The Mycenaeans in Amarna

According to Greek myth, Cadmus was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephessor, who ruled in Tyre. Cadmus belongs to the same generation of heroes as Persues, the founder of Mycenae. When Camus’ sister, Europa, was abducted by Zeus, he was charged with finding her and bringing her back to Tyre. It is not entirely clear how Cadmus intended to take her from Zeus!

Unable to find Europa, Cadmus went to the oracle at Delphi, where he was advised to give up his search for his sister. Instead he was to be given a cow marked with a crescent moon on her side which he was to follow until she lay down exhausted. There he was to build a city. Cadmus followed the instructions of the oracle until he came to the land of Boetia, which means, “place of the cow.” There he founded the city of Thebes.

Cadmus sent two of his companions to a nearby spring for some water in preparations for a sacrifice. A dragon guarding the spring killed his men whereupon Cadmus slew the dragon and, following the instructions of Athena, sowed the dragon’s teeth. Immediately there sprung up from the earth fierce and heavily armed warriors who promptly began to slay each other until only five were left. These became the ancestors of the leading families of Thebes.

Plate Armor

All of this points to an interesting fact, the warriors of Europe and western Asian were known for being heavily armed. Our knowledge of them has increased with the discovery of “warrior tombs” containing weapons and armament. The most famous of these comes from Dendra in the Peloponnese where a complete set of plate armor was found together with a boar tusk helmet and full set of utensils for feasting. The tomb took the form of a small dromos similar in style to the so-called Treasury of Atreus although not nearly as large.

The armor weighs

It is interesting to note that no such armor was found in the shaft tombs in Mycenae discovered by Schliemann. Nor do we find depictions of heavy plate armor on Mycenaean seals.

This armour probably dates to a period after the Mycenaean shaft graves.

Archaeologists digging at Amarna found a large amount of pottery originating from Greece.  They also found fragments of a frescoe that depict Greek warriors wearing their characteristic boar-tusk helmet. This goes to show the amount of trade that plied the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age.

Carian warrior who came from the sea in their heavy armour to aid Pharaoh Psamtic. 

In later periods, heavily armed warriors formed a contingent of King David’s armed warriors. These were called ‘ha chari’ in Hebrew, after Caria on the west coast of Asia Minor. Thus we have another link between warriors from the west and their heavy armor.

The Mycenaeans in Amarna

According to Greek myth, Cadmus was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephessor, who ruled in Tyre. Cadmus belongs to the same generation of heroes as Persues, the founder of Mycenae. When Camus’ sister, Europa, was abducted by Zeus, he was charged with finding her and bringing her back to Tyre. It is not entirely clear how Cadmus intended to take her from Zeus!

Unable to find Europa, Cadmus went to the oracle at Delphi, where he was advised to give up his search for his sister. Instead he was to be given a cow marked with a crescent moon on her side which he was to follow until she lay down exhausted. There he was to build a city. Cadmus followed the instructions of the oracle until he came to the land of Boetia, which means, “place of the cow.” There he founded the city of Thebes.

Cadmus sent two of his companions to a nearby spring for some water in preparations for a sacrifice. A dragon guarding the spring killed his men whereupon Cadmus slew the dragon and, following the instructions of Athena, sowed the dragon’s teeth. Immediately there sprung up from the earth fierce and heavily armed warriors who promptly began to slay each other until only five were left. These became the ancestors of the leading families of Thebes.

Plate Armor

All of this points to an interesting fact, the warriors of Europe and western Asian were known for being heavily armed. Our knowledge of them has increased with the discovery of “warrior tombs” containing weapons and armament. The most famous of these comes from Dendra in the Peloponnese where a complete set of plate armor was found together with a boar tusk helmet and full set of utensils for feasting. The tomb took the form of a small dromos similar in style to the so-called Treasury of Atreus although not nearly as large.

The armor weighs

It is interesting to note that no such armor was found in the shaft tombs in Mycenae discovered by Schliemann. Nor do we find depictions of heavy plate armor on Mycenaean seals.

This armour probably dates to a period after the Mycenaean shaft graves.

Archaeologists digging at Amarna found a large amount of pottery originating from Greece.  They also found fragments of a frescoe that depict Greek warriors wearing their characteristic boar-tusk helmet. This goes to show the amount of trade that plied the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age.

Carian warrior who came from the sea in their heavy armour to aid Pharaoh Psamtic. 

In later periods, heavily armed warriors formed a contingent of King David’s armed warriors. These were called ‘ha chari’ in Hebrew, after Caria on the west coast of Asia Minor. Thus we have another link between warriors from the west and their heavy armor.