The Brown bear in Greece: A brief review of bones and images in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages

Eftychia Yannouli in J.-P. Brugal, A. Gardeisen, A. Zucker (eds) 2011. Prédateurs dans tous leurs états. Évolution, Biodiversité, Interactions, Mythes, Symboles. XXXIe rencontres internationales d’archéologie et d’histoire d’Antibes, Antibes:Éditions APDCA, 269-284.

Περίληψη (στα Αγγλικά)

The brown bear is, together with the wolf, at the heart of many of the earliest known cults and rituals. This old and persistent connection produced a solid and familiar symbolism, which, irrespective of cultural or historical parameters, reproduces and highlights the archetypical properties of this animal: motherhood, fertility, protection of the young, healing power. However, there is an obvious lack of correspondence between the natural distribution of and the osteological evidence for the brown bear from archaeological sites in Greece. Even more intriguing is the poor level of bear imagery in prehistory, particularly in the Bronze Age. The reason for this scarcity of archaeological evidence is not fully understood, but it is just conceivable that it does not reflect indifference towards the animal, given its special position in ancient cult and ritual.