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Papers by barbara bohen

Prehistoric Athens, Traditions & Archaeology (2024), 2024

A Reassessment of the Athenian Protogeometric Period

Prehistoric Athens, Traditions & Archaeology, Antecedents, 2019

Kratos & Krater, the Bronze Age Antecedents, excerpts and adapts material from Kratos & Krater: R... more Kratos & Krater, the Bronze Age Antecedents, excerpts and adapts material from Kratos & Krater: Reconstructing Athenian Protohistory, Oxford 2017, to concentrate on the roots of the theme of Kratos & Krater in the preceding Greek Bronze Age

Prehistoric Athens, Traditions & Archaeology I, 2021

Athens: Traditions & Archaeology This is one in a series of several papers concerned with traditi... more Athens: Traditions & Archaeology
This is one in a series of several papers concerned with traditions and their associated archaeology under the rubric Prehistoric Athens. This first one deals with the earlier Mycenaean environment of Melanthos, a Messenian eupatrid who traditionally ruled Athens in the Submycenaean period (1026-1089 BC.). Following brief mention of the palatial period at Pylos, it considers the environment Melanthos may have known in the latest phase of the Bronze Age. The elite Mycenaean culture phased out in many areas of the Peloponnesos as intrusive elements moved down from the north, dislocating many communities, among them Pylos. Athens received a number of migrants from this region at the close of the Bronze Age including the eupatrid Melanthos, Significantly, his rule of Athens facilitated the survival of cultural traits from the earlier Mycenaean civilization, which appear to have influenced Athens’ evolution towards the new classical civilization. Melanthos represents a phase of transformation during which Athens could easily have fallen to Heraclid takeover under a different ruler. He left a surprisingly rich tradition of events, and new institutions, almost “documentary” in the context of an alliteral age.

Prehistoric Athens, Traditions & Archaeology II, 2020

A Submycenaean date for the foundation of Athens Kerameikos Precinct XX cemetery is proposed base... more A Submycenaean date for the foundation of Athens Kerameikos Precinct XX cemetery is proposed based on reexamination of archaeological evidence and ceramic typology. In consequence, an examination of the potential relationship between the Precinct XX and Pompeion cemeteries as very different, but contemporary installations. A recognition of some of the dynamics prompting reassessment of Athenian Submycenaean chronology in the context of the broader discussion of a Mainland Submyceanean horizon. Bronze to Iron Age transition, migration, governance, status, traditions, periodization

Prehistoric Athens Traditions & Archaeology III, 2022

Submycenaean Kings of Athens, Traditions and Archaeology, Melantho-Codrids in traditions. Archaeo... more Submycenaean Kings of Athens, Traditions and Archaeology, Melantho-Codrids in traditions. Archaeology of their likely burial ground in the Athenian Kerameikos. Origins of burial rituals in the Peloponnesos. The Codrid-led Ionian Migration. Possible Mainland roots of Ionic saga.
An Absolute Chronology for Prehistoric Athens

Prehistoric Athens Traditions & Archaeology IV, 2023

Previous papers in this PATA series have discussed Athenian Traditions & Archaeology from the Sub... more Previous papers in this PATA series have discussed Athenian Traditions & Archaeology from the Submycenaean period, when Athens was still ruled by kings. In the ensuing 11 th c., as Athens became more prosperous, small lineages became a significant stratum of Athenian social structure, the founders of the most eminent surviving Athenian cemeteries. At this point these small lineages (oikoi) became an increasing counterbalance to the Athenian monarchy. A significant break came during the rule of Acastos, 1048-1012 BC, when a cartel of eupatrid lineages felt sufficiently confident in their resources to confront Acastos with a new plan for governing the community, one which divested the hereditary absolute monarchy in favor of a Life-Archontate. The new form of governance was carried out by empowering two additional magistracies to the control of Athens: a Polemarch to manage Athens' defense, and an Archon to take control of most secular administrative functions. Divested of most of his authority, the King would retain only a ceremonial role, primarily in the execution of traditional religious ceremony. In this non-literal society the terms of this "soft revolution" were canonized by the famous Oath of Acastos. This oath was still revered by the Athenian Boule in the late 4 th c. BC when Aristotle describes the onset of this system in his treatise "Ancient Constitution." He tells us that "the nine archons swear to execute their oaths 'as in the days of Acastos'. Support for the validity of the new system comes primarily from Aristotle and Pausanias. There is further corroboration from the infamous "King List" which is revealed to be an authentic list of the fifteen prehistoric Athenian rulers, only the first four of whom were traditional monarchs. Following the institution of the Ancient Constitution those listed are all Archons whose office was elective with no provision for inheritance. Each new Archon was selected from the aristindin kai ploutindin, i.e the most prominent eupatrid oikoi. They are sometimes referenced as Life Kings. There is corroboration for the list from the archaeological record, especially from the Kerameikos cemetery which has been convincingly associated with one of the most powerful oikoi, the Alcmeonids. There are two prehistoric Alcmeonid Archons on the list: Megacles and Alcmeon. Their graves are prominent among the 80 plus prehistoric burials of their family cemetery, Kerameikos Precinct XX. This cemetery reveals a more affluent and culturally developed Athens lasting from the Submycenaean down into the historical period when the site was monumentalized under the Great Mound G. The first Archontate lasted to the mid-8 th c. when its Life Archontate was replaced by the Decennial Archontate, and ultimately the Annual Archontate of the Archaic period. Dr. Surikov allows the addition of his 2006 paper which prompted my research.

Kratos & Krater, Reconstructing an Athenian Protohistory, Monograph, Oxford , 2017

Athenian governance and culture are traced from the Bronze Age into the historical era based on traditions, archaeological contexts and remains, foremost the formal commensal and libation vessel, the krater. Iron Age kingship, oligarchy, synoikismos, constitution, and polis are reexamined following Mycenaean immigration into Athens from the Peloponnesos during the transitional years. Innovation in governance took place as eupatrid-led groups, local and immigrant, aspired to coexist under a surprisingly formal set of stipulations that should be recognized as Athens’ first constitution. Under its terms a new life-kingship system replaced absolute monarchy, a system that prevailed through the mid-eighth c. Synoikismos did not refer to a political union of Attica, sometimes attributed to Theseus, but to a union of eupatrid houses (oikoi), several of Peloponnesian origin, domiciled in Athens from the end of the 12th c. era of migration. This is corroborated by Athenian traditions cross-referenced with archaeological data from the burial grounds, and a discredited list of life kings (the King List). Some royal burial grounds have been tentatively identified as those of the Melanthids, Alcmeonids and Philaids, who settled around the outskirts of Athens along with other immigrant groups following the decline of the elite in the Peloponnesos. While the Melanthids left in the 11th c. Ionian Migration other eupatrid houses remained and contributed to the evolution of the historical era polis of Athens. These Neleid aristocrats used the krater similarly to its use in the Mycenaean Peloponnesos, in elite ritual and assembly, at the funeral pyre or tomb in libation rites, and as an epitymbion (elite burial monument). One noble family, the Alcmeonids preserved the practices into the Archaic period in a burial record of 600 years’ duration. A section on Bronze Age antecedents precedes the Athenian section that is the main focus of the publication.
Incorporated into this work is a monograph on the Athenian formal krater, its origins, cultural use and style, concentrating on the LHIIIC Late to the earliest Protoattic phases and especially focusing on the Kerameikos (with concordances, indexes, bibliography and illustrations). There is little settlement evidence for the krater in Athens, but the size, quality and décor differentials of kraters reused in the cemetery give suggestions of its usage in the community, whether quotidian wine service, celebrations, or more formal usage in ritual libation and elite assembly (consortium). Some Homeric practices parallel those found in Athens, so the Ionic poets may have documented customs that had existed on the Mainland and were transferred to Ionia during the Ionian Migration. The demise of both the constitution and the standard, ancestral krater in Athens following a mid-eighth c. watershed is testimony to an interval of political change, as noted by Ian Morris, before the systematized establishment of annual archonship in the following century.
The support this research has given to the validity of the King List has resulted in a proposed new chronology, with an earlier onset for the Geometric period at 922 BC, rather than the currently accepted 900 BC. The relative chronology of Coldstream, based on style is generally accepted here, but some intermediate stages are revised based on perceptible break data, such as the onset of a new kingship, a reported war, or the demise of a governance system.

Reconstructing an Athenian Protohistory, Monograph, Oxford , 2017, Jun 30, 2017

Bronze & Early Iron Age - Athens – History – Politics – Culture –- Kingship – Eupatrids – Synoik... more Bronze & Early Iron Age - Athens – History – Politics – Culture –- Kingship – Eupatrids – Synoikismos - Representative Governance – Constitution – Polis - Genealogy - Archaeology - Burial Customs – Migrations – Krater Vase Typology & Usage
Athenian governance and culture are traced from the Bronze Age into the historical era based on traditions, archaeological contexts and remains, foremost the formal commensal and libation vessel, the krater. Iron Age kingship, oligarchy, synoikismos, constitution, and polis are reexamined following Mycenaean immigration into Athens from the Peloponnesos during the transitional years. Innovation in governance took place as eupatrid-led groups, local and immigrant, aspired to coexist under a surprisingly formal set of stipulations that should be recognized as Athens’ first constitution. Under its terms a new life-kingship system replaced absolute monarchy, a system that prevailed through the mid-eighth c. Synoikismos did not refer to a political union of Attica, sometimes attributed to Theseus, but to a union of eupatrid houses (oikoi), several of Peloponnesian origin, domiciled in Athens from the end of the 12th c. era of migration. This is corroborated by Athenian traditions cross-referenced with archaeological data from the burial grounds, and a discredited list of life kings (the King List). Some royal burial grounds have been tentatively identified as those of the Melanthids, Alcmeonids and Philaids, who settled around the outskirts of Athens along with other immigrant groups following the decline of the elite in the Peloponnesos. While the Melanthids left in the 11th c. Ionian Migration other eupatrid houses remained and contributed to the evolution of the historical era polis of Athens. These Neleid aristocrats used the krater similarly to its use in the Mycenaean Peloponnesos, in elite ritual and assembly, at the funeral pyre or tomb in libation rites, and as an epitymbion (elite burial monument). One noble family, the Alcmeonids preserved the practices into the Archaic period in a burial record of 600 years’ duration. A section on Bronze Age antecedents precedes the Athenian section that is the main focus of the publication.
Incorporated into this work is a monograph on the Athenian formal krater, its origins, cultural use and style, concentrating on the LHIIIC Late to the earliest Protoattic phases and especially focusing on the Kerameikos (with concordances, indexes, bibliography and illustrations). There is little settlement evidence for the krater in Athens, but the size, quality and décor differentials of kraters reused in the cemetery give suggestions of its usage in the community, whether quotidian wine service, celebrations, or more formal usage in ritual libation and elite assembly (consortium). Some Homeric practices parallel those found in Athens, so the Ionic poets may have documented customs that had existed on the Mainland and were transferred to Ionia during the Ionian Migration. The demise of both the constitution and the standard, ancestral krater in Athens following a mid-eighth c. watershed is testimony to an interval of political change, as noted by Ian Morris, before the systematized establishment of annual archonship in the following century.
The support this research has given to the validity of the King List has resulted in a proposed new chronology, with an earlier onset for the Geometric period at 922 BC, rather than the currently accepted 900 BC. The relative chronology of Coldstream, based on style is generally accepted here, but some intermediate stages are revised based on perceptible break data, such as the onset of a new kingship, a reported war, or the demise of a governance system

New Light on Dark Age, Columbia-London, Jan 1, 1997

New Light on a Dark Age , 1997

This is an old (1997) paper that I have been asked to upload, dealing with Athenian burial contex... more This is an old (1997) paper that I have been asked to upload, dealing with Athenian burial contexts, in particular two specific shapes used by Athenian elite, the horse pyxis and the formal krater. This led on to the monograph Kratos & Krater: Reconstructing an Athenian Protohistory (Oxford 2017), which has considerably updated and expanded on the earlier publications, attempting to define aspects of Athenian governance and culture from surviving remains and traditions,

Journal of Aesthetic Education, Jan 1, 1991

Some ideas that parallel some of the thoughts of Kotsonas' on new and obsolete nomenclature for t... more Some ideas that parallel some of the thoughts of Kotsonas' on new and obsolete nomenclature for the periodization of the Greek Iron Age, and a few suggestions that do not. And a smiley face.

Athenische Mitteilungen Vol. 91, 1976

Remains of a very large lidded vessel used in burial, likely as an urn. It comes from the Kerame... more Remains of a very large lidded vessel used in burial, likely as an urn. It comes from the Kerameikos Great Mound which covered a long-standing sequence of elite burials. The burial site has more recently been associated with the Alcmeonids.

Die Rundbauten, Kerameikos Ergebnisse, Vol. XII, , 1980

Further support for the identity of the occupants of the Kerameikos Rundbau on the Eridanos, a bu... more Further support for the identity of the occupants of the Kerameikos Rundbau on the Eridanos, a burial mound initiated in the late 8th C. BC. It has been linked to the Kerykes, one of the two ancestral families that supervised the activities of the sanctuary of Eleusis. The Rundbau burials were initiated contemporary with the Alcmeonids' renewal of the nearby Hagia Triada cemetery, which may not be coincidence. The Neleid occupants of the Hagia Triada burial ground, Codrids and Alcmeonids, had traditional ties with the sanctuary: Melanthos had served as a priest of the sanctuary before being appointed king of Athens. Neleid Peisistratos was also a supporter of the sanctuary.

Attic Geometric Pyxis, 1980

Available from University Microfilms International, Volume 40, #11,1980,65 266 pp. 65 plus. illl... more Available from University Microfilms International, Volume 40, #11,1980,65 266 pp. 65 plus. illlustrations. It is now quite old but could be of interest to those working on Iron Age vase studies. Addresses: 300 N. Deeb Rd. Ann Arbor MI, 48106, USA and 18 Bedford Row, London WC1R4EJ, England. Bohen copyright 1979. The text was updated and expanded in 1988 in Die Geometrischen Pyxiden, Kerameikos Vol. XIII, publication of the German Archaeological Institute, in German language This includes a catalogue, more context and more visuals of the large collection of Iron Age pyxides that have come from the Kerameikos excavations in Athens, Greece.

Contents & Introduction for Die Geometrischen Pyxiden, Kerameikos Vol. 13, 1988

Die geometrischen Pyxidenfragmente aus alten Grabungen des Kerameikos wurden der Autorin 1971 zur... more Die geometrischen Pyxidenfragmente aus alten Grabungen des Kerameikos wurden der Autorin 1971 zur Bearbeitung überlassen, von ihr jedoch zunächst für ihre Dissertation (The Attic Geometrie Pyxis, University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan) verwendet, ...

A Geometric Horse Pyxis from Asine, 1980

The Geometric horse pyxis, was a particular Athenian vessel, but this example found at Asine was ... more The Geometric horse pyxis, was a particular Athenian vessel, but this example found at Asine was probably locally manufactured. Asine came within the sphere of influence of Argos in the mid-8th c. BC but it sometimes sided with Argos' enemies, such as Sparta. It may have also had some contacts with Athens at this time. For its temerity it was destroyed by Argos, at about the same date as this vessel was made, in the LGIb phase. Athens was at this time involved with Argos in the disastrous Aeginetan campaign.

The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, Jan 1, 1992

In the Getty Museum is a Geometric pyxis lid on which stand three modeled horses datable to the m... more In the Getty Museum is a Geometric pyxis lid on which stand three modeled horses datable to the mid-8th c. BC (Fig. 1). The form is usually associated with Athenian elite, but it appears to have been created by the same artist who made a Boeotian horse pyxis found in the principal burial of a tumulus excavated at Kamilovrysi, Boeotia (Fig. 2). The tomb was that of an elite female who was surrounded by a variety of fine objects, undoubtedly her personal possessions: a carved sealstone in the shape of a frog, a necklace of paste beads with three scarabs, a curious bracelet with a spiral band, bronze dress pins to secure garments at each shoulder, and various rings that still adorned the fingers of the well-preserved skeleton. Four small bronze animal statuettes may once have been contained in a wooden pyxis of which only traces remained. This is the richest Geometric burial to have come to light so far in Boeotia. There was a further complement of ceramic vessels, among them a second horse pyxis that deserves particular mention. Its lid had been removed to the side and the hand of the deceased had been positioned as if reaching inside the bowl. Also recorded in same burial was another pyxis, a fragmentary bowl decorated with meander (fn. 14). No lid was found for it. The close resemblance between the Getty and Kamylovrysi horse pyxides make it quite possible that the Getty Museum horse pyxis lid once graced this lidless bowl found in the tomb.