“The Mycenaeans were a people preoccupied with war” How conclusively do the various types of archaeological evidence we have for the Mycenaean warfare and defence support this statement?

Authors Avatar

“The Mycenaeans were a people preoccupied with war” How conclusively do the various types of archaeological evidence we have for the Mycenaean warfare and defence support this statement?

The Mycenaean age began around 1600 BC and came to end around 1100 BC. Although this period was distinguished by its warlike aspects, I would take issue with the statement that the Mycenaeans were preoccupied by war. The first manifestations of the Mycenaean civilisation were found in the Peleponnese, especially in the north-east and the south-west. By around 1400BC the Mycenaean civilisation had penetrated the greater part of mainland Greece and later still the civilisation seems to have expanded far beyond the main body of Greece. Excavations have revealed Mycenaean remains in southern Italy, Egypt, Sicily, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, Cyprus, and sites in Asia Minor. Evidence of Mycenaean settlements has been beyond a doubt found in Rhodes and in Melos. These settlements may have been a general expansion of the Mycenaean civilisation yet large amounts of Mycenaean imports as found at Cyprus indicate to many archaeologists that these may be trade outposts. General expansion would make war necessary rather than a chosen pursuit as the civilisation would have to take new land whilst defending what they already had.

Like all of the civilisations of the time the Mycenaean civilisation was agriculturally based, the Linear B tablets list many farmers’ crops and also the percentage to be given in tax to the king and the percentage to be given to the shrines of the area. The fact that both the palaces and the shrines received a percentage suggests to me that the civilisation was equally concerned with public life as well as war, which the palaces controlled. Much of the crop would be used in the local area; however, the surplus would be exported through the trading points, where a complicated form of bartering was used as payment.

It is hard to understand why in a society that had such an organisational system for the listing and trading of goods, particularly agricultural goods, has no record of an organised army if they were “preoccupied” with war. Although Linear B tablets record lists of men assigned to military and naval duty it seems there was no permanent specially trained force; it is more likely that every man was expected to carry a weapon and use it when called up for military duty. One theory may be that the Mycenaean civilisation might have had a lack of human resources: since the original inhabitants who it has been argued could have been tribes of people who lived in Greece but were not citizens and were never trusted with military service. There are indeed records of many occupations including cabinet makers, perfume makers and even a physician is mentioned in the tablets suggesting wider career options than simply the military. Infrequently and in small numbers “Followers” are mentioned on the Knossos tablets who could have been the occupants of the warrior tombs found in the vicinity. They probably were specially trained leaders who would organise the recruited armies in times of war rather than the liaison officers they were first thought to be. One tablet has revealed the sectors delegated to each “Follower” with the concentration of the “Followers” being in problem areas such as the Bay of Navarino in the southern area of the west coast and the coastal end of the Kiparissia river valley in the north. This indicates small battalions of recruited soldiers led by an experienced officer in areas most likely to be attacked.  

Join now!

Due to the general expansion of Mycenaean civilisation and the volatile times in which there were many small kingdoms around the Mycenaean borders, defence was essential in the civilisations survival. Evidence too, can be found in the defensive capabilities of the Mycenaean citadels, which on the whole were built for the possibility of attack and of sieges. All of the citadels commanded wide views: Mycenae having a view across the Plain of Argos to the sea and even Pylos has an extensive view of the coast. These views gave the citadels early warnings of approaching forces and probably the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay