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2 - The Late Helladic I Period

(LH I 1650/1600–1500 BC)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2025

Dora Vassilikou
Affiliation:
The Archaeological Society at Athens
Yannis Galanakis
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

IIn the LH I period a social organization appears and a wealthy ruling class emerges. The foundation of the ‘palace’ structure is laid and the ‘ideology of power’ as well. The period is mainly known from tombs, the shaft graves excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae being the most celebrated. The finds produced by the two Grave circles of Mycenae, remarkable for their variety and wealth, give plentiful information about the burial customs, the identity of the deceased and the art of the period. Stonework for precious vases, metalwork in gold, electrum or silver show sophisticated techniques – repoussé, inlaying, cloisonné – in the fashioning of cups, rhyta, weapons with decorated hilts. Outstanding are the Silver Siege Rhyton, the daggers with elaborate inlaid blades and the funerary masks, a special offering; also the distantly coming amber used in jewellery. Faience items bear Minoan influence, as do the seals and signet rings, a special category.

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