Eleni Drakaki | The American College of Greece Deree College (original) (raw)

PUBLICATIONS by Eleni Drakaki

Günkel-Maschek, Ute et al. (Eds.): Gesture, Stance, and Movement: Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age. Acts of the International Conference at the University of Heidelberg, 11–13 November 2021, Heidelberg: Propylaeum, 2024

Within the corpus of Aegean Bronze Age seals, there are only a handful of examples of the so-call... more Within the corpus of Aegean Bronze Age seals, there are only a handful of examples of the so-called 'chest gesture' or 'hands to the chest gesture', where (predominantly) male figures are shown with both hands raised and either held towards the chest or touching the chest. This paper examines the chronological and iconographic development of this gesture in conjunction with the contexts and/or provenances of the seals in question. As a result, the possibility of identifying two distinct Cretan regional variations as well as a unique 'mainland adaptation' of the 'chest gesture' is proposed, while possible interpretations of its religious and/or social significance in the Aegean visual repertoire are also discussed against comparative material from the contemporary cultures of Near East and Egypt.

I. Mylonopoulos (ed.), Materiality and Visibility of Rituals in the Ancient World, Jul 28, 2016

TALKS by Eleni Drakaki

Ελληνική Νευρολογική Εταιρεία, Θερινό Σχολείο στην Αίγινα, Ξενοδοχείο "Δανάη", 2016

Ιστορικό και Λαογραφικό Μουσείο Αίγινας, 2010

Ιστορικό και Λαογραφικό Μουσείο, Αίγινα, 2011

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS by Eleni Drakaki

Death, Rituals and Symbolism in Prehistoric Aegean: ARWA Online International Workshop , 2022

Gesture -Stance -Movement Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age Heidelberg, 2021

Bench shrines displaying multiple examples of the female figure known in modern times as the Godd... more Bench shrines displaying multiple examples of the female figure known in modern times as the Goddess with Upraised Arms are known from a series of Late Minoan IIIB to IIIC sites in Crete. Up to now, they have only been recognized from small buildings situated in settlements. The female figure is identified both by her gesture with the elbows bent and the hands raised above the head and by her association with cylindrical stands (called snake tubes) and the conical bowls they supported (called kalathoi). Some of her shrines also have flat clay plaques with raised borders. All of these elements are present in the material excavated in 1962 in a rescue excavation at the cave shrine of Eileithyia at modern Tsoutsouros (ancient Inatos). Inatos is on the seacoast in South-Central Crete, east of Phaistos and west of Myrtos. The cave shrine at this site was active from EM III/MM IA until Roman times. An inscription identifies the deity as Eileithyia, protector of childbirth and motherhood, and offerings that are proper for this goddess include figurines of pregnant women, embracing couples, and images of Bes, the Egyptian god of childbirth. However, a series of female clay figurines with the same gesture as the Goddess with Upright Arms from the cave can be dated from the end of the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. In addition to the figurines, several snake tubes are present along with the kalathoi they supported, and one fragment of a clay plaque with a raised border is in the assemblage. The figurines with upright arms from Inatos are particularly interesting because they show some development through time. One of the Iron Age figurines rides sidesaddle on a horse or donkey, which is an interesting addition to the iconography of this figure.

Gesture -Stance-Movement Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age, 2021

11th International Cretological Congress, 21-27 October, Rethymno, Crete, 2011

The motif of a male figure accompanied by a lion, here conventionally termed 'Master with Lion', ... more The motif of a male figure accompanied by a lion, here conventionally termed 'Master with Lion', was conceived in the Neopalatial era, the most flourishing period of the Bronze Age civilization of Crete, and has thus far been witnessed exclusively on (a very small number of) works of glyptic (seals and sealings). Although it has attracted (some) scholarly attention, epsecially in respect to the identity and.or status of the 'Master' and its/their (possible) implications for Cretan religion and the nature of rulership on the island, a comprehensive study of this motif is long overdue. To this purpose, the scope of this paper includes the following: 1) a careful examination of the available material that leads to the discovery of variations - even if minor - of this motif, which seem to warrant different identifications; 2) a systematic analysis of the morphological characteristics and/or contextual associations of the seals and sealings in question, in an effort to shed some light on the identification of the "selected few" who owned them; and 3) a thorough investigation beyond the Aegean borders, in search of the motif's parallels in the iconographic traditions of the other great Bronze Age cultures of Egypt, Anatolia, the Near East and Mesopotamia. Considering the nature and extreme rarity of the Cretan artifacts which carry the "Master with Lion" motif as well as the fact that it was conceived at a time of intense interaction and contacts between Crete and the eastern Mediterranean, this undertaking is crucial for ascertaining the degree of independence and/or (possible) external influence involved in its formulation.

Seals are predominantly found among the goods chosen to accompany the deceased in their final res... more Seals are predominantly found among the goods chosen to accompany the deceased in their final resting place and are often assigned emblematic value related to their owners’ personal and social identity (status, rank, office, group affiliation), even though their contextual associations have been so far dealt with in a rather superficial manner. This paper undertakes a systematic contextual study of the collections of seals of three intact elite – but not equally wealthy – ‘warrior’ burials of LH IIB - IIIA1 date from the Mycenaean heartland (Argolid, Messenia). All three burials stand out for their ostentatious display of wealth and have common types of furnishings. However, a careful analysis of the quantity, quality, and variety of their grave goods suggests a hierarchy of wealth that could possibly be indicative of differences in status. Particular attention is paid to the burials’ collections of seals, which are compared in terms of quantity, engraving style, variety and/or rarity of shapes, materials and iconography. The conclusion of this case study is that, despite their commonalities, the seals’ collections do not correspond to/reflect the overall level of wealth of their associated burials – and consequently the status of their owners. In fact, perhaps unexpectedly, it is the elite individuals buried with lesser wealth who possessed larger and more extraordinary collections of seals.

‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals originated from the lands of the Late Bronze Age Mitanni ... more ‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals originated from the lands of the Late Bronze Age Mitanni Empire in western upper Mesopotamia and were widely distributed from Greece to Iran and from the Caucasus to the Gulf. Despite their modest materials and simple, ‘technical’ style, ‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals form the most distinct and uniform group of foreign seals imported to the Aegean as early as the 16th/15th c. B.C. but mainly during the 14th-13th c. B.C. They are more popular on the Greek Mainland, where they are found in thirteen chamber tombs from the Peloponnese in the south all the way to Thessaly in the north. In a recent study, these seals have been tentatively identified as symbols of their owners’ status as traders and as proof of their voyages in the eastern Mediterranean. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the identity of the ‘selected few’, who owned seals of ‘Common Mitannian Style’, by examining the tombs they were found in as well as their specific contextual associations. The conclusion reached is that, in peripheral regions, they are associated with burials of elite members of local communities but in the Peloponnese they are associated with burials of ‘commoners’, while they are conspicuously absent from the monumental and impressively rich tombs of the ‘higher elites’ at the centers of both the Mycenaean heartland and the periphery.

• One of the most recognizable groups of LBA Aegean glyptic • 17 seals from the Greek Mainland: •... more • One of the most recognizable groups of LBA Aegean glyptic • 17 seals from the Greek Mainland: • 11 from excavated and published burial contexts (CMS I 50, 72, 109, 142, 240-1, 275; CMS I S. 20; CMS V 432-3; CMS V S. 1A 69) • 6 of secure or reported provenance (CMS I S. 26; CMS V 195; CMS V S. 1B 111; CMS XI 55, 56; CMS XIII 78) • Two varieties: • A: far animal with head averted and seen from back

Günkel-Maschek, Ute et al. (Eds.): Gesture, Stance, and Movement: Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age. Acts of the International Conference at the University of Heidelberg, 11–13 November 2021, Heidelberg: Propylaeum, 2024

Within the corpus of Aegean Bronze Age seals, there are only a handful of examples of the so-call... more Within the corpus of Aegean Bronze Age seals, there are only a handful of examples of the so-called 'chest gesture' or 'hands to the chest gesture', where (predominantly) male figures are shown with both hands raised and either held towards the chest or touching the chest. This paper examines the chronological and iconographic development of this gesture in conjunction with the contexts and/or provenances of the seals in question. As a result, the possibility of identifying two distinct Cretan regional variations as well as a unique 'mainland adaptation' of the 'chest gesture' is proposed, while possible interpretations of its religious and/or social significance in the Aegean visual repertoire are also discussed against comparative material from the contemporary cultures of Near East and Egypt.

I. Mylonopoulos (ed.), Materiality and Visibility of Rituals in the Ancient World, Jul 28, 2016

Death, Rituals and Symbolism in Prehistoric Aegean: ARWA Online International Workshop , 2022

Gesture -Stance -Movement Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age Heidelberg, 2021

Bench shrines displaying multiple examples of the female figure known in modern times as the Godd... more Bench shrines displaying multiple examples of the female figure known in modern times as the Goddess with Upraised Arms are known from a series of Late Minoan IIIB to IIIC sites in Crete. Up to now, they have only been recognized from small buildings situated in settlements. The female figure is identified both by her gesture with the elbows bent and the hands raised above the head and by her association with cylindrical stands (called snake tubes) and the conical bowls they supported (called kalathoi). Some of her shrines also have flat clay plaques with raised borders. All of these elements are present in the material excavated in 1962 in a rescue excavation at the cave shrine of Eileithyia at modern Tsoutsouros (ancient Inatos). Inatos is on the seacoast in South-Central Crete, east of Phaistos and west of Myrtos. The cave shrine at this site was active from EM III/MM IA until Roman times. An inscription identifies the deity as Eileithyia, protector of childbirth and motherhood, and offerings that are proper for this goddess include figurines of pregnant women, embracing couples, and images of Bes, the Egyptian god of childbirth. However, a series of female clay figurines with the same gesture as the Goddess with Upright Arms from the cave can be dated from the end of the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. In addition to the figurines, several snake tubes are present along with the kalathoi they supported, and one fragment of a clay plaque with a raised border is in the assemblage. The figurines with upright arms from Inatos are particularly interesting because they show some development through time. One of the Iron Age figurines rides sidesaddle on a horse or donkey, which is an interesting addition to the iconography of this figure.

Gesture -Stance-Movement Communicating Bodies in the Aegean Bronze Age, 2021

11th International Cretological Congress, 21-27 October, Rethymno, Crete, 2011

The motif of a male figure accompanied by a lion, here conventionally termed 'Master with Lion', ... more The motif of a male figure accompanied by a lion, here conventionally termed 'Master with Lion', was conceived in the Neopalatial era, the most flourishing period of the Bronze Age civilization of Crete, and has thus far been witnessed exclusively on (a very small number of) works of glyptic (seals and sealings). Although it has attracted (some) scholarly attention, epsecially in respect to the identity and.or status of the 'Master' and its/their (possible) implications for Cretan religion and the nature of rulership on the island, a comprehensive study of this motif is long overdue. To this purpose, the scope of this paper includes the following: 1) a careful examination of the available material that leads to the discovery of variations - even if minor - of this motif, which seem to warrant different identifications; 2) a systematic analysis of the morphological characteristics and/or contextual associations of the seals and sealings in question, in an effort to shed some light on the identification of the "selected few" who owned them; and 3) a thorough investigation beyond the Aegean borders, in search of the motif's parallels in the iconographic traditions of the other great Bronze Age cultures of Egypt, Anatolia, the Near East and Mesopotamia. Considering the nature and extreme rarity of the Cretan artifacts which carry the "Master with Lion" motif as well as the fact that it was conceived at a time of intense interaction and contacts between Crete and the eastern Mediterranean, this undertaking is crucial for ascertaining the degree of independence and/or (possible) external influence involved in its formulation.

Seals are predominantly found among the goods chosen to accompany the deceased in their final res... more Seals are predominantly found among the goods chosen to accompany the deceased in their final resting place and are often assigned emblematic value related to their owners’ personal and social identity (status, rank, office, group affiliation), even though their contextual associations have been so far dealt with in a rather superficial manner. This paper undertakes a systematic contextual study of the collections of seals of three intact elite – but not equally wealthy – ‘warrior’ burials of LH IIB - IIIA1 date from the Mycenaean heartland (Argolid, Messenia). All three burials stand out for their ostentatious display of wealth and have common types of furnishings. However, a careful analysis of the quantity, quality, and variety of their grave goods suggests a hierarchy of wealth that could possibly be indicative of differences in status. Particular attention is paid to the burials’ collections of seals, which are compared in terms of quantity, engraving style, variety and/or rarity of shapes, materials and iconography. The conclusion of this case study is that, despite their commonalities, the seals’ collections do not correspond to/reflect the overall level of wealth of their associated burials – and consequently the status of their owners. In fact, perhaps unexpectedly, it is the elite individuals buried with lesser wealth who possessed larger and more extraordinary collections of seals.

‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals originated from the lands of the Late Bronze Age Mitanni ... more ‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals originated from the lands of the Late Bronze Age Mitanni Empire in western upper Mesopotamia and were widely distributed from Greece to Iran and from the Caucasus to the Gulf. Despite their modest materials and simple, ‘technical’ style, ‘Common Mitannian Style’ cylinder seals form the most distinct and uniform group of foreign seals imported to the Aegean as early as the 16th/15th c. B.C. but mainly during the 14th-13th c. B.C. They are more popular on the Greek Mainland, where they are found in thirteen chamber tombs from the Peloponnese in the south all the way to Thessaly in the north. In a recent study, these seals have been tentatively identified as symbols of their owners’ status as traders and as proof of their voyages in the eastern Mediterranean. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the identity of the ‘selected few’, who owned seals of ‘Common Mitannian Style’, by examining the tombs they were found in as well as their specific contextual associations. The conclusion reached is that, in peripheral regions, they are associated with burials of elite members of local communities but in the Peloponnese they are associated with burials of ‘commoners’, while they are conspicuously absent from the monumental and impressively rich tombs of the ‘higher elites’ at the centers of both the Mycenaean heartland and the periphery.

• One of the most recognizable groups of LBA Aegean glyptic • 17 seals from the Greek Mainland: •... more • One of the most recognizable groups of LBA Aegean glyptic • 17 seals from the Greek Mainland: • 11 from excavated and published burial contexts (CMS I 50, 72, 109, 142, 240-1, 275; CMS I S. 20; CMS V 432-3; CMS V S. 1A 69) • 6 of secure or reported provenance (CMS I S. 26; CMS V 195; CMS V S. 1B 111; CMS XI 55, 56; CMS XIII 78) • Two varieties: • A: far animal with head averted and seen from back

Joan Aruz, Kim Benzel, and Jean M. Evans (eds.), Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the 2nd millennium B.C., New York, 2008, 231

J. Aruz, R. Wallenfels (eds.), Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New York, 2003, 262

For the first time, the contextual associations of one hundred and forty-one hard stone seals fro... more For the first time, the contextual associations of one hundred and forty-one hard stone seals from sixty-two burials and burial assemblages of the Late Bronze Age Greek mainland are systematically and diachronically examined. The wealth of these funerary contexts is used to define the ...

For the first time, the contextual associations of one hundred and forty-one hard stone seals fro... more For the first time, the contextual associations of one hundred and forty-one hard stone seals from sixty-two burials and burial assemblages of the Late Bronze Age Greek mainland are systematically and diachronically examined. The wealth of these funerary contexts is used to define the ...