Mycenaean bronze weapons

In the Late Bronze Age there was prolific production of weapons in the Aegean. This was partly related with the intensification of military conflicts (the famous Trojan War took place at the end of this period), and partly with the custom of furnishing the dead with military equipment. Especially the Mycenaeans used to deposit great numbers of weapons in the tombs of important individuals. This suggests that the “heroic ethos”, known from the Homeric epics, was highly valued in Mycenaean societies.

In this photo you can see the main offensive weapons of a Mycenaean warrior: from left to right a sword, a dagger, a spearhead and an arrowhead (the spear and arrow would have been mounted on wooden shafts). The sword and the dagger originally had handles made of wood or ivory.

The gear of a Mycenaean warrior included also bronze greaves, bronze cuirass, and helmet made of bronze of boar tusks.

Unpublished