A Greek State in Formation: The Origins of Civilization in Mycenaean Pylos

Sather Classical Lectures

by Jack L. Davis

The Mycenaean civilization of the Greek Bronze was identified 150 years ago, yet its origins remain obscure. Jack L. Davis, codirector of ongoing excavations at the Palace of Nestor at Pylos, takes readers on a tour of the beginnings of Mycenaean civilization through a case study of this important site. In collaboration with Sharon R. Stocker, Davis demonstrates that this ancient place was a major node for the exchange of ideas between the already established Minoan civilization, centered on the island of Crete, and the Greek mainland. Davis and Stocker show how this adoption of Minoan culture created an ideology of power focused on a single individual, one that celebrated his military prowess and invested him with divine authority—a figure instantly recognizable to readers of Homer and students of Greek history. A Greek State in Formation makes the powerful case that a knowledge of the Greek Bronze Age is indispensable to the classics curriculum.

Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction

167 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 3, 2022

Reviews

[Aris Kirmi]

Καταπληκτικό βιβλίο που χρειάζεται ξαναδιάβασμα με εκτενείς σημειώσεις και αποδελτίωση της βιβλιογραφίας για περαιτέρω μελέτη. Ερεθιστικά στη σκέψη συμπεράσματα! Συνεκτικό. Δίνει σε αρκετά σημεία τροφή για σκέψη. Το βιβλίο είναι ταυτόχρονα ακαδημαϊκή μελέτη και αυτοβιογραφικές αναμνήσεις.

[Barbara]

I was looking to expand the scope of my historical knowledge and I saw this book was free on Amazon Prime, so I downloaded it, thinking I was going to be getting a different kind of history book. It is hybrid memoir and academic article that meandered in places. The author is a professor at the University of Cincinnati and also once taught classical studies in Athens, Greece. He is co-director, with Sharon R. Stocker, of excavations in Pylos at the Palace of Nestor. If you can wade through the academic jargon, he paints a vivid picture of the early Mycenaean civilization as told through the artifacts and remains unearthed at the site, which he concluded was “a major node for the exchange of idease between Crete and southern Greece.” (p.77) Quite fascinating is the grave of the Griffin Warrior, which DNA has helped identify as male, about 35 years old at the time of his death, who was likely a Mycenaean king.