endpapers PRINTER.indd 1
11/12/07 4:33:49 PM
Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PREFACE
vii xiii
ONE
Metal Vessels in Macedonian History
1
TWO
The Derveni Tombs Cist Tombs and the Pit Grave 10 Discovery of the Derveni Krater 18
9
THREE
The Derveni Krater Description and Technology of Production 31 Repoussé Relief Friezes 31 Decoration on the Neck 36 Added Elements on the Mouth and Foot 38 Handles 39 Statuettes on the Shoulder 42 Inscription on the Lip 43 Date of the Krater 44
29
FOUR
Precursors to the Derveni Krater Origin of the Attic 5th-Century Α-Type 55 Description of the Α-Type Volute Krater 56 Α-Type Handles and the Derveni Krater 59 Deviations from the Predominant Handle Pattern 61 Neo-Attic Marble Volute Kraters 62 The New Shape of the Attic Red-Figure Volute Krater 62 Workshop Scene on the Caputi Hydria 66 An Attic Red-Figure Adaptation of the Α-Type Volute Krater 69 South Italian Copies of the Handles 71
47
BB front_matter.indd 5
11/21/07 2:52:11 PM
vi •
contents FIVE
Elaborated Volute Kraters of the Late 5th and Early 4th Centuries Tradition and Innovation 76 Evidence for Other Elaborated Metal Volute Kraters 79 The New Volute Mask 83 Figures on Krater Shoulders 85 Surface Elaborations of Raised Metal Vessels 89 Origin and 5th-Century Use of Elaborated Metal Vessels 90 The Volumetric Tongues on the Derveni Krater 92
SIX
Relief Friezes, Further Elaboration, Floral Ornament, and Workshops 101 The Mouth 104 Further Surface Elaboration 104 Addition of the Major Cast Elements 105 Metal Relief Ware of the Late 5th and Early 4th Centuries 106 Repoussé Mirror Cover Decorations, 375–350 109 Floral Ornamentation 110 Workshop Considerations 112
SEVEN
The Major Repoussé Frieze Dionysos and Ariadne 118 The Maenads 122 The Hunter 149 The Silenos 154
115
EIGHT
Animal Friezes, Volute Masks, and Cast Shoulder Figures The Lowest Register of Friezes 160 The Repoussé Animal Frieze on the Neck 163 The Masks of Male Deities 166 The Solid Cast Bronze Figures on the Shoulder 168
159
NINE
The Uses and Workshop Origin of the Derveni Krater Initial Purpose of the Derveni Krater 180 Final Use of the Derveni Krater 181 Iconography of the Derveni Krater 182 Workshop of the Derveni Krater 184
177
NOTES REFERENCES illustration credits INDEX
BB front_matter.indd 6
73
187 221 232 233
11/21/07 2:52:12 PM
CHAPTER TWO
The Derveni Tombs
BB ch2.indd 9
11/21/07 3:01:35 PM
10 •
•
T
he discovery at Derveni in 1962 of graves that had remained untouched since the 4th century B.c. was at the time second in importance only to the location five years earlier of the ancient Macedonian capital of Pella.1 Following the chance exposure of cist tomb Α near the top of the Derveni pass during preparations for widening the road from Thessaloniki to Langada and points north and east on January 15, 1962, six more burial chambers were found in the area during seven months of investigation (Figs. 5, 6). They were to reveal the most extensive collection of Classical Greek bronze and silver ever uncovered. Besides five cist tombs, or underground single-room burials, only one of which had been plundered, these seven Derveni tombs included an untouched simple pit grave, tomb Ζ, covered with wooden beams and planks, as well as a repeatedly looted single-chamber monument (500 m south of three closely grouped cist tombs, Α, Β, and Δ) with vaulted roof and pediment facade like many others found in late-4th- and early-3rd-century Macedonia. This one, tomb Γ, an example of the so-called Macedonian tomb, was the only one covered with a conspicuous artificial mound, or tumulus. Cist tombs Ε and Η were found farther to the west (Fig. 6). Earlier in the 20th century, two conspicuous tumuli, at some distance from the Derveni tombs but in the general area, had each yielded a two-chamber Macedonian tomb. Both had been plundered. One, the Langada (Makridi Bei) tomb, is about 4 km to the southwest of tomb Γ; the other, called the “Tomb of Lagyna,” is north of Derveni near the village of Laîna, ancient Lete (Λητή), an important town in ancient Mygdonia which recent investigations prove was continuously occupied from the 6th century B.c. on.2 Two more (looted) 4th-century tombs were excavated in 1995 in what is now considered the necropolis of ancient Lete.3 The seven tombs discovered at the Derveni pass in 1962 were apparently constructed along an ancient road, a practice customary in antiquity, in this case a road associated with, but some distance from, the settlement of Lete, 2.5 km to the north.4 They have been most recently dated to the last quarter of the 4th to the early 3rd century B.c.5 Although the single-chamber tomb Γ had been repeatedly robbed and yielded very few finds, shards of a 4th-century Attic red-figure pelike were sufficiently numerous to allow a restoration, and other pottery fragments sustained a late-4th-century date.6 The grouping of these tombs so closely related in date and tomb furnishings some distance from the town is noteworthy, and, besides the obvious possibility of their removal from the town’s cemetery to avoid plundering, may reinforce the notion of a familial association. The proximity to the Derveni pass of a sanctuary of Demeter and Kore may or may not have been a significant factor in their location.7
Cist Tombs and the Pit Grave The five Derveni cist tombs—four of which, Α, Β, Δ, and Ε, had been completely untouched by robbers—were built of large blocks of reddish poros stone laid in courses and plastered on the interior. All but Δ, which was covered with wooden planks, were roofed with similar blocks of poros stone. Tomb Η, the smallest of the cist tombs, 1.08 x 0.72 m with a depth of 0.60 m, was made of four poros blocks and covered by a fifth one, which had been broken. It had recently been robbed.8 A single gold earring9 and some pottery was recovered from this tomb, however, as well as a local so-called Cypriote amphora, an
AAAC1.indb 10
11/5/07 3:23:59 PM
the derveni tombs
Lete
0
Tomb of Lagyna Asprovrusi
10
km
Figure 5. Map showing the area of the Derveni tombs
ad
a
Roa
dt
oL
Makridi Diavaton, Bei mound small mound Diavaton, large mound
g
DERVENI TOMBS
an
Oraiokastron
5
• 11
Sousamomylos mound
Lempet Zeitenlik mound
Peuka mound
mound
THESSALONIKI Kalamarias mound Pulaia
THERMAIC GULF
Karampournaki mound
Mt. Hortiatis
Sedes Agricultural School Gona mound
An
Alana Neoi Epivatai mound
Ro Loutra m
ou
s riv
er
ad
to
Po
lyg
yro
s
Vasilika
Plagiari Trilophos
the
Nea Redestos
Kardia
Attic red-figure pelike dated to the third quarter of the 4th century B.c., and, notably, a fine Attic black-gloss calyx krater with a raised, gilded clay wreath decoration, dated 350–340 (see Fig. 87 below).10 The pit grave, tomb Ζ, 1.10 x 0.86 m, likewise plastered on the interior, was covered with wooden planks that had collapsed. The major offerings in this grave were several items of gold jewelry found grouped together, including a ring with a name common in Thessalian Pelasgiotis (Larissa) inscribed on the bezel.11 There were also some important bronze vessels. These included a well-crafted wide-mouth krater or basin with defined neck and overhanging rim, separately made two-degree foot, and two horizontal cylindrical handles with disk-shaped circular attachments. This is a type associated with the ritual
AAAC1.indb 11
11/5/07 3:24:00 PM
AAAC1.indb 12
11/5/07 3:24:22 PM
Figure 6. Location and plan views of six of the Derveni tombs
the derveni tombs
• 13
Figure 7. Wide-mouthed krater from Derveni tomb Α, H. 25 cm
washing before the symposium, and others similar to it have been found in Macedonia. Examples from Derveni tombs Α (Fig. 7) and Β are probably of the same workshop origin.12 Other bronze vessels from pit grave Ζ associated with ritual washing are two hemispherical footed bowls, or lekani, also a vessel type found elsewhere in Macedonia, including Derveni tombs Β and Δ,13 and a lebes, a footless vessel, 35 cm high, with a rounded bottom and straight sides with ring handles held by bird-shaped attachments on the shoulder.14 Bronze symposium ware in pit grave Ζ included a plain-wall ovoid situla, or pail, with movable handles, a vessel widely used in Macedonia and other northern areas (as suggested in Chapter 1) where wine was served akratos, or undiluted.15 Together with those from tomb Δ, the situla can be dated to the first half of the 4th century, as discussed later. A damaged arched handle and its separated attachment, in the form of a female mask, indicated the original presence of a sack-shaped bronze oinochoe, or pitcher, of a type found in tomb Β.16 Notable among the symposium utensils in pit grave Ζ was a small silver calyx cup of the so-called Macedonian type, a deep shape with a central boss known in larger sizes in 5th-century Achaemenid silver. This distinctive type of elaborate silver drinking vessel with repoussé head or mask decorating the omphalos, which has close parallels in Attic pottery by the second quarter of the 4th century, has been widely found in 4th-century Macedonian contexts. This example has the mask of a Silenos in the interior.17 The ceramics from tomb Ζ are various shapes in Attic black-glazed ware, most of it incised. Among the shapes are a low drinking cup with handles (kylix, of a type called “Bolsal”), some small, low, handleless bowls (skyphoi), a small perfume pot with low globular body and high, narrow neck (askos-guttus), a small, round, lidded container (pyxis), and two gilded mastoid vessels (in the shape of female breasts). All can be dated to the late 4th century.18 Tombs Δ and Ε, discovered ten days apart in March 1962, have internal dimensions of 2.40 x 1.80 and 1.44 x 1.36 m, with depths of 1.50 and 0.60 m, respectively. Tomb Δ, containing two male inhumation burials inserted some time apart, yielded an elaborate gold wreath of myrtle leaves and a gold eighth-stater of Philip II, dated by Georges Le Rider to 340–328 or 336–328.19 Some important bronze vessels were found in this tomb.
AAAC1.indb 13
11/5/07 3:24:24 PM
14 •
chapter two They included a large, fragmentary open-mouthed lebes, 80 cm high with a mouth 32 cm in diameter, with a rounded bottom, straight sides, and sturdy handle attachments. In it a small iron tripod vessel had been placed, the lebes then covered with a large shallow bronze plate also surviving in a fragmentary state. Together with the tripod, believed to have been used to support bronze cauldrons in which water was heated for personal washing (the lebes, in this case), a lekanis, a large, wide-mouth bronze basin (H. 16 cm, Diam. mouth 26.5 cm), and two associated smaller low phialai, these vessels again suggest the ritual washing before the symposium.20 The wine containers for the symposium in tomb Δ were two bronze ovoid situlae, one very similar to that found in tomb Ζ, the other varying from these two only in the addition of a zone of Ionian kymation decorating the mouth under the protruding lip (Fig. 8).21 All three, plus a fourth ovoid situla in Berlin from the southern Propontis region,22 which must be from the same Greek workshop, can be compared for dating purposes to situlae of the same class but different workshop origin found in two Apulian tombs dated to the end of the 5th to the early 4th century,23 and the first half of the 4th century.24 Slightly slimmer than the situlae from Apulia, the Derveni three are probably somewhat later products, to be dated no later than the first half of the 4th century. Most extant situlae of the ovoid type have been found in the Chalkidike and elsewhere in northern Greece, in Asia Minor, and throughout ancient Thrace.25 Although in the late 4th century some may have been produced locally, a 5th-century ovoid situla from a tomb in Kalamarias is an import, probably from Athens.26 Also from tomb Δ came a bronze stamnoid situla (Fig. 9),27 the second of the three types of situla popular in the Classical period in northern Greece and neighboring Thrace, where a number were found.28 This vessel, of a tapering shape wider at the top than the bottom, was especially useful for unmixed wine, given the sieve characteristically punched
b. Figure 8. Bronze ovoid situla from Derveni tomb Δ, H. 22 cm: (a) three-quarter view; (b) detail of handle join
a.
AAAC1.indb 14
11/5/07 3:24:27 PM
• 15
the derveni tombs through the wall of its rounded shoulder on one side to be hidden, and the pouring facilitated, by an added bronze spout. Here the spout is in the shape of a bull’s head rather than the lion’s head more characteristic of the stamnoid type. This situla type may have been adapted by Greek metalsmiths as early as the second quarter of the 5th century from a shape made in silver in the wider area of the Persian empire.29 If Le Rider’s date for the gold eighthstater of Philip II is correct and indicates the terminus ante quem of tomb Δ, this stamnoid situla was produced sometime before 328. Other bronze symposium vessels from tomb Δ included two bronze stemmed kantharoi with “molded” rims (Fig. 10),30 the terminus ante quem of which can provisionally be similarly dated,31 as well as a funnel with swan head handles fitted with a separately made bronze sieve for straining the wine, a ladle, and an oinochoe of simple design.32 The pottery in tomb Δ was late-4th-century Attic black-glazed ware consisting of plates and low, handleless bowls, as well as a pitcher (chous). There was also an Attic perfume container, an askos, similar to one in tomb Α (see below).33 The poros slabs of the roof of tomb Ε, which had been plastered to the wall slabs with thick mortar, had fallen into the tomb onto the floor, also made of poros slabs. The tomb yielded a corroded bronze coin of indeterminate nature, a quarter-stater of Alexander III dated to about 330,34 and the remains of a wooden coffer decorated with incised ivory plaques that had apparently held the cremation remains. Otherwise there were only minor finds, including a few gold beads from jewelry, and no metal vessels.35
Figure 9. Bronze stamnoid situla from Derveni tomb Δ with bull head spout and woman’s mask, H. 18.7 cm
Figure 10. Stemmed bronze cupkantharos with molded rim from Derveni tomb Δ, H. 9.2 cm
AAAC1.indb 15
11/5/07 3:24:31 PM
16 •
chapter two Tomb Α, the first discovered, third in the size of its poros block chamber after tombs Β and Δ, measures 2.07 x 0.90 m with a depth of 1.08 m. It was second only to tomb Β in the richness of its contents. Aside from the importance of the finds inside the tomb, particularly significant aspects of the burial in tomb Α are suggested by the charred remains of the funeral pyre found above its covering slabs. A variety of offerings were discovered there. They included spearheads, fragmentary greaves, silver and bronze remnants that were probably from a shield or cuirass, remains of a horse’s harness, fragments of pottery, gilded beads and leaves, clay berries from wreaths, carbonized wood with gilded Lesbian molding, and one of a pair of ivory eyes, of which the second was found in the tomb, which may have come from a clay or wooden mask that played some role in the funeral ritual.36 Elements of the funeral couch were also among the funeral pyre remains: wood, ivory, bone, glass, and metal. The bones of the deceased were wrapped in cloth and placed in a 5th-century bronze volute krater for entombment; the pyre remains were thrown on the covering slabs of the tomb.37 From the tomb Α cremation, fragments of at least six clay capitals survive from what must have been wooden columns erected as part of an elaborate rectangular structure on which the couch and body were laid for cremation. Petros Themelis has suggested a tentative reconstruction for this structure, with a possible parallel at Salamis on Cyprus dating to the same period.38 Perhaps the most surprising finds among the thick layer of pyre remains above tomb Α, however, were the highly significant charred fragments of the Derveni papyrus scroll, now famous, the writing on the papyrus usually described as an unknown author’s commentary on an enigmatic Orphic text with theological, eschatological, allegorical, and cosmological contents. Besides its philological importance, the find is important as the first papyrus found in Greece and possibly the earliest example of Greek script on papyrus. The script written on it has been dated broadly to the second half of the 4th century, more narrowly to between 340 and 320.39 The text on which the Derveni author wrote his commentary is considered to be no later than 400 B.c.40 The extensive and highly comprehensive study by Gábor Betegh, published in 2004, favors the hypothesis that the papyrus, which was burned in the cremation process with the corpse, had eschatological implications and a function in the burial ritual.41 In the most recent, and official, commentary and translation, Theokritos Tsantsanoglou suggests that the proximity of the grave to the Demeter and Kore sanctuary might indicate that the cremated man was an initiate.42 From tomb Α came a great wealth of bronze vessels, but none of silver. Most impressive among the bronzes is the volute krater in which the burned remains of the dead man were found (see Fig. 55 below).43 It is representative of the 5th-century type, first produced in Athens by around 480, that is the precursor to the great Derveni krater (Chapter 4). Fragments of the fabric that originally covered the mouth of the krater in tomb Α were found on its rim and shoulders. Together with the cremation burial within it were fragments of a gold oak wreath, as well as fragments of a wooden wreath with gilded bronze leaves and clay berries.44 Bronzes associated with ritual washing found in tomb Α were a footed, wide-mouthed krater (Fig. 7) like those found in Derveni tombs Β and Ζ; a large basinlike lebes similar to the damaged one in tomb Δ, with movable handles; a shallow footless lekanis with loop handles; and a patera—a vessel shaped like a frying pan and used for pouring water
AAAC1.indb 16
11/5/07 3:24:31 PM
the derveni tombs
• 17
during the washing ritual. A ram head finial is cast into the end of the patera handle and a repoussé Silenos mask decorates the wall on the opposite side of the vessel. A very similar one, with a Gorgon rather than a Silenos mask, was found in tomb Β.45 Bronzes traditionally for symposium use in tomb Α included four situlae. One is stamnoid in shape (the bottom restored), the handle attachment opposite the lion head spout/ handle attachment cast with a superbly designed mask of a Silenos with floppy animal ears.46 The three other situlae are cast with concave walls, the so-called kalathos situla, a type perhaps inspired by the Persian beaker of related shape. Two of these have plain, undecorated walls. The third has an elaborate palmette design cast into the walls on both sides under the handle fixtures cast into the massive rim.47 A very similar one was found in Derveni tomb Β (see Fig. 18 below). The bronze symposium ware in tomb Α also included four oinochoai: two with carinated walls like the earlier, 5th-century example of the class from Stavroupolis (Fig. 3), but with trefoil, rather than beaked, mouths and considerably taller (Fig. 11);48 a chous, a narrow-necked pitcher reminiscent of the Etruscan squat jug;49 and a high-shouldered oinochoe with trefoil mouth and an arched handle terminating on the shoulder with a Silenos mask attachment, the protome of a youthful head above, facing into the vessel’s mouth.50 As drinking cups there were three bronze bowl-shaped kylikes with low feet and extended loop handles (Fig. 12).51 The basic shape is that of a cup-kantharos from Epirus, for which there is a direct parallel in Attic black-glazed clay dated to 325, probably copying the Attic silver prototype that the bronzes also emulate.52 For straining wine, there was a bronze funnel like the one in tomb Δ, but lacking its separately made sieve.53 The shape was cast in silver, as a sieve, without the protruding funnel, but with the same looping handles with swan head protomes. An example was found in tomb Β.54
b. Figure 11. Large carinated oinochoe from Derveni tomb Α, H. 25.7 cm: (a) side; (b) detail of handle join a.
AAAC1.indb 17
11/5/07 3:24:36 PM
18 •
chapter two
Figure 12. Bronze bowl-shaped cup from Derveni tomb Α, H. 6.6 cm
Figure 13. Gilded aryballoid lekythos from Derveni tomb Α, H. 10.3 cm
Also found in tomb Α was a gilded bronze aryballoid lekythos, a perfume pot with pear-shaped body and narrow neck surmounted by a broad spoutlike mouth onto which perfume could be run (Fig. 13). The shape is known in silver as well as both Attic red-figure and black-glazed ware.55 There was also a bronze perirrhanterion, a vessel with an elongated pear-shaped body and tubular neck used for sprinkling scented water in the funeral ritual.56 This piriform sprinkler also exists in silver, and, like the squat lekythos, this shape probably originated in the more precious metal in Athens.57 Finally among the bronzes in tomb Α was an egg-shaped lampholder, with perforated walls and double mobile handles, supported on a bronze tripod base with lion’s paw feet. Whether this and a small cast bronze hemispheric vessel with high, looping, everted handles were meant to be associated with the symposium or the ritual washing is difficult to assess.58 Except for a locally made so-called Cypriote amphora59 the ceramics in tomb Α were, again, late-4th-century Attic. There were six low, handleless bowls (skyphoi) of blackglazed ware, three small plates (pinakes) of the same fabric, a red-figure low perfume container (askos), and a pair of black-glazed “saltcellars” with concave walls, small vessels probably meant for condiments, of which two silver examples were found in tomb Β.60 Of particular interest were fragments of a glass skyphos shaped like a calyx cup, 7 cm high with a diameter of 9.5 cm.61
Discovery of the Derveni Krater Tomb Β, the largest of the cist graves and the richest in finds, was uncovered by the excavators the day after the contents of tomb Α and the finds from the funeral pyre above it had been safely removed to the Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki (Fig. 14).62 Removing one of the large blocks of masonry covering the chamber, the excavators saw at once a great volute krater almost a meter high dominating the interior, its golden-colored walls partially covered with green patina from the centuries underground (Fig. 15). The krater had fallen on its side off the base that had been especially fashioned for it, a rectangular poros block, 0.72 by 0.50 m, and 0.36 m high, with a shallow circular cutting on top, within which the krater’s foot had rested. No bronze hypokraterion, or stand, a customary component of metal volute kraters, was found. The block was placed midway between the longer north and south walls of the chamber, and 0.75 m from the east wall.
BB ch2.indd 18
11/15/07 11:11:14 AM
the derveni tombs
• 19
Figure 14. Drawing of interior of Derveni tomb Î’ on discovery (top) and views of its construction details (bottom)
AAAC1.indb 19
11/5/07 3:24:51 PM
20 •
chapter two
Figure 15. Interior of Derveni tomb Î’ on discovery
Judging from the position of the krater on discovery, it had been oriented on its base with side A of its large relief frieze, the side with the scene of Dionysos and Ariadne, toward the west and the greater area of the tomb. The tomb has an interior dimension of 3.06 by 1.53 m, and, with three courses of poros masonry, is 1.62 m in depth. The plastered walls are divided laterally into two zones, each 0.80 m in width, the lower painted red, the upper painted white. In the middle of the upper, white, zone is a garland of olive branches with bluish red leaves and black berries extending around the interior of the chamber (Fig. 16). Near the fallen krater was its hammered bronze sieve-lid, shaped to sit on the rim with areas cut out of the edges on two sides to accommodate the handles. The center of the sieve is concave, with a still deeper concavity in the middle where pierced holes form decorative patterns in several zones (Figs. 17, 26 below). Not far away in the tomb was a wreath of delicate gold foil myrtle leaves and fruit that had been placed on top of the sieve when it was on the krater’s mouth. Within the krater the excavators found burned bones that on examination proved to be those of a man between the ages of 35 and 50 and a woman of younger but indeterminate age. Purplish coloration on them was attributed to their original wrapping in a purple cloth. Among the human remains were bones of a
AAAC1.indb 20
11/5/07 3:24:54 PM
the derveni tombs
• 21
Figure 16. Painted wall of Derveni tomb Î’
sheep skeleton, suggesting animal sacrifice on the funeral pyre.63 Also within the krater were a gold finger ring with a wide, plain bezel, three gold double pins, some fragments of a wooden wreath with gilded bronze leaves and clay berries,64 and a posthumous gold quarter-stater of Philip II of Macedon.65 Under and near the great krater were the four small cast bronze figures that had fallen off the shoulder of the krater and were later restored to it: a youthful Dionysos, a Silenos, and two maenads. Remnants of fabric stuck to the exterior revealed that the krater had been wrapped or covered with a shroud. That, together with its initial elevation on the stone base, off the floor, which was simply beaten earth, helped protect it from the corrosive effects of moisture in the tomb over the centuries underground and is most responsible for its extraordinary state of preservation. The high amount of tin in the bronze alloy of the krater strengthened its resistance to corrosion. Analysis of a sample from the krater wall indicated 14.88% tin to 85.03% copper, along with minor amounts of some other elements.66 The alloy thus contains a component of tin large enough not only to help it resist the corroding effects of moisture, but also to give the krater its light golden color, which is frequently mistaken for gold. In some of the early reports of the krater’s discovery, in fact, it was described as covered with gold, of which there is not a trace.67
AAAC1.indb 21
Figure 17. Sieve-lid of the Derveni krater showing its pattern of perforations, Diam. 37.1 cm
11/5/07 3:24:59 PM
22 •
chapter two A total of 43 metal vessels and implements were found in tomb Β, 23 of bronze and 20 of silver. Groups of those designed for the symposium had been placed on either side of the krater, to north and south. There were still other bronze vessels in the middle of the tomb, both near the dead man’s weapons, the cuirass and bronze greaves that lay near the north wall, and to the south. The weapons (spears, a sword, a knife), the pair of greaves, the remains of a leather military corslet or cuirass—covered with gilded copper disks and the neckpiece of which was later reconstructed—and silver and gilded bronze pieces that may have been remnants of a wooden parade shield are clear indications that the man buried in the tomb had experienced a military career.68 Leather and metal pieces of a horse harness and a pair of bronze stirrups suggest his participation in the cavalry.69 A diadem of gold foil embossed with palmettes and tendrils and punched with holes along its edges for a leather or felt backing, a worked strip of gold probably intended as a diadem, a number of bronze boxes or parts of boxes of pigments, and a cylindrical bronze container smaller than 2 cm in diameter, with remains of lead white used for cosmetic pigment, were presumably grave goods for the woman whose bones were buried with his.70 West of the krater, near the south wall, were bronze vessels suitable for the ritual washing prior to the symposium: a large bronze lebes, like the one from tomb Ζ, with ringshaped handles held by attachments shaped like birds; a bronze patera very similar to the one found in tomb Α, also with a ram head finial on the cast horizontal handle, but the hammered mask of a Gorgon, rather than a Silenos, on the opposite side under the ring handle (for suspension); and, near them, toward the center of the tomb, a wide-mouthed bronze krater or lekanis (damaged) like those found in tombs Α and Ζ.71 A smaller lekanis, a hemispherical bowl preserved with its conical foot, only slightly smaller in size than the one from tomb Δ, was probably also associated with the ritual washing.72 Also to the west were placed a small group of ceramics. These included two Attic black-glazed fish plates and four Attic stamped and incised black-glazed handleless bowls (skyphoi). Three more handleless skyphoi and a jug were local products following contemporary Attic models, as was a so-called Cypriote amphora, a shape traditionally used for storing wine. Similar amphorae were found in tombs Α and Η, both tombs in which large mixing bowls were found, as here.73 A clay lamp could be dated to the last third of the 4th century and the ceramics to the last quarter of the 4th century.74 Lying along the west wall were 21 small alabastra for perfumed oil, and fragments of others that had broken upon falling off the nails from which all had been suspended on the plastered wall.75 Nails remained in place in various other areas of the walls of the tomb, suggesting the suspension of many of the other objects. Other finds included gold clothing ornaments, a small embossed silver female head, and fragments of a silver male head, as well as decorative items of bronze and ivory, and various pieces of wood, some of which may represent the remains of a kline, perhaps burned during the cremation process.76 Nothing was found between the great volute krater and the east wall. Other than the great volute krater that served as a sepulchre, the bronze wine containers for the symposium found in tomb Β were two situlae: one stamnoid, the other a magnificent kalathos situla with mobile handle, its gently concave walls cast with an elaborate palmette and floral relief ornament under each handle attachment (Fig. 18).77 As on all Greek metal kalathos and stamnoid situlae, the walls protrude at the base in a halfround molding which is hollow inside to form a ring around the floor of the vessel lower
AAAC1.indb 22
11/5/07 3:24:59 PM
the derveni tombs
• 23
Figure 18. Bronze kalathos situla from Derveni tomb Β, H. 20 cm: (a) three-quarter view; (b) detail of palmette ornament
a.
b.
than its central area. This ring was a channel for retaining sediment. The shape (without this feature) may have been adapted during the 5th century from the Achaemenid beaker with concave walls.78 Of uncertain use, but conceivably also for unmixed wine, was an early-5th-century bronze amphora-situla, an infrequent but known Greek shape with chain-attached lid and bail handle (Fig. 19).79 Features of this amphora-situla suggest that it is a product of the same late-6th–early-5th-century regional tradition, and possibly of the same workshop, as the volute krater from Derveni tomb Α (see Fig. 55 below) and the krater-kados from the late-5th-century burial at Stavroupolis (Fig. 1), probably Athenian. The Gorgon masks on the handle attachments riveted to the mouth of the krater-kados (Fig. 1:b) and the Pan masks at the handle attachments of the somewhat later amphora (Fig. 19:c) date these vessels to the late 6th and early 5th century, respectively.80 There were five oinochoai in tomb Β: a bronze trefoil-mouth sack-shaped oinochoe with a repoussé Pan mask at the base of an elaborate arched handle cast with vegetal ornament (Fig. 20),81 a small silver oinochoe similar in appearance to many found in 4thcentury Thrace,82 and three unostentatious wide-bodied bronze oinochoai with simple riveted handles, called aryters.83 Implements for the symposium included a bronze funnel similar to those found in tombs Α and Δ, together with the two-piece bronze sieve that had fitted into it for use; a silver sieve with looping handles with swan head finials like the similar but less elaborate one from tomb Δ; and two ladles with swan head terminals on the handles—one of silver, the other of bronze.84 There was also a mock, lidless silver askos in the shape of a low perfume or unguent flask with sieve-spout and arching handle known in Attic clay shapes of the middle of the 4th century with functional lids.85 A bronze aryballoid lekythos and a bronze perirrhanterion with tubular neck were similar to, but in both cases somewhat larger in dimensions than, those found in tomb Α.86
AAAC1.indb 23
11/5/07 3:25:04 PM
24 •
chapter two
Figure 19. Bronze lidded amphora with mobile handle from Deveni tomb Β, H. 27 cm (without bail handle): (a) front; (b) handle side; (c) Pan mask at handle attachment
A bronze double-handled “mushroom jug,” with parallels in both Attic and Corinthian clay dated to the end of the 5th century, rare in bronze and of unknown purpose, was also among the vessels (Fig. 21). The shape is that of a ewer with a low body with carinated walls, a high slender neck, and a small mouth. The Derveni double-handled jug has the higher neck of the Corinthian clay varieties, but its sharply carinated walls and high handles, features of the Attic examples, are probably more significant indications of its origin.87 Another bronze “mushroom jug,” closer to the Corinthian clay varieties, was found in Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia.88 At both the foot and mouth of the great Derveni krater as it lay on the tomb floor were two silver plates and a number of small silver drinking bowls and cups of various shapes. The drinking vessels included an elaborated silver calyx cup of what has been called the “Macedonian” type because of the ubiquity of these little drinking vessels in the region, like the one found in tomb Ζ. The one from tomb Β has a Gorgon mask in the interior (Fig. 22). There were also two undecorated silver calyx cups with high walls, two low silver phialai with an embossed central rosette on the exterior enclosed by lotus petals, four low silver phialai with separately crafted low feet—a shape (like those of all the silver) with parallels in Attic black-glazed ware89—and two small plain-rimmed silver cups-kantharoi with separately crafted bases and rising handles (e.g., Fig. 23).90 The silver drinking vessels might be considered a complete set for two, together with the silver ladle and the silver sieve. Bronze drinking utensils were also found in tomb Β: a low bronze kylix and two high-stemmed bronze kylikes with low bowls and extended handles (Fig. 24). All parts
c. a.
AAAC1.indb 24
b.
11/5/07 3:25:09 PM
the derveni tombs
• 25
Figure 20. Bronze sack-shaped oinochoe from Derveni tomb Β, H. 18.8 cm: (a) side; (b) repoussé mask of Pan at handle attachment
a.
b.
of these bronze kylikes were cast.91 Notable inclusions in the tomb because of their rarity were two silver “saltcellars,” small double-walled vessels presumably for condiments, their interior containers removable. A glass beaker found in the tomb is an equally rare item.92 Although the dating of the posthumous gold quarter-stater of Philip II in tomb Β is somewhat complicated by its reissues,93 a date during the last quarter of the 4th century for the deposit of the rich finds in this group of related burials at Derveni is supported by the Attic black-glazed ceramics. As suggested in Chapter 1, none of the bronzes can be used for close dating purposes, nor, in fact, can any of the silver vessels or implements. Many 4th-century tombs in both ancient Macedonia and ancient Thrace contain bronze vessels produced earlier in the century than the date of their burial, and some contain bronze vessels from the previous century.94 Like the volute krater found in tomb Α, the 5th-century date of which is discussed in Chapter 4, some of the bronze vessels from tomb Β are likewise to be dated to the 5th century. Others of the bronzes in tomb Β are of a date in the 4th century considerably earlier than their burial, as are the ovoid situlae in tombs Δ and Ζ, which can be dated to before 350 by comparison to vessels of the same class from tombs in Italy.95 Indeed, the production dates of none of the bronzes from the Derveni tombs can be established within the last quarter of the 4th century, the broadest date for the burials, though that possibility may exist with a greater accumulation of excavated material. Most of the bronzes had probably been useful in some way, in some cases over more than one generation, to families sufficiently wealthy to afford placing them in tombs of esteemed family members. Most, but perhaps not all, of the silver, on the other hand, can probably be safely dated to within the last third of the 4th century; all is probably Athenian in origin.96
AAAC1.indb 25
11/5/07 3:25:13 PM
26 •
Figure 21. Bronze “mushroom jug” from Derveni tomb Β, H. 17 cm
chapter two The bronze drinking cups found in the Derveni tombs, all of which are conceivably Corinthian in production, may well be copies or adaptations of 4th-century Athenian silver shapes. The three bowl-shaped bronze kylikes from tomb Α have a clay parallel from the Athenian Agora, dated to around 325, which must be a copy of Attic silver.97 That can be said to date the existence of the shape in the more precious metal, and probably the approximate date of its copy in bronze, but not the burial of these bronze cups. Neither bronze nor silver breaks as ceramic does, and small vessels as well as larger ones made of the less perishable materials must have been maintained in use longer than their equivalents in clay. Examples of the type of small silver cup-kantharos with separately crafted base and rising handles of which tomb Β yielded two (e.g., Fig. 23) existed by the same time as, and no doubt later than, the dated fragmentary black-glazed ceramic parallel from the Athenian Agora most recently dated to about 300 B.c.98 The ceramic evidence dates only the existence of this profile in the Attic silver type at that time; it does not date the deposit of the silver cups-kantharoi into Derveni tomb Β. Clay shapes can be assumed, however, to copy metal shapes that are close at hand (i.e., in popular use), and most clay drinking vessels that copy metal are probably following the latest design. Variations in the profiles of Attic silver drinking cups of this type—the walls of which tend to grow slimmer and taller over time—probably occurred more rapidly than changes in some other shapes because of consumer demand and the simplicity of their design. More complicated silver shapes such as perirrhanteria, which were copied in (Corinthian?) bronze but perhaps not in Attic ceramic, or “mushroom jugs,” which, if executed in Attic silver, as seems likely, were copied in both the baser metal and in Attic ceramic, probably did not change a great deal over a corresponding period of years.
Figure 22. Silver calyx cup with mask from Derveni tomb Β, H. 5.9 cm: (a) front; (b) Gorgon mask from interior
a.
AAAC1.indb 26
b.
11/5/07 3:25:17 PM
the derveni tombs
• 27
Figure 23. Silver cup-kantharos from Derveni tomb Β, H. 8.8 cm
Taking everything into consideration, a date of 320–300 B.c. for Derveni tomb Β, the largest and richest, in which the great krater was found, seems tenable. Tomb Β was clearly that of a military man who was almost certainly a member of the cavalry, given the remnants of horse trappings found among the grave goods. Similar trappings were found in nearby tomb Α.99 The inscription on the lip of the Derveni krater written in Thessalian dialect and discussed in the following pages suggests that the man buried in tomb Β was a member of a Thessalian family, with either an ancestor or a father from Larissa, who had settled in Lete, probably by the middle of the 4th century. Similarities in the burial goods in the four cist tombs and the pit grave suggest that they are broadly familial, and the name on the bezel of one of the gold rings in pit grave Ζ suggests a Thessalian, indeed Larissan, origin for the woman buried there. It may well be that many of those entombed at Derveni, perhaps all, were of Thessalian origin. Their grave goods suggest wealth and status; there can be little question that they were members of the Macedonian elite. Although only the female burial in pit grave Ζ contained extensive gold jewelry (and a single elegant silver calyx cup with a gilded mask in the interior), the three major cist tombs, Α, Β, and Δ (excluding grave Ε, the poorest), like pit grave Ζ, were well equipped with vessels for the symposium as well as utensils for the ritual washing prior to its commencement. Most of this equipment was bronze, with considerable ceramic additions, but the grave goods of tomb Δ also included a silver calyx cup, and tomb Β contained a remarkably extensive set of silver: a calyx cup and three pairs of drinking cups of different shapes, three plates, four shallow dishes, two saltcellars, an oinochoe, an askos, a ladle, and a sieve. Figure 24. All cast bronze stemmed kylix from Derveni tomb Β, H. 8.7 cm
BB ch2.indd 27
11/15/07 11:12:57 AM
28 •
chapter two To deny that the family members probably believed in some ritual benefit to the dead from these elaborate tomb offerings would be to overlook the nature of the burials. The elaborate cremation ceremonies reflected in all but tomb Δ suggest emulation of the heroic burials of the Homeric past.100 To what extent associated rituals may have been motivated by esoteric religious beliefs held by these people will be considered in the following pages with respect to the iconographic program of the great krater found in tomb Β. It is a complex program that, although to a large extent projected by imagery traditional in Dionysiac contexts, is distinguished by new and unusual characteristics intimating a message that is understandably far from explicit, as we may be confronting visual clues to religious mysteries.
AAAC1.indb 28
11/5/07 3:25:20 PM
• Plate
The Derveni krater, side A: Dionysos and Ariadne
AAAC1.indb 1
11/5/07 3:32:38 PM
Plate •
The Derveni krater, side B: Trio of maenads with a Silenos
AAAC1.indb 2
11/5/07 3:32:54 PM
• Plate 15
The Derveni krater, side B: Statuette of the Silenos asleep on the shoulder
AAAC1.indb 15
11/5/07 3:36:10 PM
Plate 16 •
The Derveni krater, side B: Statuette of the ecstatic snake-handling maenad on the shoulder
AAAC1.indb 16
11/5/07 3:36:19 PM
• Plate 19
a. The griffin in the animal combat scene below Dionysos and Ariadne
b. The lion with his prey on the neck, side A
AAAC1.indb 19
11/5/07 3:36:58 PM
Plate 20 •
a. The female panther on the neck, side B
b. The Herakles knot and seed pods in the ivy wreath on the neck, side A
AAAC1.indb 20
11/5/07 3:37:09 PM
• Plate 21
a. The body of one of the snakes on the handles showing the copper and silver inlaid stripes
b. The head of a snake showing a join
c. The tail of a snake showing a join
AAAC1.indb 21
11/5/07 3:37:23 PM
Plate 22 •
a. A detail of a handle showing the projecting leaf and the empty volute eye
AAAC1.indb 22
b. The separately cast anthemion on the back of one of the handles
11/5/07 3:37:33 PM
• Plate 27
a. A silver inlaid alpha in the inscription on the eggs of Ionic kymation of the mouth
AAAC1.indb 27
b. Detail of the channels for the inlay of a sigma in the inscription on the Ionic kymation on the mouth of the krater
11/5/07 3:38:07 PM
endpapers PRINTER.indd 1
11/12/07 4:33:49 PM