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This material reveals that Mycenaeanarmies of this period were relativelylightly equipped.There are few traces,for example, of anything resemblingthefamous‘lobster’cuirassdiscoveredat Dendra and dated to around 1400BC.

The well-known frescoes from Hall64inthepalaceatPylosprovidesomeofthemostvividdepictionsofbattleinthePalatialperiod.Theso-called‘TarzanFresco’ shows what are presumablyPylian soldiers attacking ‘savages’. Thelatter wear animal skins and haveunkempt hair. The Pylian soldiers arebare-chested and clad in short kilts;their lower legsareprotectedbywhatappear to be linen gaiters. They arefurthermoreequippedwithboar’s-tuskhelmets,atypeofheadgearcommonlydepicted in Mycenaean art down toabout 1200 BC. The soldiers are allarmed with swords, but one of themattacks using a long thrusting spear.The Pylian soldiers also have an oval

Mycenaean Greece. There have beenmanyhypothesesas regards theexactcauseforthecollapseoftheMycenaeanpalaces, including systems collapse,sudden climate changes, and naturaldisasters (earthquakes, droughts, andsoon).Whatevercausedthisperiodofinstabilityisstillunknown,butweknowforcertainthatmostoftheMycenaeanpalaces in Greece were ultimatelydestroyedbyfire,whichsuggestssomehumanagencywasatleastresponsiblefordealingthefinalblow.

Mycenaean warriors AviolentendtotheMycenaeancentresseemscertain.Wehaveasyetnoclearideaofwhotheattackersmayhavebeen,butwedohavethenecessaryevidenceto reconstruct what Mycenaeanarmies were like both before andafter the collapse of the palaces. Ourmain sources of information for thePalatial period are wall-paintings andtexts recorded on the Linear B tablets.

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ByDr.JoshoBrouwers

But around 1200 BC, the easternMediterraneanwasrockedby troublesofsomesort.Amongotherevents,thisrelatively brief period saw the demiseof the Hittite Empire, the destructionand abandonment of the prosperouscity-state of Ugarit, and the end of

Palace warriorsThe end of Mycenaean civilisation in Greece

mycenAeAn cIvILIsAtIon fLouR-

Ished In the AeGeAn duRInG the

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So-called'TarzanFresco'fromthepalaceatPylos.PylianPalatialwarriorsfendoffanattackfromsavagescladinanimalskins;thebattletakesplaceatariver.

14 Ancient Warfare

drawnontheirrightshins,whichmustrepresent a greave. Diane Fortenberryhas argued persuasively that singlegreavesareindicationsofrank;perhapsthesemenwereakindofhonourguardorotherspecificallypalatialforce.

Other fragments from the samehall display a similar battle scene, butwithout the savages. Instead, all menappear to wear loincloths of somekind; their chests and legs are bare.One group is bareheaded while theotherwearsconicalhelmetsdecoratedwith spots, perhaps to indicate thatthey were made of felt. The helmetedsoldiersareprobablytobeinterpretedasPyliantroops,althoughofadifferenttype than the ones just discussed,presumably of lower rank as they lackgaiters and greaves, and apparentlywear cheaper helmets. Two warriorsfighteachotherwithswordswhileoneofthebareheadedonesisequipped, ifthepicturehasbeenproperlyrestored,withaclub.Boththisandtheprevious

theme: dARkness descends

sceneappeartotakeplaceatariver,nodoubtrepresentingtheborderofPylianterritoryandthereforeskirmisheswithsavages and unfriendly Mycenaeanneighbours.

AnumberofLinearBtabletsprovidelists of armour.The symbol for helmetis often rendered as a conical shapewith four or, in at least one case, twoattachments of some sorts, perhapsplates. John Chadwick plausibly sug-gests that these helmets themselveswere probably made of leather, towhichthe(metal?)plateswereprobablyattached, but the arrangement orpurpose of the plates is unclear. Thesamewordfor‘plates’isalsousedwithreference to corslets mentioned inthe tablets. These too appear to havebeenmadeofperishablematerialandare linked in at least one case withlinen. The attachments are typicallymentioned as consisting of twentylargeand tensmallones.Tablets fromCnossus sometimes include a pair of

qe-ro, identified by Chadwick as arm-guardsorbracelets.

Curiously,thetabletsdonotlistanyshields. The so-called ‘figure-of-eight’shield, so named because its shaperesembles the Arabic numeral, waspopular in the Pre-palatial period, butappears only as a decorative elementin the thirteenth century. There is adubioussinglepotteryfragmentdatedto either Late Helladic IIIA (fourteenthcentury)orLateHelladicIIIB(thirteenthcentury) that shows two warriors, oneequipped with a large rectangularshield (so-called ‘tower’ shield), theother with the equally large figure-of-eight shield. There is also a veryfragmentary wall-painting from Pylosthat supposedly shows a warrior witheitheraroundorfigure-of-eightshield.DianeFortenberryhaspointedoutthatthisfigureisprobablynotawarrioratall,butahunter,identifiedbyhistunic,barehead,andspearheldinoverhandposition. The band that some have

Wall-painting from the palace at Pylos depicting a warrior about to board aso-calleddualchariot.Notethetunicsandboar's-tuskhelmets.

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Ancient Warfare 15

classes, possibly through conscription.John Chadwick already observedthat the Heqetai were probably elitetroops, as well as commanders of theMycenaen infantry. In the tablets, theyare associated with slaves, cloth, andwheels.

Furthermore,thereisauniquesetofeighttabletsfromPylosthatdescribesthepreparationsmadeforanimpendingattackbyseaborneraiders.Twoofthesetablets give lists of ‘rowers’ (possiblydenoting conscripts), along with theirplaces of origin; six other tablets listthegroups(o-ka)ofpeoplesentouttowatch the coast. These groups consistofmenfromaparticularplaceandledby an individual with a patronymic,probably a Heqetas. The rowers andthe men led by the Heqetai appearto be individuals who had to performmilitary service for one reason oranother,whichsuggeststhat,whilethepalaceswereresponsibleformobilisingthearmyasawhole,theeverydaytasksof command were probably left in thehandsoftheHeqetai.

Warfare after the collapseWith the destruction of the palaces,both the Linear B tablets and the

including arrowheads, swords, spearsandjavelins,helmets,chariots,andthecorslets already referred to above. Insome cases, however, only parts of thenecessary equipment were handedout; for example, certain tabletslist only a single wheel or a singlehorse, rather than a complete chariot.Other tablets make clear that certainindividuals were awarded land by thepalaceinexchangeformilitaryservice,for which they were provided at leastpartoftherequiredequipment.Itthusappears that the Mycenaean armieswere mobilised using a mix of privateandpublic(palatial)means,withsomewarriors providing part of their kit attheirownexpense.

Clothingwasalmostcertainlyusedas sign of rank. Fully-clothed men inthewall-paintingsmayrepresentbothhigh-ranking individuals, as well astheir personal attendants, includinggrooms,charioteers,andhuntsmen.Themen in waisted tunics and associatedwith chariots may belong specificallyto the aristocratic class referred toin the tablets as Heqetai, “Followers”.By contrast, rank-and-file ‘soldiers’are always shown bare-chested andmay have been culled from the lower

reconstructed as the top of a shield isinstead probably a part of the scene’sbackground.

Chariots are attested in both thewall-paintings and the tablets. Thesechariots were apparently used totransport spearmen quickly to andfromthebattlefield,wheretheywouldhave dismounted to fight on foot.The numbers of chariots recorded inthe tablets combined with the Greeklandscape would have made masseddeployment in the Egyptian mannerimpossible. The iconographic evidencealso demonstrates that chariots werenotonlyusedinwar,butalsoforhuntingandotherrecreationalpurposes.Thereis also evidence in the thirteenthcentury that some Mycenaeans rodeonhorseback,suchasaMycenaeanpotfragment found in Ugarit that depictsa rider armed only with a sword. Itseems unlikely that such horsemenfoughtascavalry;theyprobablyservedasmessengersorscouts.

We know relatively little withregard to how the palaces organisedtheir military. The Linear B tabletsdemonstrate that the palacesproduced and maintained atleast some equipment used in war,

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Warrior Vase from Mycenae, datedtoaround1150BC(LateHelladicIIIC).Note the uniform equipment andthe little knapsacks tied to each ofthewarriors'spears.

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16 Ancient Warfare

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Ancient Warfare 17

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Reconstruction of what Palatial andPost-palatialMycenaeanwarriorsmayhave looked like. The figures in theforegroundarebasedonwallpaintingsfrom the thirteenth century BC fromPylos. The figure left is probably aHeqetas, a member of the aristocracy,while the bare-chested figure on therightwouldprobablyhavebelongedtothe rank-and-file. Both are equippedwith boar's-tusk helmets. The figuresin the background are Post-palatialwarriors, based on painted pottery ofthe twelfth century BC, especially theMycenaeanWarriorVase.Wecannotbesure what their clothing and helmetsweremadeoff,buttheyhaveherebeenplausibly reconstructed as consistingmostly of perishable materials. Thechariot is of the so-called rail type,which remained popular in Greecefor centuries after the fall of theMycenaeanpalaces.

wall-paintings disappeared. Materialculture went into decline, althoughthere is a marked renaissance withrespect to figurative painted potteryaroundthethirdquarterofthetwelfthcentury. Especially around this time,some pots are decorated with martialscenesthatdifferinanumberofwaysfromthewall-paintingsoftwoorthreegenerationsearlier.InthisPost-palatialmaterial, all warriors now appear towear some kind of tunic; there is alsogreat variety with regards to helmettypes. Warriors are now also almostinvariably equipped with shields ofvarious shapes and sizes. But there isalso continuity, including chariots andships.

Perhaps thebestdepictionofPost-palatial warriors is supplied by theso-called ‘Warrior Vase’, a large krater(pot used to mix water and wine)discovered during the excavationsconducted by Heinrich Schliemann atMycenae. Both sides of this pot showfilesofwarriors.Onesidehaswarriorswalking away from a woman to theleft, who has one hand raised to herhead,agesturethatsignifiesmourningor saying farewell. The other sideshows warriors with subtly differentequipment, who brandish their spearsoverhead; these may represent the

enemy. The position and length ofthe spears suggests that they couldbe both thrown and thrusted, unlikethe generally longer spears depictedin the Palatial battle-scenes. Thewarriors on either side are equippedwith shields and fringed tunics, theirlower legs protected by dark gaiters.The departing warriors wear helmetswith horns and a plume, while theiropponentsareequippedwithso-called‘hedgehog’helmets.Asanaddeddetail,the departing warriors have littleknapsacks tied to their spears, whichsuggests that the battlefield is somedistanceaway.

Ships also become importantelements in Post-palatial art. TheMycenaeans were probably the firstto use the oared galley from about1300BConwardsoralittlelater,whichapparently developed from a Minoanship type. The early Mycenaean galleyhad a flat keel line and vertical stempost crowned by a bird head device;the sternpost was curved. This typecontinued in use all through the EarlyIron Age and into the historic era. Inthe course of time, the keel would beextended beyond the stem post andeventually transform into the ram sofamiliar from Classical sources. Thesegalleys are popular subjects in Post-palatialartandoftenfeaturewarriors;theymusthavebeenusedinraidsandattacksoncoastalsettlements.

Invaders and raidersIt should be stressed that thedevelopment outlined above was aprocess that took several generations.We have little iconographic evidencefor the early twelfth century, so wecannot be certain where the newequipment comes from. It is possiblethat the shields and other elementsof the warriors’ equipment were localinventions.However, it ispossible thatthe changes in military equipmentwereareaction to invaderswhocamefromoutsideMycenaeanGreece.

The Greeks of the first millenniumBC believed that speakers of DorianGreek were relative new-comersto Greece. In their opinion, they haddescended from elsewhere, invadedsouthernGreece,andeventuallysettledinthePeloponnese,Crete,andRhodes.TheGreeksthemselvesseemtooffera

solutiontowhodestroyedthepalaces,andmostrecentlyMargeritFinkelberghasfoundsupportforitusingevidencebased mostly on linguistic analysis.However,thedateandeventherealityofaDorianinvasionisstillhotlydisputedin academic circles. One seriousobjection is that the Greeks generallyinvented these traditions long afterthe fact, sometimes for very specificpoliticalorideologicalreasons.Thereistherefore little reason to suppose thattheyareaccurateaccountsofhistoricalevents.

One would also expect invaders tohaveleftsometraceinthearchaeologicalrecord.Thereisanewclassofhandmadeburnished pottery (also referred toas ‘barbarian’ ware by some scholars)that pops up after 1200 BC and hassometimes been associated with theDorians.ButasOliverDickinsonpointsout,potteryof this typeoccurs inverysmallquantitiesnotjustintheAegean,but also in Palestine and Cyprus, andmay have been invented in Crete. Inall likelihood,itwasprobablymadebytravellingcraftsmenordispersedacrossthe Eastern Mediterranean via tradenetworks,althoughsomescholarshavelinkedthismaterialtotheactivitiesofthe Sea Peoples known from Egyptianrecords.

Partially revising existing theories,Robert Drews has put forward thehypothesis that the Mycenaeans weredestroyedbyamilitarilysuperiorgroupof raiders, possibly in whole or in partto be equated with the Sea Peoples.He argues that the Mycenaeans’ maintactic was to use massed chariots inthe manner of the ancient Near East,with the vehicles serving as mobileplatforms for archers. The raiders,he argues, relied on swarming thesechariotarmieswithinfantry.Thistactic,along with some minor innovationsin equipment (such as the use of acut-and-thrust sword and javelins),enabled the raiders to overwhelm orcripple some of the civilisations alongthe Eastern Mediterranean seaboard,includingtheMycenaeans.

But there are a large number ofproblemsassociatedwithRobertDrews’shypothesis. Especially significantis his interpretation of the use ofchariots in the Palatial era. Chariotswereused throughout theMycenaean

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spoke Mycenaean Greek and whohad conquered the areas that woulddevelopintothesovereignMycenaeankingdoms. In his opinion, the subjectpopulaceconsistedofDorian-speakingGreeks, who eventually rose up andoverthrew their oppressors, torchingthe palaces in a series of widespreadrevolts. While this idea is no longerseriouslyentertainedbymostscholars,itremainsaninterestinghypothesis.

Other scholars, such as J.T. Hooker,have suggested that internecine warbetween the Mycenaean kingdoms, aswellascivilwarsbetweenrivalfactionswithinthekingdomsthemselves,werethe cause of the destructions. Somescholars, most notably Michael Woodand,moreseriously,JorritKelderinhisdoctoral thesis, have even suggestedthe existence of a Mycenaean Empire.There is some evidence for this, not inthe least the references to a kingdomofAhhiyawainHittitedocuments.Thisiscurrentlythoughttorefertothelandof the Achaeans, one of the commonwordsusedbyHomertodenoteGreeks,althoughtheexactlocationandextentoftheAhhiyawankingdomisamatterofdispute.

Concluding remarksThe evidence for the Palatial periodshows a more or less prosperouscountry, divided into a number ofkingdomswithmonumentalcentresintheformofcitadels.Thepalaceswithinthese citadels maintained armies ofregular soldiers, possibly conscripts,commandedbychariot-bornemembersof the Heqetai, the aristocracy. Thesoldiers engaged in border skirmishesandmountedlookoutsagainstpirates;larger conflicts cannot be excluded,especially considering the amounts ofweapons and chariots stored by thepalaces.

Followingthecollapseofthepalaces,warfarechanged,perhapsinthecourseofasmuchastwoorthreegenerations.In Post-palatial art, warriors are cladin tunics or jerkins, and are alsoequipped with shields; long-distancewarfare, including overseas raids, areanimportanttheme.Thearmiesofthisperiodwereprobablysmaller,nodoubtdue to depopulation and the loss of astrongcentralauthorityintheformofthe palaces. The military changes can

ultimatelyresponsibleforitsdownfall,although there were also reports ofnaval engagements with forces fromAlasiya(possiblyagroupofSeaPeoples,though some scholars have suggestedit should be identified as Cyprus), andthere are indications of unrest andpossible migrations in Western AsiaMinor.Elsewhere, theEgyptianstellusthat theyhad to fendoffattacks fromLibyans and the Sea Peoples. We alsoknow that thecity-stateofUgaritwasdestroyedbyanunknownenemyforcethatarrivedbysea.

At least in the case of MycenaeanGreece, a wide range of factors mayhave contributed to, or accelerated, itscollapse. Some have argued that theMycenaean kingdoms were so overspecialised or over centralised thatthey could not adequately respond tosudden changes. These changes mayhave included interruptions in tradewith other regions in the EasternMediterranean,perhapsbroughtaboutby the troubles in Ugarit, the HittiteEmpire,andEgypt.Lessplausibly,othershave suggested that the Mycenaeankingdomswereweakenedasaresultofoverpopulation and land-exhaustion.Furthermore,naturaldisastersmayalsohavebeenacontributingfactor to thecollapse,includingprolongeddroughts,cropfailures,andearthquakes.

Butwhateverproblemscontributedto its downfall, the end of Mycenaeancivilisation is marked by thedestructionofitspalacesbyfire.Whilemost Mycenaean centres were quicklyreoccupied,thepalacesthemselveswereneverrebuilt.ThewritingsystemoftheMycenaeans, Linear B, disappeared inGreece. In the twelfth and eleventhcenturiesBC,thereisamarkeddeclinein population, settlement density, andmaterial culture from which Greeceonly started to recover properly in thecourseoftheeighthcentury,whenGreekcivilisation rose again, like a phoenixfrom the ashes. But who brandishedthetorches?Ifweassumethatforeigninvaders or raiders of some kind werenot to blame, then it must have beentheMycenaeansthemselves.

John Chadwick, well-known for hiscollaboration with Michael Ventris,the decipherer of Linear B, oncesuggested that that the Mycenaeanswere actually a ‘foreign’ elite, who

era (and beyond), but their primaryrole in warfare appears to have beenlimited to a mode of conveyance forhigh-ranking spearmen. Furthermore,the evidence strongly suggests thatMycenaean armies of at least thePalatial period were based primarilyon infantry, with some marching andothersdrivingtothebattlefield.Finally,if Drews’s hypothesis is correct, onewouldexpectchariotstohavegonethewayofthedodoimmediatelyafterthedestruction of the palaces. However,nothing is further from the truth. Ifanything,depictionsofchariotsbecomeevenmorecommonintheiconographicrecordof thetwelfthcenturyandtheyare almost exclusively associated withwarriors. What is perhaps even morestriking is that depictions of chariot-bornespearmenalsoappearintheartoftheeighthcenturyBC,whichsuggeststhatchariotsactuallycontinuedinusethroughouttheEarlyIronAge.

Otherscholarshavesuggestedthatthe Mycenaeans actually became theSeaPeoples,orthattheyatleastmadeup one of their constituent elements.After the destruction of the palaces,many Mycenaeans fled Greece proper.Some found safe haven in Asia Minor,othersmovedtoCyprus(whichexplainsthe Greek element that persists upto this day). Other Mycenaeans, theargumentgoes,tooktheseainordertoimprove their fortunes. Scholars whosupport thisnotionpointoutthat thedepictions of Sea People in the reliefsat Medinet Habu look similar to thewarriors on Post-palatial Mycenaeanpottery, and some Egyptian namesrecordedintheGreatKarnakInscriptionas allies of the Libyans from‘northernlands’,likeEkweshorDenyen,mayreferto‘Achaeans’and‘Danaoi’,theHomericnames for Greeks. But much is stilluncertainandthesimilaritiesmaywellprovetobecoincidences.

Destruction from within?Perhaps the Mycenaeans were notdestroyed by outside forces, eitherinvaders or raiders. We still knowcomparatively little about whathappenedaround1200BC.Forexample,westillhavenofirmideawhatexactlycausedthedemiseoftheHittiteEmpire.Itseemsthatacombinationofinternalunrest and food shortages were

Ancient Warfare 19

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thepossibilityofsomekindofconcertedattackbyoutsiderscannotbeexcluded.Or perhaps the Mycenaeans simplydestroyedthemselves.Again,theproofisoftencircumstantial,butinternecineor civil wars, and perhaps even localuprisings, are plausible explanations. n

Dr. Josho Brouwers is an archaeologist,who wrote his doctoral thesis on EarlyGreek warfare in the period betweenroughly1200and500BC.Heiscurrentlyconducting postdoctoral researchinto Early Greek fortifications at theUniversity of Thessaly in Volos, Greece,thanks to a grant awarded by theNetherlandsOrganisationforScientificResearch(NWO).

perhaps be explained as a result ofchangesinsocialstructure,ratherthanforeign influence. However, there isalso continuity.The ships that becomeso popular in Post-palatial art wereactuallyinventedmorethanahundredyears earlier, and chariots continuedin use for hundreds of years still asa means of transportation for high-rankingwarriors.

A study of the end of MycenaeanGreece seems to raise more questionsthan it answers. The reasons for thecollapsemusthavebeencomplex,andare perhaps related to disruptions intradenetworks,environmentalfactors,or other natural disasters, in additionto violent action. Were the palacesdestroyed by invaders? The suspectsinclude the Dorians and the so-calledSea-Peoples. Robert Drews has triedto explain the apparent success oftheseinvadersorraidersbysuggestingthat they used superior tactics andequipment to defeat, among others,the Mycenaean kingdoms. Despite theobjections raised to these hypotheses,

Further reading- TrevorBryce,TheKingdomofthe

Hittites.Oxford2005.- John Chadwick, The Mycenaean

World.Cambridge1976.- Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy, Irene S.

Lemos (eds.), Ancient Greece:From the Mycenaean Palaces tothe Age of Homer. Edinburgh2006.

- Oliver Dickinson, The Aegeanfrom Bronze Age to Iron Age:Continuity and Change BetweentheTwelfthandEighthCenturiesBC.London2006.

- Robert Drews, The End of theBronze Age: Changes in WarfareandtheCatastropheca.1200BC.Princeton1993.

- Diane Fortenberry, Elements ofMycenaeanWarfare.

Unpublisheddoctoral dissertation;1990.- J.T. Hooker, Mycenaean Greece.

London1976.- Margerit Finkelberg, Greeks and

Pre-Greeks: Aegean Prehistoryand Greek Heroic Tradition.Cambridge2005.

- Jorrit Kelder, ‘A Great King inMycenae’,in:Palamedes3(2008),49–74.

- Michael Wood, In Search of theTrojan War. Revised edition;Berkeley1998.

PostpalatialpotteryfragmentsfromancientKynos(PyrgosLivanaton)incentralGreece.Thescenedepictsthestartofabattleatsea.Notethefringesalongthebottom of the warriors’ kilts or tunics, as well as the overhand position of thespears,andthedifferentshapesoftheshields.

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