The Greek Bronze Age, roughly 3000 to 1000 BCE, witnessed the flourishing of the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations, the earliest expansion of trade in the Aegean and wider Mediterranean Sea, the development of artistic techniques in a variety of media, and the evolution of early Greek religious practices and mythology. The period also witnessed a violent conflict in Asia Minor between warring peoples in the region, a conflict commonly believed to be the historical basis for Homer's Trojan War. The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean provides a detailed survey of these fascinating aspects of the period, and many others, in sixty-six newly commissioned articles. Divided into four sections, the handbook begins with Background and Definitions, which contains articles establishing the discipline in its historical, geographical, and chronological settings and in its relation to other disciplines. The second section, Chronology and Geography, contains articles examining the Bronze Age Aegean by chronological period (Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age). Each of the periods are further subdivided geographically, so that individual articles are concerned with Mainland Greece during the Early Bronze Age, Crete during the Early Bronze Age, the Cycladic Islands during the Early Bronze Age, and the same for the Middle Bronze Age, followed by the Late Bronze Age. The third section, Thematic and Specific Topics, includes articles examining thematic topics that cannot be done justice in a strictly chronological/geographical treatment, including religion, state and society, trade, warfare, pottery, writing, and burial customs, as well as specific events, such as the eruption of Santorini and the Trojan War. The fourth section, Specific Sites and Areas, contains articles examining the most important regions and sites in the Bronze Age Aegean, including Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Knossos, Kommos, Rhodes, the northern Aegean, and the Uluburun shipwreck, as well as adjacent areas such as the Levant, Egypt, and the western Mediterranean.
Containing new work by an international team of experts, The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean represents the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date single-volume survey of the field. It will be indispensable for scholars and advanced students alike.
Acknowledgements Contributors Abbreviations PrefaceEric H. Cline: Section I: Background and Definitions 1: James D. Muhly: History of Research 2: Sturt W. Manning: Chronology and Terminology Section II: Chronology and Geography 3: Peter Tomkins: Neolithic Antecedents Early Bronze Age 4: Jeannette Forsén: Mainland Greece 5: Peter Tomkins and Ilse Schoep: Crete 6: Colin Renfrew: Cyclades Middle Bronze Age 7: Sofia Voutsaki: Mainland Greece 8: Ilse Schoep: Crete 9: Robin L. N. Barber: Cyclades Late Bronze Age 10: Kim Shelton: Mainland Greece 11: Erik Hallager: Crete 12: Robin L. N. Barber: Cyclades 13: Reinhard Jung: End of the Bronze Age Section III: Thematic Topics Art and Architecture 14: Louise Hitchcock: Minoan Architecture 15: Louise Hitchcock: Mycenaean Architecture 16: Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst: Figurines 17: Anne P. Chapin: Frescoes Society and Culture 18: Dimitri Nakassis, Michael L. Galaty, and William A. Parkinson: State and Society 19: Susan Lupack: Minoan Religion 20: Susan Lupack: Mycenaean Religion 21: Christopher Mee: Death and Burial 22: Bryan E. Burns: Trade 23: Ioannis Georganas: Weapons and Warfare Seals and Writing/Administrative Systems 24: Judith Weingarten: Minoan Seals and Sealings 25: John G. Younger: Mycenaean Seals and Sealings 26: Helena Tomas: Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A 27: Thomas G. Palaima: Linear B 28: Nicolle Hirschfeld: Cypro-Minoan Material Crafts 29: Doniert G. Evely: Materials and Industries 30: Birgitta Hallager: Minoan Pottery 31: Jeremy B. Rutter: Mycenaean Pottery 32: Brendan Burke: Textiles 33: Robert Laffineur: Jewellery Events 34: Sturt W. Manning: Eruption of Thera/Santorini 35: Trevor Bryce: Trojan War 36: Oliver Dickinson: The Collapse at the End of the Bronze Age Section IV: Specific Sites and Regions Crete 37: Vincenzo La Rosa: Ayia Triada 38: Lefteris Platon: Kato Zakros 39: Kydonia: Khania 40: Colin Macdonald: Knossos 41: Joseph and Maria Shaw: Kommos 42: Jan Driessen: Malia 43: J. Alexander MacGillivray and L. Hugh Sackett: Palaikastro 44: Vincenzo La Rosa: Phaistos Mainland Greece 45: Sofia Voutsaki: Argolid 46: Anastasia Dakouri-Hild: Boeotia 47: William G. Cavanagh: Central and Southern Peloponnese 48: Stelios Andreou: Northern Aegean 49: Martha Wiencke: Lerna 50: Elizabeth French: Mycenae 51: Jack L. Davis: Pylos 52: Anastasia Dakouri-Hild: Thebes 53: Robert Laffineur: Thorikos 54: Joseph Maran: Tiryns Cyclades, Dodecanese, and Saronic Islands 55: Walter Gauss: Aegina Kolonna 56: Christos Doumas: Akrotiri 57: Toula Marketou: Dodecanese 58: Toula Marketou: Rhodes Wider Mediterranean 59: George F. Bass: Cape Gelidonya shipwreck 60: Louise Steel: Cyprus 61: Jacke Phillips: Egypt 62: Assaf Yasur-Landau: Levant 63: Peter Jablonka: Troy 64: Cemal Pulak: Uluburun shipwreck 65: Alan M. Greaves: Western Anatolia 66: Lucia Vagnetti: Western Mediterranean
Eric H. Cline is Associate Professor of Classics and Anthropology (Ancient History and Archaeology) and Chair of the Departments of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures at The George Washington University.
Reviews for The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean
In short, this handbook is big, but very useful Bryn Mawr Classical Review The Handbook is certainly an impressive achievement ... handbooks like this will continue to be indispensible tools for the Bronze Age Aegean archaeologist. Curtis Runnels, International Journal of Classical Tradition this book is an excellent resource for a basic understanding of any of the topics covered and serves as a valuable compendium: it should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the Bronze Age Mediterranean. For the record, it was on mine even before I was asked to do this review. I recommend this book. Shelley Wachsmann, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology
