site where obsidian (volcanic glass) was found, alluding to cross regional travel and cross cultural connections that were necessary to obtain this object and return it to this cave.

Frieze

This gives the order of the temple, between the columns and architrave.

Geometric pottery

Most prevelant during the Geometric Period (800-700 BCE), but its influence have lasted since. It generally contains linear shapes and lines, not much figural imagery, and if there is it is sea faring or horses.

Grave Circle A

A grave circle on Mycenae in the Late Bronze Age. It was discovered before Grave circle B and contained beautiful grave goods.

[Tomb of the] Griffin Warrior

A grave site discovered in the LH II period, near the outskirts of a palatial site. It is determined this is the grave of a warrior because of the grave objects they were buried with (over 3,000 stones, swords, gold pieces, etc.), including the Combat Agate.

Heinrich Schliemann

He excavated Troy and Mycenae. A lover of the homeric epics, he generated many Mycenaean fantasies and established MBA aegean ceramic chronology at Troy.

Hekatompedon

Directly translating to hundred footer, it is a type of temple that has one set of columns holding up the rood, a cult statue positioned at the back, thatched roofs, and constructed of mudbrick with wood columns. Closer to 650 BCE the columns moved to the perimeter and peripteral and construction was now stone.

Horns of Consecration

The key example can be found at Knossos but they are seen at many palatial sites and in other media. They are made of stone and look somewhat like cow horns; the exact meaning is unknown though there could be a ritualistic undertone.

House of the Tiles

The biggest building from the early bronze age in Greece. It is a symmetrical corrider house, has a stone foundation, is roofed with tiles. Could possibly be a central building, storage space, or center of administration.

In Situ

This is latin for ‘at the site’. It is used to describe an artifact found where the last people who used it left it.

Iolkos/Dimini

This is a location attested to in the Illiad catalog of Ships and in the odyssey, placed during the Mycenaean period in 1600-1100 BCE. Iolkos, the type name for Dimini, is said to be the home of Jason of the Argonauts.

Kamares Ware

Pottery type made on the wheel, of eggshell or courseware. It is often decorated with Barbotine embellishments that can hold similar connections to the natural world.

Keros

An early Cycladic site that held hundreds or ritually broken figurines, it is said to be an important ritual center.

Knossos

A site excavated by Arthur Evans from the Middle Bronze Age, it is home to a huge palatial administration. It holds the hall of the double axes, the Phaistos Disk, the Snake Goddess figure, the Lustral Basin, and more.

Late Bronze Age Collapse/Palatial Collapse

Seen across Mycanae around 1200 BCE, there was a severe collapse to the palatial system. There are possible explanations such as “Sea Peoples” attacking Egypt, Egypt and the Hittite empire being at war, environmental factors such as an earthquake, or internal factors such as civic unrest.

Lerna

A home to Agglomerative Architecture, this site is evidence for high levels of social stratification and collaborative community structures.

Light Well

A commonly Minoan feature, as seen at Knossos. This is the practice of using a sky light system to light interior spaces as access to the outdoors was incredibly desirable and the interior displays the use of light and open space.

Linear A

A type of script used on Crete by Minoans

Linear B

A writing system used in Mainland Greece by Mycenaeans, it encodes an early form of Greek. It is seen on tablets found at the palaces at Crete.

Lion Gate

A Mycenaean wall feature that depicts what is thought to be lions and exemplifies ‘Cyclopean Masonry”, the idea that certain constructions are so monumental only a cyclops could have constructed it.

Lustral Bassin

A stone lined pit seen at Knossos outside the Queens Hall. The use is unknown, but they are only seen at palaces and lined with Plaster. It is possible they could have ritual use or were meant to store liquids.

Mask of Agamemnon

Found in the Mycenaean Grave Circle B, this mask was named after Agememnon, the king of Mycenae in the epics.

Medinet Habu

Egyptian plaque with an inscription depicts Ramses III and Egyptian forces fighting off invaders. It suggests that places are cut off from the trade network as unknown people (Sea Peoples?) overtake them.

Megaron

Example is the Megaron at Pylos! Depicted in a tripartite plan, this is a huge building decorated with wall paintings depicting natural life, patterns, etc.

Naos

An element of temple construction. The interior room that holds the cult statue. It is called a Naos, Cella (latin) or Sekos (less common).

Obsidian

Obsidian is volcanic glass. It was found at the Francthi cave, alluding to cross-cultural connections and cross regional travel between Milos and Mainland Greece.

Oenemaeus

A key character in the story of Pelopeion. He is the father of Hippodamia, and when the Mythological king Pelops challenged him to a race to win her hand, he bribed O’s charioteer (under Zeus’ guidance) to sabotage his chariot. Pelops wins and Oenemaeus is dragged to death.

Olympia

Olympia is the home of the first olympic games, and according to legend the home of Zeus. It displays the change towards cities arranging themselves according to nobility, administration, etc.

Opisthodomos

A feature of temples and sanctuaries. It is the rear room, which often held supplies and dedications.

Oxhide Ingot

An example of bronze from the bronze age; Copper, coming from Cyprus, is enriched into underlying rocks and mixed with tin to create oxhide ingots.

Pediment

An element of temples/sanctuaries. It is the triangular section above the columns, and if there is a sculpture there it is called the pedimental sculpture.

Pelopeion at Olympia

This is one of the first panhellenic places that we have elements of. Considering the story of Pelops and Oenomaus, this spot is memorialized, celebrating Zeus supporting their king and athletic competitions.

Pelops

The king in the story of Pelops and Oenomaus.

Perati Cemetary

In Porto Rafti, LH IIIC, this cemetary shows the curation of objects, both locally and non-locally produced. There is a mixture of heirloom objects, used objects, and objects used specifically for burials all found in these tombs.

Phaistos Disk

A disk engraved with some symbols similar to Linear A and similarities to other pieroglyphic writing systems. Found at Phaistos, MM or LM.

Protogeometric Pottery

11th-10th century BCE, this first appears in Athens at the Kerameikos cemetery. Generally contains simple geometric shapes and patterns and horizontal bands.

Relative Dating

Soil deposition goes into the dating process, figuring out the dates of layers/factors in relation to each other.

“The Saffron Gatherers”

A Cycladic Fresco Wall Painting; two women are depicted, with triangular body shapes and tier shapes, gathering saffron, which could be used as a dye or spice. This is a natural scene, with plants growing and jagged rocks, showing the Minoan affinity for the natural world.

Sea Peoples

There are hints that places are severed from the trade network as they are overtaken by mysterious sea peoples desolating camps and people, etc. Mythologically, they are thought to be soldiers from the Greek and Trojan war trying to find their way home.

Secondary Deposition

Used to describe an artifact used in one place, and moved to another by people of the past (then discovered by archaeologists).

Sesklo

Neolithic Greece 5300-4400 BCE, this site was originally build from wood and mudbrick beore developing into stone foundations. There are mostly undifferentiated spaces, a lack for social stratification, and it is considered agglomerative, though there is evidence for some urban planning.

Ship Fresco aka Flotilla Fresco

Cycladic wall painting showing a procession of ships traveling between towns in the cyclades, It is possible this is a depiction of a ritualistic/traditional event.

Temple of Hera'/Heraion, Samos

This 8th c. BCE temple of Hera is an example of a Hekatompedon, a type of temple. This sanctuary was so treasured it was visited by mass amounts of people, all seeking to worship Hera or other Gods at this location.

Tholos

An example is the Treasury of Atreus. This is a type of grave construction that is circular, made of stone, and shaped like a beehive with a long hallway (Dromos), leading up to them.

Throne Room, Knossos

This room is named that due to the central chair, but there are other elements such as a wall of piers looking into a courtyard with a colonnade. There are somewhat naturalistic scenes with illusionistic elements depicted on the walls, such as an Eagle Griffin.

Treasury of Atreus

LH III B (1250 BCE); This enormous Tholos tomb is humongous and formed in a beehive shape, with a really long hallway (Dromos) leading up to it.

Triglyph

An element of temple/sanctuary construction. This is an emerging decoration within the Frieze Zone.

Troy

Excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, this location is known for its repeated presence Greek mythology. There are many connections between the East and West, layers of cities of successive occupation, and it establishes chronology for the middle helladic period.

Typology

This connects rough, absolute dates, to aesthetics and changes over time.

Uluburun Shipwreck

This shipwreck displays the interconnected bronze age world as it was found off turkey and seems to hold circulating goods from one place to another.

Vitruvius

1st C. BCE; a roman architect that writes in Latin. He is re-discovered during the renaissance and incredibly influential in this period of classical revival.