Classical Greeks considered the Mycenaean civilization to be the basis of their glorious and heroic heritage, but its material existence was not confirmed until the excavations of Heinrich Schliemann in the late nineteenth century. In the ensuing years, as with the field of archaeology in general, emphasis has shifted from revealing monuments and finding treasure to dealing with less glamorous, more scientifically-oriented investigations concerning aspects such as social and political organization, economic functions and settlement patterns. With its more than 2000 entries, this reference work serves as both an introduction to and a summary of the study of ancient Mycenaean civilization. Considerably expanded from the first edition, there are 500 new entries representing materials published since 1991. The largest part of the book is made up of annotated bibliography entries arranged topically with introductory material for each section. The book also includes a general introduction to Mycenaean civilization, a glossary, and author, place and subject indexes.

Consists of 20 chapters in 2 parts; pt. 1 contains chapters on Aegean prehistory and the East and pt. 2 contains chapters on classical Greece, Etruria, and Rome.

Publisher Description

This important volume describes the art created in the second millennium B.C. for royal palaces, temples, and tombs from Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia to Cyprus, Egypt, and the Aegean.

Mochlos is a Minoan town set on a fine harbour at the eastern side of the Gulf of Mirabello, in northeast Crete. It was first inhabited during the Neolithic period, and it had an important Minoan settlement during most of the Bronze Age. Mochlos I, to be published in three volumes, presents the results of the excavations in the Neopalatial levels of the Artisans' Quarter, and at the farmhouse at Chalinomouri. The Artisans' Quarter consisted of a series of workshops with evidence for pottery manufacture, metalworking, and weaving. Chalinomouri, a semi-independent farmhouse with strong connections to the nearby island settlement at Mochlos, was engaged in craftwork and food processing as well as agriculture. This volume, Mochlos IA, presents the process of excavation and the architecture; volume IB presents the pottery, and volume IC will publish the small finds.

The 27 papers in this volume harken to the themes that Jeffrey Soles has influenced during his illustrious career in Aegean Bronze Age archaeology: ancestry, burial customs, religion, trade, jewelry, the development of the Minoan settlement of Mochlos in eastern Crete, and the rise and fall of the Minoan civilization.