Pergamos - Library and Information Center of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Unit:

Κατεύθυνση Προϊστορική Αρχαιολογία
Library of the School of Philosophy

Deposit date:

2021-10-23

Year:

2021

Author:

Leonidaki Styliani

Supervisors info:

Πλάτων Ελευθέριος, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Εθνικόν και Καποδιστριακόν Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Βαβουρανάκης Γιώργος, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Εθνικόν και Καποδιστριακόν Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Χασιακού-Αργυράκη Αφροδίτη, Λέκτορας Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Εθνικόν και Καποδιστριακόν Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών

Original Title:

Εικονογραφία των εντόμων κατά την Εποχή του Χαλκού

Languages:

Greek

Translated title:

The iconography of insects during the Bronge Age

Summary:

Insects are the largest group of species of living organisms in all ecosystems. Despite its small size, this group of species of the animal kingdom, caught the attention of the pre-historic residents of the Aegean area, as they were deeply connected to nature. However, even though there are plenty of species of insects in the Aegean area, there is a limited selection of the myriads of types of insects that live there. These groups of species depicted by the artists of that era are mainly categorized into three groups: a) hemimetabolous and holometabolous (bees, flies, dragonflies), b) poisonous and dangerous that create fear (spiders, scorpions, etc), and c) the funerary ones mainly coming from ancient Egypt (scarabees).

This thesis is an effort to interpret the meaning of the existence of those species, as part of the symbolic system of the Aegean prehistoric world. In this way, the religious or non-religious beliefs of the pre-historic residents of Crete will be better comprehended but also, we will understand how those beliefs got assimilated or changed during the Mycenaean presence on the island of Crete. In order to better understand the meaning of the depiction of insects in the arts of prehistoric Aegean, we will also take into consideration the essence of Minoan religion and its relation to magic.

Main subject category:

Archaeology

Keywords:

Bronze Age, insects, religion, magic

Index:

Number of index pages:

Contains images:

Yes

Number of references:

518

Number of pages:

300