Religion and Society in Middle Bronze Age Greece

Helène Whittaker

City: New York

Year: 2014

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Description: Hardback, 300 p., 14 b/w illustrations, 7 maps, 4 tables, 26x18,5 cm

Abstract

The Middle Helladic period has received little attention, partially because of scholars’ view of it as merely the prelude to the Mycenaean period and partially because of the dearth of archaeological evidence from the period. In this book, Helène Whittaker demonstrates that Middle Helladic Greece is far more interesting than its material culture might at first suggest. Whittaker comprehensively reviews and discusses the archaeological evidence for religion on the Greek mainland, focusing on the relationship between religious expression and ideology. The book argues that religious beliefs and rituals played a significant role in the social changes that were occurring at the time. The arguments and conclusions of this book will be relevant beyond the Greek Bronze Age and will contribute to the general archaeological debate on prehistoric religion.

Contents

List of illustrations [vii]
List of maps [ix]
List of tables [xi]
Acknowledgments [xiii]

1. Introduction [1]

2. The formation of the Middle Helladic period [38]

3. Religion and society in the Middle Helladic period [72]

4. The transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age [130]

5. Religion and society in the Late Helladic period [147]

Conclusions [207]

Appendix: Catalogue of Middle Helladic and Early Myceanaean tumuli [211]

Bibliography [257]

Index [289]