Function and meaning of the Late Bronze Age mirror in the Aegean

Postgraduate Thesis uoadl:2875747 306 Read counter

Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Προϊστορική Αρχαιολογία
Library of the School of Philosophy
Deposit date:
2019-06-16
Year:
2019
Author:
Papadopoulou Eleni
Supervisors info:
Βαβουρανάκης Γιώργος, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή.
Μαντζουράνη Ελένη, Καθηγήτρια Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή.
Πλάτων Ελευθέριος, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή.
Original Title:
Λειτουργία και σημασία του κατόπτρου στο Αιγαίο της Ύστερης Εποχής του Χαλκού
Languages:
Greek
Translated title:
Function and meaning of the Late Bronze Age mirror in the Aegean
Summary:
From ancient Egypt to the present day, the mirror is intertwined with a variety of symbolic attributes, which refer to the ideal and supernatural world. The reflection of the human form is connected with perceptions of beauty, ego, body and memory. Concerning his association with death and the underworld, it has been suggested to symbolize the mirroring and protection of the soul as long as it remains in the grave, but also its removal from the ephemeral present.
This paper discusses the function and meaning of the Late Bronze Age mirror in the Aegean. Its aim is to examine and present the archaeological data in order to try to interpret the varied dimensions of the particular object in relation to the excavation environment and the chronological context in which it belongs.
These objects meet for the first time in Crete in the Late Bronze Age, in a palatial environment, but latter most of them are located in cemeteries. They are plain copper, undistorted, circular discs that, when polished, gave a satisfactory reflective surface. Mirrors appear to be part of two Late Bronze Age dynamics. In particular, regarding their existence in a palace environment, they seem to be connected with beauty, appearance and grooming, but they also had a sacred-public character. They are very likely to have participated in sacramental rituals, which were either related to the Minoan deity or to the female sex and took place in the palace. Perhaps the mirrors played a role in palatial ceremonies to invoke the goddess, in which, when they were lifted, they performed a reflection of light, linked to solar symbols. Snapshots of these rituals are portrayed, perhaps, in the iconographic scenes that include female seated figures, perhaps deacons, holding a mirror, along with laity.
As for their finding in tombs, these objects were placed together with the dead as personal objects and instruments of social promotion. Mirrors, in other words, have a more private character, since they appear to be directly related to the deceased who held them while they were alive and with their relatives as they are chosen to be placed in graves, possibly for ritual purposes, but also for the sake of demonstrating wealth, especially in male burials.
Main subject category:
Archaeology
Keywords:
Aegean, Late Bronze Age, Μirror, grooming, ritual, solar symbols.
Index:
No
Number of index pages:
0
Contains images:
Yes
Number of references:
79
Number of pages:
114
File:
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