Kingship in the Mycenaean World and its reflections in the Oral Tradition (Prehistory Monographs)

During the last few decades, there has been great interest in the problems of defining the extent and nature of kingship in the Mycenaean world. Questions concerning the degree of economic and religious power held by the king have been given special emphasis. This book surveys the conclusions drawn by individual scholars studying the Linear B tablets, contrasts their theories with our knowledge of the Mycenaean kingdoms as derived from the archaeological record, and finally compares this evidence with possible reflections in the oral tradition, specifically in the Iliad and Odyssey . This approach leads to the suggestion that the king in the Mycenaean period had only limited power over the society and its economy. Although the king appears to have controlled a large segment of the economy, it is argued here that other individuals and family groups within the kingdom also had a certain degree of economic independence. Shear explores questions concerning the degree of economic and religious power held by the king in the Mycenaean world of second millennium BC Greece and its environs. She combines evidence from three realms of scholarship that often do not speak to each other: archaeology; the Linear B tablets and their decipherment; and the epic traditions, the myths and legends of the past, and most particularly the Iliad and Odyssey, which he points out, were oral narratives for a long time before they came out in cheap used paperbacks. The book is distributed in the US by the David Brown Book Company. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) List of Figures 10 Preface 12 Introduction 14 I The Archaeological Evidence 18 II The Evidence of the Linear B Tablets 52 III The Ugarit Parallel 78 IV The Evidence of the Oral Tradition 82 V The End of the Tradition 94 VI Summary 110 Notes 118 Bibliography 186 Index of Ancient Authors 228 Index of References to the Iliad 230 Index of References to the Odyssey 234 Index 238