A Mycenaean Hegemony?

A Reconsideration
Author(s): C. G. Thomas
Source: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 90 (1970), pp. 184-192
Published by: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/629761
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A MYCENAEAN HEGEMONY? A RECONSIDERATION

THEREare two possible positions with regard to the Mycenaean hegemony: that it
existed or that it did not. Modern scholars who accept its existence appear to be more
vocal in arguing their position than are those who question the existence of Mycenaean
unity. Desborough, for example, states forcibly:
I am firmly convinced that there was one ruler over the whole Mycenaean territory,
with his capital at Mycenae, although the tablets are of no assistance one way or the
other in this matter, and although the overlordshipof Agamemnon clearly envisaged by
Homer can perhaps be explained simply as a military leadership for the purpose of
waging war against Troy. The burden of proof must therefore depend on other
evidence, the archaeological material taken in conjunction with the fairly frequent
mention by the Hittites, in the fourteenth and much of the thirteenth centuries, of the
king of a land called Ahhiyawa, which I believe to represent the entire Mycenaean
orbit.'
The opposite position is represented largely through hints given in a larger context.
Stubbings, for example, writesof 'the Mycenaean Greeksof the mainland and the Mycenaean
rulers of Cnossus' and of 'the mainland kingdoms'(italics mine).2 Catling speaks of 'metropolitan Greeks grown jealous of the wealth and power which their Knossian relatives had
built up'.3 This emphasis on plurality, it seems to me, is the best way not only to view the
events of the Mycenaean Greek world but also to understand the nature and degree of
change in Greece during the Dark Age period.4
The Dark Age has, generally speaking, a two-fold significance. It has an importanceof
its own, as a distinct period, and it is important as a transitional stage in Greek history.
For, in order to understand the nature of Hellenic civilisation, it is essential to appreciate
changes that occurred on the Greek mainland as a result of the collapse of the Mycenaean
civilisation and due to the process of reshaping in the first centuries of the Iron Age.
Certainly, in one sense, it is true that 'the declining palace economies of the Mycenaean
lords were shattered; and so men were set free to create new political and intellectual views,
once the worst of the chaos was over'.5 On the other hand, however, it may be erroneous
to emphasise an absolute completeness of change occurring between the Helladic and
Hellenic periods of Greek civilisation. It is clear, for example, that the foundations of
classical Greek religion were laid by the Mycenaean Greeks.6 So too for the general
frameworkof life, it is likely that we should look to the late Bronze Age and the Mycenaean
civilisation in our search for origins. It would seem that the condition of political and
geographical fragmentation, which in the Hellenic period is expressed in the polis, is to be
found in the Helladic period in independent kingdoms.
It is customary to use phrases such as the Mycenaean world or the Mycenaean Age to
describe the late Bronze Age. Such terminology calls to mind unity and concerted action
or even hegemony. Indeed, the mere existence of a number of sites in regions such as the
Argolid or Attica or Boeotia is often interpreted as implying that there was 'probably room
1 V. R. d'A. Desborough, The Last Mycenaeans
and
4 Certainly I would not rule out the possibility of
TheirSuccessors(Oxford, 1964) 2 i8.
limited unity. The Argolid, with major centres at
2 F. H.
Stubbings, 'The Rise of Mycenaean Mycenae, Tiryns and Argos, quite probably witCivilisation', revised edition of CAH II, xiv (Cam- nessed some uniformity of control.
bridge,
1963) 32.
S
5 C. G. Starr, The Origins of Greek Civilization
H. W. Catling, 'Spectrographic Analysis of (London, I962) 74iv
Mycenaean and Minoan Pottery', Archaeometry
6 The Mycenaean basis of Greek religion is
(r961)33developed in the work of M. P. Nilsson especially,

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A MYCENAEAN HEGEMONY?

A RECONSIDERATION

185

for no more than one major system of political relationships'; that the various areas 'must
have coordinated their power in some way, perhaps in an amphiktyonic league or in an
inherited feudal hierarchy'.7

Yet, when we note the existence of kingdoms which appear to be completely inde-

pendent,8 find indications of rivalry throughout the whole Mycenaean period and, in fact,
have one very vivid indication of inter-kingdom warfare we are surely not justified in
speaking of a 'Mykenaian Hegemony'9 extending over wide areas of the Greek mainland.
Rather, we should probably see the same circumstances and the same loyalties that later
would result in conflicts such as the Lelantine or Peloponnesian war.
Most scholars now accept the view that Mycenaean Greeks established themselves in
Knossos in the fifteenth century B.C., perhaps as early as 1480.10 A new militaristic spirit,
shown in the arsenal and, perhaps, the introduction of the chariot, points to the mainland.
The period is characterised by the appearance of the Palace Style ware made only at
Knossos and on the mainland of Greece. The Linear B tablets, too, are found solely at
Knossos and mainland sites. Innovations in fresco painting and architectural features
again parallel examples from Mycenaean sites. The throne room in the palace at Knossos,
for instance, was apparently re-modelled along the lines of those at Mycenae and Pylos and

there is a striking likeness, at least in their reconstructedforms, between the griffin frescoes
from the throne rooms of Knossos and Pylos.
Thus it seems fairly certain that Mycenaean Greeks captured the site of Knossos and
probably gradually extended their influence both through the island of Crete itself and also
over outlying regions previously under Minoan control, of either a political or economic
nature. But it is inaccurate to say Mycenaean Greeks and thereby imply any unity of

conquest and control by the mainlanders as a whole. The case must have been that one
group of Greeks from the mainland succeeded in this enterprise and, as a consequence,
began to enjoy an increasingly commanding position in the Eastern Mediterranean
world.
With control of Knossos, these Mycenaeans may have assumed control of the Minoan
'thalassocracy' as well. Throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, Mycenaean products and
even settlements gradually replace Minoan products and settlements." Again, however, it
is essential to realise the significance of the phraseology 'Mycenaean products and settlements': more precisely, the terminology should probably be 'Knossian-Mycenaean products
and settlements.' In other words, the benefits derived from the Minoan 'thalassocracy'
went not to the Mycenaeans in general, but to one group of Mycenaeans.
Surely this rise in importance of the Greeks established at Knossos should be attributed to
militaristic activity as well as to trade and commerce. It may well be that legends of the
classical period reflect the interaction between Cretan and mainland Greeks during the
fifteenth century. As Stubbings writes, '. .. traditions of the Late Helladic II period when
dergriechischen
Geschichte
Religioni (2nd edn., Munich,
I955); Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and Its Survival in
GreekReligion (2nd edn., Lund, 1950); The Mycenaean
Origin of Greek Mythology (Berkeley, 1932).

1 E. Vermeule, Greecein the BronzeAge

(Chicago,

I964)

232 f.

Mrs

Vermeule's

position

on

the

question of unity is essentially one of compromise: 'It

is doubtful whether late Mycenaean Greece was
either really an empire, . . . or a string of local king-

doms who neither respected nor supported one

another.' Ibid., 236.
8 The Linear B tablets are instructive in a negative
fashion: the tablets from both Knossos and Pylos
make no reference to other major Mycenaean centres.

The nature of the tablets and the method of their

preservation prevent us from placing much emphasis
on this fact, however.
9 This is the terminology used by S. Dow, 'The
Greeks in the Bronze Age', Rapportsdu XIe Congres
Internationaldes SciencesHistoriques(Stockholm, I96O).
10 This is the date proposed by Dow, ibid., 15.
'The earlier date, c. 1480, seems preferable for the
conquest itself.' The Palace Style is dated to the
ceramic phase Late Minoan II or, in Furumark's
chronology,
11

c. 1450-14oo B.C.

F. H. Stubbings, 'The Expansion of Mycenaean

Civilization', revised edition of CAH II, xxiia (Cam-

bridge, 1964) 18-22.

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186

C. G. THOMAS

Cnossus and the mainland flourished on an uneasy equality and rivalry are not lacking'.12
One thinks immediately of the 'myth' of Atlantis and the tradition surrounding Minos.
Plato says in the Timaeus,3a'Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great and wonderful
empire which had rule over the whole island and several others, and over parts of the
continent, .. .'. Further, in the Critias14he writes '. . . because of the greatness of their
empire many things were brought to them from foreign countries, and the island itself
provided most of what was required by them for the uses of life'. Plato says also that this
'mighty power . . unprovoked made an expedition against the whole of Europe and
Asia, ... to which your city (Athens) put an end'."
Certainly it must be acknowledged that by far the most of Plato's mythology derives
from his imagination; that it is fiction rather than legend.16 Yet his picture of the power of
Atlantis and its eventual destruction by a mainland power could be applied without alteration to our conception of the Minoan 'thalassocracy' and its undermining and destruction
by a Mycenaean kingdom.
It may be that the traditional description of the power and activities of Minos furnishes
independent corroboration of Plato's treatment. Minos, in the Athenian view at least, was
a cruel tyrant who reduced Athens to the position of a tributary state. After his son
Androgeos had been murdered in Attica, Minos led an expedition against Athens and
Megara when, seemingly, he reduced Athens to the position of a subject state. It was
Theseus, the son of the Athenian king, who freed Athens from its bonds. Incidentally, it is
interesting to learn that Daidalos was, traditionally, an exile to Crete from Athens.
There is nothing surprising in these tales. Athens was an important Mycenaean site
and of Megara R. H. Simpson writes:
Before the hill became almost completely built over, MH and Mycenaean sherds,
and Cyclopean walling were observed. The site is well placed to command both the
harbour and the fertile valley stretching inland to the north-west. I should judge that
this Mycenaean site was probably of greater importance than the excavated Mycenaean
settlement . . . by the shore [Palaiokastro].17
There are three alternative ways in which these legends may be viewed.
They may
have no basis in fact whatsoever. There may be a stratum of truth pointing to the
period
of Minoan supremacy before Mycenaeans took control of Knossos. Or
they may reflect
the rivalry which undoubtedly existed between the various Mycenaean
kingdoms as the
mainland Greeks assumed their position of supremacy in the Mediterranean world.
It will probably never be possible to determine the amount or exact nature of
knowledge
the Greeks possessed concerning their past during the classical
period. Consequently,
legends, myths and traditional tales cannot be assumed to supply independent evidence for
conditions or events of an earlier 'period. Yet it appears quite valid to maintain that
'though tales of a heroic age contain much mythical material and must not be treated as
history, they are based on actual people and actual events'.8s In general, then, these
legendary accounts can be used in only one way. It must be remembered that they have
been embroidered with precise details which cannot be accepted. At most, they embody a
major event or movement or set of circumstances which has been passed down through a
number of generations.
12 Stubbings, 'The Rise of
Mycenaean Civilization', op. cit., 32.
13 Timaeus25a.
The Dialoguesof Plato translated

by B. Jowett (Oxford, 1953).

14 Critias I
Ibid.
14d.
15 Timaeus 24e. Ibid.
16

17 R. H. Simpson, 'A Gazetteer and Atlas of

Mycenaean Sites', Instituteof ClassicalStudies,Bulletin
Supplement
18

No. 16 (London, 1965) 112.

C. M. Bowra, The Meaningof a HeroicAge, Earl

Grey Memorial Lecture (Newcastle, 1957) 3-

J. A. Stewart, The Myths of Plato (Carbondale,

Ill., 196o).

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A MYCENAEAN

A RECONSIDERATION

HEGEMONY?

187

In the late Bronze Age, there is archaeological evidence to suggest that the Greek world
was not a unity and that the Greeks did not coexist peacefully. The legendary accounts
of hostilities lead to the same conclusions and, thus, I feel, can be taken as embodying a
framework of historical accuracy.
If this be so, does the traditional evidence describe the period of Minoan supremacy or
does it rather depict the period when Knossos was controlled by mainland Greeks? Sir
Arthur Evans' picture of Minoan control over Greece is no longer accepted. Instead, the
interaction between the island and mainland before 1500 B.C. is now visualised as a peaceful
interchange of an economic and cultural nature. In view of this and the probability that
the Knossian-Mycenaeans were rivals to, rather than subjects of, any mainland kingdom,
the legends appear to strengthen a picture of inter-kingdom hostility.
Assuming that this is the correct view of the relationship between the island and
mainland during the fifteenth century, we need not ask with Dow, 'Why did Mykenai kill
a goose that was laying golden eggs ?'19 We should not speak of Mykenai and imply the
It seems clear that
whole Mycenaean world; we should speak of groups of Mycenaeans.
one group of Mycenaeans killed the goose that was laying golden eggs for another, probably
Indeed, Catling's suggestion becomes more
quite independent, group of Mycenaeans.
caused
of
Knossos
was
the
destruction
by 'metropolitan Greeks grown jealous
convincing:
of the wealth and power which their Knossian relatives had built up with their command
of the sea'.20
It is my opinion that these developments on Crete and especially at Knossos provide a
good case study for relationships between the various Mycenaean powers. I would
conjecture, furthermore, that later developments on the mainland itself give substantiation
to this argument. We might consider three possible indicators in this regard: the commercial growth of Thebes in the fourteenth century followed by its destruction, probably
close to I3oo B.C.; the rise to prominence of Pylos from roughly 1300oo
B.C. to its destruction
in c. 1230; and the eventual destruction at a majority of Mycenaean sites approximately
thirty years later.
The spectrographic analysis of Minoan and Mycenaean pottery being carried out in
Oxford at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art has already
given, and promises further, important results. For the purpose of the present discussion,
one of the most interesting conclusions concerning Thebes is that the outcome of testing
'serves to emphasize her role as a merchant city'.21 Two other points are equally significant.
First, 'The earliest date which can be defended for the Theban jars is c. 1400 B.C.',22 that is,
after the date of the destruction of Knossos. Second, the fabric of the Theban Stirrup jars
is comparable with the fabric of Cretan pottery, not that deriving from Knossos but rather
from smaller East Cretan sites.23
I do not maintain that the analysis proves any hypothesis. I do suggest, however, that
it is interesting to find that the rise in commercial importance of the Theban Mycenaeans
followed the destruction of the base of power of the Knossian Mycenaeans. Actual warfare
may not be implied. But certainly, one group of Greeks does appear to benefit at the
expense of another group. The situation seems to parallel roughly the growing Athenian
19
20

Dow, op. cit., 18.

Catling, op. cit., 33.

21 H. W. Catling and A. Millett, 'A Study of the

Inscribed Stirrup-Jarsfrom Thebes', Archaeometry
viii
(1965) 35. Results of spectrographic analysis are
iv and vi and by
presented elsewhere in Archaeometry
H. W. Catling, E. E. Richards and A. E. Blin-Stoyle,
'Correlations between Composition and Provenance
of Mycenaean and Minoan Pottery', BSA lviii (1963)

94-II5.

22

23

Archaeometryviii (1965) 35.

Ibid., 32. 'In the study of the first set of jars,

i.e. jars 1-12, it has been shown that the most likely
comparison made was with Type F, which only
occurred in East Crete.' 'The second group of jars,
i.e. jars 13-18, from their single analysis examination
seemed on the whole to be more comparable with
Type O, again an East Cretan source group, than
with Type I which was the only other possible
comparison.'

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188

C. G. THOMAS

domination of foreign markets with its black-figureware at the expense of the Corinthians.
Once again, traditional evidence may throw some light on Theban development. Just
as the power of the Knossian Greeks may have been resented by other Greeks, so too the
strength of the Theban Mycenaeans may well have roused rivalry against her. It may be
that this rivalry is reflected, in legendary form, in the tale of the 'Seven against Thebes'.
The 'Seven' derived from three areas: Thebes itself, Argos and Kalydon. It is well known
that Thebes and Argos were major Mycenaean sites. And of Kalydon, Simpson writes:
The higher and northernmosthill was the Mycenaean acropolis. Here Mycenaean
fortificationwalls, house remains (including one apsidal) and sherdswere discovered....
This hill completely dominates the plain to west and south, and also commands the route
up the river Euenos on the East.24
So, geographically at least, the legend could have basis in fact.
According to legend, the Epigonoi were successful in defeating the Thebans. The
archaeological material from Thebes reveals the same end result.
The most impressive part of the settlement was the building identified as a palace,
and it is clear that this was destroyed in LH III A, after which the major importance of
the town must have ceased, though a complete desertion did not ensue, as a few sherds
from the settlement attest a continuance of occupation in LH III B.25
Significantly, the destruction was not caused by the arrival of newcomers. Henceforth,
Thebes was no longer a powerful entity within the Mycenaean world although the site
continued to be inhabited.
Is this not the same pattern of developments that occurred in Knossos roughly a century
earlier? One group of Mycenaean Greeks came to enjoy a position of commercial success;
this success could easily have led to rivalry and distrust on the part of other Mycenaeans;
the power and wealth enjoyed by the Theban Mycenaeans, as well as that of the Knossian
Mycenaeans, was ended by destruction.
So we have examples of growth at particular sites followed by destruction in both the
fifteenth and fourteenth centuries. The pattern, apparently, continued in the thirteenth
century and especially at the site of Ano Englianos or Pylos. It was in approximately
1300 B.C. that what is described as the 'fourteenth-centurytown' was burned and the site
rebuilt with large palace structures. As Blegen concludes:
The destruction by burning of the earlier settlement, which at the end of the ceramic
phase III A occupied the hill and the slopes below, might be taken to indicate that
Neleus conquered the place with violence, ... It is not impossible that the Southwestern
Building was the actual palace existing at the end of the fourteenth century and was then
demolished in the struggle for domination.26
Tradition maintains that Neleus, having married the daughter of the king of Mycenaean
Orchomenos, travelled to Pylos where he defeated the ruling king and established his own
dynasty. As Mrs Vermeule suggests, 'We are prepared to believe in high mobility in
this later Mycenaean world. What is surprising, and suggestive, is the freedom of one
Mycenaean group to burn out and take over another, as late as I3gooB.C.'27
As in the case of Thebes, Pylos then experienced growth and prosperity and clearly
became one of the most important of the thirteenth-century Mycenaean sites. As Simpson
summarizes, 'Professor Blegen's excavations have revealed a great palace complex, with a
24

25
26

Simpson, op. cit., 91.

Desborough, op. cit.,

27

Vermeule, op. cit., 163.

I21.

C. W. Blegen and Marion Rawson, The Palace

of Nestor at Pylos i (Princeton,

1966) 423-

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A MYCENAEAN HEGEMONY?

A RECONSIDERATION

189
bureaucratic system that presupposes control over a wide territory'."8 In addition to
control over a large kingdom in the southwestern Peloponnese, archaeological evidence
shows that trade was an important aspect of life in Pylos as it was in other Mycenaean
kingdoms.29

Following this period of power and prosperity, we witness destruction once again.
'There is no doubt that the palace was violently destroyed . ...'30 It is felt by Blegen that
'we can date the fire to a time when the style of Mycenaean III B was nearing its end, but
had not yet been superseded by that of Mycenaean III C'.31 To be as specific as the
evidence allows, a date- between I23O and 1200 is most likely. There is no tale of the
'Seven against Pylos' to strengthen the supposition that other Mycenaeans were responsible
for the disaster. Indirectly, however, there is evidence for the view in the fact that there
is no trace of a foreign, that is non-Mycenaean, element in the destruction level.32
Admittedly the destruction at Pylos occurs amidst disturbances in most parts of the
Mycenaean world, the exact nature of which remains extremely unclear. Apparently,
final destructionsoccurred at roughly the same time at Zygouries, Gla, Crisa, Iolcus and the
settlement at the Menelaion.33 Perhaps the most significant point, concerning the present
discussion, is that in the Peloponnese, only one of the three major sites was completely
destroyed: Pylos. Mycenae and Tiryns, though attacked, continued to survive. I wonder
about the importance of the tradition that the survivorsfrom Pylos fled to the Mycenaean
site of Athens; apparently they made no attempt to bring succour to the inhabitants of
Mycenae or Tiryns.
I do not presume to be attempting an explanation of the cause or nature of the final
collapse of the various centres of Mycenaean civilisation. What I am suggesting is that
there appears to be a discernible pattern to the rise and fall of individual Mycenaean
kingdoms before the final destruction. Especially important is the fact that in each case
the fall was apparently through destruction at the hands of another Mycenaean power.
A parallel pattern which immediately comes to mind is the shifting fortunes of the Greek
poleis in the fourth and third centuries B.c. In neither time period are there indications
of unity. Absent, too, is hegemony beyond an immediate regional area which, in the
earlier period, comprises the region of each kingdom and, in the later period, is the area
of the individual city-state.
But what of that other evidence mentioned in the opening quotation from Desborough:
'the overlordshipof Agamemnon clearly envisaged by Homer', 'the archaeological material'
and 'the fairly frequent mention by the Hittites ... of the king of a land called Ahhiyawa' ?
The Iliad does leave an impressionthat Agamemnon holds a privileged position and that
impression cannot be dismissed out of hand. To maintain any consistency, I must
acknowledge that it may well be that the epics are based on a major historical event34and
28

Simpson,op.cit., 64.
It is unfortunatethat Pylian materialhas not
been tested by the spectrographicmethod as yet.
Results would indicate preciselythe extent of connectionsthroughtrade.
30 Desborough,op.cit., 94.
31 C. W. Blegenand Mabel Lang, 'The Palace of
NestorExcavationsof 1959',AJA lxiv
(I96o) I59.
32 See
Desborough,op. cit., for the evidence. He
summarizeson p. 251 as follows:'In the Argolid,in
spite of destructionat Mycenaeand Tiryns,and the
abandonment of certain other sites, there is no
evidence of settlement by newcomers. The survivors have all the usual Mycenaean characteristics.
... Laconiais the leastwell knownof the threeareas,
but recentsurveyand excavationhave suggestedon
29

the one hand a serious depopulation, and on the other

the continuance of the Mycenaean sanctuary at
Amyklai. Once again, there is no evidence for
invaders settling in this area, . . . it is remarkable
that precisely the same picture has emerged from
Messenia.'
33 F. H. Stubbings, 'The Recession of Mycenaean
Civilization', revised edition of CAH II, xxvii (Cambridge, 1965)

14 f.

34 But see M. I. Finley, 'The Trojan War', JHS

lxxxiv (1964) who maintains that '. . . Blegen and
his colleagues . . . have found nothing, not a scrap,

which points to an Achaean coalition or to a "king

whose overlordship was recognised" or to Trojan
allies; nothing which hints at who destroyed Troy.'
At a later point Finley writes, 'It would be an

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C. G. THOMAS

190

that the formulaic nature of the epic language would foster fairly exact transmission. Yet,
as in the case of the Atlantis myth, we cannot go beyond an acceptance of the most general
nature. With respect to specific details, it would appear that the alterations occurringvery
gradually within the epics are due, primarily, to a process of 'modernisation'. In other
words, non-understandablefeatures of the traditional poetry were made understandable to
the present audience. I have argued elsewhere35for the process of modernisation with
regard to the political situation embodied in the Iliad and Odysseyand see no reason why the
overlordship of Agamemnon could not be visualised as the result of the same process. If
this be the case, we can state with Finley36 'The Homeric world was altogether postMycenaean, and the so-called reminiscences and survivals are rare, isolated, and garbled.
Hence Homer is not only not a reliable guide to the Mycenaean tablets; he is no guide
at all.'
But let us look more closely at this overlordship as portrayed in the epic tradition.
Desborough is wise in suggesting that it can be explained 'simply as a military leadership
for the purpose of waging war against Troy'. The Greek world did not immediately, on
the seizure of Helen, recognise that a wrong to the House of Atreus must be avenged and
that Agamemnon would automatically become the leader of an avenging expeditionary
force. It appears that Agamemnon felt that he must organise a punitive force and with
Menelaos travelled to the lands of two powerful kings-Nestor and Odysseus-whose
domains lay outside the borders of his own kingdom, asking them to join forces with him.37
After agreeing to supply contingents from their kingdoms, Nestor and Odysseus further
acted to recruit aid from other kings.38 It is clearly implied that they acted of their own
accord.
When a considerable army from many kingdoms in Greece had been gathered in Argos,
each of the local kings made a vow to Agamemnon: 'They once undertook to you as they
set forth to come here (Troy) from horse-pasturingArgos, to go home only after you have
sacked strong-walled Ilion.'39 In this vow or these oaths of friendship (orkia)the local king
promised 'to be a staunch companion in arms'.40 The resulting situation was as follows: a
local lord vowed that, during this expedition, he would act as leader of his own contingent
but at the same time he would be only an 'etairos' or comrade to the other kings under the
supreme leadership of Agamemnon. Agamemnon's unique position arose from the fact
that he took the responsibility for initiating the war and was held accountable for its
successful conclusion. Equally important, he supplied the largest contingent of men and
ships. The practicality of this arrangementis indicated in Odysseus' words: 'The kingship
of many is no good thing; let there be one leader, one king. .. .'41 For the efficientoperation
of warfare one man is generally given supreme command.
That the epic tradition regarded Agamemnon's unique position as continuing for the
duration of the expedition only is clear from several passages in the Odyssey. Once Troy
had been sacked, Agamemnon's control appears to have vanished.42 When Agamemnon
and his followers were slain by Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, the responsibilityfor vengeance
rested solely with Orestes and Menelaos.43 Had the king of Mycenae exercised an overlordship in Greece during peace as well as war, his murder would have been remembered
as of more import than the ruin of a prosperous 'oikos'.44 Even if the actual vengeance on
obvious guess that, when their own society was under
such severe pressure, bands of Achaeans took to
buccaneering and mercenary service, sometimes as
allies of the invaders.' (Pp. I and 6.)
35 'The Roots of Homeric Kingship', Historia xv
(1966) 387-407.
36 M. I. Finley, 'Homer and Mycenae: Property

and Tenure', Historia vi

(i957)

133-59.

37 Odysseyxxiv 115-17.
Iliad xi 769-70.
39 Iliad ii 286-8.
40 Iliad iv 266-7.
41 Iliad ii
204-6.
42 Odyssey iii 136 ff.
43 Odyssey i 35-52, iv 546-7.
38

44

Odysseyiv 90-6.

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A MYCENAEAN HEGEMONY?

A RECONSIDERATION

191
Aegisthus and Clytemnestra had to remain with the family because of rules of custom, one
would expect that tradition would recall some sort of contest for Agamemnon's throne and
position. As it occurred, Aegisthus reigned undisturbed in Mycenae for seven years45until
he was slain by Orestes. Presumably Orestes then assumed his father's position as local
king of the area.
In summary then, epic tradition remembersa temporary overlordshipfor one particular
expedition. The details concerning the nature of kingship which are embedded in the epics
reflect fragmentation rather than unity.
What does archaeological evidence indicative of Mycenaean culture reveal about empire
or overlordship? To remain impartial, we must acknowledge with Desborough the
significance of 'the factor of the cultural uniformity of the whole Mycenaean world. .... This
uniformity (in which Crete alone is excluded) has many facets, and may be said to cover
almost every type of object or custom revealed by archaeology'.46 Yet, it is necessary to
stressa point which Desborough goes on to make: 'In all these elements a general uniformity
may be observed, but on the other hand there is no indication that any one district took the
lead, though it is worth mentioning that the citadel and town of Mycenae present the most
impressive remains so far brought to light.'47
This general uniformity of culture evidences only one fact directly: the Mycenaean
kingdoms were connected, economically, through trade. Especially apt is Stella's phrase
'questa civile koine'.48 There was much borrowing and adaptation but the origin of styles
or motifs cannot be traced to one and the same site. Influence by some Mycenaeans on
others is to be expected both because of trade and also due to movement, peaceful and
violent. Using the legendary account of Neleus as an example, we might say that Neleus
in moving from Iolcos to Pylos carried with him elements of the northern Mycenaean culture
which found their way into the southern Mycenaean cultural stream.
Finally, there are the Hittite references to the king of Ahhiyawa which Desborough,
among others, interpretsas representinga Mycenaean unity. While it is true that Ahhiyawa
probably refers to the Achaeans or Mycenaeans, in spite of linguistic difficulties, there is no
way of determining the location of the kingdom of Ahhiyawa. Huxley in his Achaeansand
Hittites49concedes this point. Yet he argues, largely on evidence derived from epic poetry,
that 'Agamemnon then, was the ruler of all Mycenaean Greece and of many islands also'
and that 'Agamemnon's powers are appropriate to those of a king of Ahhijava.'5o Page,
on the other hand, has presented a case for an identification with Rhodes: 'Predominant in
the eastern Aegean is the island of Rhodes: for the Hittites, Greek means Rhodian; and for
two hundred years the island state enjoys a privileged position in Hittite diplomacy.'51
If an identification of the kingdom of Ahhiyawa with the mainland of Greece should
become virtually certain, still there would be no compelling reason to conclude that the
Mycenaean world was united even loosely. A Mycenaean king was reportedas campaigning
in Asia Minor; he could have been the king of Athens as well as Mycenae. The Hittites
corresponded with a Mycenaean king; he could have been the king of Pylos as well as
Tiryns. The point is this: the Hittites had dealings with individual rulers and their
documents reveal this fact. We cannot go on to the inference that one ruler held a privileged
position in the Greek world. This may have been the impression of the Hittites; certainly
it would be to the advantage of an individual Mycenaean king to promote this impression.
But we cannot accept a sentiment without further proof.
What then can we conclude about a Mycenaean hegemony? The most important
45 Odyssey iii 306-7Desborough, op. cit., 219.
47 Ibid., 219.
48 L. A. Stella, La Civilti Micenea nei Documenti
Contemporanei(Rome, 1965) 190.
46

Achaeans and Hittites (Oxford,

49 G. L. Huxley,
i960) 44.
50 Ibid., 46 and 48.
51 D. L. Page, History and the Homeric Iliad (Berkeley
and Los Angeles, 1963) 18.

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C. G. THOMAS

192

thing to remember is that we can make no definite conclusions of any nature. Neither epic
tradition nor archaeological evidence nor Hittite records prove 'that there was one ruler
The discernible
over the whole Mycenaean territory, with his capital at Mycenae ...'52
of
no
of nonthe
rise
and
fall
various
with
evidence
of
Mycenaean kingdoms,
pattern
Mycenaean interference, appears to suggest the opposite conclusion. The same factors
producing fragmentation that prevailed throughout the Hellenic period of Greek history
existed during the Mycenaean Age. These factors seem to have yielded the same results
in both ages: lack of unity manifested in internecine warfare.

C. G. THOMAS.
The Universityof Washington.
52

Desborough, op. cit., 218.

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